reuters ''We will have mass casualties on our hands if there is not an immediate and concerted search-and-rescue operation by countries in the region,'' said David Hammond, a maritime law expert and founder of charity Human Rights At Sea.

twitter/step vaessen/aljazeera 15 year old boy attacked by Bangladeshi on boat stealing his food and killing 12 of his relatives he says

afp Myanmar may snub a regional meeting hosted by Thailand later this month aimed at easing the current Bay of Bengal migrant crisis, the president's office said on Friday.

rollingstone.com B.B. King, the larger-than-life guitarist and singer who helped popularise electric blues and brought it to audiences for more than six decades, died Thursday at his Las Vegas home. He was 89.

reuters Eighteen people have been injured in Thailand's southern province of Yala in a string of bomb attacks by suspected Muslim insurgents upset at recent measures to rein in separatist violence, the army said on Friday.


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



bbc.com Rohingya migrants on a boat stranded for a week in the Andaman Sea with no food or water say 10 people have died, while some are resorting to drinking urine.

bangkokpost.com Thailand turned away a boat carrying at least 300 Rohingya migrants found adrift in Thai waters, pushing it back out to sea.

sbs.com.au Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are all pushing the boats back to sea after more than two thousand people landed in Malaysia and Indonesia.

nationmultimedia.com Thailand's Prime Minister has ordered a survey of two unpopulated islands off Ranong with the view of using them to detain Rohingya migrants. Sources familiar with the matter identified the islands as Kangkao and Kam Yai, which are under the care of the Department of National Parks.

nytimes.com As a first step, President Obama should call the leaders of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, urging them to rescue and shelter refugees. The US can also use military and intelligence assets to locate drifting refugee ships and assist with search and rescue.



bangkokpost.com The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) said there are grounds to bring charges against former premier Yingluck Shinawatra relating to improper disbursement of compensation to red-shirt protesters and supporters.

Phuket Update Phuket officials are keen to catch the perpetrators who left more than 100 nails in the bicycle lane at Saphan Hin, resulting in three punctured bicycle tires this week.

bangkokpost.com More than 400 hotels, travel agents and airlines are offering 50 percent discounts to mid-week vacationers to help fill empty rooms and seats during the low season, said Anupharp Thirarath, deputy TAT governor for domestic marketing.

AP Nearly nine times more migrants have died in Mediterranean crossings this year compared to the same time last year - swallowed by the sea as Europe beckons. Smugglers are bolder and increasingly ruthless. They're taking more risks with unseaworthy vessels, and sometimes sending migrants out with no one at the helm.

bangkokpost.com Editorial: In waters that can handle 5,000 fishing trawlers, maximum, the government is licensing 12,000 to satisfy the European Union. This is a travesty.
http://bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/562131/stop-menace-of-the-seas

Phuket Update The prospect of a new, free shuttle bus service, provided by Airports of Thailand and running from the airport to Saphan Hin, Karon and Rawai was discussed at a meeting this week. With taxis still firmly in charge and anti-buses, such a concept seems divorced from reality.

washingtonpost.com The Amtrak train that derailed with eight deaths sped up for about a minute before derailing at a curve, the National Transportation Safety Board said.

bangkokpost.com Residents of Phichit, Phitsanulok and Phetchabun provinces on Thursday asked the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to probe alleged contamination from gold mining by Akara Resources Plc.

theage.com.au US Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe pardoned a man who spent nearly three decades in prison for a crime officials now say he did not commit.

gulf-times.com In its aim to lure high-end visitors to the country amidst an otherwise sluggish tourism market, Thailand plans to open its maritime borders for the foreign luxury yacht charter business. Until December this year, regulations should be in force that allow the granting of licences and the entry of non-Thai-flagged luxury yachts into Thai waters for chartering purposes, Chula Sukmanop, director-general of Thailand's Marine Department was quoted as saying. This is just in time for an international yacht fair organised in Phuket.

metro.co.uk One of the best loved voice actors of The Simpsons looks set to depart the show, with Harry Shearer taking to Twitter to seemingly announce that he has been canned from the show.



smh.com.au The US plans to station B-1 bombers in Australia as part of efforts to deter Chinese ambitions in the South China Sea.

Try Phuketwan's Asean Today daily:
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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