A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective.


smh.com.au A young Greek woman who allegedly set fire to a drunken British tourist's genitals in self defence has become an overnight hero in Greece, local media reports say. The 26-year-old, who has been cheered in public for her actions, is defending charges of causing bodily injuries to the 23-year-old Briton and endangering private property. She allegedly set fire to the man's penis and testicles in a nightclub on the island of Crete after he allegedly waved his genitals at a number of women and tried to force her to touch him.

telegraph.co.uk The unidentified woman won herself even more praise by doing the right legal thing - turning herself over to police and the courts to be put on trial for what she claimed was her ''right to self-defence''. The Briton, whose name is expected to be released later, is currently in a private clinic, being treated for second degree burns. The incident occurred at a club in the notorious coastal resort of Mallia, which is dominated by young Britons seeking all-night revelry. It alleged the Briton took down his trousers and started waving his genitals at girls. He then specifically ''forcefully fondled'' the Greek woman. Police said she poured alcohol on his genitals and when this failed to stop his advances, she lit up. Sources said his treatment is being covered by travel insurance.

cnn.com A leader of the defeated Tamil Tiger rebel group has been arrested in Bangkok, state television in Sri Lanka reports. Selvarasa Padmanathan, also known as KP, was the ''self-appointed ... leader and chief arms dealer'' of the Tamil Tigers, according to Lankapuvath, the national news agency of Sri Lanka. It also reported the arrest, citing the Sri Lankan government information department. The Sri Lankan military defeated the Tamil Tigers this year. Remnants of the battered Tamil Tiger group decided in July that Padmanathan would ''lead us into the next steps of our freedom struggle.''

independent.co.uk A pregnant woman sentenced to life in Laos for trafficking heroin will wake up in a UK jail today while the British man believed to be the father of her unborn child remains in custody in the South-east Asian state. Samantha Orobator, 20, was handed over to Ministry of Justice officials, shortly before her return to the UK, where she will give birth and serve out her sentence. She avoided Laos's mandatory death penalty because of her pregnancy but the prospects for the repatriation of fellow British prisoner John Watson, 47, also serving a life sentence for drug smuggling, look more bleak.

AFP Ronnie Biggs, who spent 35 years on the run for his part in the 1963 heist known as the Great Train Robbery, is to be released from jail, the British government says. Justice Secretary Jack Straw said on Thursday Biggs's release on compassionate grounds was based on doctors' advice that the condition of the 79-year-old, once a celebrity fugitive, had deteriorated and was not expected to improve.

usatoday.com Social networks Twitter, Facebook and LiveJournal on Thursday were overwhelmed by denial-of-service attacks disrupting access to more than 300 million users. Botnets - thousands of infected home and workplace PCs - flooded the websites with nuisance requests, thus cutting off access to anyone else. Security experts can't say if the attacks were related. Twitter users around the globe could not Tweet for at least three hours.

AFP More than 60 people are now feared dead after an overnight ferry capsized and sank near the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa, police say. A revised manifest increased the number of people on board the Princess Ashika from 79 to 117, Tonga's police commander Chris Kelly told Radio New Zealand. There were six foreigners on board including British, German, French and Japanese nationals. Two bodies have been recovered, including a British man who was carrying a New Zealand driver's licence. Most of the dead are believed to be women and children, sleeping below-decks.

news.scotsman.com Britons are shunning mini-breaks in favour of faraway holidays, says a survey. UK demand for currency to short-haul destinations such as Prague, Budapest and Krakow in Poland has declined, the survey by American Express showed. But there has been a rise in currency buying for long-haul spots such as Thailand and Barbados. ''Britons are forgoing mini-breaks in order to push the boat out for their main annual holiday,'' said Terry Perrin of American Express. The euro remains the most bought foreign currency for Britons but 15 of the 25 most popular currencies in 2009 have been for long-haul trips.

bbc.co.uk News Corp is set to start charging online customers for news content across all its websites. The media giant is looking for additional revenue streams after announcing big losses. The company lost $3.4bn in the year to the end of June, which chief executive Rupert Murdoch said had been ''the most difficult in recent history''. Revenues at the media giant, which owns BSkyB and 20th Century Fox, fell 7.8 percent. ''We intend to charge for all our news websites. I believe that if we are successful, we will be followed by other media,'' Mr Murdoch said. ''Quality journalism is not cheap, and an industry that gives away its content is simply cannibalising its ability to produce good reporting,'' he said.

guardian.co.uk The (Murdoch-owned) Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times have had limited success in charging for specialist financial news and comment. But the proliferation of free online sources, aggregated by the search giant Google, has doomed to failure any attempt by others to extend such charges to general news content. The elephant in the (British) room is the BBC - which is, in effect, the biggest free news website in the world. In a world where everyone is taking a gamble, one thing is certain: a new round of Murdoch-led lobbying to clip the BBC's online wings.

advertiser.ie Irish doctor Angela Norris was the victim of a scam at a Thai airport in which visitors are accused of shoplifting and have to pay large sums of money to police to be freed. Mayo TD Dara Calleary said this week: ''Clearly this is now a problem and there is a scam in place at this airport and I would urge people to be vigilant when using this airport.'' Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs have issued a warning to people travelling through Suvarnabhumi International Airport, adding: ''We have received reports that innocent shoppers have been the subject of allegations of suspected theft and threatened that their cases will not be heard for several months unless they plead guilty and pay substantial fines.''

Associated Press A Malaysian teacher forced a student to smoke 42 cigarettes for four hours as punishment after a cigarette and lighter were found in his locker, a news report says. A school official confirmed that the English teacher subjected the student to the unusual punishment, but said the teenager was made to smoke fewer than 42 sticks. He said the teacher was upset when she found her model student, Mohamad Alif Arifin, had a cigarette and lighter in his locker in the school in the northern island of Langkawi.

guardian.co.uk The 37th annual Foire aux Grenouilles in the spa town of Vittel celebrates frogs' legs. But the French frog is increasingly at risk, from pollution, pesticides and other man-made ills. France's tough protection laws, enforceable by fines of up to 10,000 euros and instant confiscation of vehicles and equipment, seem to be working. As a result, all seven tonnes (officially, at least) of frogs' legs consumed at this year's fair have been imported, pre-prepared, deep-frozen and packed in cardboard boxes, from Indonesia. About one third of all amphibian species are now listed as threatened, against 23 percent of mammals and 12 percent of birds.


Phuket Drownings: Which Beach is the Safest?
Latest Lifeguards and an accelerated training program are just part of what Phuket needs to make its beaches safe during the monsoon summer season especially.
Phuket Drownings: Which Beach is the Safest?

Phuket Economy: Flight Numbers Looking UP
Economy Phuket flight numbers are UP for the first time since July last year, an indication that the economic bottom has been scraped. There is only one way to go now . . .
Phuket Economy: Flight Numbers Looking UP

'Gun Island' Claims Two More Needless Notches
Latest Guns take two more lives on Phuket, a holiday island where weapons remain too easy to access. An American expat and a young Thai man are the latest victims.
'Gun Island' Claims Two More Needless Notches

Karon Pair Accused of Ripping Off Vendors
Latest Two men have been accused of extortion and standover tactics in pretending to be representative of the Phuket Governor. But the Governor had other ideas.
Karon Pair Accused of Ripping Off Vendors

Dear PM, Please Make Phuket Corruption-Free
Latest Happy Birthday, Mr Prime Minister. Here's a gift to you, an idea that could make Phuket and perhaps Thailand better places. Start your fight against corruption here, on one small island.
Dear PM, Please Make Phuket Corruption-Free


MediaWATCH: Asia Worst Hit as Fliers Downgrade
News Digest Cathay reflects troubles for Asia airlines; plane on fire; Thailand's H1N1 latest casualties; drug smuggler gets life; DSI probes rice land deals; Phuket eroding.
MediaWATCH: Asia Worst Hit as Fliers Downgrade

MediaWATCH: Probe on Samui Air Crash to Begin
News Digest Investigations begin into the cause of the Samui holiday flight crash; Aussie loses top intelligence in Bangkok night; Bill Clinton in North Korea; Beyonce for Singapore F1; Taj under attack.
MediaWATCH: Probe on Samui Air Crash to Begin