Their Majesties the King and Queen of Thailand attended royal celebrations marking the 80th birthday of Carl XVI Gustaf at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on Thursday.

The Thai monarchs took part in a thanksgiving service at the Royal Chapel and observed the ceremonial changing of the Royal Guards, as well as a choral tribute in honour of the Swedish King.

The visit forms part of Their Majesties' official trip to Sweden, where they joined members of the Swedish royal family and dignitaries in commemorating the milestone birthday.

The Bureau of the Royal Household also released a congratulatory message from King Maha Vajiralongkorn to the Swedish monarch, expressing "heartfelt felicitations and very best wishes" for his good health and happiness.

In the message, the Thai King highlighted the longstanding friendship between Thailand and Sweden, noting more than a century of close relations and cooperation. He also underscored the strong ties between the two royal families, describing them as a key pillar of bilateral relations.

"May the Kingdom of Sweden long flourish and prosper under Your Majesty's glorious reign," the message read.

The King added that Thailand is confident both countries will continue to strengthen cooperation, both bilaterally and within the ASEAN–EU framework, for the mutual benefit of their peoples.

A major opportunity as Sansiri, Siam Commercial Bank, and Krung Thai Bank join forces to help homebuyers with an unprecedented "zero payment for up to 48 months" promotion—the longest and most valuable payment relief measure available across over 100 Sansiri projects including houses, condominiums, and townhomes. The promotion runs from May 1 to June 30, 2025 only.

Beyond that, some brands offer discounts up to 10 million baht, free common area maintenance fees for up to 10 years, and free fuel vouchers up to 100,000 baht.

Sansiri, Thailand's leading real estate developer, led by Ongaach Suwannakul, Deputy Managing Director of Condominium and Property Development, and Karun, Director of Horizontal Project Marketing, launches an aggressive first-mover campaign announcing partnership with Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), represented by Ekphon Preuttaplagor, Assistant Managing Director of Consumer Lending Product 1, and Krung Thai Bank (KTB), represented by Sirisit Watchareintharanont, Senior Director of the Credit Product Group. They are creating this year's phenomenon reflecting market leadership with comprehensive home-buying support as the first and foremost promotion. Under challenging economic conditions, this initiative supports residential purchasing—a fundamental necessity—with the genuine "zero payment for up to 48 months" promotion featuring exclusive and best-of-the-year offers for houses, condominiums, and townhomes from over 100 Sansiri projects, with prices ranging from 900,000 to 40 million baht. The promotion runs May 1 to June 30, 2025 only.

Duplexes and Single-Family Houses: Zero payments for 48 months or discounts up to 10 million baht. Book by June 30, 2025 and receive free fuel vouchers up to 100,000 baht, including properties like Anasiri Sarongprapa (zero payments for 48 months or discount up to 700,000 baht, from 9.9 million), Saransiri Prachauthit 90 (zero payments for 48 months or discount up to 500,000 baht, from 9.9 million), Burasiri Chatuchote (zero payments for 48 months or discount up to 2 million baht, from 9.9 million), and Sethsiri Phahon Yothin-Saimai (zero payments for 48 months or discount up to 5 million baht, from 9.9 million).

Townhomes: Zero payments for 48 months or cashback up to 800,000 baht. Book by June 30, 2025 and receive free fuel vouchers up to 100,000 baht, including Siri Place Prachauthit 90 (zero payments for 48 months or cashback up to 200,000 baht, from 9.9 million), Siri Place Bang Na-Suvarnabhumi (zero payments for 48 months or cashback up to 200,000 baht, from 1.9 million), and Siri Place Ratchapruek-Nakhonin (zero payments for 48 months or cashback up to 400,000 baht, from 5.9 million).

Condominiums: Free occupancy for up to 48 months or choose free common area fees for up to 10 years, discounts up to 2.5 million baht, free fuel vouchers up to 50,000 baht, plus free furniture and appliances, including The Base Urban Rama 9 (free occupancy for 48 months, discount up to 500,000 baht, free transfer fees, fuel voucher 50,000 baht, special price 4.1 million), The Base Height Chiang Mai (free occupancy for 36 months or free common fees for 2 years, discount up to 200,000 baht, free furniture and appliances, fuel voucher 10,000 baht, special price 5.9 million), XT Phayathai (free occupancy for 24 months or free common fees for 1 year, discount up to 5 million baht, free transfer fees, fuel voucher 50,000 baht, special price 5.49 million), and Condo Me Sinsakhon (free occupancy for 24 months or free common fees for 10 years, discount up to 100,000 baht, free transfer and furniture, fuel voucher 5,000 baht, special price 889,000 baht).

Currently represents an excellent time for purchasing

Thailand's women's badminton team was unable to overcome Japan's dominant performance and crashed out in the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Team Badminton Championships in Denmark. In the Thomas and Uber Cup 2026 held in Horsens, Denmark on April 30, the Thai team faced Japan in the quarterfinal round. In the first singles match, top-ranked "May" Ratchanok Intanon lost to Akane Yamaguchi 0-2, dropping both games 20-21 and 15-21. In the first doubles, Benyapa Aimsoad and Supissara Piewsamran fell to Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto, the world's sixth-ranked doubles pair, 0-2 with scores of 20-22 and 8-21. In the second singles, "Mew" Pornpawee Chochuwong, ranked eighth globally, engaged in a thrilling three-game battle against Tomoka Miyazaki before the Thai player narrowly won 2-1 with scores of 15-21, 21-16, and 21-19, bringing Thailand to 2-1. In the second doubles, Cheornichcha Sudjaipreab teamed with "Mook" Arunichcha Jongsthakapron faced Arisa Igarashi and K. Nakanishi. The Thai pair won the first game 21-19 but the Japanese pair mounted a comeback to win the next two games consecutively, defeating Thailand 1-2 with scores of 21-19, 5-21, and 9-21. This resulted in Thailand losing 1-3 overall and exiting the tournament disappointingly, despite still having the third singles match remaining where "Me" Supanida Katethong, ranked 13th globally, was scheduled to face Riko Kunji.

The 2nd Petanque Transplant Asian Open Championships, competing for the Royal Cup bestowed by Princess Sirindhorn, took place on April 30, 2026 at The Quarter Ramkhamhaeng by UHG. Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, former Minister of Tourism and Sports, served as the opening ceremony president, accompanied by Thailand Organ Transplant Sports Association chairman Sannhanath Seejampee, secretary Thapaney Sophon, and representatives from organ transplant centers including Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suraskdi Kantsuvessiree from Ramathibodi Hospital and Anupong Phuchsingh from the Thai Red Cross Organ Donation Center.

The Thailand Organ Transplant Sports Association organized this championship as a matter of great pride, welcoming athletes and representatives from diverse countries. This gathering reflects the power of sports to build health and spirit while serving as a bridge for international goodwill. Sports and tourism work together to promote Thailand as a sports tourism destination, allowing visitors to experience Thai culture and hospitality. The association is now recruiting organ transplant athletes for training to compete in international and world-level competitions across disciplines including petanque, bowling, badminton, table tennis, darts, athletics, lawn bowls, 3X3 basketball, and tennis. Interested individuals can contact the association through its Facebook page, website www.transplantsports.org, or LINE@ @ujk8406j.

The competition runs from April 29 to May 3, 2026 at the Petanque Development Foundation Field in Wang Thonglang District, Bangkok, featuring four categories: men's singles, women's singles, doubles, and 3-team open. A total of 119 transplant recipients from nine countries are participating—88 men and 31 women—from Australia, Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Nepal, and Thailand.

Pranee Suddhasri, Senior Director of the Macroeconomic Department at the Bank of Thailand (BoT), revealed that the central bank has issued a special economic alert regarding heightened risks stemming from escalating Middle Eastern tensions, which are beginning to significantly impact production costs for Thai businesses.

"Many entrepreneurs are facing mounting pressure from rising raw material and energy prices, while their raw material inventories can only sustain operations for 1-3 months. If the situation persists, the business sector's capacity to absorb shocks could deteriorate rapidly," Suddhasri stated.

Additional concerns include uncertainty over U.S. trade policy and potential impacts from a Super El Niño phenomenon, which could affect agricultural output and prices, further fueling inflation. Businesses are expected to gradually raise prices in the second quarter of this year to reflect higher costs, though cost-pass-through will be limited by weak consumer purchasing power and fragile liquidity in the economy.

Suddhasri emphasized that Thailand's economy has not yet entered stagflation despite rising inflationary pressures, as stagflation requires sustained low growth combined with persistent high inflation, conditions not yet evident.

"The BoT forecasts inflation in 2025 may temporarily accelerate to 3-4% starting in April, averaging 2.9% for the year before moderating to 1.5% in 2026, reflecting price pressures remaining controllable. Economic growth is expected to expand only 1.5% in 2025 before accelerating to 2.0% in 2026, representing slow and vulnerable recovery to external shocks."

However, additional government stimulus measures injecting around 300 billion baht could boost growth by an additional 0.5-0.7%, becoming a critical factor in supporting the Thai economy amid widespread uncertainty.

In the first quarter of 2025, the Thai economy expanded from the previous quarter, driven by improved export demand, particularly in technology products excluding gold, and increased private consumption following accelerated vehicle deliveries following the EV 3.0 incentive program's conclusion. Private investment rose due to machinery and equipment purchases, alongside increased government spending.

On the supply side, industrial production increased following petroleum output recovery after major refinery maintenance in the previous quarter, with large chemical companies expanding capacity. The service sector improved primarily through trade activity, aligned with production and export growth.

However, the economy began facing impacts from Middle Eastern conflict by quarter-end, reflected in declining exports to the region and reduced foreign tourist arrivals, particularly from Middle Eastern and European visitors.

On April 30, 2026, the Dunkin' Donuts branch at the original Klang Plaza location in Nakhon Ratchasima municipality closed its doors after 34 years of business. As the ninth Dunkin' Donuts to open in Thailand and the first in Nakhon Ratchasima province, the branch was unable to continue operations due to sales performance falling short of targets.

On its final day, a female employee in her mid-30s to early 40s was spotted sitting quietly at the counter, waiting for customers despite it being the last day of business. The closure has sparked nostalgic discussions online, with many customers expressing sadness and longing for the familiar atmosphere that defined the 1990s era.