guardian.co.uk The prosecution case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund and French presidential hopeful accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid, is close to collapse, a report in the New York Times has claimed, with doubts now surfacing about the woman's credibility.


A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media.

Phuket Update Friday is a bank holiday on Phuket and nationwide. From 6pm on Saturday until midnight on Sunday, sales of alcohol on Phuket and nationwide are banned, meaning that many Phuket entertainment venues - bars, restaurants, nightclubs - will be closed until after the July 3 election.

guardian.co.uk Three British teenagers have been killed in a bus crash in Thailand where they were taking a gap year trip before starting university this autumn. Two other young Britons survived the head-on collision with another bus in the early hours near the town of Khlong Khlung on an overnight journey to Chiang Mai, a favorite stop on the ''gappers'' trail through south-east Asia.

cnn.com Actress Michelle Yeoh confirmed that she had been denied entry to Burma. Yeoh plays Burma opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in an upcoming movie. She had flown to the country on June 22 and was deported on arrival, she said.

smh.com.au Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has flown into a potential diplomatic storm in Burma after the dictatorial regime banned opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from meeting ''foreign organisations''. Mr Rudd arrived in Burma is due to meet Ms Suu Kyi tomorrow.

voanews.com Myanmar Times publisher Ross Dunkley was convicted by a Burma court of assault and immigration violations, but released in recognition of time served in jail while awaiting trial. Dunkley said the verdict was ridiculous and he would appeal.

bangkokpost.com The Election Commission has invited representatives from 10 countries to observe Sunday's general election, EC secretary-general Suthipol Thaveechaikarn said. Unofficial results from all constituencies were expected to be known by 10pm on July 3, Major General Prawut said.

bangkokpost.com Foreign embassies are monitoring this general election every bit as closely as they did the last one in 2007, but this time special attention is being paid to whether Thai society can avoid the potential for violence after Sunday's polls. The Chinese, Japanese, Belgian, US, British and Japanese envoys all had getting-to-know-you lunches with Thaksin's youngest sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, to discuss the political situation some time before she was nominated as the party's top party list candidate.

wsj.com With the rest of Thailand shaping up for a bruising standoff between army-backed conservatives and populist agitators during national elections on July 3, former massage-parlor tycoon Chuvit Kamolvisit is hoping to pick up the right number of votes to propel himself onto the losing side in Parliament and play out his self-appointed role as Thailand's anticorruption watchdog.

Media Release Thailand's political parties and newly elected members of parliament should make human rights a priority following general elections, Human Rights Watch said today. During the election campaign, parties and candidates paid little attention to the country's deepening human rights crisis, particularly the lack of accountability for the violent confrontations in April and May 2010 that left at least 90 people dead.
Other major concerns are the increasing repression of the media, and killings in the south and in the ''war on drugs.'' ''The violence and abuses since 2010 demand that Thai political parties put forward a strong human rights agenda,'' said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
''But while speaking broadly about the need for reconciliation, they have failed miserably to present any concrete plans on how to reverse the continuing repression of basic rights.''

dvb.no Three Burmese migrant workers who were held for ransom by human traffickers after being sold on to them by two Thai policemen were rescued by police from the same station in Bangkok. The three; Byauk Owe, 18, Ko Kyaw, 30 and Maung Owe, 19, who worked at a canned fish factory, were arrested by two policemen while having stroll on Sunday. May Thazin Oo, elder sister of Byauk Owe, said they were sold by the police to two human traffickers for 8000 baht each after they failed to show legal documents

aviationweek.com Malaysia-based AirAsia is planning to boost its flight operations and develop more routes to India. ''We are also considering flights to Phuket and Langkawi next year,'' says Suresh Nair, country head of AirAsia. The two destinations are popular among Indian tourists.

afp Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appointed his brother-in-law - who rights groups say may have been responsible for abuses in East Timor in 1999 - as the nation's new army chief. The promotion of Pramono Edhie Wibowo to full general raised speculation that Yudhoyono, a former general himself, is grooming his wife's younger brother to be Indonesia's next president.

prnewswire.com JetBlue Airways, New York's Hometown Airline, and Qatar Airways, named "Airline of the Year" at the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2011, announced the signing of an agreement to connect travellers seamlessly between the two carriers' networks via New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport. JetBlue is a top US domestic airline at JFK.


Phuket Update Darren Edmonstone, Managing Director of Outrigger Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific, is pleased to announce the appointment of William Visser as Vice President Operations, Asia Pacific. Visser will be based in Outrigger's Asia Pacific corporate office in Phuket, Thailand. He will be responsible for overseeing and directing all hotel operations of the group in the Asia Pacific region.

Phuket Update An auction of furniture from Phuket's Boathouse resort and Oasis restaurant will be held on Sunday July 10 from 11 am at a warehouse on Chao Fa East Road, near Wat Tai in Chalong. Included are rattan restaurant chairs, teak wood safari chairs, bamboo sofas, side tables, bamboo curtains, celadon lamps, china ware etc. Items are in peak condition and will be sold in lots of 2 to 10 pieces. For a list of items to be auctioned email napassaya@trisara.com and type: List of Boathouse auction items in the subject line. The new Phuket Boathouse launches on October 1.

thephuketinsider.com After 19 years one of the most successful resort hotels in the region, the 419 room Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket, has closed its doors. [The remade resort opens as an Angsana for next Phuket high season.]

bangkokpost.com The first major international pharmaceutical industry convention to be staged in Thailand is expected to attract 2000 international delegates and earn the country about 210 million baht. The 74th Congress of the International Pharmaceutical Federation in 2014 will be held at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center from August 30 to September 4, 2014.

prwire.com.au Recently launched platform LivingSocial Escapes helps online travel shoppers in Australia and New Zealand find one-of-a-kind holiday deals at unbeatable value. All travel deals and romantic getaways are available for one week. LivingSocial has partnered with the Baan Yuree Phuket Resort to bring an incredible travel deal: a romantic getaway in the Paradise of Phuket.


nationmultimedia.com Thailand's No 1 tennis player Tamarine Tanasugarn made history by becoming the first Thai to reach a Grand Slam semi-final following an upset in a Wimbledon doubles quarter-final. Tamarine teamed up with Marina Erakovic of New Zealand to stun the American pair of Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond 4-6, 7-6, 13-11.

smh.com.au Seven years after winning Wimbledon as a 17-year-old, Maria Sharapova has the opportunity again after dispatching wildcard Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 6-3 in their semifinal. She will meet left-handed Czech Petra Kvitova who won a rollercoaster match against 4th seed Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.

portlincolntimes.com.au Port Lincoln participants claimed two first places in the sixth Phuket International Marathon. Held on June 12, the marathon drew more than 4000 participants, including 12 from Port Lincoln. Between them, running 10.5km, 21km or 42.195km and a 5km walker, the group put Port Lincoln on the map, with two age-category first places in the 10.5km run.



July 2 Phuket Navy League US Independence Day fair at Headstart International School

July 8 IBAP at IndoChine, talking about mediation and the law in Thailand

July 13-16 Grapes and Grazing Festival, four northern Phuket resorts

July 15 Asarnha Bucha Day public holiday

July 20-24 Six Senses Phuket Raceweek

July 30-31 Phuket's Seafood Festa, Patong

August 12 HM The Queen's Birthday public holiday

August 12-13 Phuket's Seafood Festa, Rawai

August 26-27 Phuket's Seafood Festa, Phuket City

September 21-24 Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition 2011, Kata

October Vegetarian Festival, Phuket

November 1-6 Women's Beach Volleyball Series at Karon on Phuket

November 26-27 9th Phuket International Soccer 7s

November 27 Laguna Phuket Triathlon

December 3-4 6th Andaman International Soccer 7s

December 4 Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship, Laguna



March 18-28 National Youth Games, Phuket



November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket