The Industrial Products Standards Office (IPSO) is preparing to open a public hearing and conduct technical review of a new steel rod standard in mid-July, amid heated debate over the production quality and safety of steel manufactured using induction furnaces (IF). This decision could significantly impact Thailand's steel industry direction and future building safety standards.

Amorn Pimanmas, president of the Thai Structural Engineers Association, revealed that the association has submitted academic data and observations to the industrial committee to ensure the public understands the issue correctly as part of drafting the new steel standard. He emphasized that the key issue is not business competition among manufacturers, but rather production quality standards and long-term public safety.

One major public concern is the alleged connection between IF steel and recent building collapses. However, the association argues there is currently no scientific evidence proving that IF steel directly caused any building failures, and that steel quality assessment should be separated from individual accident investigations to avoid public confusion.

While IF furnaces can theoretically produce quality steel, the association notes that success depends on using high-quality raw materials, with scrap metal undergoing strict selection and sufficient impurity removal systems. "The key question is not technology potential alone, but practical quality control," the statement reads, "particularly verifying scrap metal sources, which often come from multiple origins with varying quality. Without tight oversight, this can affect molten steel quality and final product properties."

Another ongoing academic debate concerns whether IF technology can match the production quality of Electric Arc Furnaces (EF), the long-established, widely-accepted system with clearer quality control and impurity removal processes.

The association believes IF manufacturers must present clear academic data, research, and technical evidence proving their technology matches EF systems in quality control and can genuinely build professional and consumer confidence.

Amorn stated that the real focus should be on steel purity and impurity levels in finished products, not furnace type, since highly pure steel directly impacts structural performance—particularly tensile strength, ductility, and elasticity. These properties are critical for withstanding natural disasters like earthquakes, where structures must flex and absorb energy without sudden failure. This is why the profession emphasizes steel quality control throughout production.

Moving forward, input from all stakeholders—steel manufacturers, academics, engineers, and industry—will shape the standard-setting process.

A woman is seeking justice after losing over 90,000 baht on what she thought were branded handbag purchases through a Facebook buying-and-selling group—only to open the package and find sour milk instead. More than 10 other victims have reported similar scams.

On July 2 at 3 p.m., the victim, identified as Gaem, shared her story with Ksad Online. She said the ordeal began in June when she spotted a seller advertising brand-name handbags in a handbag trading group at prices around 2,900 baht—significantly cheaper than retail. The seller provided photos and video clips, convincing her to transfer payment.

The seller then pressured her to buy more bags and directed her to contact a "sister" via Line, claiming to be the bag owner. This person video-called to show numerous handbags and even displayed real products, making the scheme appear legitimate. Gaem said she had searched the seller's background on Google before purchasing and found no complaints or fraud history. The seller also sent packages with their own name, increasing her confidence. She gradually transferred money for multiple bags, totaling over 90,000 baht in losses.

However, while waiting for delivery, Gaem grew suspicious as the seller kept pushing her to buy more while the handbags hadn't arrived. When the package finally came and she opened it, she found sour milk instead of handbags, leaving her in tears over losing her investment money.

When she immediately contacted the seller with photos of the sour milk package, the seller only denied scamming her and claimed to be waiting for funds to return the money—with no apology or explanation for the mismatch. Currently, Gaem can still reach the seller, but they claim they'll return the money gradually, which she refuses. She insists on getting her full amount back and has vowed to pursue legal action, believing many other victims remain without justice.

Gaem also revealed the perpetrator uses a real Facebook account with genuine activity under their own name, deceiving many people. Some other victims are afraid to come forward, fearing they won't get their money back, as the seller has threatened not to refund anyone who publicizes the case. Previously, the seller has only returned money in small installments of just a few hundred baht to some victims.

Gaem confirms she hasn't received a single baht back and has complete evidence including video clips of her opening the package, photos, and records of conversations and money transfers. She vows to pursue the case to its fullest extent.

An alarming case published in a Canadian medical journal has highlighted the dangers of bat contact. An 11-year-old Canadian boy died from rabies after waking to discover a bat clinging to his nose and mouth.

The incident occurred in 2024 when a family was vacationing at a cottage in Ontario, Canada. The boy brushed the bat away from his face, and his father caught it in a pot and released it outside. Since the child showed no bite or scratch marks and the bat appeared normal, the family did not seek medical attention.

However, 19 days later, the boy began experiencing facial numbness and swelling. Doctors initially suspected Bell's palsy or herpes simplex infection before his condition rapidly deteriorated.

While awaiting treatment, he developed high fever, difficulty swallowing, confusion, and visual hallucinations, eventually requiring a ventilator in pediatric intensive care. Doctors at the University of Manitoba suspected rabies, with subsequent tests confirming the diagnosis.

Canada's food inspection agency identified the strain as a bat-borne rabies virus. The boy died after 17 days of treatment.

Experts note that although rabies is rare in Canada with only 28 deaths recorded since 1924, the disease is nearly always fatal once symptoms appear. Therefore, any direct bat contact—whether bitten or not—warrants immediate rabies prevention treatment, as delayed care can be fatal.

On July 2, 2025, the Po Teck Tung Foundation, led by Surapong Techaruwijit, vice chairman and secretary-general, organized a ceremony to distribute occupational equipment to 32 poor households in Phang Nga province, valued at 792,955 baht. The foundation also donated 20 bicycles to two schools worth 25,800 baht, bringing the total assistance to 818,755 baht. The foundation's leadership team, including board members Surapong Seratpakdi, Nathaprom Jatusreepidak, Siriporn Krajangla, and Naorawat Wannsiri, oversaw the distribution alongside education and occupational promotion staff and community health units.

In addition to equipment distribution, the foundation deployed a mobile medical unit staffed by volunteer doctors, medical personnel, rescue teams, and volunteers to provide free general health examinations, eyeglasses, haircuts, and dental services. Entertainment activities for children and youth were also organized. Phang Nga Governor Pairat Petchyuwan chaired the ceremony, with Department of Community Development Director-General Sayam Sirimongkol as co-chair. Celebrity volunteers Sanya Wongphornnarayan (Kaeng) and Sodsai Rojnawich (Sodsai Rung Podhthong) also participated at the Nopbaring Subdistrict Administrative Organization meeting hall in Muang district, Phang Nga.

Vice Chairman Surapong Techaruwijit explained that this integrated poverty-reduction project represents phase four of the foundation's nationwide initiative. Previous phases covered 870 impoverished households across central, northern, and northeastern Thailand with equipment valued over 17 million baht. The foundation is now expanding to 14 southern provinces including Chumphon, Surat Thani, Ranong, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phang Nga, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Trang, Satun, Krabi, Phuket, Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat. Over its 116-year history, the Po Teck Tung Foundation has committed to its mission of "saving lives, preserving lives, and creating lives" by providing comprehensive charitable assistance regardless of ethnicity or religion.

On July 2, 2025, Surpong Intaracharoen, Secretary-General of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), announced that the NACC board has determined that former Phuket Governor Jamlearn Tiphapongthada committed criminal and disciplinary violations. The charges stem from his issuance of hotel business license No. 144/2559 on September 27, 2016, to a company without proper legal authorization.

According to investigation findings, the company submitted a hotel business application to Kathu District on September 3, 2014, for a project located within 50 meters of Phuket's coastline with slopes between 35-50 percent. These conditions required an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), but the company failed to submit one despite receiving three requests from the district office. The company only submitted a change of building use form without the mandatory EIA.

On September 27, 2016, before transferring to Nakhon Si Thammarat, Jamlearn rushed subordinates to present pending cases for his review. Though staff notes clearly documented the missing EIA approval, Jamlearn signed and issued the hotel license anyway, violating the Hotel Business Act B.E. 2547 and relevant environmental protection regulations for Phuket Province.

The NACC board determined that Jamlearn's actions constitute criminal violations under the Penal Code Section 157 and the Anti-Corruption Act, as well as serious disciplinary violations. The commission forwarded the case to the Attorney General for criminal prosecution and to his superior for disciplinary proceedings.

Dr. Jetsada Bunyavongvirooj, Deputy Director of Maha Racha Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital, issued a warning about H. pylori, a bacterial infection of the stomach, via his Facebook page on July 2, 2026.

Nearly half of Thailand's population may carry H. pylori in their stomachs, including himself. The doctor revealed he had tested positive for the bacterium and noted that the most frightening aspect isn't the infection itself, but the fact that he cannot determine where it came from.

Helicobacter pylori infection is reported to affect approximately 40-50% of the world's population, with rates potentially higher across many Asian countries. Simply put, one in every two people around you may have been infected, but many don't realize it.

Many people show no symptoms—no fever, no clear stomach pain, no apparent abnormality—yet the bacterium can gradually cause: - Chronic gastric inflammation - Stomach ulcers - Gastrointestinal bleeding - Increased risk of stomach cancer

When the doctor discovered his infection, his first question was: "Where did it come from?" Was it from papaya salad, undercooked meat, fermented seafood, shared glasses, or communal spoons? Or did he contract it in childhood? The answer was simply: "I don't know."

Often, we never discover when the infection entered our lives—it could have been a single meal, repeated daily habits, or an infection from childhood only recently detected. What the doctor learned is that while we cannot control the past, we can reduce future risk by following simple practices: - Don't share spoons - Don't share drinking glasses - Wash hands before eating - Choose clean restaurants - Avoid raw foods

These seem ordinary, yet these everyday practices are often the ones we overlook most. The doctor concludes with a question: If you tested positive for H. pylori today, would you know where it came from? For him, to this day, he still cannot answer.