A 65-year-old woman from Muban Saked Klang village in Pua district, Nan province, died after traveling down from Doi Saked to verify her identity and scan her face for state welfare benefits at the Agricultural Bank of Thailand branch in Pua on July 20. She collapsed while waiting in line in the afternoon and despite emergency responders' efforts to revive her, she died around 4:30 a.m. the following day. Her sister expressed the family's distress, saying the incident should never have occurred since the woman had already received her welfare card in a previous registration but was required to make the difficult journey down from the highland area to reconfirm her status.

The case has sparked broader concerns in the community. Neighbors report that many other residents who previously received welfare benefits have recently had them revoked—some simply because they had outstanding loans with the agricultural bank taken out to build homes, farm, or send children to school, while others lost benefits because their names appeared on vehicle registrations for old, deteriorated cars no longer in use. Residents from Doi Saked, most of whom own no private vehicles and must hire shared taxis at costs of 200 to 1,000 baht per trip to reach town, say they willingly bear these expenses to maintain their 300-baht monthly welfare benefit, which is essential to their livelihood.

Many residents are awaiting clarity on the welfare appeals process and are urging the government to expedite benefit restoration for eligible applicants and reform the system to better reflect the realities of life in remote areas, hoping to prevent further tragic losses.

The Ministry of Commerce announced the successful push to export fresh Thai durian to China, with shipments from January 1 to July 19, 2025 exceeding 1 million tons, valued at over 114.8 billion baht and surpassing targets faster than expected. The ministry will continue clearing southern durian supplies, expand foreign markets, and promote processing to increase value and create stable income for Thai farmers.

On July 21, 2025, Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Supa Juea Sutthamphand announced at Frankfurt Airport that exports of fresh Thai durian to China reached 1,000,763.66 tons, valued at approximately 114,818.15 billion baht, reflecting Chinese market confidence in Thai durian quality. This achievement resulted from integrated cooperation between government, private sector, and farmers in expanding markets and maintaining continuous quality standards.

"The ministry will continue pushing export volumes higher, particularly accelerating southern durian clearance currently hitting markets, while promoting processing to add value, create market alternatives, and boost farmer income," Supa Juea stated.

With 2025 Thai durian production up approximately 30 percent, the ministry tasked the International Trade Promotion Department with an intensive strategy in the Chinese market to expand trade channels and push fresh durian exports to no less than 1 million tons, a goal achieved faster than anticipated.

The Ministry of Commerce is also advancing comprehensive fruit management, linking domestic markets, expanding foreign markets, and increasing productivity through processing to enable Thai fruit to enter markets efficiently.

Dr. Nathpol Wongkiatjchorn, known as Dr. Jump, a cosmetic surgeon, shared medical advice on his Dr. Jump Facebook page regarding children and trampoline use. He warns that children under six should not be allowed on trampolines—a caution nearly 90 percent of parents overlook, mistakenly believing lighter bodies are safer. In reality, parents are mistaken.

Globally, many orthopedic surgeons treat injuries from trampolines because people assume they are soft play equipment where bouncing causes no harm. However, trampolines are actually giant springs that store and release enormous energy with each impact. Children under six lack the physical development to handle this; their shin bones are small and fragile, and when hit by uncontrollable rebound force, injuries can result.

More dangerous than the equipment itself is adult carelessness. Many parents jump alongside their children—a behavior with serious physical consequences. When a 70-kilogram parent bounces down on a trampoline with a 15-kilogram child, the impact depth increases dramatically, and all that adult energy transfers through the mat directly to the child's legs. The rebound force can feel as hard as concrete, causing the child to lose balance or fall.

Parents often think holding their child's hand tightly prevents injury, but holding hands does not protect the legs and can sometimes increase danger if a falling child is suddenly pulled by the arm. If parents take their children to trampolines, they must remember three rules:

1. Children under six should only watch, without exception. Explain directly that their bones are not strong enough and they can play when older. Ball pits or slides are better alternatives. 2. One child per trampoline mat. If your child is over six, one child per mat only—never bouncing with larger friends or with parents. If the area becomes crowded with older children, remove your child immediately. 3. Never attempt flips or backflips under any circumstances. Many children want to try tricks like rolling or backflips, but landing on the head risks serious injury.

Teach your child to jump up and down on both feet—that alone is fun and provides sufficient exercise. Trampolines are not bad equipment when children are old enough and parents understand the safety rules.

"Duty" may sound simple, but for Viriyah Insurance it has been the driving force behind the organization for nearly eight decades. Today, the company is sharing this core value with the broader public through a corporate image campaign titled "Steadfast in Duty for 79 Years."

Managing Director Amorn Tongtew stated: "The special aspect of this year's campaign is presenting a fresh perspective—not just promoting our image, but communicating to the public about Viriyah's role as a general insurance provider ready to stand alongside customers and Thai society in every situation over these 79 years."

To strengthen this concept, Viriyah partnered with creative agency Choojai and Friends, which brought creative thinking and sharp insights to develop the campaign strategy. The team started by studying Viriyah's past communications and consumer voices on social media, combined with interviews across all organizational levels to deeply understand company culture. Connected with the core philosophy "Fairness is policy"—a DNA passed down through generations—the team identified that "duty" as a general insurance company protecting and guaranteeing risks for Thai society represents Viriyah's true identity.

In the first quarter, Viriyah launched a pre-campaign titled "Be Encouragement for Your Duty," inviting people to share encouragement for various professions and roles in society such as doctors, nurses, street sweepers, and traffic police through the Viriyah Insurance Facebook page. These messages were then displayed on billboards at major Bangkok landmarks before the official campaign video launches.

The campaign video was directed by acclaimed filmmaker Atta Hemvadi from ATTAh FILM, known for advertising, music videos, and the recent film "Gohang: The Gohem Heart." Atta explained: "We wanted to tell a 'back to simple' story, where simplicity creates good feelings for viewers. We hope that when the advertisement reaches the public, they will truly understand Viriyah's intention to communicate with society."

The video narrative begins by asking viewers: "Is neglecting one's duty becoming normal in society?" before gradually drawing them into realistic scenarios that prompt self-reflection about their own roles, concluding with gratitude for people of virtue.

On July 21, 2025, SCB X Public Company Limited reported second-quarter net profit of 11.117 billion baht, a 9 percent increase from the previous quarter. The growth was supported by improved net interest income and significant gains from investment and trading activities, demonstrating the resilience of SCB X's diversified business model, which integrates traditional banking, digital financial services and retail lending, and platform and technology businesses to generate multiple revenue streams and balanced risk management in a declining interest rate environment. However, year-over-year profit declined 13.1 percent.

The bank reported net interest income of 27.306 billion baht, up 2 percent quarterly but down 10.2 percent year-over-year due to pressure on net interest margins following rate cuts in 2024-2025. Loan growth remained steady compared to year-end, reflecting prudent credit disbursement across the group. Diversified revenue sources helped offset the impact of lower rates, with fee and other income reaching 11.365 billion baht, up 14.8 percent year-over-year, driven by wealth management business growth through the SCB WEALTH by CardX credit card linking wealth services to daily spending and expanded global investment options via InnovestX. Investment and trading income stood at 2.552 billion baht, down 21.2 percent year-over-year but up significantly 349.1 percent quarter-over-quarter due to improved performance of the bank's investment portfolio.

Operating expenses totaled 17.042 billion baht, down 2.2 percent year-over-year, yielding a cost-to-income ratio of 41.3 percent, reflecting continued cost discipline through process optimization, resource management, expense restructuring aligned with business conditions, and deployment of artificial intelligence and automation across group operations amid revenue headwinds from lower rates.

The bank continues to provide targeted customer assistance through its "You Fight, We Help" program and debt restructuring for customers with recovery potential, while actively managing asset quality. The non-performing loan ratio improved to 3.17 percent at quarter-end from 3.23 percent in the previous quarter, with provisions down 5.3 percent year-over-year. The coverage ratio remained strong at 158.6 percent, and regulatory capital adequacy stood at a robust 18.6 percent.

A heartwarming story has emerged from Samut Songkhram province. Arun Kleuan Panthu, director of Samut Songkhram Technical College, organized a 2569 candle-offering project where departments brought candles to various temples and encouraged faculty and students to volunteer cleaning temple bathrooms before the ceremony.

On July 15, Ms. Ubonrat Gaeochchaichareongkit, a culinary and nutrition instructor, led students in cleaning bathrooms at Wat Inthaaram. She personally cleaned three bathrooms and offered prayers for good fortune as usual. The next day, when the government lottery drew on July 16, she discovered she had won the three-digit prize.

This morning, she brought flip-flops as an offering to Phra Metthi Watcharaprachathorn (Assoc. Prof. Dr. Luang Pho Daeng), the abbot of Wat Inthaaram, and volunteered to clean six additional bathrooms. She hopes the merit will help her win the first-prize six-digit jackpot this draw. Ms. Ubonrat explained that after the initial three-bathroom cleaning brought her the three-digit win, she realized the power of her actions. She even touched a turtle statue for luck and prayed to the 300-year-old Buddha image before the bathrooms. When she later found a broken shoe in the bathroom, she decided to offer new flip-flops to the temple.

She forgot she had bought a lottery ticket through the Pao Tang app until money suddenly appeared in her account the next day. Now, having cleaned three bathrooms successfully, she is doubling down by cleaning six more, hoping for a first-prize match. Ms. Ubonrat noted that while luck and coincidence play a role, the real value lies in performing good deeds with a pure heart and removing filth—both literal and spiritual. She encouraged the public to visit Wat Inthaaram during the long holidays to participate in merit-making activities.

Arun Kleuan Panthu, the college director, stated that the institution emphasizes promoting Buddhism among teachers, staff, and students through candle offerings and community service projects. This year, 19 candles were offered to various temples, with bathroom-cleaning activities designed to instill public consciousness, patience, and sacrifice for the common good. The symbolic connection between cleaning away filth and removing obstacles and negativity from one's life is central to the initiative.

Abbot Phra Metthi Watcharaprachathorn praised the volunteers, noting that cleaning temple bathrooms represents great merit-making. Bathrooms are centers of uncleanliness, and by scrubbing them clean, volunteers benefit users while also training their minds to purify greed, anger, and delusion—like planting seeds that yield their own fruit. Such good deeds become lasting blessings in one's life.