UPDATING All Day, Every Day
bangkokpost.com The US government will release the long-awaited 2015 Trafficking in Persons report on Monday, State Department spokesman John Kirby announced.
foxnews.com In a stunning breach of protocol, the national airline of Kenya, where President Obama will visit later this week, published the arrival and departure times of Air Force One, prompting scrambling by White House security officials.
news.com.au The pesky volcanic ash cloud hanging around Bali has forced the cancellation of more flights, and delays to a number of other services from Australia. Phuket is among unaffected alternative destinations.
bangkokpost.com Russian tour guide Belorzuko Nioxim, 25, had his face slashed early Wednesday in Pattaya, reportedly after catching two transvestite prostitutes stealing his valuables.
gazetteherald.co.uk Sophie Williams, a lecturer at Bangor University, is in a hospital in Bangkok after being struck down with Japanese encephalitis while conducting research in South West China earlier this month.
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
bangkokpost.com Authorities in Rayong have isolated a man with symptoms of the disease, and fear Mers has been brought in by workers from Korea - one of whom has died. Doctors have yet to confirm if the man has Mers.
therakyatpost.com Genting Hong Kong Ltd, the company behind the Star Cruises regional routes, ceased operating last week. it was reported that the cruise liner had been relocated to Xiamen, China. Its flagship, Superstar Libra, which can ferry up to 1480 passengers with a crew of 740, has stopped its weekly cruises from Penang to Krabi and Phuket.
reuters A Lufthansa plane with 108 passengers on board nearly collided with a drone as it approached Warsaw's main airport, the airline said. The drone came within 100 metres of the Embraer plane when the Munich to Warsaw flight was at about 760 metres.
Human Trafficking in Thailand
andrew-drummond.com The credibility of Thailand took another blow as the Guardian newspaper followed up on its report last year on slavery in the Thai fishing industry making it quite clear, if we were in any doubt, that officials were complicit in the trafficking of Rohingya - in many cases to their deaths.
voanews.com The UN's High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is pressing Thailand to allow more than 50 ethnic Uighurs to travel to Turkey despite pressure from Beijing to have them returned to China. Thai authorities are already under severe criticism for forcibly returning a group of Uighurs to China earlier this month.
Phuket World of People
bangkokpost.com The mothers of the two Myanmar migrants accused in the Koh Tao murders of two British tourists have flown in to support their sons as the hearing resumes Wednesday at Samui Provincial Court.
freshfruitportal.com Thailand's leaders have not succumbed to international pressure to drop the Natural Fruit v Andy Hall case, but an indictment decision has been postponed by the court. On his Twitter page, the British human rights defender said his lawyers informed him the Bangkok South Criminal Court had adjourned the decision until August 24.
bangkokpost.com Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has challenged anti-power plant hunger strike protesters from Krabi, questioning if they have actually stopped eating. ''Do they go to eat at night? I don't know. I did not look down on them but in the past, some hunger strikers have snuck out to eat at night.''
scotsman.com Plans to build an 800-megawatt coal power plant near some of Thailand's most popular beaches have sparked protests and a hunger strike by activists who say officials are not considering its impact on the pristine environment. More than 100 members of the Save Andaman from Coal Network this week staged a march and sit-in outside the prime minister's office.
nationmultimedia.com The Media Reform Working Group called on the National Reform Council (NRC) to review the draft law on press-freedom protection, saying the proposed law would place the media completely under state control instead of promoting reform.
Phuket Update Jet-ski riders rescued a Russian tourist couple from Koh Pu, a small island off Phuket's Karon beach, after they rode a jet-ski there and were unable to return because of bad weather.
nationmultimedia.com Red Planet had used the Tune brand, but after breaking up with Tune, a subsidiary of AirAsia Group of Malaysia, it is now transforming the hotels into Red Planet. The four in Thailand are in Bangkok, Pattaya, Hat Yai and Phuket.
bangkokpost.com Thai and American military representatives met at army headquarters in Bangkok for four days of discussions on joint activities and other areas of cooperation for this year and next year. For the first time, the Thai army invited reporters to cover the meeting.
newsweek.com Actor George Clooney and human rights activist John Prendergast launched a project that aims to expose people and companies that profit from conflicts in Africa. Called the Sentry, the project will attempt to monitor and report on the finances behind some of Africa's deadliest conflicts and uncover links between corruption, violence and the plundering of natural resources.
AP Hundreds of Ukrainian right-wingers were rallying in Kiev to protest against government policies in the wake of a deadly stand-off between radical nationalists and police in the country's west.
nationmultimedia.com Sixty volunteer lifeguards recently completed their training in Phuket Province. Organised by Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation (PPAO) with the help of members of the Surf Life Saving Australia. Most were from Phuket, with some from Khao Lak, Krabi and even Surat Thani.
stuff.co.nz Kiwi Scrabble star Nigel Richards has won the French-language world championships of the world game, without being able to speak French. Richards, 48, achieved the remarkable feat by memorising all possible words in the official French Scrabble dictionary, from two to 10 letters, AFP reported.
Around the Region
afp Eleven Cambodian opposition members and activists were jailed on insurrection charges, a defence lawyer said, including three who received a 20-year sentence.
Phuket World of Sport
scmp.com Babar Hayat scored 15 runs off four balls as Hong Kong won a last-ball thriller against Afghanistan to qualify for the ICC Twenty20 World Cup finals.
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
July Kathu Street Culture festival
August 23-30 Por Tor (Hungry Ghost) Festival
September Quicksilver surf carnival at Patong beach
October 15-23 Phuket Vegetarian Festival
November Patong Festival
November 20 Laguna Phuket Triathlon
November 25 Loy Kratong festival
November 29 Challenge Laguna Phuket 2015
November 29 Phuket King's Cup Regatta
December 26 Tsunami memorial ceremonies
Hi Ed
There is an interesting footnote to the Koh Tao murder trial.
Andy Hall has tweeted that foreign journalists are experiencing difficulty in getting translators who are prepared to assist them in following the trial of the two Burmese men on trial for their lives.
Previously a BBC reporter tweeted that one of their translators had been warned off. Not a good sign.
Posted by Ian Yarwood on July 22, 2015 17:57