- Tree planting along soi 112/Weight-loss programs/Thailand faces heavier rain/5 Laos cave survivors
- THE IRAN WAR: The Iran Uranium Problem/Draft US-Iran framework/The Endless Almost-Deal
- ECONOMY: Worsening ‘affordability crisis’/Winners in new stimulus scheme/Energy shift said key/Housing outlook still fragile/Fresh US tariff measures/Pig farmers squeezed
- TOURISM: Suvarnabhumi steps up Ebola screening/Phuket steps up Ebola virus fight/ASEAN travel demand remains strong/Shake-up of short-haul markets/What digital nomads seek
- THAILAND EXPERIENCE: Phuket’s Banana Beach
- CLIMATE THAILAND: Green buildings no luxury add-on
- FOREIGNERS BEHAVING BADLY/INTERNATIONAL/HUA HIN TRANSPORT and LINKS
Hua Hin plans massive tree planting along soi 112
Hua Hin City Municipality has started planting 10,000 bougainvillea trees along Soi 112 as part of a project to add more color to one of the city’s key routes. The planting is taking place on the central reservation of the road in Ban Hua Na, covering a distance of about 1.5 kilometers.
Yesterday, Hua Hin Mayor Nopporn Wutthikul, Municipal Council Chairman Cheep Suksee, Municipal Clerk Jeerawat Pramanee, the director of the Engineering Division, and municipal council members visited the site to take part in the planting. Continued …
What to look for in a weight-loss program
If you have spent any time researching weight loss camp in Thailand, you have probably noticed that the options range widely. Some are fitness retreats with Muay Thai and green smoothies. Others are medical programs with clinical staff and blood tests every week. A few are somewhere in between.
Knowing what actually separates a program worth the trip from one that wastes your time and money takes a bit of digging. A lot of people arrive expecting to be shouted at by a trainer at 5am. The programs that produce lasting results tend to work differently. Continued …
Thailand faces heavier rain as monsoon strengthens
Thailand is set for more unsettled weather over the next 24 hours, with heavier rain expected in parts of the north, east, and south as the southwest monsoon strengthens over the Andaman Sea, Thailand and the Gulf of Thailand.
On the south’s east coast, thunderstorms are forecast over 60% of the area, with heavy rain in Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Surat Thani, and Nakhon Si Thammarat. Temperatures are expected to range from 23-25C to 33-36C. Continued …
Treacherous rescue still awaits Laos cave survivors
Rescuers say they are elated to have found survivors who have been trapped in a flooded cave in Laos for a week but caution that it will be difficult to extract them. Five people were found alive yesterday afternoon and rescuers are searching for two others who remain missing.
The group of seven, who entered the cave in search of gold, were stranded after torrential rain flooded the cave and blocked the entrance with gravel and dirt. Rescuers said they had reached five of them who were trapped about 300 meters from the cave’s entrance. Continued …
Trump Can’t Solve The Iran Uranium Problem He Created
Three months into his “four to five week” war, US President Donald Trump appears no closer to solving his purported goal of forcing Iran to give up its highly enriched uranium, a problem he himself created when he withdrew from the nuclear agreement negotiated by predecessor Barack Obama.
“They want very much to make a deal,” Trump said again at a White House Cabinet meeting photo opportunity yesterday. “But their navy is gone, as I’ve said a thousand times, their navy is gone, their air force is gone, everything’s gone, and they’re negotiating on fumes. But we’ll see what happens. Maybe we have to go back and finish it.” Continued …
Draft US-Iran framework could restore Hormuz shipping within a month
Iranian state television reported that it had received an unofficial draft preliminary framework of understanding between Iran and the United States aimed at ending the continuing conflict, with one key element being the restoration of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within one month.
Under the draft agreement, Iran would reopen commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic global energy route, while the United States would withdraw military forces from areas near Iran and lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports. Continued …
The Endless Almost-Deal in Iran
After President Trump’s weekend talk of an agreement with Iran, the past 36 hours have seen a flurry of military activity in the Middle East. On Monday, the United States launched a series of “self-defense” strikes on sites in southern Iran, sinking two boats that were laying mines. The move prompted Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to vow retaliation for what it called a “grave violation” of the ceasefire in a war now nearing its fourth month.
And all of this is only the latest twist in a conflict that seems to change shape with every passing moment — often because of a social media post by the president himself. Continued …
Worsening ‘affordability crisis’ looms
An affordability crisis is approaching due to rising costs, says Vice Minister of Finance Santitarn Sathirathai, while urging all sectors to adapt to the challenges ahead.
For decades, the world prioritized low-cost production, just-in-time supply chains, and deep global integration. While this created enormous economic gains, it also produced hidden fragilities. The same networks that once accelerated prosperity are now transmitting shocks faster, further, and more intensely, he said. Continued …
Analysts pinpoint winners in new stimulus scheme
Analysts are highlighting retail and consumer stocks as the major beneficiaries of Thailand’s latest consumer stimulus program called “Thai Chuay Thai Plus”, which is expected to provide short-term support for domestic consumption to stabilize the economy.
The co-payment stimulus runs from June 1 to Sept. 30 and covers 43.2 million eligible recipients, including 30 million participants under the standard program plus 13.2 million state welfare cardholders. Continued …
Energy shift said key to Thai economy growth
The energy transition is a game-changer for the economy, says Amonthep Chawla, executive vice president and head of the research office at CIMB Thai Bank.
Speaking at the Bangkok Post Economic Forum 2026 under the theme “Resilience, Sustainability, and Opportunities: Thailand’s Path of Future Growth”, he said persistent conflicts in the Middle East have triggered an energy crisis affecting Thailand and many countries worldwide. Continued …
Housing demand recovering but outlook still fragile
Thailand’s housing market showed signs of recovery inthe first quarter of 2026, the Government Housing Bank said on yesterday, with transaction volumes rising amid government stimulus even as gains in value lagged, underscoring weak purchasing power.
The outlook remains fragile, with rising energy costs linked to the Middle East war, soft domestic demand, and a pullback in foreign buying expected to weigh on the sector through the rest of the year, the state-owned lender said. Continued …
Thai exports still exposed to fresh US tariff measures
Thailand’s exports to the United States remain exposed to renewed tariff pressure despite a recent decline in effective US import duties, as Washington is likely to deploy other trade measures, including Section 301 investigations, the National Economic and Social Development Council has warned.
The NESDC said US trade policy remained uncertain and that the US government could invoke additional legal tools to impose higher import tariffs in the next phase. The agency identified Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 as a key risk for Thailand, amid US scrutiny of several trading partners, including Thailand. Continued …
Pig farmers squeezed as prices fall below cost despite demand rebound
Thai pig farmers are facing mounting losses as farm-gate prices continue to fall below production costs despite a recovery in pork consumption, prompting the National Swine Raisers Assn. to warn of possible market distortion from aggressive pork-shop competition and suspected external supply.
Kiattiphum Pruksawan, secretary-general of the National Swine Raisers Assn., said the association had raised its concerns with the Department of Internal Trade during a meeting to monitor the pig price situation. Continued …
Suvarnabhumi steps up Ebola screening for arrivals from Congo, Uganda
The Department of Disease Control (DDC) has set up screening checkpoints at Suvarnabhumi Airport to monitor passengers arriving from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, following the Ministry of Public Health’s classification of both nations as dangerous communicable disease zones for Ebola.
Health officials began strict screenings on May 21 at the arrival gates. Passengers from the two African nations must submit health documentation to disease control officers before proceeding to immigration. Continued …
Phuket steps up Ebola virus fight
Authorities in Phuket have stepped up proactive disease-control measures to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus, while confirming no infections have been detected in the country so far. Eleven visitors from high-risk countries are being monitored.
Phuket Gov. Nirat Pongsitthavorn yesterday chaired an emergency meeting of the provincial committee on communicable disease. Officials from the provincial public health office attended to discuss surveillance, screening, and preparedness measures. Continued …
AirAsia MOVE says ASEAN travel demand remains strong
Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, country representative (Thailand) at AirAsia MOVE, said the overall Southeast Asian tourism market in 2026 was continuing to grow despite uncertainty in the global economy and geopolitical situation, particularly Middle East tensions affecting oil prices, aviation costs, and traveler confidence worldwide.
However, consumer travel demand in the region remained high, reflected in AirAsia MOVE’s travel insights for the first quarter of 2026, which found that travel within ASEAN remained central to the regional tourism market and a key driver of the tourism industry at present. Continued …
Tourism authorities plan shake-up of short-haul markets
Amid intense competition among Asian countries to attract the Chinese market, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is rolling out its “NEXT” marketing strategies for fiscal 2027 to reduce dependence on certain short-haul markets.
During the first four months of this year, Thailand, South Korea, and Vietnam attracted similar numbers of Chinese visitors, while tensions between Japan and China simmered. Even though Japan lost a significant number of Chinese tourists to other Asian rivals, posting a decline of more than 55% year-on-year, it still welcomed 1.4 million arrivals from the mainland, while arrivals surged from competitors such as South Korea, rising 22% to 3.93 million. Continued …
Digital nomads seek cities for longer, steadier stays
Over recent years, the idea of being a “digital nomad”, or a worker able to work from anywhere in the world, has moved from a niche lifestyle into a widely popular way of life, especially after remote work became normal in many industries around the world. But 2026 has reflected a significant shift in digital nomad culture.
People are no longer choosing destination cities solely for their beauty or low cost of living, but are starting to look for “cities suited to long-term living” in terms of business opportunities, quality of life, stability, and communities where they can build real networks. Continued …
Phuket’s Banana Beach Breaks Into the World’s Top 10
There is a stretch of sand on Phuket’s northwest coast that, not long ago, required a steep jungle trek through unmarked bush to reach. Today, Banana Beach sits at number six on the planet.
TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards: Best of the Best Beaches — a title reserved for fewer than one per cent of the platform’s eight million global listings — recognises only those destinations that receive an extraordinary volume of exceptional reviews over a twelve-month period. Continued …
Green buildings no luxury add-on
At our recent annual summit on building resilience held in Bangkok, I sat across the table from smart people making familiar arguments. The cost is too high. The market is not ready. The supply chain cannot support it. There is no regulation forcing the issue.
I have been hearing these arguments for 15 years working in this green building auditing profession. And every year, they become a little harder to defend with a straight face. Continued …
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Chinese Man Arrested as Illegal Guide in Phuket – Continued …
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Foreign Man Smashes Wheel Lock in Phuket – Continued …
Britain enters state of alarm after experiencing normal Bangkok afternoon
Britain was thrown into meteorological confusion Tuesday after temperatures reached 35 degrees Celsius, a temperature Thai people traditionally describe as “the walk from 7-Eleven to the motorbike.” The reading, recorded at London’s Kew Gardens and Heathrow Airport, broke a century-old spring temperature record for the second time in 24 hours. Continued …
Hua Hin Links and Transport
Calendar of events/Airport schedule/Bangkok airport bus schedule/Hua Hin-Pattaya bus schedule/Air pollution index map/90-day online report/driver’s license/Market Village and Bluport cinemas/Emergency numbers