Rayong province has announced full readiness to host the 15th National Academic Skills Competition and Local Education Festival for 2026, themed "NEXT GEN Education: Integrated Knowledge Through Literary Spaces." Organized by the Department of Local Administration and Rayong Provincial Administrative Organization from August 24-27, the event is Thailand's largest local education festival, bringing together over 15,000 students, teachers, and education personnel nationwide to compete and exchange knowledge for the prestigious Royal Cup trophy. A major press conference was held at Central Festival Rayong with provincial governor Traiiphop Vongtrairat, PAO Chairman Piya Pitutecha, and Thai national women's volleyball players Chotchuea and Vibhavee announcing the event and reflecting unified commitment across all sectors. Governor Traiiphop stated that Rayong is honored to host this significant national event and pledged full coordination across government, private, and public sectors to ensure traffic management, security, emergency medical services, accommodation, dining, and fair pricing. PAO Chairman Piya emphasized that education is the foundation for municipal development and quality of life, and hosting reflects Rayong's commitment to becoming a "Learning City" with over 10 competition venues across hotels, schools, and activity centers throughout the province. The festival features numerous national-level activities including a procession honoring the Royal Cup trophy.

As of 7:00 PM on July 13, 2025, authorities have confirmed the identities of 25 of the 28 people killed in the massive fire at the Roeng Bia Noi Ladprao beer hall. The confirmed deceased include 24 Thai nationals and one Laotian national. Three victims remain unidentified at this time. Of the 25 identified bodies, four have already been claimed by families—Abhirun Peng Sri, Pisanu Taeng Sopa, Pamika On Sri (a police volunteer), and Manirat Bom Klang—while the remaining 21 bodies are expected to be released to families beginning the next day. Medical examiners are currently conducting autopsies before releasing the bodies to families for funeral rites in their hometowns. The fire, one of Thailand's deadliest in recent years, resulted in 28 deaths and 71 injuries, leaving numerous families still searching for missing relatives whose fates remain unknown.

At 18:20 on July 13, 2025, at the First Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge checkpoint in Muang Nong Khai District, police officials including Pol. Maj. Gen. Prayut Pukcharoen, the Immigration Bureau Region 4 commander, received custody of Mr. Win, also known as Dr. Win, one of the suspects in the local government civil service recruitment exam fraud case. An arrest warrant was issued against him on three serious charges: embezzlement or bribery, destruction or concealment of documents causing damage to others or the public, and Computer Crime Act violations for entering false data into a system. After returning from Laos, immigration officials processed the case before Crime Suppression Police took him into custody for prosecution at the police station.

Pol. Maj. Gen. Prayut Pukcharoen stated that Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Police General Kittirat Panpech, the national police chief, ordered crackdowns on individuals and networks involved in local government civil service recruitment fraud. Investigators have pursued all suspects involved. In Win's case, authorities discovered he had fled the country through natural border crossings and was hiding in Laos. Thai officials coordinated with Laotian counterparts, located his residence, and secured his detention. Immigration authorities from Nong Khai then traveled to receive him and bring him back to Thailand for prosecution.

At 10:00 a.m. on July 13, 2026, Deputy Superintendent Suchart Khunjit of Bannang Sata Police Station in Yala received a report that a gunman had shot a major lumber mill owner in the area, leaving him critically injured near a company office in Moo 9, Ban Cha Pun Tang, Bannang Sata Subdistrict, Bannang Sata District, Yala Province. Police immediately rushed to the scene with Superintendent Atthapol Kulvongmanasopha, District Official Weerachouk Bunyaswadi, and Lieutenant Colonel Nathawut Rattanagal, commander of the 1st Infantry Battalion special operations unit, along with security personnel.

At the scene, only blood was found. The victim was Chatchawalya, 60, a businessman and owner of a major lumber mill partnership in Bannang Sata. He was transported to Bannang Sata Hospital with a gunshot wound to the left front chest, but died shortly afterward. Officers cordoned off the area while forensic teams collected evidence and traced the shooter's bullet trajectory. Radio alerts were issued to intercept any suspicious vehicles fleeing along suspected escape routes.

Preliminary investigation revealed that before the incident, Chatchawalya had driven from his residence in Yala town to inspect his rubber wood processing mill. Upon arrival, he parked and walked toward the office building when a single gunshot rang out, the bullet piercing through his left shirt pocket and striking his chest with precision. He collapsed immediately. The shooter fled, believed to have ambushed from banana trees across the road from the mill.

The rubber wood processing facility had previously experienced multiple incidents: on August 8, 2016, more than 10 gunmen raided the mill, torched the wood-drying oven and a 10-wheel truck, causing severe damage. On March 22, 2024, arsonists set fire to the office building, destroying nearly the entire structure. On May 10, 2026, gunmen ambushed an 18-wheel truck near Ban Ngao Kapo, Moo 3, Bannang Sata Subdistrict, damaging the vehicle.

Police are conducting a thorough investigation and have not ruled out any motive, including security-related tensions in the area or personal business disputes, while pursuing leads to arrest the shooter and proceed with legal action.

BANGKOK — 13 July 2026, The boyfriend of a woman critically injured in the deadly Na Ladprao beer hall fire has described the moment she escaped through the flames and tearfully asked whether she was still beautiful.

"I can't take it anymore. I'm in so much pain. Am I still beautiful?"

31-year-old Tatsanai told her boyfriend, Phitsanu Nim-mian, as she waited for emergency assistance outside the burning venue. Phitsanu, also 31, spoke to reporters on Monday after accompanying her family to Phahon Yothin Police Station to file an official report. He said Tatsanai had arranged to meet friends from the clinic where she worked for drinks at the venue on Sunday night. She invited him to join them, but he chose to stay home and care for her two children. He drove her to the venue at around 21:00 and planned to collect her later. On his way home, one of his car tyres burst near Lat Phrao intersection, forcing him to call a mechanic. When he eventually returned home, one of the children asked where their mother was.

"I told them, 'Dad will go and bring Mum home soon,'"

Phitsanu later received a phone call asking whether he was Tatsanai's boyfriend. The caller initially said her phone had been lost and asked him to come to the scene. He first assumed she was drunk and unable to return home. The caller then told him she had been severely burned. Phitsanu rushed back to the venue, where he found flames and thick black smoke engulfing the area. Tatsanai had managed to run out of the building while her hair and head were on fire. Bystanders used a cloth to extinguish the flames before she lay outside awaiting rescue workers. He said Tatsanai had visited the venue before and knew where to escape. However, the exit was narrow, forcing her to run through the flames.

"I felt so sorry for her,"

Phitsanu said through tears. "She told me, 'I can't take it anymore. I'm in so much pain. Am I still beautiful?' "I told her, 'It's all right. Focus on getting treatment first. No matter what happens to you, I accept everything. Just come home and be with the children. It doesn't matter if anything was lost. I only want you to be safe.'" Rescue workers then transported her to hospital. Phitsanu said entertainment venues should have more emergency exits and clearly visible evacuation signs. Tatsanai had told him that both the entrance and exit at the venue were narrow. He also addressed reports that an emergency exit may have been locked to prevent customers from leaving without paying. "If that is true, it is completely unacceptable," he said. "Money should never be considered more important than people's lives. If something like this happens again, how many more people will die, and who will take responsibility?" Phitsanu said the family had yet to be contacted by an official coordinator offering information or assistance. Tatsanai was not covered by the Social Security scheme and was receiving treatment under emergency medical provisions, which cover the first 72 hours.

The opposition parliamentary coordination committee held a forum marking two years since the national senate election, chaired by Priset Watchrasindu and featuring legal experts including Thammasat University law professor Prinyada Thewanarimitkul, former election commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, and Palang Pracharath party leader and former justice minister Thawi Sodsong. Four key witnesses presented evidence of how vote-rigging guides were created through coordination among political networks, distributed to candidates, and actually used during the nationwide senate election. The Palang Pracharath leader alleged the rigging involved six coordinated groups that studied election commission procedures to manipulate voting in their favor. Participants recommended that the election commission open ballot boxes for inspection by mathematicians and scientists, expecting factual conclusions within two weeks. Thammasat scholars stressed that senate and parliamentary elections must be conducted with integrity, and questioned the election commission's performance. If irregularities are proven, the case should be referred to the Supreme Court for criminal prosecution, with the DSI continuing its investigation. Despite numerous complaints from affected parties involving 229 people now under full commission review, progress has been slow. The election commission chair said careful examination was needed given the complexity, strict legal adherence was required, and a decision was expected within twelve weeks, with court referral as a final option if warranted.