bangkokpost.com Losses in China's stock markets ripped across Asia today, sending the region's benchmark gauge toward its steepest drop in two years, with Hong Kong and Tokyo hit hardest.

afp The families of two British backpackers murdered on a Thai island last year will attend the trial of the alleged killers, they said, in a grim case that has tarnished the country's tourist haven reputation.

washingtontimes.com Thailand is on the verge of purchasing three attack submarines from China for $1 billion, after the country's navy received exclusive anti-submarine warfare training from the US 7th Fleet.

bangkokpost.com An 18-year-old man was charged with reckless driving and driving without a licence over a fatal car crash that killed five soldiers in Surat Thani on Monday.


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



telegraph.co.uk The European Union faces ''the most critical'' moment in its 64-year history after leaders warned they had five days to prevent Greece from careering out of the euro and into a full blown humanitarian crisis.

nationmultimedia.com Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, minister of tourism and sports, called on the entire industry, including both the private and public sectors, to work on the principles of the ''three Rs'': restructuring, rebalancing, and repositioning. The aim is to market Thailand as a quality destination.

news.sky.com The trial of two Burmese men accused of murdering British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller is to begin on Samui today. The case has thrown a spotlight on Thailand's justice system after a chaotic police investigation and questions over the arrest of the Burmese men, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, both 22.



bangkokpost.com The government has effectively defied a demand by China and has sent an unknown number of Uighur migrants to Turkey. Only those who were able to prove they had Turkish relatives were sent.
http://bangkokpost.com/news/general/615940/uighurs-sent-to-turkish-haven

benarnews.org Two editors of an independent news website that has chronicled the hardships of Rohingya refugees in southern Thailand will stand trial next week on defamation charges brought by the Royal Thai Navy. Phuketwan.com editors Alan Morison and Chutima ''Oi'' Sidasathian could go to prison for reprinting a paragraph from a report by Reuters that implicated Thai navy personnel in human trafficking, and which was part of an investigative series that earned the news agency a Pulitzer Prize last year.
http://www.benarnews.org/english/news/thai/phuketwan-07062015190402.html



nationmultimedia.com The 14 anti-coup student activists are due to be freed after a Military Court rejected a police request to hold them for further 12 days. The court said continued detention would make it difficult for the students to prepare their defence.

bangkokpost.com Resentment inside the government about the way its critics have treated it still simmers, with a government intelligence team telling the prime minister that a US agency was secretly instigating the students to stand up to the military regime. The US denies the claims.

ndtv.com A Turkish Airlines flight made an emergency landing at Delhi's international airport after a pilot reported a ''bomb threat'' scribbled on a bathroom mirror. No explosive was found on the plane but all 148 passengers on the Bangkok-Istanbul flight are being questioned.

reuters Bangkok's tap water supply may run out in a month as the country waits for long overdue rains to replenish sources depleted by drought and threatened by seawater creep, the chief of the capital's water authority said.

nationmultimedia.com Six people were still missing as of press time after a boat sank off Phuket between Koh Racha Yai and Koh Phi Phi at about 3.55am yesterday.

afp Britain's capital city braced for travel chaos on Wednesday with a planned London Underground strike expected to be the worst in years, after talks to avert the 24 hour walkout broke down.

Phuket Update Kata Group Resorts has confirmed the appointment of Wiswin Pitikulsathit as vice president to spear head a campaign to build a more distinctive international profile. He joined Kata Group Resorts from the Bangkok-based Asset Pro Management Company Limited where he was a senior financial analyst. Kata Group Resorts owns and operates six resorts in Thailand.

washingtonpost.com An F-16 military plane collided midair with a small plane near Charleston, South Carolina, leaving two people dead, federal officials confirmed.

thefishsite.com Government authorities in Thailand are convinced that the crisis in the country's fishery industry, stemming from tougher government regulations, will abate soon and that seafood supply and prices will return to normal. According to a survey, the price of seafood has in some cases risen significantly.

Phuket Update Kasikorn Bank (Kbank) has advised all bank customers on Phuket to plan ahead as it will be closing all banking services, including ATMs, for 48 hours next week. Customers will be unable to use Kbank services from 10pm on Friday, July 17 to 10pm on Sunday, July 19.

thestar.com At least 14 people were killed in an attack in the north of Kenya by Al Shabab, the Islamist rebels from neighboring Somalia.

newsweek.com A Swiss performance artist was arrested in Paris for indecent exposure after taking naked selfies with tourists. Milo Moire, an artist and model, stripped naked but for her bright pink running trainers and offered to take selfies with tourists against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower.

Phuket Update GrabTaxi is preparing to push onto Phuket, following the arrival of international app service provider, Uber, which has sliced off a piece of the holiday island's taxi market since November.

nationmultimedia.com Explore the green spirit at Pakasai in Krabi. The Green Traveller package includes a two-night stay in a Deluxe Green Chalet with daily breakfast, a half-day canoe trip to the Tha-Lane grotto with a picnic and planting a tree at a school in Ao Nang.

techtimes.com Seniors can reduce their risk of heart failure by half with some simple and easy changes to their lifestyle, a new study suggests. The changes centered around health habits such as brisk walking during free time, being sensible in consuming alcohol, avoiding smoking and taking measures to avoid obesity can cut risks of heart failure.

nationmultimedia.com You can ''go exotic'' and take a refreshing dip in the drop pool at Phuket's Bang Pae Waterfall, which makes the infinity pool at a boutique hotel look like a fish tank.



afp The Philippines opened its case against China before an international arbitration tribunal, which it hopes will rule in its favor in an increasingly fraught territorial dispute with Beijing over the South China Sea.

nationmultimedia.com Thailand and Malaysia agreed at their Joint Trade Committee meeting in Bangkok at the end of last month to work together to boost two-way trade to US$30 billion (Bt1 trillion) by 2018.

Try Phuketwan's Asean Today daily:
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/asean-today-fighting-reported-burma-bank-accounts-frozen-military-spending-boosted-brit-died-cambodia-22787/



reuters Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been stripped of the welterweight world title he won after beating Filipino Manny Pacquiao this year for failing to comply with rules, the World Boxing Organisation said.

dailymail.co.uk Scores of Wimbledon viewers have complained over the ear-splitting grunts during Sharapova's latest match - claiming they were so loud they had to mute their televisions.

theguardian.com Serena Williams is two wins away from holding all four grand slam titles and, with chilling inevitability, it was her friend Victoria Azarenka who served as a stepping stone, albeit a noble one in defeat.

afp The caddie for 10th-ranked Kim Sei-Young of South Korea was kicked out of the US Women's Open after being discovered taking photographs of course set-up documents.



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

July 15-19 Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek