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

bangkokpost.com People [on Phuket and] in southern Thailand are facing consumer goods shortages because of the increasing demand for goods for flood-hit areas to their north, reports said. The intense flooding from the North into the Central Plains, and now Bangkok, has prompted many people to hoard goods.

afp Thailand's flood crisis is taking its toll on the kingdom's lucrative tourism sector, scaring off nervous holidaymakers even though [Phuket and] the most popular destinations remain unscathed. Many would-be tourists are now putting off their visits, according to industry groups, in another major blow little more than a year after the capital was rocked by two months of deadly political unrest.
New arrivals seemed unsure of what to expect as they touched down at the city's main airport, Suvarnabhumi, which is still operating as normal with reinforced flood defences at a height of up to 3.5 metres.

cnngo.com Bangkok remains on high alert, with the Thai government admitting that efforts to protect the city from the incoming flood waters are failing. Bangkok is for the most part operating as usual, but tourists should take care given the lack of certainty.

qsj.com The idea is to let some waters run through the canals that crisscross Bangkok to escape to the sea, but it was unknown whether the operation could be executed without inundating large parts of the capital.

xinhua Honda Automobile Thailand said the company will give 100 million baht (US$3.2 million) in humanitarian assistance through Thai Red Cross Society to support flood relief in the country.

ft.com Japanese car makers like Toyota and Honda and electronics manufacturers from Sony to Western Digital, the world's leading maker of hard disk drives, have warned that production will suffer because of the floods, which have inundated an area the size of Switzerland and killed more than 340 people.

bangkokpost.com The government should review or scrap some of its populist policies and divert the money set aside for them to help people and businesses affected by the devastating flood, prominent economists said.

Phuket Update A savage storm brought the third extended power failure in the southern Phuket district of Chalong in a week, residents said. Power company officials privately admit that storms this monsoon season on Phuket have brought a larger than usual number of blackouts.

telegraph.co.uk Fighters marked the spot where Gaddafi was found by spray-painting above the drain: ''This is the place where the rat Gaddafi was hiding''.

cnn.com The UN and two major human rights groups called for an investigation into the death of Gadhafi amid questions over the final moments of the late Libyan strongman's life.

u.tv One of Northern Ireland's most notorious sex offenders has been jailed for 32 months. Graphics designer Ian Patrick Magill, 63, admitted being in breach of several Sexual Offences Prevention Orders by making a secret trip to Bangkok in January. Magill also faces prosecution in London after flying into Heathrow from Thailand with a laptop of child pornography.

telegraph.com.au Australian lobbyist Michael Photios's nuptials on the Thai holiday isle of Phuket, attended by at least seven MPs and the government staff of the NSW State Premier, puts in question the Premier's claims lobbyists will have "no influence" with his government. Mr Photios, 50, married 25-year-old Kristina Iantchev, his third wife.

bbc.co.uk Reports from central Burma say dozens of people are dead or missing after flash floods. Residents recovered 50 bodies, reports say many other people are missing and at least 200 houses were swept away.

cnn.com Indonesian security forces arrested about 300 protesters who gathered in the eastern province of West Papua to declare independence. Soldiers swarmed in after members of the Papuan Peoples' Congress read their declaration in the provincial capital, Jayapura.

pattayapeople.com Stephen Ronald, 62, from England, fell and badly injured himself at the Joy Hotel in Pattaya, dying soon after on a bed. His girlfriend Sirimart Proem-chon, 49, stated that they were on their way back to England. The minibus was about to pick them up, and Mr Stephen stepped into the shower to get ready.

andrew-drummond.com Britains Honorary Consul to Thailand's more than lively resort of Pattaya, Howard Miller, has resigned. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office recently decided to upgrade the Pattaya office to full Consulate with two full time positions, Vice Consul and Consulate Officer. The jobs were advertised but, surprise, FCO apparatchiks have not been fighting each other over the job.



smh.com.au Rugby World Cup final: The All Blacks have so many power sources and picked the same XV that obliterated the Wallabies in the semi-final. When in trouble, France often play dirty, and the All Blacks have to be prepared for some underhand tactics, especially if they dominate early.

telegraph.co.uk Manchester United owners, the Glazer family, are investigating the possibility of attending Sunday's derby against Manchester City before watching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium just two hours after the final whistle at Old Trafford.



October 24 Chulalongkorn Memorial public holiday on Phuket and throughout Thailand

October 28-30 Save Nature@ Phuket seminars and clean-up for divers, Phuket Marine Biological Centre

October 30 Jazz Summit, Lemon Grass Dome, Phuket City, 5pm-Midnight

November 1-6 Women's Beach Volleyball Series at Karon on Phuket

November 19 The Khao Lak Community Appeal and the Foundation for Education and Development are holding the second Khao Lak Charity Golf Tournament at Tab Lamu Navy Golf Course. Last year the two charities raised 420,000 baht for their causes, with a great turnout. Details: 081 5441837.

November 26-27 9th Phuket International Soccer 7s

November 27 Laguna Phuket Triathlon

December2-5 Phuket Musiq Festival, Saphan Hin, Phuket City, nightly

December 3-4 6th Andaman International Soccer 7s

December 3-10 King's Cup Regatta, Kata beach

December 4 Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship, Laguna



Late February Phuket Blues Festival, Laguna Phuket

March 18-28 National Youth Games, Phuket

March 29-April 1 Phuket International Boat Show, Royal Phuket Marina



November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket