On May 8, 2026, at Centara Life Central World Convention Center in Bangkok, Sawaeng Boonmee, Secretary of the Election Commission (EC), held a press conference following a preparatory meeting for elections of Bangkok Metropolitan Council members, Bangkok governor, Pattaya City Council members, and Pattaya mayor. He reported that the EC has been continuously preparing and conducting drills in coordination between the EC offices in Bangkok and Pattaya to ensure polling committees work in alignment and avoid errors, given the expected high public participation in both elections.

Sawaeng noted that Bangkok has over 6,000 polling units requiring substantial personnel, but he expressed confidence in Bangkok officials' readiness to serve as polling committee members. Regarding ballot design, he explained that local election ballots lack barcodes unlike parliamentary ballots because they are different election types. The EC continuously prints local ballots since municipal and subdistrict elections occur regularly to ensure adequate ballot supply.

Concerning campaign monitoring, Sawaeng stated that national and local election laws apply the same standards. The EC is currently tracking candidate movements both on the ground and through social media, with no irregularities detected. Despite competitive races in Pattaya, he believed the easily monitored nature of the area—with oversight from media, public, and relevant agencies—would encourage candidates to follow the law.

The EC Secretary emphasized that the primary goal is ensuring elections are conducted honestly and fairly, regardless of who wins. He noted that the election system is designed to allow public participation in monitoring official conduct, with full retroactive verification capability down to individual ballots.

When asked if polling committee training would be stricter this time, given previous problems stemmed from committee errors, Sawaeng acknowledged that past elections and current ones serve as lessons. Most problems resulted from polling committees' misunderstanding of their duties. Training will begin over a month in advance, with particular emphasis on polling unit heads understanding regulations in detail to make proper judgments and listen to public complaints, as citizens also participate in election verification.

Asked if polling committees need reminders about properly maintaining equipment to prevent political misuse, Sawaeng countered by asking what "misuse" meant. He noted that equipment management is clearly regulated with continuous staff instructions. While unable to guarantee zero errors, all irregularities can be retroactively verified to individual ballot level, and he requested public cooperation to ensure transparent and credible elections.

An emotional moment unfolded at a wedding in the United States when the bride's daughter called her stepfather 'Dad' for the first time during the ceremony, revealing she had felt a genuine father-daughter connection all along but was too shy to say it.

The touching scene happened as groom Marcos Padilla waited for bride Jessica to walk down the aisle when a voice message suddenly played—a recording from Zoey Aviles, Jessica's daughter, addressed to Marcos.

In the message, Zoey shared that since age two, she had always felt Marcos was like a real father to her. As she grew older, however, she became embarrassed and afraid to call him 'Dad' until that special day when she decided to overcome her hesitation and speak from the heart: "Hello Dad. When I was little, I saw you as part of our family. As I grew up, I was scared to call you Dad, but now I'm not afraid anymore, because you truly are my dad."

Her simple yet heartfelt words brought many guests to tears. Zoey also thanked Marcos for always caring for and loving her and her mother, and when he heard her message, Marcos couldn't hold back his own tears, crying openly during the ceremony as Zoey also wept.

Jessica later revealed that the voice message was a special surprise she and her daughter had prepared specifically for her new husband, as Zoey had wanted to call Marcos 'Dad' for a long time but hadn't dared to say it directly.

Marcos has cared for Zoey since 2017 and has been present for every important moment in her life, and their bond gradually grew to be truly like father and daughter.

Zoey's first time calling him 'Dad' during the wedding ceremony left a lasting impression on all the guests, with many admitting they couldn't hold back their tears. After the story spread online, numerous netizens were moved by the love and closeness of this family and sent warm congratulations to the couple and their daughter.

The Board of Investment (BOI), the Thai Subcontracting Promotion Association, and Informa Markets will host the annual SUBCON Thailand 2026 exhibition from May 13-16, 2026 at BITEC Bangkok. Nurutham Toedstheersakdi, Secretary-General of the BOI, announced that this 20th edition is the largest industrial components exhibition in Asia, organized under the theme "Sourcing Innovation Shaping Tomorrow." This year's event will feature 239 exhibiting companies—154 of them Thai manufacturers—showcasing components across modern automotive, smart electronics, machinery, automation, robotics, medical devices, and aerospace industries. The exhibition aims to strengthen Thailand's supply chain capabilities and connect Thai manufacturers with global supply chains, positioning Thailand as a regional procurement and subcontracting hub for ASEAN. More than 90 international buyers from 14 countries including France, the UK, Japan, South Korea, India, and Vietnam will participate in networking and business matching activities. The event targets over 9,000 business-to-business connections with an estimated future transaction value exceeding 20 billion baht. The exhibition will feature an Innovation Showcase highlighting Thailand's manufacturing capabilities in smart and green technology, including PTT Digital's Smart Energy Management Platform utilizing IoT and AI, and sensing devices from research institutions under Thailand's National Science and Technology Development Agency. The event runs May 13-16, 2026 at BITEC Bangkok. Seventeen seminars will cover topics ranging from new targeted industries and entrepreneurship development to foreign investment expansion and digital-era financing options. A highlight will be the BOI Symposium 2026, themed "Thailand Driving Toward Smart and Green Mobility," featuring Secretary-General Nurutham's keynote on "Policies to Accelerate Smart and Green Mobility," remarks from Zhang Yongwei, president of China EV100 (China's leading electric vehicle think tank), and panels with leading organizations including the Thai Electric Vehicle Association and BYD. For more information, visit www.subconthailand.com.

Entertainment Menu – Legendary musician Yuenyong Opakul, known as Ad Carabao, is preparing to chronicle his incredible journey across more than seven decades of music through a major concert titled "Hall of Fame 71 Years: The Identity of Yuenyong Opakul" on Saturday, May 30 at 7:30 PM at IDEA LIVE (BRAVO BKK). Tickets are available through Ticketmelon with updates on the "Lom Wung Man" Facebook page.

Rising star Poom Pooriphand is inviting fans to celebrate his birthday at "POOM's The Musical Con Talk BD" presented by Realbarrier on Saturday, June 20 at PHENIX GRAND BALLROOM, with tickets on sale Sunday, May 17 via eventpop.me.

Beautiful actress Lee Joo-bin will create special memories with Thai fans at "2026 LEE JOOBEEN 1ST FANMEETING TOUR [JOOTOPIA] IN BANGKOK" on Sunday, June 28 with two shows at 1:00 PM and 6:00 PM at Lido Connect Hall 2. Tickets go on sale April 9 through Ticketmelon.

BNJ Entertainment and FriedRice Entertainment are bringing JYP Entertainment's boy group NEXZ to Thailand for "NEXZ GLOBAL SHOWCASE EVENT in BANGKOK" on Saturday, July 4 at Chaengwattana Hall. Ticket sales begin April 16 through storebnjent.com.

The Big Data Institute (BDI), a public organization, is calling for academics, researchers, students, and experts in Big Data and Artificial Intelligence to submit research papers for presentation at the 7th International Conference on Big Data Analytics and Practices (IBDAP2026), scheduled for August 7-9, 2026, in Surat Thani Province.

BDI has extended the submission deadline (Extended Round #2) until June 1st, 2026—the final opportunity for those interested in joining an international platform to exchange knowledge and innovations in Big Data, Data Analytics, and AI with researchers and experts from around the world.

Now in its 7th year, IBDAP2026 serves as an international academic venue for presenting research, technologies, and applications of Big Data and AI across various sectors, including government, industry, healthcare, digital social networks, smart systems, and advanced data analysis and large-scale system development.

Accepted topics include Big Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Predictive Analytics, Data Mining, Smart Systems, Data Visualization, Open-source Technologies, and AI applications across various sectors. Selected papers will be published in IEEE Xplore, with submissions required in English following IEEE Proceedings format. For more details and to submit papers, visit https://www.ibdap.org or contact conference@bdi.or.th.

The Department of Cooperative Promotion's Fruit Board held its second 2025 meeting and approved four management measures for the fruit production season. According to Nirun Moolthida, Director of the Department of Cooperative Promotion, these measures fall under the 2025 fruit distribution support project to improve prices for farmer institutions, with a combined budget of 10.575 million baht from the farmer assistance fund.

The first measure focuses on marketing management and supply chain coordination, allocating 2.58 million baht to connect distribution networks for farmer institutions, cooperatives, and fruit aggregation groups. Transportation subsidies are capped at 2 baht per kilogram, with 1.5 baht for origin and 0.50 baht for destination points, targeting distribution of 1,290.4 tons of cooperative fruits.

The second measure provides packaging support, including 208,500 fruit baskets for the 1,290.4-ton harvest, with a budget of 5.34 million baht. Forty-eight farmer institutions across 24 provinces will participate, with the government covering up to 70% of packaging costs while institutions contribute at least 30%.

The third measure allocates 2 million baht for promotional campaigns and consumer engagement, including 'Fresh From Farm' fruit festivals across four regions at major Bangkok shopping malls to create sales channels during peak harvest periods.

The fourth measure involves training 20 farmer institutions with fruit sorting facilities and agricultural treatment services—covering longans, mangosteen, golden bananas, coconuts, and mangoes—in export standards, coordinating with four other agricultural ministry departments with a budget of 348,000 baht.

Nirun noted additional supporting measures include networking between farmer institutions, expedited product distribution from production areas, and establishing cooperative distribution centers in each province for easier consumer access to agricultural products. Deputy Director Narit Boonchai mentioned upcoming field visits to Chachoengsao and Trat provinces to monitor fruit output, particularly geographic indication products like Trat golden rambutan currently entering the market at strong prices of 45 baht per kilogram.