UPDATING All Day, Every Day
bangkokpost.com Stung by Thailand being downgraded in a major human trafficking report, the military has pledged to make the issue a high priority and will bring in stringent and comprehensive measures to end the problem.
travelfish.org A grand plan for a sustainable Phuket has yet to emerge, but for now visitors to Surin beach especially will have plenty more sand to stretch out on to watch the changing tides.
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
nationmultimedia.com Yingluck-aligned public servants have been formally transferred as the military undertakes a major bureaucratic reshuffle. Several key officials have been moved to inactive posts as part of the ruling National Council for Peace and Order's rotation of high-ranking figures.
bangkokpost.com Thailand's court system is slow, outdated and inefficient and needs an overhaul as part of the reform process, says former attorney-general Kanit.
nationmultimedia.com The junta leader is likely to double as prime minister in an interim government to be set up in September to avoid mistakes made by the 2006 coup leaders, a source in the ruling NCPO said.
abc.net.au ''When the temporary charter comes into effect [next month], it will be considered that Thailand is being governed under a Constitutional Monarchy completely,'' said General Prayuth Chan-ocha.
dailynews.com ''Thailand is like a sick man with cancer. But martial law is a very powerful dose of medicine,'' said Nirun Pitakwatchara, a physician who heads the National Human Rights Commission. ''As a professional doctor myself, I know an overly strong dose of medicine can kill the patient.''
nationmultimedia.com Letter: Developed countries with enlightened people must be negotiated with not dictated to. This is not in the nature of either the USA or the EU, hence their preference for a ''backward'' Thailand. They could be in for a shock and they know it.
World Cup 2014
afp A titanic second-round battle in Belo Horizonte saw Brazil beat Chile 3-2 on penalties after the South American rivals finished extra time locked at 1-1.
afp Colombia's sensational midfielder James Rodriguez struck twice in a 2-0 win over Uruguay in the last 16 to move top of the World Cup scorers list and stake a claim for player of the tournament.
Phuket World of People
bangkokpost.com Editorial: If tackling human trafficking gangs and the corrupt government, police and military networks that enable them is to be a priority, it cannot be done in the dark. It will require openness and transparency, and a media free enough to pursue such stories wherever they lead. A major symbolic gesture in that direction would be for the Royal Thai Navy to drop its worrying defamation case against Phuketwan journalists Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian. The pair, awaiting trial and facing up to 14 and seven years in jail respectively, were persistent in a long-running campaign to expose the networks trafficking Rohingya refugees.
thephuketnews.com For travellers Google's Flight Search is becoming a viable option for those looking for great airfare deals.
scmp.com Indonesian authorities are stepping up monitoring of flights from Hong Kong and mainland China in the wake of what officials call a ''significant'' increase in the number of drug-trafficking cases originating from China.
Phuket Update Pornsiri Chamnan, 29, was caught as she got off a bus from Trang at Phuket's Central Bus Terminal with 100,000 baht worth of methamphetamine pills in her underwear.
afp A Thai court has jailed a former Buddhist monk for five-and-half years for raping a teenage girl at his Bangkok temple, in the latest scandal to tarnish the image of the nation's clergy.
AP Kim McQuay, head of the New York-based The Asia Foundation in Thailand, describes Thai political history as ''one of forward and backward cycles rather than a steady progress toward democracy.''
bloomberg Boeing is close to announcing a new aircraft to succeed the 757 jetliner that ceased production almost a decade ago, according to the central Asian carrier Air Astana, which is keen to purchase the plane.
afp Iraqi forces pressed a campaign to retake militant-held Tikrit, clashing with Sunni fighters nearby and pounding positions inside the city with air strikes in their biggest counter-offensive so far.
news.com.au Two Ryanair jets have collided at London's Stansted Airport, but none of the crew members or passengers were injured, police say. Essex police said they conducted ''routine breath tests'' on both pilots.
What's Happening Around Asean Nations
3news.co.nz New Zealand woman Natalie Lowrey has been released after being detained for six days in Malaysia, where she was protesting against an Australian company's metals plant.
AP Thousands of gay-rights activists gathered in downtown Singapore on Saturday for an annual rally that came under unprecedented criticism from religious conservatives, with one influential Christian pastor calling on the government to ban the event.
themalaysianinsider.com More than 100 Malaysian radicals are in the Middle East fighting for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil), police revealed.
bangkokpost.com Htay Lwin Oo, of the New York-based Civil Rights Movement for Burma, told a seminar there was strong evidence Rohingya had lived in Arakan State for 300 years before Burma was created and the Burmese government should accept that fact rather than attempting to drive them out. Asean and the world community must not stand silent to the genocide in Burma, he said.
Phuket World of Sport
afp Serena Williams crashed to her earliest exit at Wimbledon for nine years as the world number one suffered a shock 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 loss against French 24th seed Alize Cornet in the third round.
xinhua Asian champions Thailand outlasted Belgium 3-2 in a five-set thriller for their first win in the China Women's Volleyball International Tournament.
Coming Events on Phuket
July 11 Arsanha Bucha Day
July 16-20 Phuket Race Week yachting, Cape Panwa
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
