reuters The US said it would increase security at overseas airports with nonstop flights to the country and US officials cited concerns al Qaeda operatives in Syria and Yemen were developing bombs that could be smuggled onto planes.

theage.com.au Australian PM Tony Abbott has described Sri Lanka as a ''society at peace'', amid mounting speculation that two boats carrying Tamil asylum seekers have been handed over to the Sri Lankan navy in the middle of the ocean.

scmp.com China's state-run newspaper Global Times has warned its readers that Hong Kong faces becoming the next Ukraine or Thailand if it embraces a period of ''political upheaval.''


PHUKET: The daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media. Beware of inconsistent imitations.



bangkokpost.com Suvarnabhumi airport's 60 billion baht expansion plans were put on hold after the junta's state budget monitoring and scrutinising committee demanded Airports of Thailand Plc review them. The AoT will spend 1.3 billion baht of the 2015 fiscal budget on improving security systems at Suvarnabhumi, Don Muang, Phuket, Hat Yai, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai's Mae Fah Luang airports.

telegraph.co.uk Tony Abbott, Australia's prime minister, has been accused of breaching international law amid reports he deployed the Australian navy to pick up more than 150 Tamil asylum seekers and handed them over to the Sri Lankan authorities.

bangkokpost.com The military government wants a war on drugs that focuses on prevention and rehabilitation - and bureaucrats are racing to try to start the program.

nationmultimedia.com Airports of Thailand, the operator of Phuket International Airport and five other Tha airports, maintains its goal to welcome 100 million passengers in the 2016 fiscal year.

bangkokpost.com Plans by the junta to bring more happiness to Thais continue with the announcement of August 11 as another public holiday, creating a four-day Queen's birthday weekend to shore up the sagging tourism industry.

bbc.com The US and UN have condemned the abduction and murder of a Palestinian teenager in Israel, which sparked fierce clashes in East Jerusalem. US Secretary of State John Kerry called it ''sickening'' while the UN demanded justice over the ''despicable act''.

reuters Malaysian state investor Khazanah Nasional plans to take MAS private as the first step in a major restructuring of the loss-making airline following the disappearance of its Flight MH370, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

afp France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy has been charged with corruption and influence peddling, French prosecutors said, a dramatic move in a criminal probe that could wreck his hopes of a political comeback.

bangkokpost.com Two Cambodians have been arrested in Phnom Penh on charges of luring others into selling their kidneys in Thailand in exchange for money.



afp Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has summoned the team psychologist for an extra session with players after crushing World Cup pressure left some of them in tears, a report said.

World Cup Quarter Finals Friday
France v Germany; Brazil v Colombia.



hospitalitymagazine.com.au Chris Dodds will be showcasing his culinary expertise during a four-week residency as executive chef at Pier One Sydney Harbor. Dodds is executive chef at the Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa.

cnn.com Not only are tourists returning to Bangkok's usual party haunts, they're coming back to notorious red light districts, such as Patpong, Soi Cowboy and Nana Plaza. At least two companies are cashing in on the demand from timid thrill seekers who want to safely experience infamously raunchy shows and scandalous fetish clubs by offering the security of a chaperoned, well planned and efficient evening.

bangkokpost.com Letter: Western countries that have been so critical of Thailand following the coup were being ultra politically correct in denouncing the overthrow of a democratically elected government by the army. Is it really asking too much of Western leaders to reassess their comments in light of the positive actions by the junta?

abc.net.au Thailand's ivory market is driving the African continent's elephant poaching crisis, conservationists say, accusing the kingdom of backtracking on pledges to tackle the issue. In its latest report, TRAFFIC says the amount of ivory on sale in Bangkok could not have come from Thai elephants alone.

bangkokpost.com Concerned about Thailand's international image, the Labor Ministry is cooperating with the International Labor Organisation (ILO) to introduce good labor practices at workplaces operated by about 200 seafood businesses.

PA British artist Tracey Emin's controversial creation 'My Bed' has shattered the record for one of her artworks at auction selling for 2.54 million pounds. The 1999 Turner prize nomination features an unmade bed and a littered floor including empty vodka bottles, cigarette butts and discarded condoms.

reuters London house prices soared 26 percent over the past year in the biggest annual jump since 1987 as the economic recovery and record-low interest rates stoked a boom in one of the world's most expensive property markets.

smh.com.au A ban on bananas is among the more bizarre workplace rules bothering employees at one public relations and marketing office. A staffer, who did not want to be identified, said the smell of the fruit drives her boss bananas and all new employees are introduced to the no-banana rule on their first day in the job.

stuff.co.nz British Airways has developed a ''happiness blanket'' that will analyse the ''meditative state'' of fliers and change colors according to the passenger's mental state.



ninemsn.com.au Rights groups are calling on Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to take a tough stance in talks with Myanmar's government amid a deteriorating humanitarian crisis affecting thousands of ethnic Muslim Rohingya in refugee camps in Rakhine state. Mrs Bishop is on a three-day visit.

afp Imelda Marcos, the Philippines' most famous political survivor, toasted her 85th birthday as the country's former first lady made plans for a triumphal return for her family to the presidential palace.

abc.net.au Thailand deported former ethnic Hmong resistance leader Moua Toua Ter whose group fought for the US in Laos in the 1960s, Thai officials and rights groups said, raising concerns that he will face persecution in his homeland.

bbc.com The Malaysian government has said it will send a diplomat accused of attempted rape back to New Zealand. This would allow Muhammad Rizalman bin Ismail to ''cooperate fully and assist the New Zealand authorities'' in investigations, it said.

reuters Singapore is to stop issuing S$10,000 notes, one of the world's most valuable banknotes, as it tries to tighten its anti-money laundering controls.

irrawaddy.org The Thai junta, which has been ruling the country under martial law since May 22, has reportedly stepped up restrictions on the movement of more than 120,000 Burmese refugees living in camps along the Thai-Burma border.



zeenews.india.com Wimbledon 2014 witnessed yet another upset when Grigor Dimitrov knocked out defending champion Andy Murray in straight sets 6-1, 7-6, 6-2 in the men's singles quarter-final.

theguardian.com Roger Federer is two matches away from winning a record-breaking eighth Wimbledon title and he will not have to play his tormentor-in-chief, Rafael Nadal, in his semi-final on Friday.

reuters Romania's Simona Halep continued her impressive season with a businesslike dismantling of Sabine Lisicki at Wimbledon to set up what should be an enthralling semi-final against surprise package Eugenie Bouchard.

telegraph.co.uk Tony Fernandes finally confirmed the inevitable as he announced the sale of the Caterham Formula One team, putting the jobs of team members in doubt on the day they travelled to their home grand prix at Silverstone.



July 11 Arsanha Bucha Day

July 16-20 Phuket Race Week yachting, Cape Panwa

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