Leaving the congested streets of Chiang Mai, winding gray roads lead to Lai Kaew village in Doi Tao District, Chiang Mai Province. Towering mountains evoke memories of highland ethnic communities who once lived self-sufficiently through rice farming and natural resources in traditional ways. Stories tell of self-reliant settlements supporting people displaced from their original settlements. As communities relocated to reservoir edges, they found others already living there. Various ethnic groups historically inhabited the forest border between Tak and Chiang Mai provinces. The Karen Poi Plong people of Lai Kaew claim they never migrated from elsewhere but have lived here for generations. Yet they witnessed other communities flee unexpected flooding sixty years ago—something unimaginable at the time. Vivid memories from those who lived through it survive among elders aged 70-80. Today, improved roads, motorcycles, cars, and vans have reached the community, transforming traditional self-reliant economics into cash-dependent systems. The highlands are no longer isolated from the outside world. Residents adapting across generations now seek opportunities, capital, education, and personal development in the modern era. Entering Lai Kaew village feels dreamlike—a blend of traditional Karen Poi Plong heritage from sixty years ago mixed with efforts to adapt to contemporary life. The village is quiet, with occasional motorcycle engines cutting through the wind. Under elevated wooden houses, wooden cradles sway while elderly residents sit chewing betel nut and gossip about whose motorcycle just passed. A transistor radio hums from another house. Women aged 70-80 astound visitors wearing traditional Karen Poi Plong dress—zigzag patterned graphic shirts and intricately patterned indigo skirts in beautiful colors, adorned with dozens of bracelets covering both arms, shoulder bracelets, silver and brass bracelets with dangling charms like those popular among young city women. Some grandmothers wear tattoos of flowers and geometric patterns on their arms and calves, looking remarkably stylish. "Long ago, tattoo artists rarely visited the village," explains 86-year-old Pud Hongkuo while spinning cotton thread into tennis-ball-sized balls for the next weaving stage. "Men would get full-body tattoos, with their legs completely tattooed black like wearing shorts—that was considered cool. After the men finished, women would ask for tattoos too. Usually the artist would do it free since he'd already been paid by the men. It wasn't cheap." Pud isn't fully retired yet, still helping with fabric weaving and making cotton balls despite her eyesight declining. "These days I don't weave anymore, my eyes aren't good enough."

Tottenham Hotspur has completed the signing of 21-year-old Portuguese midfielder Matheus Fernandes from West Ham United for approximately £85 million. Fernandes showed his quality in the Premier League over two seasons with Southampton and West Ham before deciding to leave the Hammers, who have been relegated to the Championship next season. Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi stated: "I have admired Matheus for a long time because he combines quality on the ball with intensity and intelligence, which are crucial to how we want to play." De Zerbi continued: "Although he is young, he already has good Premier League experience and has shown quality and consistency at this level. Matheus handles pressure well, can drive the ball forward, works hard for the team, and has the courage to make things happen in difficult situations." Fernandes expressed his excitement about the move, saying: "I am very excited about this next step. Spurs is a great club, and the manager was a key factor in my decision to join the team."

At 1:30 p.m. on July 2, traffic police from Khlong Khlung Station in Kamphaeng Phet received a report of a pickup truck running a red light and striking a motorcycle in Kamphaeng Phet city. Around 1:00 p.m., emergency services had reported that a vegetable-laden pickup truck ran a red light at Nakhon Chum intersection on Pholyothin Road, then collided with a sidecar motorcycle. The motorcyclist, Weerapong, 61, sustained serious injuries. Dashboard camera footage from the opposite vehicle captured the incident.

Police coordinated with local traffic officers to intercept the vehicle at a U-turn near Khlong Khlung Service Station, kilometer 418, Khlong Khlung subdistrict, about 45 kilometers from the collision site. The white Isuzu D-Max pickup, bearing Chiang Mai license plate, was driven by Sai Lerd, 25, a Myanmar national.

The truck was loaded with over two tons of cucumber and 40 green sacks containing methamphetamine pills. Each sack held 200,000 pills, totaling 8 million pills worth approximately 500 million baht. The driver was taken into custody for further investigation. He initially claimed he was hired to drive from northern Thailand but fled after the collision before being apprehended.

Paris is gripped by a severe, prolonged heat wave causing dangerously high temperatures across the city and disrupting daily life. Thousands of residents have flocked to an IKEA store in Paris to escape the heat, inadvertently transforming the furniture showroom into a temporary shelter. Inside, people are resting on display beds, sofas, and chairs, while others sit quietly chatting or using their phones to cool off indoors away from the scorching temperatures. The scene inside the store has taken on a surreal quality, resembling a temporary refuge center more than a retail outlet, with many people taking short naps while waiting for the peak heat to pass. Videos of the situation have spread rapidly on social media, with many viewing it as a clever heat management strategy, while others joke that IKEA has become the city's most popular heat escape destination. One online user commented, "This is no longer just a furniture store—it's become the coolest and most comfortable place in the city right now." This situation unfolds as France faces one of its most severe heat waves in years, with temperatures far exceeding seasonal averages and persisting for multiple consecutive days. Health officials report the current heat wave is linked to approximately 1,000 excess deaths above normal levels, primarily among elderly residents, and warn that figures could rise further if temperatures do not decrease soon.

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.