Police said an explosion occurred in front of the Mahanakhon Building near the Chong Nonsee BTS station and a second in the sidewalk park under the station.

The blast caused the soil from the spot to spill out onto the sidewalk and cause a crack to appear in a glass panel at the station.

The BTS station closed its Gates 2 and 4 following the explosions.

Police said the explosions happened around 7am, at almost the same time at the blasts at the Government Complex in Chaeng Wattana.

After examining the area, police determined that the explosion was caused by a ping-pong bomb.

The Thung Song Hong police station was alerted at 7.05am of the double explosions in the park fronting Building B of the complex in Thung Song Hong sub-district. The explosions damaged trees.

Police cordoned off the area for officers from the explosive ordnance disposal unit to determine the type of bomb.

No casualties were reported.

A police source said the two were arrested at the Pathom Phon police checkpoint on Phetkasem Road in Tambon Wang Phai of Chumphon’s Muang district and were taken to Bangkok for questioning. Senior police officers are expected to make an official announcement later today.

Police cordoned off the section of Rama I road in front of the Royal Thai police HQ on Thursday evening when two boxes with flashing LED lights were spotted under the headquarters’ sign.

A team of explosive ordnance disposal officers was sent in to check and found a potato chip box and a juice box made to look like homemade bombs. They contained a detonator circuit board and metal pellets but no explosives.

Police checked footage from security cameras and saw a slim man dressed in a yellow shirt and black trousers and wearing a hat and a face mask, walking to the spot before throwing down the two boxes and leaving.

After the incident, police tightened security around the police headquarters and sent officers to patrol Rama I Road from the Ratchaprasong to Chalermphao intersections and along Henri Dunant Road around the clock.

Inside the police headquarters’ compound, the Special Branch Police also assigned teams of policemen to patrol the area.

The police source said several senior police officers held an urgent meeting on the case at 1am. They included Pol Maj Gen Suwat Jaengyodsuk, assistant national police chief, Pol Maj Gen Nitinan Phetborom, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, and Pol Maj Gen Itthipol Atchaririyapradit, chief of the Investigation Division of the bureau.

The source said the two suspects were arrested because they were caught on security cameras around the Royal Thai Police headquarters. One of the men was keeping watch while the other suspect walked to the spot to throw down the boxes.

The two were later seen walking to meet each other on the Skywalk of BTS Skytrain Siam station before entering Siam Paragon shopping mall.

The two then changed clothes and took a taxi to the Chatuchak Park then a further taxi to the Morchit 2 bus terminal. They changed clothes again before buying tickets and boarded the bus.

The survey was conducted by Rajabhat Ban Somdej University on 1,218 Bangkokians between July 23 and 24, and the results were announced on Thursday by Assoc Prof Dr Sing Singkhachorn.

Sing said 21.3 per cent of the respondents said they wanted Sudarat to hold the top job at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), while fellow Pheu Thai member Chadchart Sittipunt was favoured by 20.8 per cent. Both Sudarat and Chadchart failed as Pheu Thai’s PM candidates.

Former Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva was named by 14.8 per cent of the respondents, well behind the current BMA governor Pol General Aswin Kwanmuang, who was favoured by 16.3 per cent.

Other politicians cited by the respondents included Democrat Party’s Apirak Kosayodhin (8.7 per cent) and Korn Chatikavanij (6.2 per cent).

The survey also found that 64.5 per cent of the respondents want Bangkok’s gubernatorial elections to be held this year, while 13 per cent said they did not want a poll this year and 22.5 said they were not sure.

When asked what they wanted the next governor to do, the largest group (22.8 per cent) said they wanted the governor to keep pre-poll promises, 18.9 per cent said they wanted the governor to have integrity and transparency, while 15.5 per cent said they wanted the next governor to have tangible achievements, and 15.4 per cent wanted the governor to have initiative and creativity.

According to 12.1 per cent of the respondents, the new BMA chief should be able to solve city problems quickly.

When asked what work the next BMA governor should solve quickly, 30.9 per cent said they wanted the governor to implement economic policies and launch projects that boosts the income of city residents, while 19.4 per cent wanted the implementation of policies related to education and quality of life.

Meanwhile, 17.4 per cent said they wanted the new governor to speed up work related to cleanliness and environment, 16 per cent wanted traffic problems to be tackled and public transportation improved, while 8.2 per cent want the governor to speed up work related to personal safety and protection of assets and 8.1 per cent wanted the governor to rush through work related to culture and city development.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha will hold talks with top officials of four key economic institutions on the budget bill as the economy weakens.

Prayut, who is also chairman of the Council of Economic Ministers, will meet tomorrow (August 1) with representatives from Finance Ministry, Budget Bureau, National Economic and Social Development Council and the Bank of Thailand.

Prayut chaired the first Cabinet meeting on Tuesday after the new coalition government was sworn in. His priority is to push through the budget bill which is expected to be delayed by about four months from the normal starting date in October. The new government is expected to set the expenditure target at Bt3.2-3.3 trillion, running a deficit of about Bt450 billion.

The expenditure on military hardware is expected to be closely scrutinised by the opposition and the public. Over the past five years under military rule, critics had blamed the junta-backed government for the rises in military budget under the Defence Ministry, such as the purchase of Chinese-made submarines with tax-payers’ money.

Somchai Sujjapongse, former permanent secretary for finance, said that military spending should be cut and more funding should be allocated in support of the low and middle income groups and education”. Cyber-war is here, no need for tanks and other military hardware,” he added.

The new government should help lift people out of poverty and provide them with more opportunities in life. “ It is not just about giving money to people but to offer them a better education and wider more job opportunities,” he suggested.

The government should also reduce the number of welfare card holders which currently stands at 14.5 million, he said.

Government can gradually increase teachers’ salaries as to make this professional attractive, he said. Higher wages for teachers would also help get them out of debts, strengthening their dedication to the profession, he said.

Government should adhere to fiscal discipline and refrain from over-spending on populist policies which have proven to be a waste of public fund in the long run.

Nada Chansom, an economist at the School of Development Economics, National Institute of Development Administration NIDA, shared a similar view with Somchai, saying that the budget on national security should be reduced in order to increase spending on education, public health and economic restructuring. The global economic slowdown, strengthening of the baht and the slide in Thai exports will pose serious challenges for the new government, she said.

Government should focus on spending that would lead to industrial restructuring which in turn would draw in more private investment.

“While public spending in infrastructure will drive the economy in the short term, we need more private investment to sustain long-term growth”.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Thailand reported today that overall economic activity in the second quarter of 2019 expanded moderately from the same period last year.

Merchandise exports continued to contract, consistent with the decline in manufacturing production, while the tourism sector expanded at a slower rate, mainly due to a decline in the number of Chinese tourists.

However, overall domestic demand continued to expand, albeit at a softer pace. Private consumption softened from almost all spending categories, except non-durable goods. Private investment contracted in both investment in machinery and equipment and investment in construction.

Meanwhile, public spending declined in current expenditures, while capital expenditures continued to expand. On the stability front, headline inflation accelerated mainly from the increase in fresh food prices, especially vegetables, affected by high temperature.

The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate slightly decreased from the previous quarter. The current account continued to post a smaller surplus, attributed to a lower surplus in trade balance, and the deficit in services, income, and transfers balance, as a result of the seasonal remittance of profits and dividends by foreign businesses.

The capital and financial accounts registered a deficit from the assets side, according to the central bank.

The court on Wednesday put off the verdict reading to September 23 after one of the defendants, Veerakan Musigapong, asked for a postponement due to his illness.

In his written request, Veerakan said he had been treated at a hospital since Tuesday (July 30) for vertigo, losing his balance and having difficulties urinating. His lawyer submitted the document to the court, along with his doctor’s health certificate.

The other defendants in the case are Nopparut Worachitwuthikul, Nattawut Saikuar, Vipoothalang Pattanaphumthai and Weng Tojirakarn. Nopparut led a group called White Doves 2006 and the four others were key leaders of the red-shirt United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship.

The defendants were charged with illegal assembly, causing unrest, carrying weapons and resisting the orders of on-duty officials.

On July 22, 2007, the defendants laid siege to Prem’s residence, accusing him of being behind the military coup in September 2006.

All the defendants except Veerakan showed up at the court on Wednesday. About 40 red-shirt supporters were present to offer them moral support.

Nattawut and Weng told reporters that they were not worried about the case and they would accept the court’s verdict, whether it ruled them guilty or not.

However, Nopparut said he was concerned about the case, maintaining that he had been wrongly charged with assaulting on-duty officers. He swore that he had not harmed physically any police officer in the incident.

“I stick to fighting in a non-violent way. I have never hurt anyone,” he said.

In September 2015, a lower court sentenced Nopparut to two years and eight months in jail, and the four others got four years and four months each.

They all appealed. Nopparut denied involvement in the alleged physical assault of the police officers. The four others argued that they had acted in self-defence.

In January 2017, the Appeals Court upheld the lower court’s imprisonment verdict of two years and eight months for Nopparut. But the court reduced the jail terms of the four UDD leaders due to their confessions. Their imprisonment was reduced to two years and eight months each.

Wissanu was responding to an allegation by Future Forward Party secretary general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul that Prayut failed to vow to protect and observe every provision of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand when was sworn in to the post of the prime minister on July 16.

Piyabutr raised the allegation last week when he sought permission to speak before Prayut kicked off the policy debate. Piyabutr said the prime minister was unqualified to deliver his policy statement to the Parliament because he failed to utter the required sentence when he took the oath.

But Prayut responded before the policy debate that the video clip cited by Piyabutr was edited to take out the party and insisted he had completely made the oath as required by the charter.

Wissanu said that since the prime minister insisted he had properly made the oath, he believes the oath taking was completed.

The deputy prime minister said it would be up to the opposition whether it would seek an investigation against Prayut over the issue.

Wissanu said it had been a normal practice for the prime minister to hold a meeting with top permanent officials to tell them of key policies after a government announced its policy statement to Parliament.

Wissanu said permanent officials are the people who implement the government’s policies, so they need to understand the policies and to be informed of what issues the administration will focus on and which works the government will carry out each year.

Since the government cannot speak of its projects in detail, the prime minister will hold a meeting with permanent secretaries of ministries, department directors general and provincial governors to inform them of the government’s plans.

Since many permanent officials will attend the meeting, the Government Hall will be too small, and so the prime minister will hold the meeting at the Impact Arena in Muang Thong Thani, Wissanu said.

The deputy prime minister said permanent officials, who do not understand the policies, may raise questions for the prime minister to clarify.

A source from the party said Suthin Klungsaeng, the chief Pheu Thai whip, issued the apology during the party meeting on Tuesday.

During the meeting, several Pheu Thai MPs noted that the party whips had not efficiently handled the time allocation for Pheu Thai MPs during the policy debate with the result that several failed to have their chance to speak.

Suthin then stood up to apolgise and said the whips would heed the recommendations to improve their performance.

Suthin explained that the party was given limited time and the opposition’s time slots were shortened by the government’s interference.

The MPs said they hoped to see better performance of the whips during the debates on the budget bill that would be held soon.