UPDATING All Day, Every Day
9news.com.au Gravely ill baby Gammy is set to receive some of the best treatment in Thailand after being moved to an advanced medical facility in Bangkok.
reuters Renewed Israeli shelling killed at least 30 people in Gaza on Sunday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep up pressure on Hamas even after the army completes its core mission of destroying a tunnel network that extends into Israel.
smh.com.au Chinese authorities have confirmed the deaths of more than 100 people in Xinjiang last week, underlining the worst bout of Uighur-related violence to hit the turbulent far-western region in recent years.
bangkokpost.com More than 5000 troops will be dispatched across Thailand to solicit public support as the National Council for Peace and Order moves ahead with the second stage of what it calls the reform road map. A total of 738 community relations units - comprising four to seven members - are being coached on how to approach the people and sell the military regime's ideas.
PhuketWATCH Daily Media Wrap
PHUKET: The daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media. Beware of inconsistent imitations.
Today's Top News Items
bangkokpost.com With almost half of the National Legislative Assembly lawmakers comprising military officers, it seems extremely likely that NCPO chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha will be nominated as the prime minister since the NLA is tasked with nominating the prime minister under the interim charter.
nationmultimedia.com The authorities have agreed to let Malaysia continue to facilitate the peace dialogue with deep South separatists - including representatives of Barisan Revolusi Nasional - which could lead to the ratification of an agreement and the joint preparation of a peace roadmap.
bangkokpost.com Four people were killed and 15 injured when an 18-wheel truck lost control on a hilly stretch of Highway 304 in Prachin Buri near Khao Yai National Park. The trailer swept off the road two oncoming passenger cars, two passenger vans and a big motorcycle.
usatoday.com Defying international pleas for a truce, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said military forces will continue the ground operation in Gaza at full force until it accomplishes its goal of destroying Hamas tunnels.
Coming to the End of The Run
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/423791/coming-to-the-end-of-the-run
POSING as a prospective student, Spectrum contacted several Thai language schools in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya, and found a range of standards, from the scrupulous to some that act as little more than visa mills.
The Ebola Outbreak
cnn.com A specially equipped medical plane whisked Ebola-stricken Dr Kent Brantly from Liberia to Georgia, setting up the latest leg of a race to save the man who's now the first known Ebola patient on US soil.
Phuket World of People
Phuket, Island of Symphony (Time Lapse)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE1jWkm8SmU
TIME-LAPSE photographer Saengthit Kamlangchai says: for those who would like to travel to Phuket, I would say go to Patong Beach if you prefer a fun atmosphere with lots of people or want to do some parachute boating. For more private beaches, go to Kalama or Surin Beach. I hope this helps :).
bangkokpost.com The military is successfully deterring Bangkok nightspots from staying open illegally after 2am, the officer in charge of the crackdown has claimed. Col Noppasit Sitthipongsopon, deputy commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, has been leading weekend inspections of clubs and bars in Phetchaburi, Thong Lor, Rong Muang and Patpong.
independent.co.uk Thousands of dollars have been raised for a six-month old baby after he was reportedly left with his surrogate mother in Thailand because he has Down's Syndrome and a congenital heart defect. Gammy was separated from his twin sister after an Australian couple allegedly refused to take him.
inquisitr.com The world is reacting to the news with outpourings of concern and anger. Changes have already been made to Thailand's surrogacy laws; like much of the world, paid surrogacy is now illegal in the military-administered constitutional monarchy where Gammy lives.
independent.co.uk ''Women in Thailand are the perfect candidates to become surrogate mothers,'' promises one website, suggesting that clients might even like to combine treatment with a holiday. A ''vacation with benefits'' is how the clinic describes it, but critics use harsher words. They call it ''fertility tourism''.
bangkokpost.com Peter Baines, founder and chairman of Hands Across the Water, the Australian-based charity leading fundraising for the child, warned that Gammy is still ''not a very well boy,'' but that his prospects for the future were now promising.
bangkokpost.com Four people were killed and another was injured in a fire at a big furniture shop in downtown Phuket.
voanews.com A massive landslide triggered by heavy rains in northeastern Nepal has killed at least eight people and left dozens missing.
wsj.com Dutch and Australian experts returned to the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash site for a second successive day, scouring the territory for victims' remains and personal belongings, even as Ukrainian government troops pushed on with their offensive against separatist-held areas in the region.
Around the Asean Region
news.com.au Indonesia's top anti-graft investigators are reportedly ready to look into a case subject to a suppression order in Australia but published on the WikiLeaks website. The matter is being reported widely and without restriction in Indonesia, and was the most-read story on the kompas.com website on Friday.
rappler.com While Thailand lingers in doubt over its future under a military junta, the aftermath of a bitter and potentially divisive presidential election in Indonesia is proving to be remarkably calm and open.
abc.net.au Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has called for the Internet to be censored to preserve ''public morality,'' in what the opposition suggested was an attempt to silence government critics.
salon.com Bali's population is roughly four million. That's comparable to the population of Los Angeles, a city that kills roughly 8000 dogs per year. Bali, during heavy euthanasia campaigns, has killed an estimated 100,000 dogs in 12 months.
Phuket World of Sport
bangkokpost.com Thailand came back from 2-1 down to defeat Serbia 3-2 to even their record at 1-1 in the 2014 World Grand Prix women's volleyball tournament in South Korea.
aap Australia's women's hockey team have won a third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal with an epic penalty shootout win over England in the final in rain-soaked Glasgow.
theage.com.au Australian table tennis veteran William Henzell has hit out at the Singapore team, claiming they tarnish the spirit of the event by stacking their squad with Chinese players: ''I don't think what Singapore does is in the spirit of the Games.''
Coming Events on Phuket 2014
August 8 Able Wanamakok, international television host and public relations/marketer, specialises in social media. She's speaking at IBAP.
August 11 Special holiday for Queen's Birthday
August 12 Queen's Birthday
September 24-October 2 Vegetarian Festival, Phuket
October 23 Chulalongkorn Memorial Day
November 6 Loy Kratong
November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket
December 5 King's Birthday
December 10 Constitution Day
December 25 Christmas Day
December 26 10th Anniversary, 2004 Tsunami
December 31 New Year's Eve
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
February 13-15 Phuket Yacht Show
