ninemsn.com.au Aziz "Zyzz" Sergeyevich Shavershian, well-known on the Sydney amateur bodybuilding scene, died in Bangkok after going into cardiac arrest in a sauna, according to a post on his Facebook fan page. Mr Shavershian, 22, was rushed to hospital from a Bangkok spa but could not be resuscitated.


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

scotsman.com British Prime Minister David Cameron has condemned the disorder across parts of London and other major cities as "sickening" as he announced a recall of parliament in the wake of the worse unrest that has gripped the UK in decades.

telegraph.co.uk Officers were fighting disturbances in Manchester, Birmingham and Wolverhampton involving hundreds of youths who set fire to shops and smashed store windows. The Metropolitan Police said it would consider firing plastic bullets, never before used on the mainland, against the rampaging gangs, while police leave was cancelled and special constables drafted in.

smh.com.au Violence is rarely mindless. The politics of a burning building, a smashed-in shop or a young man shot by police may be obscured even to those who lit the rags or fired the gun, but the politics are there. People riot because they have spent their whole lives being told they are good for nothing, and they realise that together they can do anything - literally, anything at all. The people running Britain had absolutely no clue how desperate things had become.

independent.co.uk Magistrates began dealing with the first of hundreds of cases of alleged rioters as police cells in London were declared full. Last night the total arrest count stood at 563, with 105 people charged with offences related to rioting and looting.

irishtimes.com Mark Duggan, whose shooting by police sparked London's riots, did not fire a shot at police officers before they killed him, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said. The police watchdog said a CO19 firearms officer fired two bullets and that a bullet that lodged in a police radio was ''consistent with being fired from a police gun''.

smh.com.au Our response to big falls in the sharemarket is based more on superstition than logical analysis, and a lot of people who should know better are happy to pander to the public's incomprehension.

bangkokpost.com A German court has released the impounded Boeing 737 aircraft owned by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said. Werner Schneider, the insolvency administrator, seized the Boeing 737 in Munich on July 11 to force the Thai government to comply with an international arbitration panel ruling in 2009 for it to compensate Walter Bau AG.

afp Thailand's new Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra finalised her new cabinet, leaving out controversial leaders of the "Red Shirt" protest movement which helped propel her to power. The foreign minister's job went to Surapong Tovichakchaikul, 58, a relatively unknown lawmaker with Yingluck's Pheu Thai party.

bangkokpost.com With tourist numbers soaring, passenger traffic through Phuket Airport is expected to reach nearly eight million this year, surpassing its designed capacity by 22 percent. South Korea returned as a key market contributor with a 30 percent rise in the first six months of 2011.

NNT Council of University Presidents of Thailand President Prasart Suebkha has proposed that Thai universities adopt a new semester calendar, which corresponds to most of the Asean nations, for the benefits of Thai education. According to Mr Prasart, Thailand is the only country in this region with a unique academic calendar.

bloomberg AirAsia Bhd. Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes will take a stake in Malaysian Airline System Bhd., the 39-year-old carrier he dislodged as the country's biggest by market value in less than a decade. Fernandes and partners agreed to swap 10 percent of AirAsia in return for a 20.5 percent stake in Malaysian Air from state-controlled Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

bbc.co.uk A leading police officer insists the case of a murdered backpacker 11 years ago can still be brought to a "successful conclusion". Kirsty Jones, 23, was raped and strangled at a guesthouse in Thailand in 2000.

boston.com Once a destination for "those in the know" and now a destination for those intrigued by true love (thanks to ABC's season 7's 'The Bachelorette'), Phuket is fast becoming one of the world's most desired vacation spots. The Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa is located on the picturesque Mai Khao Beach, flanked by swaying palm trees and lush green landscapes, and a far cry from the tourist-laden beaches on the other side of the island. [Er, not quite.]

bangkokpost.com Outside the capital, Seacon Group owns the Renaissance Hotel in Phuket, open for 18 months now with an 65 percent occupancy and revenue per room of 4000 to 5000 baht. It previously developed villas for sale in Phuket under its Erawana subsidiary.

nationmultimedia.com USE obtained the franchise rights in Southeast Asia for Outback steakhouses and now operates eight branches. Three more Outbacks are planned in Thailand over five years, in Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket. Each will have 130-150 seats and cost about $800,000.

merimbulanewsonline.com.au Latest figures from the Bureau of Statistics show six-figure increases in some overseas destinations, with Australian visits to Indonesia and the US at record levels in June.

indiainfoline.com Intercontinental signed 4978 rooms (22 hotels) in the first half: 9 hotels in Greater China; 4 hotels in India as part of the deal with Duet Hotels India; 6 hotels in Indonesia and 3 hotels in Thailand. On August 8 ICH announced the signing of a 1224 room Holiday Inn in Macau with Sands China Ltd. 4538 rooms (15 hotels) were opened into the system, including 3 hotels in India and 9 in Greater China where ICH now have 154 hotels open and 142 in the pipeline.

nationmultimedia.com Phuket celebrates the annual Vegetarian Festival from September 27 to October 5. For more details about this holy event and its thrilling processions, call the TAT Southern Office: Region 4 at (076) 211 036, 212 213 or 217 138, or visit www.PhuketVegetarian.com



scmp.com British officials vowed to review security plans for next year's London Olympics after youths broke into stores and torched cars in Britain's worst riots for decades.



August 12 HM The Queen's Birthday public holiday

August 12 IBAP at Full Moon Brewwork Microbrewery, Jungceylon, presents Voranai Vanijaka, political and social commentator for the Bangkok Post

August 12-13 Phuket's Seafood Festa, Rawai

August 16-25 Phuket Flower and Vegetable Festival, Saphan Hin, Phuket City

August 26-27 Phuket's Seafood Festa, Phuket City

September 21-24 Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition 2011, Patong

September 27-October 5 Vegetarian Festival, Phuket

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

November 26-27 9th Phuket International Soccer 7s

November 27 Laguna Phuket Triathlon

December 3-4 6th Andaman International Soccer 7s

December 4 Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship, Laguna



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