The Commerce Ministry has launched the Back to School 2026 program—"Start the Term with an Easy Budget"—in partnership with 49 private sector companies under the government's "Thai Helping Thai" policy to reduce the financial burden on parents during the school season. The initiative emphasizes affordable educational products through both offline and online channels nationwide.

The program includes over 1,000 products across multiple categories: apparel (school uniforms, shoes, socks), school supplies (stationery, office equipment, desks and chairs), and specialty items (eyeglasses and sports equipment), with discounts reaching up to 86%. This is projected to save Thai families approximately 300 million baht.

The 32-day campaign runs from April 30 to May 31, 2026, covering the period before and after the school term begins. Products will be sold through major retailers, department stores, and convenience stores participating in the program. Parents and the public can also purchase items through the E-Catalog online system by scanning QR codes to check product lists and place orders immediately.

The Commerce Ministry is also partnering with the Education Ministry to sell products directly in approximately 1,000 schools nationwide, prioritizing remote areas and schools where students lack access to these supplies. Distribution has already begun.

Krung Thai Bank has joined forces with PTTEP to launch digital USD bonds for everyday investors, with a minimum investment of just 1,000 US dollars and no upper limit. Ravintr Bunyanusat, head of the money and capital markets business at Krung Thai Bank, stated that on the occasion of the bank's 60th anniversary, it is committed to developing internationally-standard investment products and services that meet investors' needs across all dimensions. The bank is advancing investment capabilities through digital platforms by developing the USD Bond Wallet to broaden investment options for Thai people in US dollar-denominated assets, which currently attract significant investor interest. Thai investors can now conveniently access highly-credible digital USD bonds from Thai companies, with a secondary market supported by Krung Thai Bank operating 24/7 to enhance liquidity and investment management flexibility.

The digital USD bonds are being offered through the bond trading wallet on the Pao Tang app for the first time in Asia, giving Thai investors equal access to US dollar-denominated assets from companies with strong fundamentals and growth potential. This allows portfolio diversification and enhanced return opportunities with a minimum investment of 1,000 US dollars and no maximum limit. PTTEP's digital USD bonds have received a AAA credit rating with stable outlook from Tris Rating as of March 16, 2025—the highest rating available.

The bonds are unsubordinated, unsecured digital USD instruments with a 5-year maturity, a fixed interest rate of 4.50% per annum, and semi-annual interest payments. The offering is scheduled for May 18-21, 2025, exclusively through the bond trading wallet on Krung Thai Bank's Pao Tang app.

Prospective investors can prepare by: 1) Installing and registering the Pao Tang app; 2) Opening a bond trading wallet and completing a risk assessment; 3) Opening a foreign currency savings account with Krung Thai Bank or a Global Savings account on the Krungthai NEXT app and linking it to the bond trading wallet for interest and principal payments; 4) Exchanging USD into the Global Savings account to prepare for purchase.

Investors can exchange USD into their Global Savings account anytime across 24 hours and earn 2.25% annual interest while waiting to invest. Once invested in digital USD bonds, interest automatically transfers to the Global Savings account to sustain long-term investment growth. The company is currently submitting disclosure documents and a prospectus to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Investors can find more details at www.sec.or.th and www.krungthai.com or contact Krung Thai Bank at 02-111-1111.

On April 30, 2025, at the Sri Yanannot Conference Room, Building 1, Floor 2 of the Royal Thai Police Headquarters, Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anuthın Charnweerakul chaired the Police Commission's fourth meeting of 2025, attended by Police Chief General Kittithad Panchapet, deputy commissioners, and commission members.

The meeting's key agenda items under Item 4 included three proposals:

Item 1: Revision of assessment criteria and procedures for appointing investigation-track police officers holding concurrent positions, allowing them to advance to higher ranks under the National Police Act B.E. 2565.

Item 2: Out-of-cycle police appointments for special cases outside the regular annual promotion cycle to meet operational needs and organizational requirements.

Item 3: Selection and promotion of junior-ranked officers to commissioned officer rank in special circumstances as determined by the Police Commission.

The commission formally acknowledged Suchin Chaichumpak, the outgoing Police Commission member appointed in 2567, attending his final meeting before taking office as the new Ombudsman. Following his departure, the commission will formally invite Witthawun Sunthokhachit, former Director-General of the Department of Corrections, to assume the Police Commission member position vacated by Suchin, with his participation commencing at the next meeting.

Thailand's Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchathi Chomklin, accompanied by Permanent Secretary Dr. Ravivarn Bhurideach, visited the Lao People's Democratic Republic on April 30 to hold bilateral talks with Lao Agriculture and Environment Minister Dr. Linkham Douangxay. The discussions focused on transboundary haze management and sustainable natural resource management cooperation.

The meeting strengthened ties and elevated cooperation under the 'Clear Sky Strategy,' a tripartite framework involving Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar. Both parties emphasized implementing a joint action plan to prevent and address transboundary haze problems from 2024 to 2030, targeting four concrete outcomes: developing Laos's air quality reporting platform and establishing a national air quality data center; establishing a WhatsApp hotline at the director-general level to report wildfire, smoke, and PM2.5 conditions with rapid coordination during burning season; developing a joint risk map and strengthening the tripartite network for wildfire prevention and control; and promoting GAP Zero Burning practices and implementing traceability systems for agricultural products, particularly animal feed corn, to ensure no connection to agricultural burning.

The meeting tasked the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plants with supporting Laos in establishing a 'Wildfire Training Institute,' building on previous experience training 27 officials from Bokeo and Xayaburi provinces in 2023 at a training center in Chiang Mai. Following the discussions, the department's director-general visited an air quality monitoring station at a park along the Mekong River in Vientiane and presented 20 fire-protective suits to Laotian forest firefighting personnel to enhance their safety and preparedness.

On April 30, 2025, Trairat Sirijantharaphot, former deputy secretary-general of the Thai Build Thailand Party and current solar energy entrepreneur, posted on Facebook criticizing the Energy Commission's decision to purchase electricity from citizens' rooftop solar systems at 2.20 baht per unit. He questioned how this supports the public, noting that while the commission buys solar power at 2.20 baht per unit, it resells electricity to consumers at nearly 5 baht per unit. This spread of almost 2.8 baht per unit becomes profit for distribution utilities like the Provincial Electricity Authority and the Metropolitan Electricity Authority, despite actual transmission service costs being only 0.51 baht per unit. Trairat estimates the utilities are making nearly 5 billion baht in annual profits from this margin. He concluded by asking whether Energy Minister Eknath's solar support policy is truly designed to benefit citizens or simply to generate profits for the utilities at their expense. If the government were genuinely committed to supporting rooftop solar adoption, he argued, it should purchase electricity from citizens at the same price it sells to them, minus only the 0.51 baht transmission cost, rather than profiteering on citizens' backs.

At 9:40 a.m. on April 30, 2025 at Parliament, civil society networks focused on clean air submitted a letter to a special committee examining measures to address wildfire problems and PM 2.5 pollution. Pimphattra Vijai, a Pheu Thai Party MP serving as committee chair, received the letter on behalf of the committee.

Civil society representatives expressed deep concern about the situation, which they describe as a societal crisis and structural problem. They worried that the Clean Air Bill draft, pending in parliament, might not be prioritized despite vulnerable groups suffering. "The Clean Air Bill will address structural problems," they stated. "We don't want temporary fixes that cycle back. Multiple committees have been established only to loop endlessly. As representatives of the people, we urge you to support a genuine bill draft, not just a cover with empty content. We won't accept a greenwashed version."

Pimphattra responded that the Clean Air Bill has positive momentum, noting that the Prime Minister has stated clean air is a fundamental right for all citizens. She emphasized the bill has already progressed significantly and doesn't need to restart. She confirmed coordinating with Rawee Parisathananon, coalition coordinator and Ang Thong MP, to ensure the Cabinet returns the bill to parliament on time, urging people to ease their concerns and assure concrete results.

When asked how to address delays if the bill misses the May 12 deadline, Pimphattra denied any bureaucratic passing of the buck, stating the Prime Minister has prioritized this as urgent and she has confirmed with both the coalition coordinator and Cabinet that it will be completed.

Meanwhile, at 9:30 a.m., civil society networks also submitted a letter to opposition party representatives, with Prisan Watcharasinthu, a Democrat Party list MP, receiving it.

Prisan stated the opposition is ready to fully support advancing the stalled Clean Air Bill draft. The process requires two major steps: first, the Cabinet must approve advancing the draft before May 12 (60 days after the first parliamentary session). The opposition will closely monitor the Cabinet's May 5 decision. The opposition has invited Cabinet Secretariat representatives to a parallel meeting that morning. If the Cabinet approves a version they support, they will back it; if not, they will ask for explanations and request revision before May 12.

Prisan added that if the Cabinet approves, the bill moves to a joint parliamentary session requiring 350 votes. With coalition party support, passage is assured. He expressed hope the government will consider the health and lungs of all Thais, as failing to advance the bill would be harmful.