UPDATING All Day, Every Day
AP A robot has killed a contractor at one of Volkswagen's production plants in Germany, the automaker said. Initial investigations indicate human error was to blame.
smh.com.au An injury time own goal from England defender Laura Bassett put Japan into the World Cup final with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday, setting up a title rematch with the United States.
reuters Egypt's army said more than 100 militants and 17 soldiers were killed after simultaneous assaults on military checkpoints in North Sinai, in the deadliest fighting in years in the restive province.
syracuse.com California woman Amber Pangborn, 35, was recently rescued from a forest with her newborn baby after a three-day ordeal, saying she gave birth, fought off bugs and started a wildfire before help arrived.
http://www.syracuse.com/us-news/index.ssf/2015/07/pregnant_woman.html
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 Stories
bangkokpost.com The prime minister says the medical care scheme for 47 million people is an expensive populist gimmick designed for Thaksin and about to bankrupt hospitals.
samuitimes.com An Australian family appealing for urgent assistance in locating two American backpackers who were in the popular Green Mango Club on June 9, 2014 hopes newly received iphone footage help with their search. On the night in question Jack-Hansen-Bartel was attacked, his family is now requesting worldwide help from the public in locating two witnesses who were interviewed at the Green Mango at the time of the attack.
nationmultimedia.com The fisheries sector warned that overly strict fishery regulations being implemented under the ''illegal, unreported and unregulated'' (IUU) fishing protocol will result in the collapse of Thai fishery and related industries, which will affect Thai people's access to seafood.
Human Trafficking in Thailand
bangkokpost.com Police have arrested two men they say are key figures in a human-trafficking ring that lures people to work on fishing boats in Indonesia's Ambon island and sells them to boat owners. The victims were duped and sold to boat owners for 30,000 baht each, and then taken to work on fishing boats in Indonesia, according to The Associated Press.
Phuket World of People
Phuket Update Tour guides and operators will face charges if their clients are found to break local laws to protect the environment, Santi Pawai, the director of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports Phuket office, has warned.
thephuketinsider.com A new kids attraction at the main Big C in Phuket City is gaining momentum. The 50Fly Club is a large trampoline facility aimed at a wide range of users.
nytimes.com Nicholas Winton, a Briton who said nothing for a half-century about his role in organising the escape of 669 mostly Jewish children from Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War II, a righteous deed like those of Oskar Schindler and Raoul Wallenberg, died in Maidenhead, England. He was 106.
bangkokpost.com Bangkok ranks among the world's best for affordable common hotel dining options, while Geneva, Paris and Hong Kong are the priciest, says a survey by Hotels.com.
afp Oregon became the fourth US state to allow the recreational use of marijuana, amid a growing legalisation trend in the western United States.
nytimes.com President Obama announced his plans to formally re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba this month, declaring that the two nations were ready to reopen embassies in each other's capitals and to start a ''new chapter'' of engagement after more than a half-century of estrangement.
washingtonpost.com At a news conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal announced his plan to give away his entire $32 billion fortune in the coming years because of his commitment to philanthropy.
theage.com.au Conservative Australian cabinet minister Eric Abetz says Australia should not legalise gay marriage because no Asian country has adopted marriage equality.
dailystar.co.uk Thousands of people battled the heat in Oxford Circus underground station in London, where the temperature rose to a face-melting 37C - hotter than it was above ground.
Around the Region
nytimes.com As Hong Kong marked the 18th anniversary of its handover from Britain to China, thousands of residents took to the streets in what has become an annual tradition of rallying for greater democracy. Some protesters held a British flag aloft, while others held up the colonial-era banner.
Try Phuketwan's Asean Today daily:
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/asean-today-crash-plane-years-old-queues-burma-kfc-sues-activist-vietnam-cambodia-clash-22747/
Phuket World of Sport
abc.net.au Sepp Blatter, president of the world soccer governing body FIFA that is embroiled in corruption investigations, has told a German magazine he has a clean conscience and believes he will "go to heaven one day".
afp Wimbledon's famed Centre Court was evacuated after the close of play on Wednesday as firemen and police responded to a fire alarm.
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
July 14-16 Trial of Phuketwan journalists at Phuket Provincial Court
July 15-19 Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek
Bangkok Post published yesterday the special report from Bloomberg on shadow economy that has been not touched by the fight with a corruption since the coup, on an example of BKK Soi Cowboy - actually, issues many times risen by PW and readers:
"The bar, the prostitution, even the food stall are illegal, part of a shadow economy that one economist estimates is worth more than two-fifths of the nation's gross domestic product. The government says it has cracked down on corruption, and that's the reason why the country has the slowest economic growth among developing nations in East Asia. Yet on the streets of the capital, there's little sign of any difference.
Payments to bribe officials and mafia are higher now, so everyone is earning less, said Fern, who uses an alias because the bar she's been running for almost five years is unlicensed. She said it has become more expensive since the army took over because the people she pays said they also have to pay more.
Posted by Sue on July 2, 2015 07:04
Editor Comment:
There's a link to that report from yesterday's PhuketWATCH column. The heading is 'Corrupt Thailand Unchanged, Says Bloomberg.'