Updating All Day, Every Day
Krabi Update Three workers from a rubber factory in Krabi died while being taken to hospital after a crash involving two pickups and a bus bound from Had Yai to Phuket in central Krabi Town. The smash pushed the bus into a food shop last night. Ten passengers in the other vehicles were treated for injuries.
bbc.com Hamas and Israel have agreed to respect a five-hour ceasefire in Gaza after nine days of fighting to allow residents to stock up on supplies.
ft.com Time Warner has rejected an $80bn bid from Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox, setting up a stand-off between two of the biggest names in television and film at a time when content companies have become dwarfed by the cable and satellite groups that carry their programming.
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 The coup command has banned all coming local elections ''to eliminate political influence'' - but even the Election Commission has doubts it's a good idea.
nationmultimedia.com The ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has made another major move to tighten control on the political base of parties by suspending elections to local administrative bodies and replacing them with appointed representatives. The move is seen as an attempt to curb the influence of political parties over grass-roots people.
theguardian.com Rupert Murdoch has made what may be his last great play: to make his massive empire even bigger. Time Warner confirmed rumors that have been circulating for weeks - that it had received a takeover bid from Murdoch's 21st Century Fox.
bbc.com A Dutch court has ruled that the Netherlands is liable over the killings of more than 300 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men and boys at Srebrenica in Bosnia-Hercegovina in July 1995. The men and boys were among 5000 Bosniaks, mostly women and children, sheltering with Dutch UN peacekeepers.
scmp.com Two people remained in hospital after air turbulence tossed passengers and crew into the ceiling on a Hong Kong-bound jet, injuring 20. The South African Airways Airbus encountered ''severe turbulence'' over Malaysia.
Phuket World of People
Phuket Update The islands of Koh Naka Yai and Koh Naka Noi are the next targets in the great Phuket beach cleanup, according to reports. Surin, Patong, Karon, Kamala, Kata and Karon beaches are clear but others have yet to face destruction of illegal restaurants.
bangkokpost.com British brother and sister Ben and Emily Willgrass are returning to Phuket hoping to reunite on Sunday with the Thai couple - Yupin Sengmuang and her former husband Pichet Buaniam - who helped them escape the tsunami nearly 10 years ago. Journalists from television, newspapers and websites at home and abroad are seeking interviews with Ms Yupin.
asiancorrespondent.com Ajarn.com, a popular resource for teachers in Thailand, posted that after mid-August, ''anyone using back-to-back, 60-day tourist visas will be refused entry to Thailand - even at the airport.'' However, as is always the case, entry seems to depend on the discretion of the immigration officials and the validity of each person's claim to be a tourist.
bangkokpost.com Prosecutors have indicted two suspects involved in the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl on a train in a case that sent shock waves around Thailand and resulted in the sacking of the head of the railways department.
nytimes.com Four young Palestinian boys were killed when two explosions hit a jetty and beach where they were playing at the fishing port of Gaza City, an area that had been considered relatively safe from the intense Israeli bombing campaign of the past nine days.
nationmultimedia.com Bangkok police have arrested a Cameroonian man and a Thai woman for allegedly conspiring to hack a Thai construction company's computer system and send bogus emails to get the firm's business partner in Japan to wire six million into the gang's bank account. They will be charged with violating the Computer Crimes Act.
pattayaone.net Ladyboys Thanawut, 36, and Khun Mongkolchai, 33, were arrested in Pattaya with a gold necklace estimated to be worth 75,000 baht, belonging to the 47 year old man. Police saw the pair embracing, distracting then allegedly stealing from the Australian. The two admitted target foreigners who had been drinking.
reuters Thailand now has 44 IVF clinics in total, with seven new facilities opened last year and two or three applications for new clinics being submitted every month, according to the college. The Asian country has become the go-to destination for Chinese couples not willing to leave the gender of their baby to chance.
Phuket Update ONYX Hospitality Group has promoted Pierre-Andre Pelletier and David Cumming to Vice President Area General Manager South Thailand and Bangkok respectively. Pelletier will be based at Amari Phuket as the hotel's GM and oversee properties in Samui, Krabi and Hua Hin.
Media Release Yacht charter operator Burma Boating is expanding its fleet of classic yachts. With the beginning of the coming sailing season in late October, SY Sunshine and SY Aventure will cruise the Mergui Archipelago under Burma Boating's flag.
traveldailynews.asia In a recent guest satisfaction survey by Market Metrix, Outrigger Resorts was awarded the highest score - 97.8 - in ''can do attitude'' - receiving notably higher marks above major global brands including Hyatt, Westin, Marriott, Aston, Hilton and Sheraton.
abc.net.au Journalist: We have absolutely no idea what is really going on, day-by-day, on Manus, Christmas Island, Nauru, or on the water . . . things have taken place in Australia's name and we really have no scrutiny of, and no way of independently knowing if we're following the moral and ethical rules we'd like to think we stand for.
crikey.com.au The Australia Network will shut down in September, or earlier, and the ABC has prepared an alternate plan on how to cover off its international obligation, believed to involve beefing up the international coverage on ABC News 24.
foxnews.com Florida's Discovery Cove in Orlando topped the number one global theme park to visit and took a total of nine of the top 25 spots on both world and US amusement park lists.
Around the Asean Region
reuters An Archie comic book depicting a same-sex marriage has been barred from sale in Singapore after a complaint from a member of the public, and the National Library Board (NLB) is reviewing its currently available copies.
smh.com.au The first typhoon of the year smashed into the Philippines with wind gusts up to 185 kilometres per hour, killing at least 10 people and bringing down electric poles and ripping roofs off houses.
foreignpolicy.com We don't know who the winner is yet, but the presidential election in Indonesia, the world's third largest democracy, is already proving to be the most exciting in recent memory: messy, polarised, and full of drama.
voanews.com A Malaysian-flagged oil tanker MT Oriental Glory has been hijacked in the South China Sea and its cargo of marine gas oil siphoned. It is the latest in a recent spate of such incidents blamed on sophisticated criminal gangs.
globalanimal.org Singapore Airlines will cease active involvement in the shipment of shark fins from August 1 in response to a boycott led by Alex Hofford of the environmental organisation WildlifeRisk.
channelnewsasia.com Malaysia announced that at a date to be set, it will charge drivers of all foreign vehicles entering Johor Bahru. Singapore had earlier announced an increased Vehicle Entry Permit charge of S$35, from S$20, on foreign vehicles entering the republic effective August 1.
Coming Events on Phuket 2014
Until July 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
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
February 13-15 Phuket Yacht Show
The ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has made another major move to tighten control on the political base of parties by suspending elections to local administrative bodies and replacing them with appointed representatives. The move is seen as an attempt to curb the influence of political parties over grass-roots people.
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For Phuket such decision is logical step : mayor of Karon, and apparently of other municipalities, promoted inadequate system of "supporting nine occupations for local people" - incl.tuktuks - resulted in great imbalance between interests of "local people", where evet second household has a tuktuk/taxi driver in family, and the rest of society.
Obviously, area of competence and powers of local municipalities should be reviewed, and some industries like transportation by taxi should get proper regulation on state level too.
Defending interests of local people is right thing, but it should not become racket of all others.
Posted by Sue on July 17, 2014 13:42