UPDATING All Day, Every Day
theguardian.com Israeli jets and helicopters launched dozens of air strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight, just hours after the bodies of three abducted Israeli teenagers were found in a shallow grave near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
reuters Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was being held for questioning over suspected influence peddling, a legal source told Reuters. Mr Sarkozy is alleged to have been helped to victory in 2007 with up to 50 million euros provided by Libya's Colonel Gaddafi.
AP An American who admitted fleeing to Thailand to avoid paying child support will go to prison and must pay nearly $171,000. The US Attorney's office said 61-year-old Randy Lee Essary was sentenced to 21 months in prison.
bangkokpost.com The National Council for Peace and Order's directives to solve the problem of mafia-style extortion gangs controlling motorcycle taxis are changing the way drivers operate.
theage.com.au Pop superstar Beyonce Knowles has dethroned Oprah Winfrey on the top rung of the Forbes magazine most powerful celebrities list.
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
bangkokpost.com A direct commercial air service by Kan Air to Koh Phangan, home of the famous full moon parties, is expected to begin this year. Routes will linking Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport, Chiang Mai, Krabi and Phuket, according to Somphong Sooksanguan, the airport's investor and Kan Air founder.
channel4.com He was one of Britain's most cherished TV personalities, inspiring generations of children. But Rolf Harris will finish his career in prison after being found guilty on 12 counts of indecent assault. Harris had denied all allegations.
nationmultimedia.com The military junta revoked the passports of six dissidents living overseas in a move to block their capacity to travel and force them to return home.
bangkokpost.com The first full-time centre to document illegal workers opened in Samut Sakhon as the first step toward ending human trafficking in labor. Others will be set up in all provinces over the next two weeks.
World Cup Latest
afp Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi hit out at American referee Mark Geiger after his side lost 2-0 to France in the World Cup last 16 in Brasilia.
smh.com.au Andre Schurrle and Mesut Ozil struck in extra time to earn Germany a 2-1 win over Algeria in a pulsating last 16 clash in Porto Alegre and a quarter-final date with France.
afp Disgraced Uruguay striker Luis Suarez apologised to Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini for the bite that saw him banned for four months and expelled from the World Cup.
Tonight's World Cup Games
Argentina v Switzerland; Belgium v USA
Phuket World of People
impactpub.com.au David Prince has been appointed general manager of the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa, Phuket, Thailand. A graduate in hotel management from Bournemouth University in the United Kingdom, Price was previously general manager of Hilton Beijing Capital Airport, where he managed the opening of the hotel.
ttgasia.com North Pattaya Alliance (NPA) has officially launched destination and branding campaign ''North Pattaya - More than you think'' to overcome its reputation for having Thailand's largest red-light district by attracting MICE business and Indian weddings.
voanews.com Thailand has been branded one of the worst global offenders when it comes to forced or exploited labor. The kingdom is trying to clean up its image while retaining the migrant workers who are valuable to its economy. Immigration officials tell VOA they expect to convert 90 percent of the undocumented foreign laborers in Thailand to legal status.
cnn.com The bodies of three teenagers missing for weeks are found in a field in the West Bank, and Israel's Prime Minister warns ''Hamas will pay'' for the deaths.
scmp.com The murder trial of Paralympian Oscar Pistorius resumed with experts saying they had found no sign of mental illness after a month of psychiatric tests.
afp General Motors announced another massive auto recall, calling back 8.4 million vehicles - 7.6 million of them in the US - following seven crashes and three fatalities.
bbc.com Around 30 bodies have been found in a fishing boat carrying hundreds of migrants between Sicily and the North African coast. Those who died appeared to have been asphyxiated.
foxnews.com North Korea has announced that it is preparing to put two American tourists on trial for carrying out what Pyongyang says were hostile acts against the country. Matthew Todd Miller and Jeffrey Edward Fowle were detained nearly three weeks apart in April.
bloomberg About 600,000 Chinese a year die from working too hard, according to the China Youth Daily.
smh.com.au A United Airlines jet made an emergency landing in Wichita, Kansas, after an emergency exit slide deployed inside the plane during a flight to California.
What's Happening Around Asean Nations
bnionline.net The administration officer of Arakan State's Maungdaw Township, U Kyi San, has issued a new order which requires multiple witnesses to verify all births and deaths of Rohingyas in the townhip, said a Maungdaw-based human rights watchdog named Halim.
nytimes.com Editorial: The evidence suggests Malaysia remains more concerned about managing immigration flows and helping employers than it is about the welfare of trafficked persons. For Malaysia to restore its credibility on human trafficking, it must abandon its blame-the-victim approach.
irrawaddy.org Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi launched an historic and in-depth look at the tropics, making public an unprecedented three-year evaluation of the social, economic and environmental issues at play in the 134 countries that straddle the equator. Though only 40 percent of the world's population lives in the tropics, the region is home to two-thirds of the world's extremely impoverished.
reuters A fatal bus accident and alcohol, not foreign workers' living conditions, were to blame for Singapore's first major riot in 40 years, according to the report of an inquiry into the incident.
Phuket World of Sport
afp Top seed Novak Djokovic and defending champion Andy Murray closed in on a mouth-watering Wimbledon semi-final duel after easing into the last eight at a wet and wild All England Club.
Coming Events on Phuket
Phuket Update For the first time in 100 years, according to Vegetarian Festival officials, there will be two ninth lunar months this year - which means the opportunity for two festivals. However, officials say they plan to keep the second nine-day celebration from October 24 to November 1 low-key and concentrate on making a success of the regular September 24 to October 2 festival.
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
