• The economy expanded 1.9% in the April-June quarter compared to a year earlier

• Imports rose 45% in April from a year earlier

• The finance ministry said last month that growth was projected to drop this year, down from 2.4 percent in 2025

• That was higher than the annual growth of 1.2% in the September quarter, and beat a median forecast of 1.0% growth

• Thailand is open to a diplomatic solution but “Cambodia has to cease hostility first before we can negotiate

• At least one Thai soldier has been killed and four wounded in the fresh clashes that broke out around two areas in the easternmost province of Ubon Ratchathani

• A key driver of Thai growth, are expected to rise 10% this year, compared with a previous projection of growth of 9.5% and 10.5%

• Thailand's most severe outbreak so far started in April and has badly hit domestic spending and travel in the absence of foreign visitors.
• Hotel occupancy rates dropped to 10% in the second quarter from 20% in the first quarter, the survey showed.

• Thailand has since a year ago tightened visa processes and required all visitors and returning residents to undergo 14 days of quarantine in government-approved facilities.
• Tourism a key source of income and jobs for Thailand. In 2019, it welcomed a record 39.9 million visitors who spent 1.91 trillion baht ($61.32 billion).

• One million doses will arrive on May 6 and two million more are due by the end of May, said Witoon Danwiboon, head of the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO).
• Health authorities reported 1,583 new cases and 15 more deaths on Friday and said 250 patients were on ventilators.

• Masks are widely worn in Thailand but the order to make them mandatory comes just a few days after Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha was fined $190 for failing to wear one during a meeting.

* Parks, gyms, cinemas, bars, restaurants, day-care centres and schools have been closed in Bangkok, the outbreak epicentre, and non-essential travel from the capital is being discouraged.

• The four million arrivals are expected in the second half of the year, Pipat Ratchakitprakarn told reporters, as the tourism-reliant nation prepares to reopen more broadly to visitors after more than a year of tight entry procedures.