thestar.com The 490 Sri Lanka migrants who made a harrowing journey across the Pacific on the cramped cargo ship Sun Sea are all in good health and some were spending their first night in jail in Canada. A source in Asia has told the Star that the ship has actually been at sea since April and made an earlier attempt to land in Thailand.


A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media.

bangkokpost.com The Democrat Party is urging state agencies to take action if any of their staff are accused of receiving kickbacks. Two bribery cases have come to light recently concerning the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Thailand Tobacco Monopoly. Democrat spokesman Buranat Samutharak said the agencies have to cooperate in ongoing investigations.

thestreet.com An Apple manager has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly accepting kickbacks from Apple suppliers, according to media reports. Paul Shin Devine, 37, allegedly accepted more than $1 million from Asian suppliers of iPhone and iPod accessories in exchange for confidential information about Apple, according to the AP. The suppliers allegedly used the information to win attractive contracts with Apple, the AP added.

MCOT Torrential rains cause floods in parts of the North and the Northeast of Thailand and damage a large number of houses and paddy fields. In the Northern province of Lampang, it has been raining since Friday evening and communities along local rivers in part of Jae Hom district are being hit by flash floods and overflows. Floods affect over 300 houses.

smh.com.au A Belgian has become the first person to die from a drug-resistant ''superbug'' originating in south Asia, fuelling fears it could spread worldwide after infecting people in Australia and Britain. The victim picked up the bug in a hospital in Pakistan and died in June, said a doctor from the Brussels hospital where he had been treated.

bbc.co.uk Malaysian men have been found guilty of setting fire to a church in January in a row over non-Muslim use of the word ''Allah''. The two had claimed their burn injuries were sustained at a barbecue. But a judge in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, said this was a fabrication and jailed them for five years.

cnn.com Two weeks into the catastrophe engulfing Pakistan, little relief is in sight. The brooding, granite clouds menace almost daily, erupting into more downpours that top up rivers just as they recede. The meteorological office is issuing new floods warnings, and people are clinging onto life by their fingernails. The UN says six million people are in need of help.

zdnetasia.com Twitter grew its global base by 109 percent in June over the previous year to clock nearly 92.9 million users, where Indonesia had the world's highest penetration rate, according to a comScore report. Some 20.8 percent of online users in Indonesia visited Twitter.com in June. The Philippines ranked No. 6 with a penetration of 14.8 percent, while Singapore placed No. 9 at 13.3 percent and Malaysia at No. 19 with 7.7 percent.

Associated Press The animals at Indonesia's largest zoo - many of them critically endangered - all could be dead within five years unless strong action is taken to change the culture of neglect and corruption that permeates the facility, a zoo official said. Hundreds of animals die every year at the Surabaya Zoo, and others suffer from hunger, stress and overcrowding, according to Tonny Sumampouw, the chairman of the country's zoo association.

Associated Press Countless disillusioned travellers who've been venting their frustrations since news broke of the spectacular meltdown of Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant who cursed a passenger on the public-address system and then left his plane -and likely his career - behind with one dramatic escape down an emergency slide. Many, but not all, gripe about nasty fellow passengers. To some, flight attendants are equally to blame for unfriendly skies.

independent.co.uk I couldn't quite see the point of going to Koh Samui in Thailand to flounce about in fluorescent face paint at half-moon parties with everyone I knew from London. It's this homogenisation of world travel that makes travel so much less exciting nowadays.

scmp.com A passenger on the helicopter that plunged into Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor last month says he nearly drowned because there were not enough life jackets on board and some of those that were available could not be opened.

scotsman.com If you are prepared to dodge or brave the strike threat, holiday, discounts may be even lower. Tui, which owns Thomson and First Choice, had already disclosed last week that it still has about 650,000 flights and holidays left to sell in the UK this summer, suggesting late-comers may get some real bargains. Other firms are expected to join in the price war. India and Thailand are favorite medical destinations for those seeking a hi-tech op at a bargain-basement price.



August 14-15 Baba wedding, Phuket Town
August 21 Rip Curl Hunt for Young Surfers, Nai Harn beach
August 29 Patong Rotary Golf Scrambles and fun dinner for charity at Laguna. Details: 081 8929207
September 4 Rip Curl Hunt for Young Surfers, Kata beach
Until September 9 Ramadan
September 11 Phuket Surf Lifesaving Carnival, Loma Park, Patong
September 18 Rip Curl Hunt for Young Surfers, Surin beach
October 1-3 Asian Hospitality and Travel Show, Central Festival Phuket Convention and Exhibition Center, Phuket City
October 8-16 Vegetarian Festival, Phuket
November 2-7 Phuket womens' beach volleyball, Karon beach
December 4-11 Phuket King's Cup Regatta
2011
January 6-9 PIMEX boat show, Royal Phuket Marina
February 9-13 The Bay Regatta - Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi