Phuket High on HFMD List; Thailand's Corr-UP-tion; Beer Battle Brews; Games Latest; Phuket Events

bangkokpost.com More schools will be ordered to close temporarily as the Health Ministry battles to curb the hand, foot and mouth disease outbreak.The ministry is also racing against time to prevent a more dangerous strain of the virus found in Cambodia from taking hold.

nationmultimedia.com According to the Public Health Ministry, 12,581 people have come down with the HMFD in Thailand between January 1 and July 9 this year. There is no report of casualties.

Phuket Update A graphic in today's Bangkok Post reports that the provinces with the highest infection rates between January 1 to July 9 are Phayao, Phuket, Chiang Rai, Surat Thaniand Rayong.

nationmultimedia.com Corruption in Thailand worsened in the first half of the year, with the private sector saying it must spend 30-35 percent of a project's budget as graft to win a government job, a survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Anti-Corruption Network found.

bloomberg Heineken, the world's third-largest brewer, warned it would act to protect its interests in Asia, after the founder of Thailand's leading beer and spirits group bid for a stake worth $1.6 billion in its partner in the region. The Asia Pacific region is a fast-growing one for Heineken, where it brews Tiger Beer with Singaporean partner Fraser and Neave.

bangkokpost.com A New Zealand-resident Thai woman accused of a lese majeste offence did not show up for a flight to Auckland after police admitted her to hospital. About 200 people had turned up at Suvarnabhumi airport to protest after learning that Thitinant Kaewchantranont, 63, was due to check in.

bangkokpost.com Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts makes a foray into the Asian beach scene with the opening of Crowne Plaza Phuket Panwa Beach Resort to tap its established corporate traveller market along with upscale leisure tourists: "There are roughly 3000 vacant hospitality jobs in Phuket and the Asean Economic Community will likely allocate these to skilled labor, as polyglot employees are needed to make foreigners feel at home."

smh.com.au A multinational medical company in the US accused of manufacturing therapeutic goods from improperly harvested human corpses is distributing dental implants to Australian patients. Ukrainian investigators say the grisly trade has left behind what they describe as ''human sock puppets'' - corpses stripped of their reusable parts.

bloomberg London's Heathrow airport is grappling with a record passenger surge as competitors begin arriving for the Olympics amid mounting concern about travel and security arrangements for an event that starts next week.

afp Burma's president told the UN that refugee camps or deportation was the ''solution'' for nearly a million Rohingya Muslims in the wake of communal unrest in the west of the country. Thein Sein, who had previously struck a more conciliatory tone during fighting that left at least 80 people dead in Rakhine State last month, told the chief of the UN refugee agency the Rohingya were not welcome.

irrawaddy.org Turkey is seeking to bring the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Burma onto the international agenda by calling on the global community to end its silence on the situation.

presstv.com The West has turned a blind eye to the plight of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar in an attempt to maintain its economic interests in the Asian country's lucrative market, a political analyst says.

bangkokpost.com "Hotel owners want something different from the market,'' said Markus Muller, the vice-president for Movenpick sales and marketing in Asia. ''In Phuket now are so many Thai and American hotel brands but none from Switzerland, which is considered to have the best hospitality academies."

nationmultimedia.com Le Meridien Khao Lak Beach & Spa Resort introduces 13 new Premium Villas situated on four acres of stunning beachfront land, west of the main hotel. Embracing the boutique villa concept and designed in a contemporary style born from the traditional Thai culture, the Premium Villas are set in their own private area adjacent to the main hotel.

Phuket World Sports Wrap

nationmultimedia.com Cape Panwa Hotel in Phuket hosts the Cape Panwa Phuket Race Week, one of Asia's most exciting regattas from today until Sunday. Many international race teams based in New Zealand, Australia, England, Hong Kong and other bays around the world will race against each other in four different classes.

bbc.co.uk Luxembourg rider Frank Schleck is out of this year's Tour de France after failing a drugs test. The 32-year-old, who finished third in last year's race, tested positive for the diuretic Xipamide on July 14.

telegraph.co.uk Britons are among the laziest people in Europe, according to a study which found that almost two thirds of adults are putting their health at risk through a lack of exercise.

afp Japan's world champion women footballers have kicked up a fuss after being left in economy class while their male colleagues lived it up in business on a flight to Europe for the Olympics.

Sourced: phuketwan