Thai Football Team Cave Rescue in Photos
Against seemingly impossible odds an international team of experienced cave divers and Thai Navy Seals yesterday pulled off a rescue that will be forever marked in the annals of diving and caving (spelunking) history.
— AEC News Today
Large team behind rescue effort takes a bow
Behind the successful operation to rescue the trapped Wild Boars football squad from Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district are more than 1,000 people who took part and deserve to share the credit for this historic mission.
— Bangkok Post
Triumph of global cooperation
GLOBAL SUPPORT poured in resulting in the successful mission that rescued 12 boys and their coach from the Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai, an effort in which Thailand’s hand was strengthened by the help of many foreign teams.
— Bangkok Post
Thai junta pushes for faster public investment as growth seen slowing
Thailand’s military-led government is pushing for faster public investment spending, which has missed expectations following the adoption of tougher rules on procurement, Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said on Wednesday.
— Reuters
31 companies express interest in EEC airport rail link
A number of Thai and foreign companies have expressed interest in the contract to build a high-speed railway connecting Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi, and U Tapao airports.
— News Today (video)
Thailand Says Brexit Could Be Positive for Trade With the U.K.
Departure from the European Union could eliminate some import curbs imposed by the bloc, while a future free-trade pact would allow the U.K. to boost shipments to Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, according to Pimchanok Vonkorpon, the director general of the Commerce Ministry’s trade policy and strategy office.
— Bloomberg
China and Thailand leap up in innovation capability ranking
Asian economies are climbing up the ranks of global innovation, with Singapore reaching the top five and China cracking the top 20 for the first time in this year’s annual Global Innovation Index released Tuesday.
— Nikkei Asian Review (paywall)
PM downplays Musk tweet fuss
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has urged the media to stop “dramatising” a tweet by American space entrepreneur Elon Musk involving a mini-submarine donated for the rescue of the Wild Boars football team, which some media reported the rescue chief describing as ”not practical.”
— Bangkok Post
An Onslaught of Tourists Is Stressing Out Thailand
Back in early June, a small pilot whale gained global attention after it ingested plastic bags and packaging, and then died in southern Thailand. It wasn’t a good look for the nation’s tourism industry.
— Bloomberg
Boat tragedy probe widens
Police are expanding their investigation into last Thursday’s boat tragedy in Phuket where the death toll has risen to 45 with two people still missing, a senior police officer said.
— Bangkok Post
Exports in first 5 months increase by 11.55%
The Thai export sector expanded by 11.55% in the first five months of 2018, higher than the target of 8% for the whole year, following the global economic recovery. The outstanding growth makes the Department of International Trade Promotion re-assess this year’s export situation.
— News Today (video)
Somkid wants bids before poll
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has ordered the Ministry of Transport to complete the auctions of all the ministry’s planned transport projects before the general election tentatively scheduled for next February.
— Bangkok Post
Thais Yell ‘Hooyah!’ as Divers Rescue 12 Boys, Coach from Flooded Cave
Wild cheers resonated across Thailand on Tuesday after news broke that Navy divers had pulled out the last four of 12 boys as well as their soccer coach from the labyrinth of a flooded cave, ending a high-risk rescue that gripped the world for more than two weeks.
— BeanarNews
‘Thailand 4.0’: No Security in the Growing Thai Gig Economy
Thailand’s junta has expressed interest in promoting platform economies—such as Uber and Airbnb—as part of its “Thailand 4.0” digital economy strategy. Yet the government lacks fundamental understanding of how these economies operate, not to mention to the potential effects of nurturing them.
— TheNewsLens
Phuket Boat Incidents: Buddhist ceremony in remembrance of the victims
At 08.00 Hrs., this morning, a Buddhist ceremony in remembrance of those who lost their lives in the recent tragic boat incidents was held at Phuket’s Chalong Pier.
— TAT News
VAT return scheme for poor shaping up
The planned repayment of value-added tax (VAT) to government welfare smartcard holders is expected to take shape by the end of this year, a move meant to improve their purchasing power.
— Bangkok Post
Somkid calls for high-speed rail action
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak yesterday urged state transport agencies to rush major projects into the bidding process, particularly the development of the double-track and high-speed train schemes.
— The Nation
Filmmakers seek to cash in on cave drama
Hollywood and local filmmakers have expressed their intention to use Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai as a location to film, says Anan Wongbenjarat, director-general of the Tourism Department.
— Bangkok Post
Ministry stretching PromptPay borders
The Finance Ministry is pushing electronic payment systems into Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam to help Thai financial institutions access customers in these countries without opening physical branches there.
— Bangkok Post
Feature photo: original creator of montage unknown
Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).
Thailand morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Thailand news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

John Le Fevre
He has spent extensive periods of time working in Africa and throughout Southeast Asia, with stints in the Middle East, the USA, and England.
He has covered major world events including Operation Desert Shield/ Storm, the 1991 pillage in Zaire, the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the 1999 East Timor independence unrest, the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the 2009, 2010, and 2014 Bangkok political protests.
In 1995 he was a Walkley Award finalist, the highest awards in Australian journalism, for his coverage of the 1995 Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) Ebola outbreak.
Prior to AEC News Today he was the deputy editor and Thailand and Greater Mekong Sub-region editor for The Establishment Post, predecessor of Asean Today.
In the mid-80s and early 90s he owned JLF Promotions, the largest above and below the line marketing and PR firm servicing the high-technology industry in Australia. It was sold in 1995.

Latest posts by John Le Fevre (see all)
- COVID-19 in Asean: update for July 26 — 16 mln case barrier breached, Vietnam records community transmission – July 26, 2020
- COVID-19 in Asean: update for July 25 — new high for daily infections, 16 mln infection barrier to break today – July 25, 2020
- COVID-19 in Asean: update for July 24 — Asean tops 230,000 cases, nudges 90,000 active – July 24, 2020
- Thailand morning news for July 24 – July 24, 2020