UPDATING All Day, Every Day
bangkokpost.com A 39-year-old Russian man died after being beaten at a hotel on Pattaya beach of Chon Buri province late Friday night, police said. Security camera footage will be examined.
smh.com.au A gunman disguised as a tourist opened fire at a Tunisian hotel with a weapon he had hidden in an umbrella, killing 37 people and injuring 36, as they lounged at the beach and pool in a popular resort town. British, German, Belgian and Tunisians are believed to be among the dead.
independent.co.uk British actress Anna Reese, 28, has been charged with causing death by reckless driving after the car she was driving collided with a parked police car, killing an officer inside, about 3am on Friday in Bangkok. She left the scene and surrendered to police later.
theage.com.au The Supreme Court ruled that the US Constitution provides same-sex couples the right to marry in a historic triumph for the American gay rights movement.
Phuket Update Tests on two quarantined people on Phuket for the Mers virus have proved to be negative.
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 Stories
theguardian.com Assaults within hours of each other on a beach resort, mosque and factory leave over 60 people dead across three continents. Witnesses have described the horror and chaos of the gun attack on sunbathing holidaymakers in Tunisia that left at least 38 people dead and 36 injured.
AP The Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel, where the shootings took place, said the majority of the 565 guests at the hotel were from Britain and central European countries.
bangkokpost.com All local tour guides will be required to wear uniforms starting in October as part of a government campaign to upgrade the profession and weed out illegal operators. After January 1, any guides who fail to wear the uniforms while on duty will be fined 10,000 baht.
Full story here
http://bangkokpost.com/news/general/605260/uniforms-for-tour-guides-mandatory
bangkokpost.com Thailand has seen ''severe'' restrictions on basic freedoms since last year's coup while human rights problems persist in the Far South, the latest US human rights report concludes.
nationmultimediacom The US has a duty to explain why it put Thailand alongside countries experiencing the most significant human rights setbacks in its latest human rights report, deputy government spokesman Maj-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said.
Human Trafficking in Thailand
washingtonpost.com More than 25,000 Rohingya and others have fled both Bangladesh and the Burma camps since January, according to the UN, precipitating an international crisis after thousands became stranded at sea attempting to enter Malaysia and Thailand.
julianburnside.com.au Please let your local Federal MP know you are concerned for the way [Phuket journalists] Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian are being treated. Do what you can to make sure that Thailand (which depends significantly on the West) knows that their handling of this case is being closely watched.
Full story here
http://www.julianburnside.com.au/journalists-in-thailand-facing-jail-for-mentioning-thai-naval-forces/
Phuket World of People
bangkokpost.com Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra's net wealth increased by 38 million baht to 579 million baht during her time in office, it was revealed on Friday.
Phuket Update A seven-month-old Korean and a Thai returning from Korea have been quarantined at separate hospitals on Phuket so health authorities can wait to see whether their fever symptoms manifest as the potentially deadly Mers virus. Scores of people have been held in quarantine throughout Thailand but only one Mers case has been confirmed so far.
Phuket Update The Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation would continue to operate as normal and the standing down of President Paiboon Upatising over alleged discrepancies concerning the PPAO Hospital would be proven by an investigation to have no basis, Vice President Chawalit Na Nakorn told the Phuket media.
nationmultimedia.com A number of civil servants and local administrative-body employees accused of corruption that had been transferred through the use of the draconian Article 44 of the interim charter want to know why they were removed. In all, 71 high-ranking civil servants and members of local administrative bodies were transferred.
Phuket Update Authorities on Phuket said residents should not be concerned about a warning from Dr Smith Dharmasaroja, the man who warned Thailand before the 2004 Asian Tsunami, that Phuket was now vulnerable to earthquakes. But officials needed to be eternally vigilant and prepared, residents were told.
bangkokpost.com Around 1.4 percent of Thais are addicted to amphetamine-type stimulants, including methamphetamine and MDMA, or ecstasy, among the highest percentage in the world, according to estimates by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime.
nationmultimedia.com PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha affirmed that the daily minimum wage would not be hiked, as doing so it would require a large budget.
reuters Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha says he is not afraid of the press, but his government is to hold a meeting to teach journalists how to ask questions that won't offend him. Gaffe-prone Mr Prayuth has had a love-hate relationship with the media during the year since he seized power, at one point saying he would probably ''just execute'' journalists that ''did not report the truth''.
foxnews.com Islamic militants from the al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group attacked a remote African Union base in Somalia, beheading women and killing at least 30 people, officials and witnesses say.
usatoday.com A sightseeing plane crashed in southeast Alaska, killing all nine people on board, according to the company that operates the tours.
theguardian.com The number of hospital admissions in England related to alcohol consumption rose by five percent from 2013 to 2014, continuing an upward trend that has seen drink-related cases more than double over the past decade.
Around the Region
aa.com.tr Malaysia plans to bring in around 1.5 million workers fromBangladesh over the next three years, according to the country's home minister. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that an agreement would be inked between the two governments next month, as testament to the immense demand for employment from various industrial sectors in Malaysia.
Try Phuketwan's Asean Today daily:
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/asean-today-malaysia-hire-15m-bangladeshis-rape-convicted-man-rights-retreat-burma-thailand-22724/
Phuket World of Sport
news.com.au One thing leads to another, and with a chorus of cheers and stunned laughter, Matthew Hayden - one of Australia's greatest batsmen - strips down to his birthday suit and starts opening the manhole latch cut into the roof of the South African cable car.
Full Report
http://www.news.com.au/sport/cricket/the-untold-story-of-aussie-test-legends-naked-cable-car-surf/story-fndpt0dy-1227416198517
theguardian.com Lance Armstrong will return to the Tour de France to ride two stages in the Massif Central region next month. The disgraced American, who was stripped of his record seven Tour titles for using performance-enhancing drugs, will ride alongside Geoff Thomas on stages 13 and 14 for a leukemia charity.
news.com.au FIFA President Sepp Blatter has reportedly said he ''did not resign,'' fueling speculation he plans to hold on to his position of power at football's governing body.
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
July 14-16 Trial of Phuketwan journalists at Phuket Provincial Court
July 15-19 Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek
Julian Burnside AO QC backs Phuketwan.
One of the very best known and most respected Australian human rights lawyers is speaking up very publicly in support of Phuketwan journalists.
Yesterday he was sending out tweets with a link to a one page story on his own website, which had further links to a recent ABC documentary on the Rohingya featuring Alan and Khun Chutima and the Phuketwan story of 17 July 2013.
Any readers having trouble with the link above can click "News and Opinion" in the Julian Burnside site to read the story.
Posted by Ian Yarwood on June 27, 2015 09:12