UPDATING All Day, Every Day
Phuket Update Canadian Mike Reynolds, 73, in a coma on Phuket since a drowning-heart attack while snorkelling off Phi Phi on April 22, has been flown home by Learjet ambulance for treatment in Canada, Facebook posts reveal. Australian lifesavers on holiday rescued him.
theguardian.com Two blasts have hit Nairobi, killing 10 people and injuring 70 as hundreds of British tourists were evacuated from the country due to the renewed terror threat.
bangkokpost.com Police retrieved no video footage from near the scene of Thursday's shooting and grenade attacks at Ratchadamnoen Avenue because power to their closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras was cut.
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
thejakaratapost.com The small island of Bali is predicted to reach saturation point when it will no longer be able to accommodate more visitors due to its limited carrying capacity, resources and space. In 2013, 3.2 million foreign tourists arrived on the island and stayed for only two to three days per visit. [Bali is five times larger than Phuket.]
Bali Reaching Saturation as Tourist Hub:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/16/bali-reaching-saturation-tourist-hub.html/
bangkokpost.com Senate leaders gave up on their attempt to install an interim prime minister, leaving Suthep Thaugsuban and his PDRC protesters isolated and scrambling for a way to continue efforts to eject the government.
bangkokpost.com A frustrated Mr Suthep called the Senate leaders ''gutless''. The demonstrators appear to be running out of options after six months of civil disobedience that has failed to unseat the government.
afp Thailand's once-vibrant economy is buckling under the strain of months of political turmoil that has paralysed government policy, scared off tourists and spooked foreign investors, analysts warn.
abc.net.au Political uncertainty in Thailand has taken its toll on the country's economy, but in some ways the financial impact has been less than expected.
nationmultimedia.com Reform Now Network (RNN) has urged the Senate and the Election Commission to consider a delayed election held with a referendum on national reform as a ''legal'' way out of the political impasse.
Phuket World of People
bangkokpost.com Thailand's Transport Ministry hopes roads will be safer after making driver hopefuls jump through more hoops to get a licence starting June 1.
cnn.com Narendra Modi, the leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, claimed victory as India's next Prime Minister, bringing to power a man whose controversial past at one point led the US to deny him a visa.
bangkokpost.com Consumers will have to bear the brunt of higher food prices. Ten popular a la carte items at food outlets will rise by five baht effective May 26. The government had capped prices at 35 baht a dish since 2012.
abc.net.au A Sudanese woman convicted of renouncing Islam after marrying a Christian man has been sentenced to death. The 27-year-old is eight months pregnant. She says she was raised as a Christian, but authorities in Sudan recognise her as a Muslim due to her father's faith.
pattayamail.com Two weeks after carrying through on threats to tear down structures illegally blocking the South Pattaya storm-drainage canal, city workers have removed half the obstacles and expect to clear the entire property by the end of May.
nationmultimedia.com Not quite right headline: Police try to arrest Indian businessman on resurrection charge
bangkokpost.com The Similan and Surin groups of islands will be closed to tourists until Oct 15 to allow natural rehabilitation, said Similan Islands National Park chief Nat Kongkesorn. He said touring activities will be suspended and accommodation on the island closed during the period, which also marks the monsoon season.
telegraph.co.uk The 'b-tourist' band, a strange contraption made of an elastic fabric stretched between two plane seat headrests, allows passengers to ''quietly eat, read a book, watch a movie and sleep without being disturbed'' in their own private area.
thecitizen.org.au A claim by researchers that vinegar should not be used to treat box jellyfish stings is being hotly disputed within the scientific community, with some experts cautioning that public safety guidelines should not be changed despite the new findings.
routes-news.com Firefly will launch two new routes in September, Penang-Krabi and Johor Bahru-Ipoh (Malaysia).
What's Happening Around Asean
reuters China's state-run Global Times newspaper backed the use of ''non-peaceful'' measures against Vietnam and the Philippines as it considered the possibility of war over territorial disputes in the strategically vital South China Sea.
bangkokpost.com Anti-China riots that have erupted in industrial zones in southern Vietnam over the South China Sea disputes could bring a windfall for Thailand as Chinese investors seek safer investment destinations.
pinknews.co.uk The British Society of Magazine Editors (BSME) has announced it will not stage its awards dinner at a London hotel owned by the Sultan of Brunei - due to his country's new rules on stoning to death people who are gay. As part of his Dorchester Collection, the Sultan owns The Dorchester on Park Lane.
time.com What effect will the celebrity-driven boycott of a hotel owned by the Sultan of Brunei really have, other than making a lot of people in Hollywood feel better about themselves? How about the Plaza Hotel in New York City or the Four Seasons in Scottsdale, or the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco? Those are partly owned by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, a country that also has Sharia law and criminalises gay sex. And yet, no one is protesting those.
telegraph.co.uk By turning the issue into a battle between gay people and the Sultan - which it isn't, it affects everyone in Brunei, not just gay people - we limit the opportunity for dialogue and put the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people of Brunei at far greater risk. As campaigners we need to avoid easy solutions that make us feel better and instead seek the solutions that work.
afp Malaysia Airlines said one of its planes was grounded after a service vehicle struck the aircraft's belly, the latest incident to dent the carrier's image after the disappearance of flight MH370.
reuters Indonesia's health minister has proposed the introduction of chemical castration to punish pedophiles in the world's most populous Muslim nation, following a string of headline-grabbing child sex crimes.
straitstimes.com Singapore Airlines said it will stop flying to Cairo and Riyadh from September because of what it called weak performance on the routes.
Phuket World of Sport
goal.com Barcelona star Lionel Messi has agreed a new contract. Messi extended his stay with the Catalan club until 2018 last year, but has long been anticipated to sign an improved deal to make him the highest paid player in world football.
news.com.au A section of the crowd at an Australian Football League match between Essendon and Sydney booed a concussed umpire as he was stretchered off the field by medical staff.
Phuket Coming Events 2014
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
