dailymail.co.uk English cricket is facing one of its darkest hours following allegations by former New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent of corruption in the county game. In a string of shocking claims, he says he was offered a woman and cash to fix matches by corrupt bookies and threatened by a world-famous international who moaned - after a fix failed to come off - that Vincent had cost him ''millions''.

nytimes.com A car bomb killed at least 43 people on the Syrian side of the Bab al-Salam crossing on the border with Turkey and wounded dozens more, an anti-government group said.

thetimes.co.uk Just 10 per cent of Britain's population owns almost half of the country's wealth, with vast holdings of property, possessions, savings and cash. Official figures found that 9 percent of the population are millionaires and more than one in ten have a second home.


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 The property market in Phuket has witnessed a decline, with many domestic and foreign buyers having delayed their decision to purchase a home so far this year. The resort-island's residential inventory - condominiums and low-rise property including detached housing, townhouses and villas - was more than 7000 units as of April 30, according to research by the Phuket Real Estate Association.

bangkokpost.com Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha warns of ''full force'' against political violence, as the Senate declares it has the power to expel the government and appoint an interim prime minister.

scmp.com Thai shares have fallen nearly 4 percent this month, one of the few equity markets in emerging economies - and the only one in emerging Asia - to register declines. The baht, moreover, has weakened over the past several days.

bangkokpost.com Suthep Thaugsuban has won as much as he possibly can, without plunging Bangkok into full-blown violence. Bangkok has been under mob rule for too long. Enough is enough. It is time to let the people decide whether or not they agree with him.

bbc.com Hundreds of British tourists are being evacuated from Kenya after the Foreign Office warned there was a ''high threat'' from terrorists in the country. Tour operators Thomson and First Choice cancelled all flights to Mombasa until October and said holidaymakers would be flown back as a precautionary measure.



wsj.com In April, Reuters received a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of this Rohingya tragedy. Two journalists at the online publication Phuketwan were subsequently indicted under Thailand's strict censorship laws largely for reprinting Reuters' award-winning coverage. This week, police in Phuket said indictments would be forthcoming for Reuters as well.

sussexexpress.co.uk The Lady Boys of Bangkok, whose show in Brighton is a popular annual attraction, popped into the Peacehaven Bowls Club this week - but were asked to remove their platform stilettos before they walked on the green. Red Hot Kisses is at the Sabai Pavilion, Brighton, until May 31.

cambodiadaily.com Sergei Polonsky, a Russian fugitive and former billionaire real estate magnate who was recently released from prison in Cambodia, has grand plans for a string of islands off the coast of Sihanoukville. His plans include turning the islands into a refuge for a group of travelers rather like himself - people seeking an escape from legal troubles in other countries, particularly from Russia. He is wanted in Russia on charges of embezzling more than $180 million.

straitstimes.com A flight from Sydney to Singapore on budget airline Scoot was diverted after a tussle between a husband and wife ended with the woman getting injured. The Straits Times understands the woman's arm may have been broken or fractured and the flight's captain decided to divert the plane to Bali so that she could seek immediate medical attention.

theaustra.ian.com.au A third passenger, who was drunk, was thrown off the plane after becoming abusive following the captain's decision.

afp The New York Times abruptly replaced its first female executive editor, Jill Abramson, and named managing editor Dean Baquet as the first African American in the top editorial post. Abramson acknowledged in an interview last month that she had four tattoos including a ''T'' representing the Times.

nytimes.com ''The biggest change is a realisation that we have to now go out and show our readers our stuff,'' Baquet said. ''We have to figure out ways for us to get read.''

theage.com.au Farag Fathy Farag, lawyer for Australian journalist Peter Greste and two other Aljazeera colleagues, has resigned in a Cairo court, blaming Aljazeera for jeopardising the case with its actions.

scmp.com The first batch of Hong Kong's 30-tonne stockpile of seized ivory was reduced to ashes, a symbolic move aimed at boosting the fight against the illicit trade.



theguardian.com At least 21 people were killed and nearly 100 injured in Vietnam during violent protests against China in one of the deadliest confrontations between the two neighbours since 1979.

smh.com.au The focus of anger has been China's decision - despite promises to settle territorial disputes via diplomacy - to deploy an oil rig escorted by a flotilla of coast guard and other ships off the Vietnamese coast, which resulted in ships ramming into each other and the trading of water cannon fire.

straitstimes.com The burning of a Singapore national flag by Vietnamese protesters, who apparently mistook it for the flag of China, has drawn a sharp rebuke from the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs that called the offensive action ''a serious incident.''

bangkokpost.com Thai Airways International (THAI) suffered losses of 2.6 billion in the first quarter of this year and expects to be in the red possibly for the next four months. In same period last year the airline made a 8.29 billion baht profit.

AP Malaysia Airlines said its net loss expanded 59 percent in the first quarter, hit by loss of revenue from China after the disappearance of Flight 370 two months ago.

asia.nikkei.com Currently, hotels in Yangon with four or more stars are believed to charge roughly $200-300 per night on average, five to six times that of three years ago. An official of a local travel agency said that hotel fees in Burma (Myanmar) are 50-100 percent higher than hotels of the same class in Bangkok.

bangkokpost.com Between 2007 to 2013 Thailand had lost export markets worth about 180 billion baht to other Asean members. During that period it also signed a trade agreement under the Asean+3 grouping that includes China, Korea and Japan.

theaustralian.com.au Mugged British Resident Richard Irving on rising crime in Bali: ''The police do not give one shit about it, they care more about extorting bribes from tourists without helmets.'' Last month, Italian woman Valeria Avallone was hospitalised and comatose for a month after a motor bike robbery.

lowyinterpreter.org Possible driving forces behind the introduction of sharia law in Brunei: 1. An ageing leader trying to shed his image as a playboy and restore the former power of his small state. 2. Tighter controls and further disincentives against 'internal strife' and criminal activity that may destabilise the Sultanate. 3. Greater investment from Islamic economies enabling faster diversification and the potential to become an Asian hub for Islamic banking and finance.

investors.com The Clintons have a bad habit of taking foreign cash without due diligence. Instead of giving back the Sultan of Stoning's millions, Hillary Clinton's former special counsel Mark Fabiani has been doing damage control for him.

theage.com.au After months of cozying up to the authoritarian government of Hun Sen, Australia has finally managed to convince Cambodia to accept its refugees from Nauru and Manus Island. Never mind that Cambodia doesn't have the resources or the human rights record to guarantee the proper resettlement of these asylum seekers.



afp Expectations were already muted, but England's chances at the World Cup have now been written off - by its own government. An assessment by the Home Office about extending pub opening hours during the tournament came to the conclusion that the team would fail to reach the knockout phase in Brazil.



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