Thai students earned significant recognition at the World Mathematics Invitational (WMI) 2026, held on 13 July at Chiba Prefecture Cultural Hall in Japan, bringing home nine gold medals, five silver medals, 10 bronze medals, one merit award and several special prizes from a field of over 1,300 competitors from 25 countries. Standout performers included Grade 4 student Piyaphat Wanotthayan from Anuban Sisaket School, who achieved the second-highest score worldwide in his grade and received the STAR of WORLD award recognizing Thailand's top scorer, along with the Legend Award and Diamond Award; and Grade 5 student Phat Suwanwisan from Chulalongkorn University Demonstration Elementary School, who placed third globally and also won a Diamond Award. Thailand secured two Legend Awards—presented to contestants who have earned gold medals or Diamond Awards for three consecutive years—given to Thitaree Thamwijitrakul of Anuban Sisaket School and Theerawat Chantarotai of Knightsbridge House International School Nonthaburi, both of whom also won gold medals. Phumithep Klungurai, president and Vice President of the WMI committee, noted that the Thai team's performance demonstrated the potential of Thai students on the international stage.

PD House International is laying out plans for the second half of 2025 to weather economic uncertainty, launching a "Dynamic Pricing" strategy that recalibrates prices to reflect real costs every 30 days. The company will push its sub-brand "Acqu Home" into the mass-market home-building segment priced between 2 and 3 million baht, while its flagship "PD House" brand targets the premium market for homes priced 10 million baht and above.

Jirapha Suwannasut, Chief Executive Officer of PD House International Limited, said Thailand's economy in the first half of 2025 remains fragile and vulnerable, undermining consumer confidence in home-building investment decisions. However, the overall home-building market nationwide has held steady rather than sharply contracting, as consumers increasingly prefer licensed home-building companies over informal contractors, and new large-scale capital groups and local SMEs have doubled their competition in the sector. Yet beneath strong overall market figures lies a hidden challenge: while total market value has grown, the influx of new competitors has scattered sales, and most players missed their first-half targets.

Suwannasut noted that in the first six months, the company faced headwinds from volatile construction material costs, shipping expenses, and price wars in the home-building sector, forcing it to slow sales in certain periods to manage costs. Revenue recognition and home sales fell short of original targets.

By late Q2, however, Suwannasut observed early signs of purchasing-power recovery as genuine home-buyers returned to inquire and re-engage in decision-making.

For the remaining six months (July–December), PD House is deploying three key strategies: (1) Dynamic Pricing, updating prices every 30 days based on true cost assessments to ensure fairness and flexibility until conditions stabilize; (2) Enhanced Digital CRM, integrating customer data from Facebook, Line, and Instagram across all PD House branches into a centralized marketing system for real-time customer response and retention; and (3) strengthened market reach across both the mass and premium segments to capture broader demand as the economy recovers.

The Central Investigation Command, led by Police Major General Natssakdi Chauvanasai, has issued an order reassigning Police Captain Vichai Mograt from Highway Police Station 2 to headquarters following public controversy over the arrest of a volunteer soldier carrying ammunition without authorization on July 10 at approximately 9:30 p.m. The officer was accused of transporting a firearm in a city, village, or public area without proper authorization and without legitimate urgent cause. The Highway Police Bureau is conducting a factual investigation to ensure fairness to all parties involved. The reassignment is effective immediately under Section 66 of the National Police Act 2008 and relevant regulations governing police personnel secondment.

Vithaya Abiraksviriya, Thailand country manager for Think of Living and DDproperty, announced that the real estate platform has analyzed market data to support buyers, investors, and agents in making more informed decisions. The overall market currently shows clear signs that negotiating power has shifted to buyers in both new and secondary home markets, as developers accelerate inventory clearance amid slowing new project launches.

In the first five months of 2025, new project values declined by approximately 10 percent while new units fell by 30 percent. Developers are responding by competing through promotions and price cuts to convert stock into cash. Meanwhile, the secondary home market is heating up, with transaction values approaching 50 percent of all real estate deals, reflecting sellers' willingness to reduce prices for faster closures.

Although buyers currently hold negotiating power, DDproperty estimates this advantage may not last long as new supply continues to decline. Bangkok's townhouse absorption rate has improved from roughly six years to about four years of inventory clearance, though still above the two-year timeframe typical of healthy markets. If supply continues shrinking, buyer competition will likely intensify.

Website visitor numbers have dropped from an average of three million monthly to about two million—nearly 30 percent—yet customer inquiries to agents remain steady, resulting in almost double the visitor-to-inquiry conversion rate compared to early last year. This reflects a highly motivated buyer pool ready to decide immediately when finding suitable properties at acceptable prices.

The rental market shows similarly strong conversion rates, with tenant demand continuing to rise. DDproperty identified market gaps by comparing listings against inquiries by price segment: rental properties at 20,000–30,000 baht per month and purchase properties at 5–10 million baht remain in strong demand relative to supply, creating opportunities for developers, investors, and agents.

Vithaya noted that secondary market sales—where over 80 percent of transactions flow through agents with rising trends—present significant opportunities for agents. The rental market also offers growing potential as high tenant turnover and changing consumer behavior favoring rentals over purchases, especially post-COVID, have become normal for younger generations. Agents who can compete effectively will be those who transition into advisory roles.

On July 15, Dr. Wicharn Bounkittikul, director of the Department of Disease Control's epidemiology division, announced screening results for liver fluke infections among university students in Maha Sarakham Province. Of 2,200 students screened using urine test kits, 451 tested positive; however, laboratory confirmation using Modified Kato Katz and FECT techniques on 309 stool samples found only 4 confirmed cases of liver fluke infection.

The screening also detected other parasites, including 4 cases of intestinal fluke, 5 cases of roundworm, 2 cases of hookworm, and 1 case of whipworm. The Department of Disease Control will only provide deworming medication to patients with confirmed positive results and plans to collaborate with the Department of Medical Sciences to refine urine test kit procedures.

Dr. Wicharn noted that Thailand's overall liver fluke situation has improved steadily, with infection rates among people aged 15 and older in high-risk areas declining from 16.27% in 2016 to 2.53% in 2024. However, the Northeast and Northern regions remain under close surveillance. In 2024, the department screened 240,220 people and treated 6,074 confirmed cases.

Dr. Yongjeurh Lersirithawaror, director of the general communicable disease division, explained that liver fluke is a "silent threat" that can remain dormant in the body for 20–30 years, initially causing no symptoms. The parasite's larvae live in the flesh, scales, and fins of freshwater fish; consuming undercooked fish allows larvae to mature in the bile ducts, causing chronic inflammation and increasing the risk of bile duct cancer by 5.5–6.4 times compared to uninfected individuals.

Prevention measures include eating only thoroughly cooked freshwater fish, avoiding raw or undercooked fish dishes, selecting fermented fish products from regulated producers, and seeking screening if you have a history of consuming raw fish or live in high-risk areas. Dr. Yongjeurh also warned that widespread misconceptions—that lime juice, chili, pickled foods, or alcohol kill the parasite—are false and offer no protection.

Actress Ning Chanya is thrilled to finally debut on the international stage in the martial arts action film "Kung Fu Soccer," a spinoff of Stephen Chow's legendary "Shaolin Soccer." The film reunites her with co-stars Dilraba Dilmurat, Zhang Xiaofei, and EXO's Lay Zhang in an action-packed adventure about a grassroots women's football team that harnesses kung fu to win the prestigious Supreme Invincible Cup tournament.

Ning Chanya shared her excitement about the project, which required over a year of intensive training in football skills and physical conditioning. She revealed that her dedication resulted in injuries including torn ankle ligaments and a meniscus tear, which have since healed. According to Ning, the film goes beyond beautiful football—it transforms the pitch into an epic kung fu arena where goals could shake the heavens. The film premiered in China on July 11 and will soon arrive in Thai cinemas.