Yala Province is preparing to host its 2025 Fruit and Local Goods Festival from August 4–6, 2025 at Chang Phueak Field in Yala Municipality. The event will provide farmers and producers a platform to sell agricultural products, livestock goods, OTOP items, and local specialties, while boosting the province's image, stimulating the economy, promoting tourism, and enhancing community well-being.

On July 8, 2025, Vice Governor Amnuay Chutong and Vice Governor Muhammad Santipimuek, along with government officials and related agencies, held a preparatory meeting at Yala Provincial Hall to coordinate implementation of the event.

Vice Governor Amnuay Chutong said the festival aims to help farmers market agricultural products, expand sales channels for fruits and livestock products, and promote community goods while showcasing Yala's potential as a quality fruit producer and source of distinctive southern border products.

Activities will include exhibitions from the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives under the theme "Innovation, Energy Efficiency, and Sustainable Agriculture Development for Yala," durian tastings, agricultural product competitions, native and Betong chicken contests, fruit and agricultural product sales, OTOP demonstrations, and product competitions from all eight districts of Yala. Cultural performances and stage shows will be held throughout the festival.

Yala Province will hold a press conference on July 21, 2025 at the Provincial Agriculture Office to publicize details and invite the public, tourists, and interested parties to participate. The event is expected to generate income for farmers and businesses while stimulating the local economy.

The cabinet has approved Thailand's 2566-2570 (2023-2027) fisheries management policy and plan, establishing a comprehensive framework to develop the entire Thai fishing sector. The plan targets the restoration of aquatic resources, elimination of illegal fishing practices, advancement of fisher and operator capabilities, and increased competitiveness of the Thai fishing industry to ensure food security and sustainable resource use.

Deputy Government Spokesperson Pattharadarsami Tongsluaikorn announced that the cabinet approved the fisheries management policy and plan proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. This five-year framework will guide Thailand's fisheries management and development in alignment with resource conditions, economic factors, environmental concerns, and international trade regulations, while promoting balanced and sustainable growth in the fishing sector.

The spokesperson noted that Thailand's fishing sector is crucial to national food security and economic stability, yet faces significant challenges including declining aquatic resources, climate change impacts, illegal fishing (IUU Fishing), and international trade standards. The government established this policy and plan to direct comprehensive development of the entire fishing system—from resource conservation and fishing management to aquaculture and downstream industry development.

The plan operates through four strategies and 18 tactical approaches covering aquatic resource conservation and ecosystem restoration, sustainable fisheries resource management, enhancement of fisher and operator capabilities, product standard development, technology and innovation promotion, and value-addition to fishing products. These measures aim to strengthen Thailand's fishing industry competitiveness in global markets.

Deputy Spokesperson Pattharadarsami stated that approval of this policy will serve as a critical mechanism to balance resource utilization and conservation while improving fishers' quality of life, increasing fishing industry value, and building international confidence in Thai fishing products. The sector is positioned to become a sustained driver of Thailand's economic growth.

On July 21, 2569, the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road issued its judgment against defendant Prasit Chiaowkok and others, who were accused of helping another defendant escape during court proceedings. Prasit Chiaowkok was sentenced to 4 years and 12 months imprisonment. According to the court's findings, on December 22, 2565, the defendants conspired to steal an ankle monitor key from the Central Klong Prem Prison, a government facility operated by the Department of Corrections. The defendants planned and coordinated their actions: they obtained the key, provided civilian clothes (a blue short-sleeved shirt, jeans, socks, and shoes), and supplied 11,000 baht in cash to the escaping defendant. That same day at midday, the defendant requested permission to use the men's restroom on the ninth floor of the courtroom, then used the stolen key to remove the ankle monitor, changed into the provided clothes, and fled down to the third floor. The defendant was later apprehended the same day, and the provided clothing was recovered.

Call center gangs and cross-border scammers have quietly drained Thai wallets for years, pushing total fraud losses to a national crisis level. But mid-2025 brought encouraging news when Thailand's Ministry of Digital Economy for Society revealed that scam damages fell significantly over four months, with a little-known law proving to be the breakthrough weapon: the "2025 Decree on Disclosure of Personal Information Held by State Agencies to Other State Agencies."

The decree took effect on June 30, 2025, after royal gazette publication on June 29. Its core purpose is to require state agencies to share personal data they hold with other state agencies upon request, enabling faster electronic cross-linking of information to serve the public. Previously, citizen data scattered across police, tax authorities, customs, and business development agencies sat trapped in separate "silos," forcing investigators to navigate slow bureaucratic channels to trace suspects' financial movements. The new law unlocked rapid data-sharing between agencies.

Digital Economy Minister Chaiyachanok Chidchob announced that his ministry has already integrated data with five major agencies: the National Police Office, the Special Cases Investigation Department (DSI), the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the Bank of Thailand, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Acting under anti-cybercrime powers, these agencies now access bank account data linked to scammer networks.

Results are striking: scam losses in June 2025 dropped to around 530 million baht, down from 2.111 billion baht in March 2025—a 1.581 billion baht decline, or roughly 75%, in just four months. When the decree reaches full implementation, the minister said, it will enable even broader data-linking across government, giving authorities a complete money-trail picture and faster victim restitution.

Most scam bases operate outside Thailand, scattered along borders with Myanmar and in special economic zones in Laos, backed by gray-market Chinese funding networks. National Police data show that since launching an online complaint system in March 2021 through September 2024, over one million online fraud cases have been reported, with cumulative losses exceeding 100 billion baht. Early 2025 saw major crackdowns in gray zones along the border, forcing call centers to repeatedly relocate—a "whack-a-mole" pattern rather than root-cause fixes, even as the private sector grapples with fallout.

The Deputy Permanent Secretary issued a stern warning before the local government employee examination across five regional test centers in five regions, vowing to block all exam fraud and urging candidates not to fall for broker scams claiming to sell positions. Nirat Pongsitthawatr, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior and acting director of the Department of Local Administration, announced on July 21 that on July 26 the department will hold a local government employee examination for administrative positions across five test centers in five regions: Chiang Mai, Udon Thani-Khon Kaen, Pathum Thani, Chon Buri, and Nakhon Si Thammarat, with 37,359 candidates registered. Thammasat University will oversee the examination. The Department of Local Administration will enforce the strictest anti-fraud measures and asked all candidates to have confidence in their own abilities and never believe, pay, or engage in any score-buying schemes—anyone approached will be defrauded 100%. Those who encounter or are approached by anyone attempting to facilitate or commit fraud should immediately report evidence to the Department of Local Administration at the Local Ombudsman Center (02-2419014), the Royal Thai Police, or the National Anti-Corruption Commission, with assurance that all information provided will be kept strictly confidential.

The Thai Cabinet has approved enhanced tax incentives to support social enterprises (SE), expanding tax deduction rights to both individuals and juristic persons through the e-Donation system and doubling deduction benefits for donations to social enterprise promotion funds. The measure aims to encourage private sector and public participation in supporting social enterprises that address social and environmental problems, develop communities, and create employment for vulnerable groups.

On July 21, Deputy Government Spokesperson Lalida Periwattana revealed that the Cabinet approved a draft royal decree amending the Revenue Code to extend and increase tax benefits for social enterprise supporters through the Revenue Department's e-Donation system, while easing criteria for accessing these benefits.

The measure targets ongoing public and business support for social enterprises, enabling them to tackle social and environmental issues, develop communities, and create more jobs for vulnerable groups. Key provisions include extending tax deduction rights for donations to social enterprises to cover both individuals and juristic persons at a 1x deduction rate via e-Donation from January 1, 2567 onwards with no end date, replacing the previous restriction to juristic persons only until December 31, 2566. Additionally, donations to social enterprise promotion funds will receive a doubled 2x deduction from January 1, 2567 to December 31, 2571. Tax exemptions for income tax, VAT, specific business tax, and stamp duty on property transfers to social enterprises are extended indefinitely from January 1, 2567. The draft also relaxes registration procedures with flexible timelines to help entrepreneurs access benefits more easily.

The Deputy Spokesperson noted that social enterprises currently employ over 11,500 people, including more than 6,600 from vulnerable groups. This tax measure provides additional incentive for the private sector and public to support social enterprises, facilitating business expansion and employment opportunities. The government views the improvement as crucial to sustained social enterprise development, vulnerable group employment, and community development aligned with UN sustainable development goals.