nationmultimedia.com Six Fifa officials have been arrested in Switzerland for allegedly getting and paying millions in bribes. They face extradition to the US following a three-year FBI investigation. Fifa has been plagued by allegations of bribery for decades.
Full Report http://goo.gl/bqthQd

reuters Matthew Smith, the executive director of the Southeast Asia-based Fortify Rights group, has said in testimony to the US Congress that Myanmar's security forces are complicit in and profit from the trafficking. The government has dismissed the accusation.
Exclusive - Before Myanmar seized migrant boat, Rohingya whisked away http://goo.gl/vGDGtc

TNS Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered four days of air combat readiness testing as Nato forces take to the skies over the Arctic.

reuters Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel is the most powerful woman in the world right now, according to the latest ranking from Forbes.


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



bangkokpost.com Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tanasak Patimapragorn said Thailand is willing to consider a US request to use U-tapao airbase and Phuket airport as bases to monitor the movements of migrants in Thai waters, although the US must provide more details of flight routes.

nationmultimedia.com The country's top four press organisations says the draft charter threatens freedom of the press by giving state officials unprecedented new powers.

Phuket Update Phuket journalists Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian, still being wrongly sued by the Royal Thai Navy over coverage on Phuketwan of the Rohingya exodus through Thailand, will be available for interview by national and international media on the sidelines of Friday's meeting in Bangkok, from Thursday to Saturday.



bangkokpost.com Sharing the burden of dealing with the Rohingya migrant crisis with other countries will be among the key issues Thailand will raise at a major regional meeting in Bangkok on Friday.

nationmultimedia.com The United Nations has announced that the 208 boat people who were saved by the Myanmar authorities and are being held near border were from Bangladesh.

khaosodenglish.com Thai junta chairman Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha said authorities are investigating Rohingya rights advocates in Thailand to determine whether they are linked to human trafficking operations.



bangkokpost.com A Chinese man drowned in the waters off Koh Samet. Wang Lei, 53, was swimming with his Chinese friends in front of White Sand Beach Resort when he disappeared, police quoted Wang's Thai tour guide as saying.

nationmultimedia.com Thailand is setting up the Operation Centre for Patrol and Humanitarian Assistance to Irregular Migrants in the Indian Ocean (OCPHAM) to liaison with the international community in extending help any refugees set adrift, Supreme Commander General Worapong Sa-nganet said. [Warships sailed from Phuket on Tuesday to help in the search.]

afp At least 800 people have died in a major heatwave that has swept across India, melting roads in New Delhi as temperatures neared 50 degrees Celsius.

bangkokpost.com Officials of Hat Chao Mai Marine National Park in Trang insist the four-month closure of scenic islands during the rainy season is reasonable despite tourism operators' complaints against the park's strict order.

nationmultimedia.com Thailand remains an attractive country for global luxury brands as the cost of investment here is about half that of some neighboring destinations, said Kriengsak Tantiphipop, chief executive officer of The Emporium, who also manages Bangkok's EM District. The Mall Group plans to open a new shopping mall called Bluport in Hua Hin next year, followed by another Bluport in Phuket in 2018.

reuters A Filipina maid in Hong Kong has published stark photographs of burned and beaten domestic workers to highlight the ''modern slavery'' she says has long been the city's shameful secret.

independent.co.uk Scientists have the first proof that a ''brand new'' way of combating cancer, using genetically modified viruses to attack tumor cells, can benefit patients, paving the way for a ''wave'' of new potential treatments over the next decade.

bangkokpost.com Methamphetamine seizures across much of the Asia-Pacific region have quadrupled over five years, the UN said Tuesday, citing rising wealth as one reason for the boom.

reuters The Irish government agreed to sell its 25 percent stake in Aer Lingus to IAG, paving the way for the owner of British Airways and Iberia to make a formal bid for the Irish carrier.

bangkokpost.com A panel looking into hospital pharmacy charges makes two suggestions: Give detailed price information, and let patients buy from outside pharmacies.

telegraph.co.uk There are roads and a few cars on the island and Ko Jum is a kind of half-way house between the fleshpots of Krabi's Ko Lanta and the quiet idyll of the Andaman coast's most remote spots, with the most adventurous activity for visitors not bar hopping but snorkelling the coral reefs surrounding the island.



businessinsider.com Over the weekend, Singapore Airlines Flight 836, flying from Singapore to Shanghai, lost power mid-flight on both of its Rolls-Royce engines. The incident, which took place just south of Hong Kong, caused the airliner to descend 13,000 feet before the crew was able to restart the engines.

Try Phuketwan's Asean Today daily:
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/asean-today-flight-loses-power-both-engines-death-camps-revealed-punter-charged-cheating-casino-brit-diver-dies-22546/



Phuket News A plucky tactical call by Grenville Fordham and Bob Mott on Nina saw them recover from a dwindling start to rejoin the fleet then claim victory on corrected time in the Multihull class of the Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC) race series regatta.



THE Phuket Andaman Halal Tourism 2015 festival is to be held during May 28-30 will promote the Year of Thainess and assure worldwide Muslim tourists that Phuket is a ''Muslim Friendly Destination''.

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