World Cup rugby update Argentina 13, Scotland 12; Ireland 62, Russia 12; Samoa 27, Fiji 7.

Phuket Update The driver of a car that crashed about 10pm last night into a canal in the Poonpol district of Phuket City is believed to have escaped alive.



bangkokpost.com Flood have battered 23 Thai provinces and claimed 152 lives over the past two months, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said.

nationmultimedia.com The death toll in the series of three bomb attacks that rocked Narathiwat's Sungai Kolok district on September 16 has risen to six after a journalist succumbed to his injuries.

news.com.au Savvy travellers are well-prepared for the slide in the Australian dollar and are booking holidays ready for the drop, an industry expert has warned.[Direct flights have made Phuket popular.]

bangkokpost.com Local prostitutes conscripted by gangs to pose as hunters are at the centre of an alleged Southeast Asian smuggling network that South African authorities are scrambling to stop. At the centre of the criminal networks are Thai and Vietnamese gangs accused of taking advantage of provisions in South African wildlife laws to harvest rhino horns under the guise of legitimate big-game hunting.

scmp.com The dwindling number of smokers in Hong Kong is setting the city on course to become the rich world's first ''smoke-free'' city.Just 11percent of adult residents use tobacco after steep falls in the habit thanks to restrictions on lighting up, tax increases and peer pressure, health experts say.

property-report.com Phuket is famous for its postcard views of untouched white beaches and azure waters and this is the image a lot of people have in mind when they holiday or buy property on the island. In reality, it is now hard to find an untouched area of Phuket as development has transformed the island landscape.

eadt.co.uk Former Phuket diving instructor Shane Free, left in a coma following a near-fatal motorcycle crash, will return to Phuket next month to visit the doctors and nurses who battled to save his life. With him will be his mother, Monica Vearer, 58, who maintained a 24/7 vigil by his bedside.

pattayadailynews.com A Swedish man with problems concerning his Thai wife got drunk and went to sleep in the bushes beside the Tesco sidewalk in Pattaya. Charity foundation workers responding to calls of a sidewalk body woke Hogh Sverre, 74,and got him out of the bushes.

care2.com Earlier this week we reported on the British government's consultation into changing UK passports to be more accommodating to trans and intersex citizens. British newspaper the Daily Mail, rather than reporting on this fairly and accurately, chose to run an article that put the words transgender and intersex in scare quotes and therein ridiculing these minority groups. This is unacceptable.

thepoc.net Tourism Assistant Secretary Bong Benzon said after news came out that US Ambassador Harry Thomas said that at least 40 percent of male tourists come to the Philippines for sex tourism: ''Definitely, sex tourism is not part of our program thrust. The Philippines is a very wholesome destination.''




World Cup rugby latest New Zealand 37, France 17; England 67, Romania 3.

afp The All Blacks scored five tries for a convincing bonus-point 37-17 victory over World Cup nemesis France to give their skipper Richie McCaw a winning 100th test.

skysports.com Sir Alex Ferguson suggested that Peter Crouch was getting away with committing infringements following Manchester United's 1-1 draw with Stoke. The giant striker rescued a point as he headed in a corner to bring an end to United's 100 percent record in the Premier League this season.

guardian.co.uk Fernando Torres scored his second goal in consecutive league games in Chelsea's 4-1 win over Swansea City at Stamford Bridge, then was sent off.



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