Thai PBS Lieutenant General Manat Kongpan, accused of human trafficking, turned himself in to Royal Thai Police commissioner Police General Somyot Phumphanmuang about 11.30am today.

bangkokpost.com The army adviser was charged with human trafficking, smuggling aliens and detention of migrants for ransom.

andrew-drummond.com The head of the Thai Police promised a full investigation into the organised Phuket frauds of Irishman Colin Vard after Vard's 16-year-old daughter launched a 'Justice for Jessie' Facebook and Youtube campaign. The Vard case is only the tip of the iceberg of property fraud on foreigners in Phuket and Thailand.


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



bbc.com Sepp Blatter's resignation as Fifa president just days after his re-election to the most powerful job in world football is a seismic moment. The 79-year-old has wielded power for 17 years but will leave with Fifa mired in a corruption scandal and a criminal investigation into the allocation of the next two World Cups in Russia and Qatar.

bangkokpost.com Coup commander Gen Prayuth Chan-o-cha has promised that if the new constitution allows a non-elected prime minister, ''It won't be me''.

npr.org South Korea is contending with the biggest Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, outbreak outside the Middle East. With two deaths, nearly 700 people are in isolation to contain the outbreak.



nationmultimedia.com Prime suspect Lt General Manat Kongpan said he would turn himself in to police in Southern Padang Besar to face justice after allegations of trafficking and trading in modern-day slaves: ''Please don't rush to jump into premature judgement on me, look into information of all sides and let the court to make the verdict.''

afp Myanmar's navy escorted a boatload of more than 700 migrants towards its western state of Rakhine, authorities said, five days after it was found adrift in the Bay of Bengal.

bangkokpost.com Almost 100 Rohingya migrants held at a detention centre in Surat Thani night broke windows in a protest against regulations, prompting a beef-up in security.

afp "The Rohingya have been discriminated against significantly, and that's part of the reason they're fleeing," Obama said in Washington at an event with young leaders from Southeast Asia.



bangkokpost.com Bowing to pressure, a land owner planning to develop a pig farm in a Muslim community in Krabi's Ao Luk district has switched to an egg-producing chicken farm instead.

bloomberg About 430 passengers from a Chinese cruise ship that capsized on the Yangtze River remain unaccounted for as rescuers worked into the evening amid rain and strong winds.

nytimes.com For much of recorded history, traveling up the Yangtze meant braving turbulent currents and shoals. In recent years, a more prosaic risk has been growing: poorly maintained ships and inexperienced crews.

Phuket Update Seven Navy warships have found no Rohingya and Bangladeshi boatpeople off Phuket and will reconsider their patrols from June 12. Burma's navy is towing a boat laden with 700 passengers to Rakhine state.

Phuket Update The Rotary Club of Patong has shared with the Rotary Club of Nakhom Pathom Thailand's highest award, the HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn Trophy, bestowed for a total of three projects that help the children of Burmese migrant workers and sea gypsies.

nationmultimedia.com Thailand's global ranking on administration by law has slipped nine places to 56 out 102 countries this year from 47th out of 99 countries in 2014, according to the World Justice Project (WJP)'s 2015 Rule of Law Index.

nytimes.com Facebook announced plans to open the Instagram feed to all advertisers, from the local tattoo parlor to global food makers, later this year.

theguardian.com Paris is removing all the ''love locks'' from its historic Pont des Arts. The tide of padlocks has since swept over the most romantic river crossings that people can find. It is as stupid as climbing a mountain and leaving a crisp packet at the top, or seeking out the most unspoiled beach and stubbing out cigarettes in the sand. A padlock won't keep love alive, that's up to you.

nationmultimedia.com Education Minister Narong Pipatanasai sacked Somsak Tachai last week as head of the Office of the Welfare Promotion Commission for Teachers and Educational Personnel (Otep) after allegations of corruption.

theguardian.co.uk Alton Towers theme park will remain closed as an investigation takes place into an incident on a rollercoaster in which four people were seriously injured and left stranded for hours along with a dozen other passengers.

nationmultimedia.com Amari Phuket celebrates its new Ocean Wing with special introductory rates that go from 4750 baht per night for a one-bedroom suite up to 10,925 baht for a two-bedroom ocean-view apartment.



smh.com.au Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was brought down by a 'Buk' ground-to-air missile, which exploded near the Boeing's cockpit then peppered the plane with shrapnel, a state-run Russian weapons manufacturer says. The claim confounds previous Kremlin claims that the flight was shot down by a Ukrainian fighter jet.

Try Phuketwan's Asean Today daily:
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/asean-today-mas-downing-missile-identified-anwar-hospital-rohingya-raped-camps-perpetrator-flies-home-22590/



bbc.com One spectator was taken to hospital after a piece of the scoreboard fell on him in strong winds at the French Open. The incident occurred on the main Philippe Chatrier court as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was playing Kei Nishikori.

usatoday.com Roger Federer, a winner at the French Open in 2009, was stopped short again, losing to countryman Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(4).

reuters New Zealand bowled with fire and fielded superbly to crush England by 199 runs in the second test and level a gripping two-match cricket series at 1-1.



nationmultimedia.com Cape Panwa Hotel and Kantary Bay Hotel in Phuket have once again been recognised as title sponsors for Phuket Raceweek, the region's top regatta, and will therefore be hosting the race from July 15 to 20. The six-day Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek 2015 is expected to draw skippers and crews from around the world.

June 1 Public holiday

June 20-21 Baba wedding at Old Phuket Town

July 14-16 Trial of Phuketwan journalists at Phuket Provincial Court

July 15-19 Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek