Aljazeera is screening a still photograph purporting to be Gaddafi's corpse. BBC screens graphic mobile telephone footage of Gaddafi body being dragged through the streets amid celebrations.

foxnews.com Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi is dead, according to a spokesman for the Transitional National Council.

afp New regime troops captured Gaddafi as they overran the last pocket of resistance from loyalists in his hometown Sirte, bringing their seven-month uprising to a triumphant conclusion.

bbc.co.uk During nearly 41 years in power he invented his own system of government, supported radical armed groups as diverse as the IRA in Northern Ireland and the Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines, and presided over what may have been North Africa's most totalitarian, arbitrary and brutal regime.

cnn.com Bangkok's Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra ordered authorities to open the city's floodgates to help drain water into the sea, saying the water passing through canals in the city will be under control.


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

ibtimes.com Tourism is a plague that is destroying cultures and permanently damaging societies. It has become a vulgar, tacky and somewhat pointless endeavor that does nothing whatsoever to benefit either the traveler or the people in target countries.
Tourism, at least from the American point of view, is all about ''re-creating'' the comforts of home in distance places, so that tourists will feel comfortable - and, of course, spend money.
This is why there are now western-style resorts/bars/hotels in such (otherwise ''exotic'') places as Bali and Phuket. And this very act of excessive commercialisation is defeating the very purpose of travelling.

calgaryherald.com Why anyone would publicly admit that 'The Hangover 2' was based on his own life is a mystery, but that's exactly what's happened in a lawsuit filed by an aspiring actor and filmmaker who claims the movie's makers lifted the plot from his life experiences. Michael Alan Rubin filed suit in the US District Court alleging the 'Hangover 2' writers and his (now presumably ex-) wife, Tamayo Otsuki conspired to steal the movie's plot.

breakingtravelnews.com The Pacific Asia Travel Association is telling holidaymakers there is no need to change Thailand travel plans due to flooding north of Bangkok: ''Central Bangkok and the majority of its suburban areas are functioning normally. All of Thailand's airports are operating normally, including Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok. All Bangkok hotels and major tourism attractions are also operating normally.''

wsj.com Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra pleaded for the country's warring political factions to unite to combat a worsening flood crisis that now threatens to engulf parts of the capital. Many businesses and resident have blamed a lack of coordination between Ms Yingluck's national government and a Bangkok city administration led by her Democrat Party rivals for contributing to the crisis.

bangkokpost.com The country is facing the biggest flood crisis ever, and the state's flood relief operations centre has flunked the test. Out of a total score of 10, the government's Flood Relief Operations Command (Froc) got a miserably low 3.36 for its announcements on the flood situation, and even a lower 3.08 for its warning system.

cnn.com At least 745 people have died in flooding in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and the Philippines since July, the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific said. Thailand has been hit the hardest, with 315 people killed in that time frame, officials said.

crn.com Monsoon-related flood waters, which Reuters said have covered about one-third of Thailand's surface, are severely impacting the country's manufacturing business, including the vital hard drive business, where it accounts for about a quarter of the world's production.

macobserver.com Apple is now looking at the impact on its computer production timeline. ''Our hearts go out to all of the people in Thailand who have experienced these devastating losses of life and property as a result of the flooding,'' Apple CEO Tim Cook said.

reuters Samsung will launch a new smartphone running Google's latest version of the Android operating system globally starting in Europe in November, locked in a battle for smartphone supremacy with Apple.

hospitalitynet.org Hotels and resorts in Thailand saw slight recovery in occupancy in 2010, but are still struggling to improve rate positioning after several years of political and economic turmoil, reported Horwath HTL.

scmp.com Millions of small children's lives could be saved by a new vaccine that has been shown to halve the risk of malaria in the first large-scale trials across seven African countries.

thephuketinsider.com Unfortunately for Phuket's overseas buyers, the escrow act is tailored for freehold properties and looks to offer little for foreigners purchasing leasehold villas or apartments. While escrow remains a fundamental element of property transactions in most developed markets, it's sad to see the absence of it on Phuket.

bangkokpost.com Airlines expect a deterioration in earnings in the third quarter from the second as their confidence in profitability fell in the latest survey conducted by the International Air Transport Association.

au.news.yahoo.com Bali is suffering from overdevelopment, environmental issues and continuing controversy over its anti-drug laws - most recently the arrest of a 14-year-old Australian boy on marijuana charges. And Ubud is a long way from its image as a sleepy, cultural centre with Starbucks in the main street, wall-to-wall shops and choking traffic. But the people and their elaborate Hindu rituals are still a strong attraction.

afp Paris's Hotel Ritz, famed for generations as the city's highest-profile luxury hotel, says it is to close for more than two years from next summer for an "unprecedented" renovation. Only about 30 of the hotel's about 500 employees would be kept on.

smh.com.au Burma's armed forces have committed serious abuses against ethnic rebels in renewed fighting, setting back efforts by the country's leaders to convince Western nations they are serious about ending 50 years of brutal military rule.

reuters Dozens of exotic animals including tigers, lions and bears were let loose on Ohio farmland by their owner before he committed suicide, sparking a shoot-to-kill hunt for the wild beasts and forcing panicked residents to stay inside.



telegraph.co.uk Marseille 0-1 Arsenal. Since the trauma of their 8-2 humiliation against Manchester United, Arsenal have now produced a gutsy sequence of six wins, one draw and two defeats.

sbs.com.au Fernando Torres showed signs of putting his nightmare start to the new season behind him with a brace of well-taken goals as Chelsea swept aside Belgian champion Genk 5-0 in Group E.

scmp Former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner accused soccer's world governing body of racism, zionism and discrimination against non-Europeans in a letter published in a Trinidad newspaper.



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