Petrol, diesel pump prices cut/Bus Terminals to Stay/High-Speed Rail on Brink of Collapse/Belarusian model killed for organs by scammers/ECONOMY: Thai Restaurants ‘Struggling’/Nationwide Discount Drive/Food delivery apps compete/E-Commerce Surpasses Retail Sales/Energy measures to drive down prices/Bt100-billion hit from dispute with Cambodia/Crackdown on Koh Phangan & Koh Samui intensifies/Phuket eyes transport hub status/THAILAND EXPERIENCE: Isaan: What is this little-known region?/CLIMATE THAILAND: Communities at risk from Myanmar’s rare earth mines/FOREIGNERS BEHAVING BADLY/INTERNATIONAL/HUA HIN LINKS
Petrol, diesel pump prices cut
The energy minister yesterday ordered a reduction in pump prices of 50 satang per liter for diesel and 30 satang for all kinds of petrol, effective from 5am today.
The price of standard diesel will fall from 31.44 baht to 30.94 baht per liter. Retailers will decide whether to apply the cut to premium diesel. Continued …
Bangkok’s Major Bus Terminals to Stay, Relocation Scrapped
The Ministry of Transport has confirmed that Bangkok’s three main intercity bus terminals – Mo Chit 2, Ekkamai, and Sai Tai – will not relocate to Bang Sue Grand Station as previously considered. Instead, plans focus on enhancing the existing facilities and transport connectivity.
Transport Co. Managing Director, Atthawit Rakchamroon revealed that redevelopment plans for the Mo Chit 2 terminal are advancing. Situated on an 80-rai plot, the project has received a 39-million-baht budget for planning and design, with implementation expected to cost 3.6 billion baht. Continued …
High-Speed Rail Linking Thailand’s Three Airports on Brink of Collapse
Nearly six years after signing the public-private partnership (PPP) contract in October 2019, Thailand’s 224.5-billion-baht ($6.8 billion) high-speed rail project connecting Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi, and U-Tapao airports has made virtually no progress. The mega-project, a cornerstone of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), now teeters on the edge of collapse.
Asia Era One Co., which won the bid, has yet to meet the conditions required to obtain a notice to proceed (NTP) from the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), the project’s public partner. Development has stalled for nearly two years and 10 months, initially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Continued …
Belarusian model kidnapped from Bangkok, killed for organs by scammers in Myanmar
A young Belarusian model who traveled to Bangkok for a job interview on Sept. 20 was abducted and taken to a scam center in Myanmar where she was murdered and her organs sold, according to media reports.
According to these reports the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the incident involving Vera Kravtsova, 26, and is assisting the family through diplomatic channels. Her mother has reportedly negotiated with the scammers, who agreed to return her ashes without payment. She plans to travel to Myanmar to handle the remains. Continued …
Thai Restaurants ‘Struggling’, Pin Hopes on Government Subsidy Windfall
The Thai restaurant sector is facing a “tired” operational environment in 2025, according to the Thai Restaurant Assn., which is pinning its hopes on the government’s “Khon La Khrueng” (Half-Half) subsidy scheme to generate an economic “whirlwind” and drive growth.
Industry figures confirm that the restaurant business remains a key magnet for attracting footfall to shopping centers, with consumers viewing “eating out” as a personal reward or a special family occasion. Continued …
Commerce Ministry Launches Nationwide Discount Drive to Boost ‘Khon La Khrueng Plus’
The Thai Ministry of Commerce has mobilized over 90 local retail outlets nationwide to participate in a large-scale discount scheme, aiming to maximize the effectiveness of the government’s ‘Khon La Khrueng Plus’ subsidy program.
The nationwide sale, running from Nov. 1-15, will see prices cut by up to 60% on a wide range of essential and consumer goods. Continued …
Online food delivery apps compete over stimulus discounts
Thailand’s online food delivery war is expected to be reignited as Grab has launched new promotional campaigns and offered to cut its gross profit (GP) fee to 7%–9% for merchants in response to the “Khon La Khrueng Plus” co-payment scheme. The company has also spent 200 million baht on its promotional campaigns regarding the scheme.
Meanwhile, Line Man Wongnai has appointed Kanchai Kamnerdploy — a well-known Thai actor and news anchor — as the face of its campaign, and has offered a lower GP fee and spent 200 million baht on its marketing blitz. Continued …
Thailand’s E-Commerce Surpasses Traditional Retail Sales
Thailand’s e-commerce market is experiencing significant growth, even amid the current economic slowdown. Major players like Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok are driving an increase in spending, with key sectors such as essential goods, fashion, and cosmetics witnessing substantial sales. The sector is growing at an annual rate of 12%–15% as more consumers turn to digital shopping.
Southeast Asia’s e-commerce landscape has positioned Thailand as one of its largest markets. In 2024-2025, order volumes and gross merchandise value soared, contrasting sharply with a decline in traditional retail. The trend highlights a shift in consumer behavior driven by convenience, price comparisons, and promotional deals. Continued …
New energy measures to drive down prices
The government intends to reduce power prices to ease the cost of living and introduce energy measures for the country’s targeted industries.
Speaking after an economic ministers’ meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the talks had considered power-related measures under the Energy Ministry’s “Quick Big Win” plan. The aim is to finalize guidelines and implement methods to lower the cost of living for citizens, generate income for local communities, and prepare energy readiness for targeted industries that plan to invest in Thailand. Continued …
Thailand braces for Bt100-billion hit from dispute with Cambodia
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s government predicts losses could total 100 billion baht from disruptions to cross-border trade with Cambodia, after a longstanding territorial dispute erupted into armed conflict earlier this year.
Following the closure of border crossings between the two countries, Thai businesses have lost an estimated 15 billion baht per month, according to minutes of last week’s economic committee meeting. Total losses could reach 100 billion baht if the situation persists through the end of the year, the minutes showed. Continued …
Crackdown on foreign business abuses, ownership on Koh Phangan & Koh Samui intensifies
The deputy national police chief for Police Region 8, covering Surat Thani, Koh Phangan, and Koh Samui, has arrived from Bangkok. Sent by Royal Thai Police headquarters, Pornchai Khajornklin is reinforcing last week’s crackdown, now extended to agencies like the Land Department and the Department of Business Development (DBD).
This move signals an unprecedented top-down enforcement. The rules for doing business on Thailand’s prime investment islands have changed for good. The advantage again returns to local businesspeople and investors. Continued …
Phuket eyes transport hub status
The Transport Ministry is preparing to transform Phuket into the Andaman region’s main transport hub, aiming to make the island a model for logistics and mobility development across southern provinces.
Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn announced the plan yesterday during a high-level meeting to review nine major infrastructure projects worth a combined 130 billion baht. Continued …
Isaan: What is this little-known region of Thailand?
Isaan is the most mysterious, the most unknown, and the largest region in Thailand. Rich in a unique past, this agricultural land is bordered by the Mekong River, which separates it from Laos, and with which it shares a history, culture, and language. Far from the tourist beaches and bustling metropolises, Isaan offers an authentic Thailand with its temples, natural sites, gastronomy, and unique lifestyle. Video …
More Thai rivers and downstream communities at risk from Myanmar’s rare earth mines
New satellite data identified 513 sites of rare-earth mining that have cropped up across at least six key tributaries of the Mekong, Salween, and Irrawaddy rivers in Myanmar over the past 10 years. These include 40 believed to have opened this year alone, with the total marking a dramatic increase from previous estimates and suggesting the risk of transboundary river pollution is significantly higher than once thought.
The new data and analysis from nonprofit think tank the Stimson Center warns that the proliferation of unregulated mining operations in Myanmar, which are already having dire outcomes in northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces, could be worse for the region’s rivers than expected. Continued …
- Naked Foreigner Causes Chaos at Busy Pattaya Intersection – Continued …
- Russian Man Arrested for Illegal Vehicle Rentals on Koh Phangan – Continued …
- Japanese Tourists Accused of Harassing Pattaya Hairdresser – Continued …
AWS outage shakes digital world, sparks debate over cloud reliance
Amazon Web Services (AWS) suffered a major outage that rattled the stability of the digital world, disrupting over 2,000 global companies across sectors from social media and gaming to banking and education. The disruption stemmed from technical issues at the US-EAST-1 data center in Virginia, not a cyberattack. Continued …
Gold surges past $4,300 an ounce
Gold prices surged sharply above $4,300 per ounce yesterday, approaching all-time highs, driven by expectations that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates further and by ongoing demand for safe-haven assets. Investors are also closely watching the upcoming US-China trade negotiations and the release of US inflation data later this week. Continued …
US, Australia sign rare earths deal as Trump promises submarines
US President Donald Trump signed a deal on rare earth minerals yesterday with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and said Washington’s key ally would get its coveted nuclear-powered attack submarines. Continued …
Climate change, population growth threats as malaria fight stalls
The fight against malaria has stalled after two decades of progress, with climate change and population growth among factors threatening a resurgence of the potentially fatal disease, campaigners said today. Insufficient funding for increasingly costly prevention programs risked efforts against the mosquito-borne illness at a cost of hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of dollars, they said. Continued …
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