bangkokpost.com The Interior Ministry has ordered governors to try to prevent anti-coup demonstrations in their provinces. The demonstrations are scheduled for Sunday.

Phuket Update Governor Maitree Intrusud has presided at the World No Tobacco Day opening ceremony at Big C in Phuket City.

afp The US flatly rejected a plan laid out by Thailand's junta chief to delay elections for more than a year to allow time for political reforms.

nytimes.com Thailand's military junta tightened its control with a far-reaching plan to appoint an interim government, write a new constitution and carry out large-scale public works projects. The junta also disclosed for the first time how long it intended to remain in charge - at least into the second half of 2015.

afp Australia is reducing its interaction with Thailand's military, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said, adding three planned activities - a military operations law training course for Thai officers and two reconnaissance visits - had been postponed due to the coup.


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



independent.co.uk In a speech intended to reassure Thais that the army has a plan to maintain stability and restore democracy in Thailand, Commander General Prayuth Chan-ocha explained that peace and reforms must be the country's first priorities.

thestate.com Prayuth said it would take the junta, called the National Council for Peace and Order, at least two to three months to achieve reconciliation in the deeply divided country, then take about a year to write a new constitution and set up an interim government.

todayonline.com Thailand's ruling junta outlined its plans to set up ''reconciliation centres'' across the country aimed at healing the effects of a decade-long political division that has often spilled into violence.

reuters In the months ahead, the military will have to grapple with how democracy will ultimately work in Thailand: through elections that inevitably return a pro-Thaksin government or through an establishment that aims to limit the power of elected - and, in their view, corrupt - politicians.

economist.com Among many ordinary Thais in Bangkok the coup is popular - for now. Residents were fed up with the political bickering that paralysed the capital for months. The move represents a massive failure of the political classes. It is a disaster not just for the Thaksinites but also for the Democrats, even if they are not languishing in jail.

theaustralian.com.au All flights into and out of Darwin airport have been cancelled because of a volcanic eruption on an Indonesian island. A plume of ash drifted over the Northern Territory coastline from Sangeang Api volcano on the island of Sangeang. Virgin, Jetstar, Quantas, Emirates and Airnorth airlines have all abandoned domestic and international flights.



nationmultimedia.com A 16-year-old Iranian and his 16-year-old American friend were electrocuted by leaked current from a lamp pole beside a swimming pool of a Bangkok condominium, police said. Daryush Hosseini and Paul Dougherty were on the on the ninth floor of the Charming Residence.

Phuket Update ''The crime rate across the island has fallen because the shops are closed earlier and the people go home earlier,'' Phuket Governor Maitree Intrusud is reported as saying. More than 40 soldiers have been manning the Tachatchai Checkpoint at the entrance to Phuket: ''There have been no incidents here of people contravening NCPO orders.''

bangkokpost.com The NCPO will allow Egat to proceed with an 800-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Krabi province despite opposition from environmental activists.

nationmultimedia.com The Foreign Ministry has ordered Thai Ambassador to London Pasan Teparak to return to Bangkok and report to the ministry as soon as possible. A spokesperson declined to comment on whether the order was the result of the envoy's close ties with fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra and former PM Yingluck Shinawatra.

ft.com A landmark ''right to be forgotten'' ruling against Google in Europe risks damaging the next generation of internet start-ups and strengthening the hand of repressive governments looking to restrict online communications, Larry Page, the search company's chief executive officer, has warned.

bangkokpost.com PDRC leaders who staged a party at a fancy French restaurant, complete with camouflage T-shirts, are getting roasted online, even by some supporters.

smh.com.au "Aussies don't want to work. Or they won't work weekends or public holidays. Or they can only work these days and not those days. Or they ring up and say they're sick and they were drinking with me the night before,'' says the proprietor of a successful restaurant.

scmp.com The air in China contains 10 to 20 times more fine metallic particles than in the US, according to scientists studying samples of air pollutants collected across the country, including Hong Kong.

vox.com McDonalds' Thailand chain posted a message to its official Facebook page, warning in Thai and English that any democracy activist who uses their logo or had used it in the past must ''cease and refrain from doing so with immediate effect.'' The company explained to the Associated Press that this was in line with their ''neutral stance'' on the ''current political situation.''

thephuketinsider.com Blink Design Group Bangkok has won an award for their interior design at Regent Phuket Cape Panwa. The accolade came as the 2014 Asia Pacific Design Awards in the category Best Hotel Interior.



Christian Science Monitor Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged that his country would play a bigger security role in Asia, setting Tokyo firmly on the side of Southeast Asian nations engaged in territorial disputes with China.

eturbonews.com With the recent military coup in Thailand as well as ongoing territorial disputes between China and its neighbors Japan and Vietnam, tourists are likely to opt for alternative destinations, including Bali.

aljazeera.com Malaysian police have detained 13 men and are looking for other suspects following allegations that a 15-year-old girl was raped by 38 men in the country's northern region, Reuters news agency says quoting local media. The alleged attack, one of several brutal cases this week underscoring the violence to which women are being subjected across Asia, sparked outrage among women's groups.

xinhua Powerful bursts of hot ashes erupted from a rumbling Mount Sangiang in West Nusatenggara province of Indonesia, forcing evacuation of growers from the areas at the slope of the volcano, official said.

irrawaddy.org The US Campaign for Burma has criticised the International Finance Corporation (IFC)'s decision to invest about US$170 million in the private sector development of upscale hotels and real estate in Burma, and said the projects would do little to alleviate poverty in the country.

themalaymailonline.com Australian authorities confirmed that the missing Beijing-bound Boeing 777 plane was not in the area where searchers have been looking. In the latest update, Malaysia Airlines System Employees' Union (Maseu) has advised the national carrier to ''put aside'' the world's biggest aviation mystery and focus on restoring its blighted image and waning fortune.

scmp.com A Chinese tourist and a Filipino worker have been rescued nearly two months after they were abducted from a resort off Borneo island, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said.



independent.co.uk England 3-0 Peru. Peru are an average to poor side and eventually Hodgson's players ground them down, with the assistance of a naivety at defending corners from the visitors that gave up two goals in the second half.



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