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

nationmultimedia.com Visitors to Thailand from India have doubled from 300,163 in 2004 to 596,529 last year, and the joint marketing efforts of 1200 representatives from travel companies and local operators are expected to keep them coming. ''If this rate of growth continues, Indian arrivals are projected to cross the one million mark by 2013," Suraphon Svetasreni, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said at the meeting of the travel companies and local operators on Phuket over the weekend.

washingtonpost.com The military regime running Burma must allow for a ''more inclusive'' political system, such as allowing the participation of jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, after disputed elections are held in November, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said. Abhisit also defended his handling of an emergency decree issued in April to combat mass protests that paralysed the streets of Bangkok.

bangkokpost.com Police are offering a 100,000 baht reward to anyone providing information leading to the arrest of those responsible for a recent spate of bomb attacks in Bangkok. The offer came just hours after a bomb exploded in front of the Royal Turf Club on Phitsanulok Road in Dusit district. No injuries were reported.

bbc.co.uk At least 12 people have died after a coach carrying Polish tourists crashed near Berlin, German police say. The bus, carrying about 50 people, came off the A10 motorway at Schoenefelder Kreuz, about 30km from Berlin. Seven people were severely injured, while 27 others were less badly hurt.

smh.com.au Australian airline Virgin Blue is confident flight schedules will return to normal late today after the company's computerised check-in system failed and forced the cancellation of more than 110 flights. An emergency check-in system came online almost immediately after the software failed about 9am, but the process was slower and the resulting backlog forced the cancellations.

Associated Press With a flight attendant yelling ''heads down, stay down,'' passengers cowered and prayed on a tense descent into New York's Kennedy Airport as malfunctioning landing gear sent sparks flying and left one of the plane's wings dragging along the tarmac. No one was hurt when Delta Connection Flight 4951, operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines, made its emergency landing on its way to White Plains, New York, from Atlanta.

UPI A strong earthquake struck off eastern Indonesia but there were no casualties and no danger of a tsunami. The US Geological Survey reported the quake was measured at 6.0 with a depth of five miles under the seabed, Xinhua reported. The Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said the epicenter of the Sunday temblor was 85 miles northeast of Tual in Maluku province.

autoweek.com Fernando Alonso's win in Singapore has moved the Spaniard into second place in the Formula One World Championship. He now lies 11 points behind leader Mark Webber, having scored 93 out of a possible 125 points over the last five races, despite crashing out in Belgium.



Until September 29 USNS Walter S. Diehl visits Phuket
October 1-3 Asian Hospitality and Travel Show, Hafale, Phuket City
October 8-16 Vegetarian Festival, Phuket
October 12 Qatar begins daily flights to Phuket
November 2-7 Phuket womens' beach volleyball, Karon beach
November 5 Phuket Charity Pro Am Golf, Blue Canyon
November 19 AustCham at the new Westin Hotel at Koh Sireh from 3pm. E: harry@ladypie.com Tel: 081 2731740
November 28 Laguna Phuket triathlon
December 4-11 Phuket King's Cup Regatta
December 5 Laguna Ironman title
2011
January 6-9 PIMEX boat show, Royal Phuket Marina
February 9-13 The Bay Regatta - Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi