General Decha Hemguraksa announced that the Chinese Cycling Association's chairman confirmed sending Balance Bike athletes to the Asian Balance Bike Championship in Thailand in 2027, contingent on approval from the ACC Management meeting. The second round of Thailand's national Balance Bike championship was held on July 5, 2025 at Kamalasai Sports Park (FBT) on Suwinthawong Road in Bangkok's Nong Chok district. General Decha, serving as vice president of the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC) and president of Thailand's cycling federation, presided over the opening ceremony alongside Kamal-Nang Paveena Chokpaibulkit, chairman of Thai Football Factory Sports Goods Company, and cycling association board members. The event was livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube TCA Channel, attracting over 10,000 viewers.

General Decha explained that this second round features a racing format over 300 meters, allowing athletes to demonstrate speed and cornering skills—different from the first round in Phichit, which featured a pump-track with wave terrain. Both formats provide foundational skills for children to progress to BMX racing. Parents largely praised the layout and spacious venue of this second round compared to previous competitions.

Rounds three and four, scheduled for July 19 and August 4 respectively, will be held at Central Korat shopping mall in Nakhon Ratchasima in an indoor, air-conditioned racing format with carpet flooring. Each round features variations in course design approved by the association's technical committee based on parent feedback.

General Decha further disclosed that during his June 26 meeting with Sun Wei Min, chairman of the Chinese Cycling Association (CCA), to strengthen bilateral cycling sports cooperation, he requested China send Balance Bike athletes to next year's Asian Balance Bike Championship. Dato' Amachit Singh Gill, ACC president, approved hosting the championship in Thailand again in 2027, pending ratification at the ACC Management 2026 meeting on August 6 in Nilai, Malaysia. The meeting is expected to approve Thailand as host. Sun Wei Min confirmed China will definitely send Balance Bike athletes, as the sport is hugely popular in China with thousands of competitors, though this year's tight June 6-7 schedule prevented their participation. Athletes from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other nations are also expected to participate, with approximately 15 countries anticipated.

The Puree Heart Foundation partnered with the Citizen Station program on Thai PBS to distribute wheelchairs to children with cerebral palsy and patients confined to bed following accidents, helping alleviate their daily hardships and reducing financial burden on families.

On July 5, 2026, Theerarat Navamawat, chairman of the Puree Heart Foundation, and the Citizen Station team visited Bang Pu Mai subdistrict in Samut Prakan province to present a wheelchair to seven-year-old Satakun Nitayachit, who suffers from cerebral palsy and muscle weakness. The boy is cared for by his grandmother Radamani Chanthop, who lacked the financial means to acquire mobility assistance equipment. The family had appealed through the Citizen Station program, which then coordinated with the foundation to deliver the wheelchair.

The team also visited Pravet district in Bangkok to present a wheelchair to 41-year-old Wandee Phanbua, who became bedridden after a car accident last June. She was previously the family's main financial support but can no longer work. She is cared for by her 75-year-old mother Duen Srimon and 19-year-old son Thanwa Naksikhaew. The wheelchair donation will facilitate her mobility, access to medical care, and daily living activities while easing the family's burden.

The foundation's chairman stated that providing opportunities to vulnerable patients improves quality of life in society, particularly those with mobility needs whether for medical appointments or daily tasks. The foundation hopes these wheelchair donations will genuinely improve patients' lives and reduce family hardship.

The foundation remains committed to enhancing quality of life for all members of society through charitable projects and collaboration with all sectors to ensure assistance reaches those most in need.

Iran's top officials and brothers of the country's new supreme leader emerged into public view Sunday to attend funeral prayers for the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, signaling a new confidence in their safety as calls grew for the killing of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Their presence before hundreds of thousands of people in the capital Tehran would have been unthinkable during the Iran war, which saw airstrikes on February 28 kill the 86-year-old Khamenei, his family members and other officials.

Israel also targeted others who appeared publicly during the war, in at least one case likely using their public appearance to fix their position for a strike.

But still unseen was Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father. Israel has threatened to kill him as well as he leads a theocracy now negotiating with the United States over a permanent end to the war and over Iran's control of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which affects global energy supplies.

Ziba Naderi, a 42-year-old nurse attending the funeral Sunday, said Iran needed to follow whatever Mojtaba Khamenei commands regarding the nation. "I heard the call for revenge, but our leader should say what we need to do," she said. "And we must listen to him."

Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani, a 97-year-old Shiite cleric, led the prayers at Tehran's Grand Mosalla for Khamenei and his late family members.

On hand were Khamenei's sons Masoud, Meysam and Mostafa, who haven't been seen since the war. Revolutionary Guard head General Ahmad Vahidi, who had only been photographed for the first time since the war on Thursday, could be seen in the crowd by Associated Press journalists, flanked by plainclothes security forces as he wore a black baseball cap.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Esmail Qaani, who leads the Guard's expeditionary Quds Force, also attended.

Their appearances came as posters and graffiti at the Grand Mosalla called for the killing of Trump and Israeli leaders.

Former South Korean national team player Park Ji-sung has been appointed chairman of South Korea's football reform committee following the country's first-round elimination from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The failure has become a national-level issue, with President Yoon Suk-yeol publicly criticizing the patronage system. Many have directed blame at coach Hong Myung-bo, who was appointed without a proper selection process.

South Korea has now established the "K-Football Innovation Committee," co-chaired by Park Ji-sung, a former Manchester United player, and Chae Hoi-young, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The committee also includes Yu Sung-min, chairman of the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee; Kim Sung-hee, KFA executive director; and former national team players Lee Young-pyo, ex-Tottenham defender, and Park Joo-ho, ex-Borussia Dortmund player.

The committee's mission is to find solutions and implement measures to enhance South Korea's football competitiveness on the global stage. Its scope covers football governance, youth player development, and the application of cutting-edge technology.

"With this committee, we will work to set a new direction for Korean football and create a sustainable future for growth," Park Ji-sung said in a statement released by the ministry.

On July 5, 2569, relatives held a merit-making ceremony for Kaunkham, 64, in Kham Thao District, Nakhon Phanom Province, after he died following an attack by a swarm of wasps while mushroom foraging in a eucalyptus forest.

His wife, Ahwon, 62, recounted that on the afternoon of July 4, her husband invited her to pick mushrooms in a local forest to prepare for dinner, after learning mushrooms were freshly sprouted and others had collected many. While foraging, she urged her husband to return home, but he wandered into the grass. He then called her over to show wounds on his back, saying something had bitten him.

She saw him run from the forest, emphasizing he had been stung by wasps. Upon removing his shirt, she found one large black wasp and multiple stings on his buttocks, waist, right shoulder, eyebrows, and tail area—approximately 10 total. As they left the forest, he developed severe headache and became weak. She rushed him home on a motorcycle, but he deteriorated en route, likely due to the wasp venom combined with his pre-existing high blood pressure condition. After calling for emergency medical response, he was rushed to Nakhon Phanom Hospital but died in transit.

The coroner determined death was caused by heart failure resulting from wasp venom poisoning, compounded by his hypertension. Former village headman Sompraseang La-ba recounted meeting Kaunkham as he emerged from the forest; Kaunkham had mentioned being stung but they initially dismissed it as mosquito bites due to their prevalence. Within 30 minutes, Kaunkham was dead. Local authorities plan to send villagers in protective gear to locate and destroy wasp nests in the area, as several residents have been stung previously and the forest remains a popular foraging spot.

Monday, July 6, 2026 commemorates the 96th birth anniversary of Phra Ratchasarsopon (Wisit Athipanyo), former provincial sangha leader of Trang from 1998-2008 and former abbot of Wat Chomtri in Na Yoong District, Trang. Born as Wisit Putthanavol on July 6, 1930, in Na Yoong Subdistrict, he completed primary education at age 13 before ordaining as a monk on July 17, 1943, at Wat Chomtri. He excelled in Buddhist studies, earning advanced religious credentials from 1947 onwards and becoming a Dharma teacher at various Buddhist schools.

Throughout his monastic career, he distinguished himself as a Buddhist educator and Dharma ambassador. He taught Pali and Dharma studies at Wat Kuhasworn School in Phatthalung Province and established a Dharma curriculum at Wat Chomtri in Trang from 1967. He served as the 9th Dharma Messenger for Trang from 1968, coordinating public religious outreach and delivering sermons through Thai radio and television stations.

As administrator, he held increasingly senior positions within the sangha hierarchy, becoming deputy district sangha leader in 1973, district sangha leader in 1979, and provincial sangha leader of Trang in 1983. He received multiple royal titles recognizing his contributions to Buddhist studies and monastic leadership. Beyond institutional roles, he established 52 community learning centers and coordinated Dharma missions to remote areas, personally training monks to teach ethics and morality in schools throughout Trang Province. He remained an active Dharma teacher and advisor until his retirement from the provincial sangha leadership in 1995.