UPDATING All Day, Every Day
reuters A Reuters examination shows that the government office set up to independently grade global efforts to fight human trafficking was repeatedly overruled by senior American diplomats and pressured into inflating assessments of 14 strategically important countries in this year's Trafficking in Persons report.
http://goo.gl/UvLFpT
reuters Two people were killed and 15 others injured when a circus tent collapsed in New Hampshire during a storm, a state fire official said.
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.
Top Stories
bangkokpost.com New indicators Monday all are negative: Falling prices even at the convenience stores, a lack of consumer confidence, export predictions more pessimistic than ever.
nnt The Thai government is preparing to send the initial donation of five million baht to Burma (Myanmar) to aid those affected by the disastrous flood, while Thai nationals residing in flood affected areas in Myanmar will be assisted.
Human Trafficking in Thailand
bangkokpost.com A fishing boat owner, her son and daughter have been arrested for allegedly luring Thai nationals into working illegally on trawlers in Indonesian waters.
nytimes.com Hundreds of young Rohingya women from Burma (Myanmar) are being sold into marriage to Rohingya men already in Malaysia as the price of escaping violence and poverty in their homeland. Many are tricked or coerced.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/03/world/asia/rohingya-women-flee-violence-only-to-be-sold-into-marriage.html
Phuket World of People
Phuket Update Region 8 Police HQ on Phuket officially opened following a formal visit by national police chief Gen Somyot Poompanmoung. The move of the HQ from Surat Thani positions scores more police on the holiday island.
walesonline.co.uk A young Welsh musician has tragically died in a scooter accident in Thailand after suffering a suspected seizure. Ross Mackay, 27, is believed to have suffered an epileptic fit while riding a moped in Pattaya and collided with a pick-up truck, sustaining fatal injuries. Ross was working in a call centre by day in Thailand, where he lived with his father, and by night he worked as a guitarist and singer at clubs and bars.
reuters Sweden has expelled a Russian diplomat and Moscow has retaliated by throwing out a Swedish diplomat, Sweden's foreign ministry said, declining to say when either expulsion occurred
AP The 193 member states of the UN have reached agreement on a new development agenda for the next 15 years that calls for eradicating poverty and hunger, achieving gender equality, improving living standards and taking urgent action to combat climate change.
bangkokpost.com The reform-before-election mantra is coming around again but it's questionable if its spell will hold this time.
dpa More than 100 people have been killed, most of them in India's eastern states, during heavy rains and floods over the past week, officials said.
smh.com.au The British police watchdog is investigating claims of an old cover-up over allegations that former prime minister Edward Heath abused children. Sir Edward died in 2005 aged 89.
time.com Two cranes collapsed on residential buildings in the Netherlands, reportedly causing a number of injuries but no fatalities. In a video, people can be heard screaming as the cranes lean into the building.
nationalpost.com A gigantic inflatable Minion took over a road in north Dublin after escaping from a nearby fairground. The 30 to 40-foot yellow henchman came ''flying across the road as we were driving,'' Erin Van Londen told the The Journal.
voanews.com Bangkok is sinking. That is not in dispute. There is no firm consensus, however, on how long the metropolitan area, home to about 10 million people, can remain inhabitable.
skynews.com.au A US hunter who sparked public outrage after posting pictures of herself next to a dead giraffe has defended her actions. Sabrina Corgatelli's images on her Facebook page unleashed a torrent of online abuse in the wake of the killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe by US dentist Walter Palmer.
Around the Region
wsj. com Malaysia's anticorruption agency said that 2.6 billion ringgit (about $700 million) was deposited into Prime Minister Najib Razak's personal account and that the money was from a ''donor contribution,'' not from 1Malaysia Development Bhd, a state investment fund also known as 1MDB. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission didn't say, however, who the donor was, nor the purpose of the contribution.
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
August 12 HM The Queen's birthday
August 23-30 Por Tor (Hungry Ghost) Festival
September Quicksilver surf carnival at Patong beach
October 15-23 Phuket Vegetarian Festival
November Patong Festival
November 20 Laguna Phuket Triathlon
November 25 Loy Kratong festival
November 29 Challenge Laguna Phuket 2015
November 29 Phuket King's Cup Regatta
December 5 HM The King's Birthday
December 26 Tsunami memorial ceremonies
