• Hua Hin Food Fest/Hua Hin developers on awards list/Krabi bridge to Koh Lanta/Thai-China rail stage/Thai-Cambodian border fence
• THE IRAN WAR: US threatens Iran’s business partners/What the US financial threats mean for China/Trump veers from boredom to denial/Fuel shock squeezes airlines
• ECONOMY: Tightening business-registration rules/Thailand’s economic situation/Global food-security pillar
• TOURISM: Thailand warns of visa revocations/Samui Israeli threat claims /Phuket Israeli tourist confrontation/Free Palestine flag sparks clash/Israeli embassy refuses letter
• THAILAND EXPERIENCE: UK family uses DTV
• CLIMATE THAILAND: U.S. aims to weaken global limits on plastic pollution
• FOREIGNERS BEHAVING BADLY/THAIS BEHAVING BADLY/INTERNATIONAL/U.S. demands in Canada tariff battle/HUA HIN TRANSPORT and LINKS 

Hua Hin Food Fest returns this weekend

Hua Hin Food Fest 2026 will return to Hua Don Beach in Khao Takiab Aug. 28-30, featuring local food, fresh seafood, cooking competitions and live entertainment. The three-day festival will bring together restaurants, hotels and food businesses from Hua Hin and Cha-am, giving visitors the opportunity to sample regional dishes beside the beach.

The program will include live cooking demonstrations, concerts and other entertainment. Popular artists are scheduled to perform during the festival, with admission to the concerts free. Continued … 

 

Hua Hin developers on property awards list

PropertyGuru Group has announced the shortlisted nominees for the 21st PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards, identifying the kingdom’s leading real estate companies ahead of the black-tie gala celebration at Dusit Thani Bangkok on Sept. 18. The shortlist represents a broad cross-section of Thailand’s property sector, with recognition extending from Bangkok to Phuket, the Eastern Seaboard, Hua Hin, and southern Thailand.

Presented under the theme “Defined by Excellence,” the 2026 PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards program spans approximately 60 categories, recognizing achievements across residential, commercial, hospitality, and mixed-use property, as well as master-planning, architecture, interior design, landscape design, and sustainable development. Continued … 

Krabi bridge to Koh Lanta set for 2029 opening

Thailand’s Rural Roads Department is due to sign a construction contract on Aug. 31 for a bridge linking Koh Lanta with the Krabi mainland. The project is scheduled to take 1,080 days, with the new crossing expected to open in 2029.

The bridge is intended to remove the present travel constraints caused by the vehicle ferry service between Koh Lanta and the mainland. Officials said it will support more than 10,000 vehicles a day when operational. Continued … 

Thai-China rail stage retains 2030 opening target

Thailand’s Transport Ministry is still aiming to open the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima high-speed railway in 2030, despite construction running 34.5 percentage points behind schedule.

The 250.77-kilometer first phase of the Thai-Chinese high-speed rail project has reached 56% completion, against planned cumulative progress of 90.5%, according to Kampol Boonchom, chief engineer for special projects and construction at the State Railway of Thailand (SRT). Continued … 

First phase of Thai-Cambodian border fence finished, Navy to start second

The first phase of a fence along the Thai-Cambodian border in Ban Laem, Pong Nam Ron district of Chanthaburi province has been completed, said the Thai Navy.

According to Rear Admiral Parach Rattanachaipan, a Thai Navy spokesman, the 1.3-kilometer section is 3.6 meters high. It was built using concrete topped with razor wire. Continued … 

US threatens Iran’s business partners in ‘Economic D-Day’ campaign

The United States has announced an expansion of sanctions against Iran in an effort to sever what it described as every economic lifeline sustaining the government in Tehran.

President Donald Trump’s administration hopes the intensified pressure will force Iran to end a conflict that has continued for almost six months, disrupted oil shipments and pushed up energy costs for the US and global economies. Continued … 

What the latest US financial threats against Iran mean for China

The United States has threatened Iran with what it calls “the greatest financial offensive ever marshaled,” with new sanctions targeting Tehran’s trading partners set to take effect yesterday. China, as the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, is a key focus of any effort to squeeze Tehran’s economy. Video … 

Trump veers from boredom to denial after six months of Iran war

At an impromptu press conference last week, US President Donald Trump waxed lyrical about his helipad, his ballroom and his granite paving stones. The one thing he barely mentioned? The Iran war.

Six months after launching what he expected to be a lightning offensive, Trump appears bored or even in denial about the conflict as it puts a drag on his second presidency. Continued … 

Fuel shock squeezes Southeast Asia’s budget airlines

Southeast Asia’s budget airlines are hoping the worst of the fuel-price shock triggered by the Middle East conflict has passed, but pressure on margins and household finances threatens to prolong the sector’s difficult recovery.

Recent quarterly results revealed the extent of the strain. Malaysia’s AirAsia and the Philippines’ Cebu Pacific reported net losses, while the operating loss at Singapore Airlines’ budget subsidiary Scoot nearly doubled. Continued … 

Thailand tightening business-registration rules on foreign nominee companies

Thailand’s Department of Business Development (DBD) has introduced new registration requirements aimed at closing loopholes that allow foreigners to control Thai companies through nominee shareholders. Order No. 2/2026 of the Office of the Central Company and Partnership Registration took effect on Aug. 1, and marks the latest step in a regulatory push that has been building steadily since the beginning of the year.

DBD Director-general Poonpong Naiyanapakorn explained the order sets stricter criteria and documentation requirements for both incorporating partnerships and limited companies and for amending their registrations. The stated goal is to verify that Thai investors genuinely fund and control the shares they hold, rather than acting as fronts for undisclosed foreign owners. Continued … 

NESDC reports on Thailand’s economic situation

Danucha Pichayanan, secretary-general of the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), briefed on Thailand’s social outlook for the second quarter of 2026 yesterday. He said key indicators had improved overall, particularly employment and the household debt-to-GDP ratio.

Employment continued to improve. The number of people in work stood at 41.5 million, up 5.1% from the same period in 2025. Employment rose in both the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, with construction recording the strongest growth. Continued … 

Northern Thailand cited as possible global food-security pillar

Northern Thailand could become a crucial pillar of global food security, as severe climate shocks, unpredictable weather and shifting trade patterns place unprecedented pressure on agricultural supplies worldwide.

A policy report by the Institute for Strategic Policy (ISP) examines how northern Thailand, which has more than 16 million rai of agricultural land, is using smart agricultural technology, sustainable farming practices and cross-border logistics to turn climate challenges into opportunities within global supply chains. Continued … 

Thailand warns of visa revocations over foreign tourist misconduct

Tourism in important economic areas such as Phuket province and Koh Samui is facing a new challenge. There have been reports that some groups of foreign tourists, particularly groups of Israeli tourists, behaved inappropriately and caused trouble and disruption after entering the areas.

The reported behavior has directly affected the tourism atmosphere, safety and the image of the local service sector, as efforts are made to elevate the areas into global destinations. Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul said the behavior was a matter of individual conduct and that the ministry would neither ignore the issue nor allow it to spread or escalate. Continued … 

Samui Exotic Park owner reports Israeli threat claims

The owner of Samui Exotic Park and her husband have filed a complaint with Thailand’s Crime Suppression Division, alleging that a group of Israeli tourists threatened them and said they would burn down the animal park on Koh Samui.

They said the alleged harassment had left them fearing for their safety, property and the animals in their care. The complaint follows a dispute in which the park reportedly refused to admit members of the group because of concerns over their behavior toward animals. Continued … 

Phuket tour seller explains Israeli tourist confrontation

A 24-year-old tour counter worker in Patong has given his account after a video of him confronting an Israeli tourist, telling him “This is Thailand, not your country”, spread widely on social media.

The confrontation happened outside a tour counter in Patong, Kathu district, Phuket. The footage shows an Israeli tourist near the counter before an argument develops with a Thai man, who appears angry and tells the visitor to leave. Continued … 

Shop olwner’s Free Palestine flag sparks clash with Israeli tourists

A mobile phone shop owner has spoken out after two Israeli tourists reportedly confronted him over a “Free Palestine” flag displayed outside his store, sparking a heated verbal exchange that was later shared widely online.

CCTV footage showed a foreign man and woman entering the shop. The pair appeared to notice the “Free Palestine” flag displayed at the front of the store and asked the shop owner about it. The conversation then became heated, with the two sides exchanging words before the tourists left the shop. Continued … 

Israeli embassy refuses letter from Thai nationalist group

A Thai nationalist group went to the Israeli Embassy in Thailand yesterday to submit a letter over alleged misconduct by Israeli tourists and residents, but embassy staff refused to accept it.

The Thai Intolerance Team, known in Thai as Thai Mai Thon (TMT), describes itself as a movement bringing together people from different professions under a “Thailand First” principle aimed at protecting national interests and Thai people within a constitutional democracy. Continued … 

UK family uses DTV for Thailand-based life

Ryan Blackley, 35, and his wife Jess, 34, left the UK for Chiang Mai with their sons Noah, six, and Bodhi, four, in February. The family now holds five-year Destination Thailand Visas and is using Thailand as a base for a longer period of travel across Asia.

The couple, originally from Cambridge, say they spend a rolling average of GBP1,800 a month for the four of them – about GBP60 a day – while traveling around Thailand. That compares with UK monthly costs they put at GBP2,296. Continued … 

Leaked memo shows how U.S. aims to weaken global limits on plastic pollution

A confidential US diplomatic memo, circulated to a handful of countries in late July, formally committed the United States to blocking binding limits on plastic production and chemical additives at United Nations treaty negotiations — a position that peer-reviewed lifecycle modeling published in January shows is the single most important intervention for reducing a global disease burden currently costing more than $1.5 trillion a year.

The Washington Post published independently on the memo’s contents yesterday, the same day Reuters confirmed its language. According to both outlets, the memo obtained by Reuters — dated July 25, 2026 and written ahead of an informal heads-of-delegation meeting in Nairobi — states that the US “will not support impractical global approaches such as plastic production targets or bans and restrictions on plastic additives or plastic products.” Continued … 

• Swedes held in Bangkok over alleged crimes and overstays – Continued … 

• Russian slaps Indian man in Pattaya parking row – Continued … 

• Thai woman loses 100,000 baht in Korean AI romance scam – Continued … 

• Chinese woman escapes alleged kidnappers in Thailand – Continued … 

• Norwegian, 77, robbed by taxi rider in Pattaya – Continued … 

U.S. demands in Canada tariff battle

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