theguardian.com More than 600 suspected paedophiles, including doctors and teachers, have been arrested across Britain after a six-month investigation led by the National Crime Agency.

AP A suicide bomber blew up a car packed with explosives near a busy market and a mosque in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 89 people in the deadliest insurgent attack on civilians since the 2001 US-led invasion.

washingtonpost.com Apple and International Business Machines will work together to create business software for iPhone and iPad users, setting aside a three-decade-old rivalry to cater to an increasingly mobile workforce.


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



nationmultimedia.com Though several senior police officers and academics have welcomed the NCPO's latest announcement on changes to the police force, politicians have been expressing concern. The changes, after all, look set to diminish political office holders' role and influence in the police.

csmonitor.com Thailand's Facebook users may be wanting to ''un-friend'' their government right now. A fake Facebook application that asked users to part with personal details such as their date of birth and email address has turned out to be part of a government program to monitor anyone who tries to access blocked websites.

bloomberg A Moscow subway train that derailed during morning rush hour killed at least 21 people and injured more than 140 in the deadliest incident in the Russian capital's underground system since twin suicide bombings in 2010.

afp Israel resumed a punishing air campaign against Gaza after its Palestinian foe Hamas rejected a truce and fired dozens of rockets over the border, killing an Israeli for the first time.



thephuketnews.com Karon Mayor Thawee Thongcham surrendered again at Phuket City Police Station to answer to five more charges relating to mafia taxi activity. Investigations revealed that illegal stands in front of Club Med, Avista Phuket Resort & Spa, Peach Hill Resort, Casa Del Sol Hotel and Baumanburi Phuket Resort have to pay ''rent'' every month.

Phuket Update The Phuket beaches clearance will reach the east coast for the first time today when 50 municipal officers and navy personnel descend on the small seaside village of Ao Por. Famous Phuket west coast beaches at Patong, Surin, Kamala, Kata and Karon have already been cleared.

bangkokpost.com The government should do more to tackle human trafficking gangs, says the Lawyers Council of Thailand (LCT)'s Human Rights Sub-Committee on Ethnic Minorities, the Stateless, Migrant Workers and Displaced Persons. State agencies seldom arrest human trafficking gangs, instead they punish the victims, pushing them back into the hands of traffickers.

thephuketnews.com Pol Col Sanchai Chokkayaikij, Superintendent of the Phuket Immigration Office, confirmed that the multiple Out-In visa hop is now officially dead: ''We can see [from their passport stamps] if a foreigner has stayed in Thailand too long [on tourist visas]. We will not let them in.''

xinhua Suthep Thaugsuban, who led months-long protests against the former Yingluck government of Thailand, was ordained as a Buddhist monk. Suthep and other political figures have been required by the junta to keep a low profile.

bangkokpost.com The director of the Thailand Information Centre for Civil Rights and Investigative Journalism (TCIJ) is refusing to disclose the names of journalists implicated in a bribery scandal.

andrew-drummond.com Some unhappy Brits in Thailand have been driven to distraction in attempts to get new passport under the new system.

todayonline.com Hundreds of women from China, Hong Kong and Australia visit Bangkok each year for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) with the option of choosing the child's gender by discarding fertilised eggs, or embryos, of the unwanted sex. The only other countries where the technique is permitted and available are the US and South Africa - in both cases at a higher financial cost.

nationmultimedia.com KFC announced its decision to temporarily close two stores in Pattani and another in Yala, following a rumor last week that it would do so because of intensifying violence in the Deep South. Stores in the Phuket area have been certified halal by the Phuket Islamic Council.

nationmultimedia.com Indigo Pearl, the shimmering sanctuary and concept resort breaks new ground with the launch of week-long escapes devoted entirely to sleeping. Available from now until December 25, the Art of Sleep includes 8 days and 7 nights.

bernama Thailand is spending 300 million baht to promote and develop trade at five border checkpoints bordering Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.

bangkokpost.com With Thailand's political tensions now muted, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is upbeat about regaining Bangkok's status as the world's top destination in 2015.

tribalfootball.com Liverpoolfc.com reports the Reds' popularity in Thailand has seen incredible growth since the club began communicating with fans in local language on Twitter, Facebook and through the official website, Thailand.liverpoolfc.com, and has now overtaken Indonesia and China as the country with the most Liverpool fans online.

belfasttelegraph.co.uk A mayor has stepped down after he was banned from all of the pubs in his town after he is alleged to have been involved in ''drunken'' behavior in his first day in office. Wayne Ronayne was banned from 36 pubs in Gosport, Hampshire, by the town's Pub Watch.

ndtv.com Paras Shah, Nepal's former crown prince known for his flamboyant lifestyle, was arrested by Thai police July 10 with 12 gm of marijuana. In November 2012, he was arrested by Thai police for possessing marijuana in Phuket. Later, he was released on bail before smashing property at a luxury hotel in Bangkok.

bloomberg One person killed every five minutes on world's deadliest transport network, a toll projected to rise to one every three minutes by 2020. India's roads are the world's deadliest, with 15 percent of global traffic fatalities and only 1 percent of the motor vehicles.

time.com Pharmaceutical company Novartis announced that its eye care division, Alcon, will license Google's smart contact lens technology, creating a tool to monitor diabetics' blood sugar levels through tear samples.

scmp.com At least two people died and about 32 were injured when a bus burst into flames on a busy street in Guangzhou.

nationmultimedia.com Siam Wellness Group plans to open two facilities worth between 40-45 million baht this year and will focus more on social-media marketing for spas, in Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pattaya, Samui, and four in Bangkok and three RarinJinda spas in Chiang Mai, Bangkok and Phuket.

nytimes.com L. Gordon Crovitz, a former Wall Street Journal executive who co-founded Press+, a technology for media companies, said: ''Too many daily newspapers still focus on reporting what happened yesterday, despite many readers having learned yesterday what happened yesterday.''



afp A Jetstar Pacific plane was involved in a near-collision with another aircraft at an airport in central Vietnam after a young intern was left in charge of directing a busy runway, aviation authorities say.

bbc.com A boat reportedly carrying illegal immigrants and heading for Indonesia has capsized off the south-west coast of Malaysia. Two have died, 60 were rescued and at least 18 are still missing, according to news agencies.

reuters Thousands of people in the Philippines fled from their homes as the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year made landfall, toppling trees and cutting power as it made its way straight towards Manila.

thediplomat.com Is the closing down of homeless shelters in Kuala Lumpur to cleanse the capital's ''image'' the last straw for Malaysian citizens? A new law will lead to an unprecedented closure of privately funded and run organisations.

bloomberg.com The price of luxury property in Jakarta led worldwide gains, rising 38 percent in 2013, with Bali coming in third place on 22 percent, according to a report by Knight Frank LLP.



afp Hundreds of thousands of jubilant fans massed at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate to cheer the World Cup winners and new national heroes bringing home football's top prize for the first time to a reunified Germany.

independent.co.uk England's leading bowler, Jimmy Anderson, faces suspension after being accused of a serious breach of the ICC code of conduct. India's management claim that he abused and pushed their spin bowler Ravindra Jadeja after the teams left the field for lunch during the first Test at Trent Bridge.

wsj.com Tiger Woods isn't favored to win the British Open, which starts on Thursday. But these days, major winners are often unexpected.

afp Dwyane Wade will stay with the Miami Heat to aid the club he helped to three NBA titles in rebuilding after the loss of superstar LeBron James, he said.



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



February 13-15 Phuket Yacht Show