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Porsche Design Tower Bangkok commenced construction October 7, 2025, marking a significant milestone in Asia’s ultra-luxury real estate sector. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by executives from Porsche Lifestyle Group and Ananda Development, among them the CEOs of both partners, Stefan Buescher and Chanond Ruangkritya. Scheduled for completion in December 2028, this is Porsche Design’s third real estate project globally and first in Asia. Located in Bangkok’s vibrant Thonglor area, the development introduces revolutionary features including exclusive “Passion Spaces.” A meticulously designed show unit also opened today.

Stefan Buescher, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche Lifestyle Group, stated: “This groundbreaking represents the perfect synthesis of Porsche Design’s engineering and design excellence. Innovations like the Kinetic Move façade system, the X-Frame, the Crown and the exclusive Passion Spaces demonstrate our commitment to creating living spaces that reflect technical sophistication and innovative functionality. This architectural masterpiece broadens the Porsche brand’s appeal by offering ultra-exclusive experiences.”

Chanond Ruangkritya, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ananda Development, said: “We are proud to bring this vision to life in Bangkok. Together, we are setting a new standard for luxury living in Asia, reinforcing Bangkok’s position as a leading destination for global luxury real estate investment and creating a sophisticated living experience that celebrates the passions of our future residents.”

Located on Sukhumvit 38, one of Bangkok’s most prestigious addresses, the Porsche Design Tower Bangkok will feature 22 exclusive duplex and quadplex ‘Sky Villas’ ranging from 525 to 1,135 square metres. The development showcases several revolutionary features that set new standards in luxury living:

“Passion Spaces” – Private garages for luxury car collections, fully customisable into sophisticated entertainment spaces

‘The Kinetic Move’ – An automated terrace system inspired by the iconic Porsche 911 Targa roof mechanism

“The Crown” – A distinctive lighting signature, inspired by Porsche’s iconic design, set to illuminate Bangkok’s skyline

“X-Frame” – An architectural feature inspired by Porsche’s Mission R concept car and its stunning exoskeleton structure creating a unique visual signature and column-free building entrance

“The Loop” – An innovative spiral access ramp enabling residents to drive vehicles to their Passion Space

Amenities include a 25-metre swimming pool, state-of-the-art fitness centre, spa facilities, social lounges, and business facilities. Each residence features a private swimming pool and technically inspired luxurious kitchens.

New Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Chaichanok Chidchob is to address the alleged monopolisation of the online delivery business by some foreign e-commerce platforms, with the aim of benefiting consumers.

The ministry also plans to push for a lower growth profit margin (GP) rate among the platforms involved in this sector.

Some e-commerce platforms have already expressed their intention to participate in talks on the GP issue, according to Mr Chaichanok.

He added that the target is part of the ministry’s quick-win policy to solve problems and drive economic growth through closer collaboration among public and private sectors.

Mr Chaichanok said the amended Postal Act, which is in the draft stage at present, is in the process of being implemented with the goal of raising the standard of postal and parcel services to keep up with the digital era, as well as support rapidly changing market competition.

The enforcement of the amended version of the law is expected to boost healthy competition and create proper regulatory supervision.

Mr Chaichanok said he would closely monitor the bill’s development in order to help finalise the details.

He also on Monday outlined the ministry’s urgent missions and policies to address four ongoing problems and potential threats via public-private partnership and through the use of a transparent and accountable approach.

They are: natural and environmental disasters, security threats, economic problems, and social threats.

When it comes to natural disasters, state agencies are requested to integrate the use of meteorological data and related technologies with those of other state agencies and private agencies, both in Thailand and overseas, to design plans for natural disaster responses that are more accurate and precise.

This includes using meteorological and satellite data to plan accurate disaster warnings.

Furthermore, the ministry aims to promote communications to provide disaster warnings to the public at all levels.

In term of security threats, it is to expedite the promotion of digital literacy to the public.

“We should prioritise raising awareness of cybercrime, and integrate with other state agencies to fully utilise the technology and data available within the ministry,” Mr Chaichanok added.

He said that the ministry will urge agencies to develop guidelines for the use of technology to enhance security along the Thai-Cambodian border and reduce tension, and prevent loss of life and property among soldiers and civilians. It will also join with the private sector to support relevant technology to the areas, such as drones.

In terms of economic threats due to the global economic situation which may have unpredictable and quantifiable economic impacts on Thailand, he said that the ministry’s agencies must take the lead in promoting and supporting digital entrepreneurs.

The ministry is ready to support the solutions to address the monopolistic power of major digital platforms. This would be achieved by its collaboration with relevant agencies to consider the establishment of regulatory measures ensuring fair competition and creating a balance between platform operators and the public as well as prioritising safety standards.

With regard to the social threats, this would involve supporting equal access to basic technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), data, and AI literacy.

The ministry will also upgrade the measures concerning the suppression of call centres and online scams, aiming to reduce losses to individuals and the economic system.

A tragic shooting happened in Ayutthaya province when a man armed with a gun broke into his ex-wife’s home. There was a gunfight with his former father-in-law, ending in the older man’s death.

Security camera footage captured the incident. The former son-in-law fired a single shot before his gun jammed. The father-in-law returned fire. The assailant then rushed forward, grabbed a pair of scissors, and stabbed the older man in the neck, killing him instantly.

Police found the injured suspect, around 30 years old, outside the house with gunshot wounds to the chin and body. Inside the house, officers discovered the body of the ex-wife’s father lying face-down in a pool of blood, with gunshot and stab wounds to his chest and neck.

According to the victim’s daughter, she was at home with her father and child when her ex-husband arrived, shouting from outside. She refused to open the gate, due to a history of domestic violence. The man then climbed over the fence, forced his way inside, and the deadly confrontation ensued.

She added that she had previously fled to Roi Et province to escape the abuse, but her ex-husband tracked her down, forcing her to return to her father’s home. Despite filing police reports in the past, she said he continued to threaten her.

Police said the suspect is the son of a deputy mayor of a local municipality in Ayutthaya, but stressed that this will not affect the investigation.

Tropical Storm Matmo has weakened into a low-pressure area in upper Vietnam and will bring heavy rains to the North, the Northeast and the East of Thailand on Tuesday, according to the Meteorological Department.

Sugunyanee Yavinchan, director-general of the department, said on Tuesday morning that Tropical Storm Matmo became an active low-pressure cell in the upper part of Vietnam at 1am on Tuesday.

The low-pressure system has strengthened the southwestern monsoon over the Andaman Sea, Thailand and the Gulf of Thailand and will cause isolated heavy rains in the North, the Northeast and the East of Thailand, she said.

Ms Sugunyanee warned people in the regions of possible flash floods, run-off and overflowing waterways.

She said the warning was the 15th and final one concerning Storm Matmo.

Thai hotel operators have applauded the finance minister’s decision to accelerate use of the 10-billion-baht meeting and seminar budget for government agencies, although they would prefer the stimulus to begin in May next year to cushion the low-season impact.

Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said the government would encourage state agencies to spread their activities throughout the year instead of concentrating plans in the last quarter of the fiscal year, between July and September.

Thienprasit Chaiyapatranun, president of the Thai Hotels Association (THA), said the policy could benefit hotels in second-tier destinations, as they are highly dependent on meetings and seminars, which typically make up 50% of customers, the same proportion as leisure guests.

Hotels in these 55 less-visited provinces consistently draw fewer leisure guests compared with popular provinces, he said. For instance, hotels in the main tourism destinations secured an average occupancy of more than 60% this month, but hotels in the 55 provinces recorded occupancy of only 30-35%, said Mr Thienprasit.

He said the government should also consider adjusting its outdated coffee break rate of 80 baht per head. This rate is the budget for food and beverages during meetings.

The Comptroller-General’s Department, which mandates this cost for government agencies, has not revised it in 18 years despite product and service costs rising every year.

Mr Thienprasit also said the government should regulate accommodation owned by state agencies, some of which are large projects that lack hotel licences, though agencies are mandated to book their seminars with their own facilities if possible.

Given the projected four-month tenure of the current administration, Mr Thienprasit said hotel operators are more concerned that the low season will occur during a political vacuum after the anticipated general election in March or April next year.

Both public spending on meetings and seminars, as well as outlays from the new co-payment scheme for travellers to second-tier cities, should begin from May to August 2026, according to the THA.

‘During the final quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year, we can still rely on foreign tourist demand during the high season,’ he said.

Hoteliers are hoping bookings in November and December will at least match the 2024 level, said Mr Thienprasit. This year, only in January did foreign arrivals reach 3.7 million, exceeding the same period last year, which recorded 3.03 million.

He said the decline in foreign arrivals of 7.5% year-on-year over the first nine months is largely attributed to short-haul markets, as long-haul markets posted monthly figures outperforming 2024.

Their Majesties the King and Queen have received as a patient under royal patronage the British caver who played an important role in the rescue of young footballers from the Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand in 2018.

Vernon Unsworth, 70, has been admitted for treatment of lung inflammation at Maechan Hospital in Mae Chan district of the northernmost province of Chiang Rai.

Authorities from Chiang Rai visited Mr Unsworth at the hospital on Monday and reported his condition was stable. He could talk normally and communicate with the visitors, they said.

A cave expert and longtime resident of Chiang Rai where he worked as a financial adviser, the British-born Mr Unsworth had surveyed the Tham Luang cave complex in Chiang Rai.

He played an important role in helping to plan the rescue of 12 young members of the ‘Wild Boars’ football team and their coach after they became trapped in the flooded cave in June and July 2018.

The rescue effort attracted worldwide attention and saturation coverage by international media, as experts from many countries travelled to Thailand and volunteered their expertise to bring the boys and their coach out safely.

Tham Luang has since become a well-known tourist attraction.

Mr Unsworth was at the centre of a related drama after he brought a defamation case against Elon Musk, who insulted him in an angry tweet for criticising a rescue plan proposed by the tech billionaire as a ‘PR stunt’.

A Los Angeles jury found that Mr Musk did not defame Mr Unsworth by calling him a ‘pedo guy’ on Twitter. The billionaire’s lawyers had argued that their client had used the expression as an insult but did not mean it literally.

Armed men blew up an ATM at Fatoni University and stole the security guards’ guns in Yarang district of this southern border province early Tuesday morning.

According to the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), up to five armed men were involved.

About 12.53am they arrived by walking down a hill behind the university in tambon Khao Toom. They held up and tied the two security guards in their booth in front of the campus and robbed them of their shotguns.

The assailants then detonated an explosive against an ATM of the Islamic Bank beside the university gate. It failed the open up the machine and they could not get to the cash in its strongbox.

They finally gave up and retreated back up the hill with only the guards’ stolen weapons.

Isoc said the failed attack showed that the militants were desperate for money to support their activities, regardless of the public interest. The investigation and hunt for the gang were ongoing, Isoc’s southern branch said.

The failed ATM attack came two days after the huge gold heist in adjacent Narathiwat province, which officials believe was for use funding rebel activities. That followed coordinated ATM robberies in August and a major gold shop raid in Songkhla in 2019.

Nearly 150,000 households displaced by clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops along the border have begun receiving relief payments from the government, though many recipients say the amount is simply not enough to cover their losses, especially if fresh clashes erupt.

According to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) on Monday, 147,370 households in Buri Ram, Si Sa Ket, and Surin have received financial assistance from the government — 39,632 in Buri Ram, 37,297 in Si Sa Ket, and 70,441 in Surin.

In line with a resolution passed by the cabinet on Aug 26, households that were displaced for more than eight days are eligible to receive 5,000 baht in compensation, while households which were displaced for less than seven days would receive 2,000 baht each.

The payments, which are disbursed through the Government Savings Bank starting Monday, are part of a wider initiative to help those who had to evacuate their homes during the recent border skirmishes.

Long queues formed at ATMs and bank branches early Monday morning, as recipients rushed to withdraw the money. Some even left their home as early as 1am on Monday to queue at the bank.

Somjit Chaiwan, 76, from Si Sa Ket, was among those who queued before the bank opened.

She said she wanted to withdraw the 5,000 baht in aid as soon as the bank opened, as she needed the money to buy rice and daily necessities. “Some will be kept for fuel in case we need to evacuate again,” she said.

Ton Saewprakhon, 60, in Buri Ram, said he planned to save the entire sum. “I won’t spend it now. I’ll keep it for the next evacuation because I don’t know what’s going to happen with Cambodia,” he said.

Many others, however, said the money would go toward repaying loans they took out during the evacuation period.

One Si Sa Ket resident said her family spent over 10,000 baht during their week-long evacuation. “The aid helps, but most of it will go towards settling what we borrowed,” she said.

To meet the demand for cash, local banks prepared extra cash reserves ahead of opening on Monday.

The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives in Ban Kruat said it had set aside 30 million baht per week to prevent cash shortages at ATMs.

Despite the relief, opposition MP Rangsiman Rome, chair of the House committee on national security and border affairs, said the government’s support remains inadequate.

“Many villagers have told me that 5,000 baht is not enough. Some are still waiting for their electricity bill payments to be reimbursed, and many village defence volunteers have yet to be paid,” he said.

Relief for residents in Ubon Ratchathani, Sa Kaeo, and Trat will be transferred next, according to DDPM.

The Department of Highways has vowed to quickly fix signs and resolve GPS issues that drivers have blamed for unwanted detours onto Motorway M81 from Bang Yai in Nonthaburi to Kanchanaburi.

The issue gained traction after a viral Facebook post described one user’s distressing experience: ‘The worst thing happened. The mall (Central Westgate) required a left turn, but Maps said right – and I ended up on M81 heading to Kanchanaburi with no way out. I cried while driving.’

Other users responded with similar stories, citing the route’s complexity and the need for heightened awareness.

In response, the department acknowledged the confusion and pledged to improve the signage and road markings.

The department is expediting the installation of clearer directional signs and road surface markings, especially at key junctions like Bang Yai (Rattanathibet Road). These updates aim to help drivers distinguish between the motorway entrance and local destinations during the trial phase of M81.

The measure also involves coordinating with navigation app providers to update entry/exit points, toll booth locations and operational hours. The goal is to minimise misinformation and achieve real-time accuracy for users relying on GPS navigation.

Also, there will be alternate exit guidance for drivers who mistakenly enter the M81. The department recommends exiting at the Nakhon Chai Si toll gate, turning onto Highway 3233, and making a U-turn to rejoin M81 toward Bang Yai. The detour takes approximately 15 minutes.

The department reaffirmed its commitment to resolving the issue swiftly and, in the meantime, urged motorists to consult official entry/exit maps and plan routes carefully.

Microsoft has admitted that two widely used features in Windows 10 and Windows 11 are slowing down computers, with OneDrive file synchronisation and visual effects identified as the main causes.

The company has also shared advice for users and pledged improvements in future updates.

The disclosure follows Microsoft’s claim that Windows 11 version 25H2, its latest update, delivers far better performance than versions 24H2 and 22H2, particularly in speed and responsiveness. However, the company acknowledged that certain built-in features can counteract these improvements.

The first culprit is OneDrive sync. Microsoft described OneDrive as an essential tool that allows users to access files across devices and provides cloud backup in case of hardware failure. But the process of real-time syncing consumes significant system resources, especially when large folders such as Documents, Desktop or Pictures are uploaded or downloaded. This can cause noticeable slowdowns at peak times.

To mitigate the issue, Microsoft recommends that users pause OneDrive synchronisation temporarily if their PC feels sluggish. The company stressed that doing so will not affect existing files, and syncing can be resumed at any time. Microsoft added that the new OneDrive app for Windows 11 may optimise resource usage in future updates, reducing the problem.

The second feature slowing systems is Windows 11’s visual effects, including animations and shadows, that enhance the look of the interface. Microsoft explained that these consume additional CPU, GPU and RAM resources. Devices with limited specifications, particularly those with less than 8GB of RAM, are most affected, resulting in lag or delays when multiple applications are opened simultaneously.

Turning off the effects can be done through the Performance Options menu. Users can search ‘performance’ in Windows, select ‘Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows’, and then choose ‘Adjust for best performance’ before applying the changes.

Disabling the effects simplifies the interface but makes systems more responsive, especially on entry-level laptops and PCs.

Microsoft confirmed that OneDrive sync and visual effects are the two main factors slowing down Windows systems. Small adjustments, such as pausing sync or disabling animations, can noticeably boost performance in both Windows 11 and Windows 10, without the need to install additional software.