UPDATING All Day, Every Day
AP A Thai surrogate mother left with a Down's Syndrome baby abandoned by his Australian biological parents said she would like the baby's healthy twin returned after reports that the father is a convicted paedophile.
nytimes.com Claiming it had achieved most of its objectives and pressured by Western allies to stop causing civilian casualties in Gaza, Israel moved to wind down its operations there on Monday - either unilaterally or through a new Egyptian-brokered cease-fire announced late in the day.
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
nationmultimedia.com Thailand appears to have lost its leadership in the Southeast Asian region when it comes to human rights, as many people's rights have been suspended for speaking against the May 22 coup, rights expert Sriprapha Petcharamesree has said. Sriprapha previously represented Thailand at the Asean Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR).
bangkokpost.com Coup leader Prayuth Chan-ocha is giving up his prime-time television slot, moving his 'Returning Happiness to the People' show three hours earlier to 5pm in a move that allows for the return of sports and soap operas.
nationmultimedia.com Former education minister Chaturon Chaisang and academic Worachet Pakeerat became the first civilians to be tried in a military court under martial law since the coup after the court's prosecutors resolved to indict them for defying separate orders by the junta. Both were allowed bail. Khun Chaturon was arrested by armed soldiers at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand on May 27.
time.com The AP, citing a game distributor, reports that censors in Thailand operating on behalf of the country's military leaders have put the kibosh on sales of developer Haemimont Games' city-building Tropico 5 simulation because it might ''hurt the country's security.''
gamespot.com In Tropico 5, you play as the leader of a nation and have the ability to create a constitution by which to rule your country. As the Associated Press points out, you can even control the media in the game. Thailand itself has been under a military dictatorship since May.
The Ebola Outbreak
nationmultimedia.com Hotels and airlines are launching prevention measures for tourists visiting Thailand in the wake of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The Thai Hotels Association is sending a special notice to its 800 members urging operators to post alerts on the situation.
Phuket World of People
Phuket Update Firefighters quickly controlled a fire that broke out in a room at the Pearl Hotel in Phuket Town yesterday. The blaze was being attributed to a fault in an air-conditioner. Damage was contained to the room and a corridor. Nobody was hurt.
ttrweekly.com Efforts to tighten visa regulations and enforce a long established rule that foreigners should carry passports or other approved IDs at all times during their stay could further erode tourist arrivals in the short-term. Effective August 29, foreigners who fail to produce their passports will be fined 20,000 baht or jailed for up to two years.
dpa A Canadian tourist has been deported from Burma (Myanmar) because of a pictures of the Lord Buddha tattooed on his leg, local media reported. The authorities deported the man to Thailand on Sunday, The Voice newspaper reported.
nationmultimedia.com The Public Health Ministry has launched a fact-finding probe into a case of surrogacy in which a baby boy born with Down's syndrome and congenital heart problem late last year was left with the Thai mother. The priority is to try to determine whether the clinic in Thailand that carried out the operation for an Australian couple was registered with a regulatory body.
smh.com.au An Australian woman has vowed to fight to bring her unborn child home from Thailand, as officials crack down on the country's booming surrogacy business following reports that critically ill baby Gammy was abandoned by his parents. The mother said she would travel to Thailand with her family next month for the birth of her second child, who is being carried by a surrogate.
news.com.au The Australian husband in the Thailand surrogacy row has served a sentence in jail for indecently dealing with a child under 13, it has been claimed. Channel Nine reported that the man was convicted of indecent dealing with a child under the age of 13 in 1998 and served a prison sentence.
medicaldaily.com Surrogacy can be a gift of a solution for some parents who struggle with fertility. However, the international case of a seven-month-old baby boy born with Down syndrome gave birth to ethical problems for one couple and their Thai surrogate mother.
PTI Thailand's military junta has said that it wants to widen the country's railway tracks and expand the network to form transport links with important markets in India and China.
nnt The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) has reported that the construction of Bangkok's northern purple line electric train, Bang Yai-Tao Pun, progressed by 90 percent with some parts of it completed ahead of schedule.
bbc.com A candle-lit vigil at Westminster Abbey and a ''lights out'' event have concluded a day of ceremonies marking 100 years since Britain entered World War One.
news.com.au The Swedes consume the most caffeine in the world averaging 388 milligrams of caffeine in their coffee per person per day. That's almost five Red Bulls. Did someone say wired?
news.com.au Police in the Australian state of Victoria have delivered a historic apology to the 463 patrons of a gay nightclub who were stripsearched almost 20 years ago. According to the Star Observer, the police raid on the Tasty nightclub in Melbourne marred relations with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community.
bloomberg.com James Brady, who became a leading proponent of gun limits after he was grievously wounded in a 1981 assassination attempt on his then-boss, President Ronald Reagan, has died. He was 73.
in.lifestyle.yahoo.com Bangkok. Phuket. Pattaya. The beaches of Krabi and Samui. The highland haven of Chiang Mai. Most visitors to Thailand would tick these destinations off their itineraries. Yet, there's so much more to discover about the Land of a Thousand Smiles.
Around the Asean Region
bloomberg.com Visitors from China to Singapore dropped 27 percent in the five months through May from a year earlier amid slower economic growth on the mainland and the impact of a new Chinese law that clamped down on cut-price shopping tours. Total tourist arrivals slid 1.7 percent, according to the Singapore Tourism Board.
bnionmline.net At a press conference held at Rangoon International Airport on July 26, the new Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Burma, Ms Yang Hee Lee, said that she was told repeatedly told not to use the term ''Rohingya'' as this ethnic group is not recognised by the Burmese government. Ms Lee's use of the term ''Rohingya'' is consistent with her obligation to promote international human rights law, which guarantees minorities the right of self-identification.
todayonline.com In the wake of the downing of Flight MH17, Singapore carriers have been asked to review their risk assessment of flight operations over conflict areas, said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew.
smh.com.au A Malaysian navy vessel, KD Mutiara, fitted with specialised sonar equipment, has set sail for the Indian Ocean to join the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 that went missing nearly five months ago.
Phuket World of Sport
smh.com.au A record-breaking 109,318 fans packed out a stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan to see a friendly between Real Madrid and Manchester United. Man U won 3-1 and progress to the final against Liverpool.
Coming Events on Phuket 2014
August 8 Able Wanamakok, international television host and public relations/marketer, specialises in social media. She's speaking at IBAP.
August 11 Special holiday for Queen's Birthday
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
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
February 13-15 Phuket Yacht Show
