channel4.comA bomb at a bus stop in Bangkok injured nine people shortly after polls closed in a parliamentary election. The poll pitted a government candidate against a jailed leader of recent mass protests. Police spokesman Anuchai Lekbamroong, at the site of the explosion, declined to speculate whether the bombing was related to Thailand's continued political turbulence.


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

afp At least 18 techno music fans have been crushed to death and 80 injured when mass panic triggered a stampede at the Love Parade festival in the German city of Duisburg, officials say. The tragedy happened as crowds massed near a tunnel leading towards the open air festival, where organisers said 1.4 million people had turned out for what was meant to be a joyous celebration of dance culture.

nationmultimedia.com A Phuket expert has warned people not to eat sea tortoise meat after three Rawai villagers out of 80 people who ate hawksbill sea turtle meat at a party in June died from chelonitoxism. Dr Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, of the Phuket Marine Biological Centre, said some partygoers still showed allergic symptoms, including a burning sensation in the mouth, numb lips, difficulty swallowing, a feeling of heaviness in the chest, respiratory difficulty, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, and double vision. The animals can accumulate toxic material in their flesh and inner organs from their diet.

channelnewsasia.com The by-elections in Bangkok on Sunday could shed light on the political mood of voters in the Kingdom. Around 2000 police officers will be deployed at polling places to maintain order. Democrat Party candidate Panich Vikitsreth stumps for votes in Bangkok's Constituency 6 - a large and rather rural area made of up of four districts about 35 kilometres from the city centre. He hopes to fill a parliamentary seat left vacant by the death of an MP from his own party. Observers will watch the results closely as district six is a diverse area made of up of nearly 400,000 residents.

bangkokpost.com The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has stressed the need for election officials to be impartial and carefully monitor today's by-election in Bangkok's Constituency 6. Deputy City Clerk Thaweesak Dejdecho said that election officials must carry out their duties in compliance with the law to ensure justice and transparency.

guardian.co.uk Tomorrow, more than 30 years since the fall of the Khmer Rouge, the man who ran Tuol Sleng prison, Kaing Guek Eav, known as Comrade Duch, will be sentenced for the crimes committed there. As Pol Pot's executioner-in-chief, he will be the first Khmer Rouge figure to be held accountable by a court for the crimes of the ultra-communist regime which killed an estimated 1.7 million people, a quarter of Cambodia's population, between 1975 and 1979.

vancouversun.com Within hours of Kenneth Klassen arriving in Cambodia, the first of eight girls - all under the age of 14 and one believed to have been eight - arrived at his hotel. In two and a half days, the Canadian art dealer fondled, touched, probed and had oral sex and intercourse with all eight of them. Sex tourism is shorthand for what predators do who travel to countries where they can sexually abuse, assault and exploit the poorest and most vulnerable. Often, their prey is children. On Wednesday, Klassen will be sentenced.

bruneitimes.com A group of beach cleaning and environmental enthusiasts is striving to get five of Brunei's beaches the coveted international Blue Flag Award. The Blue Flag is a voluntary ''eco-label'' for beaches and marinas and awarded by the Foundation for Environmental Education, a body under the UN. ''We want to make Brunei's beaches the first in Asia,'' a spokesman said. ''Even the beaches in Bali, Phuket, Philippines are not Blue Flag beaches.''

ukpa Islamic authorities have no plans to issue an edict banning Manchester United shirts in Malaysia despite recent tabloid reports that Muslims have been urged not to wear the Premier League club's replica shirts because the emblem features a devil. Harussani Zakaria, a cleric from northern Perak state, said football kits with devils, crosses or skulls promoted the ''wrong value'' for Muslims but that doesn't mean he wanted them banned.

newsoftheworld.co.uk The young men, both 21 and chefs, are in the beach resort of Pattaya for the first time on a two-week break. Good-looking, with decent jobs and gorgeous girlfriends at home, they are not the sort of guys you expect to see paying for sex on the seedy streets of Thailand. It's clear the new sleazy sex tourists are more likely to be your boyfriend, your husband, your brother or even your son.



July 30 AustCham Thailand Sundowners at 4.30pm at Skippers, RPM. AustCham Thailand will host this Sundowners business networking session with a marine industry theme. Contact Harry Usher harry@ladypie.com 0812731740
August 5-8 Kite Jam, Surin beach
August 6-12 Andaman Motor Expo
October 1-3 Asian Hospitality and Travel Show, Central Festival Phuket Convention and Exhibition Center, Phuket City
December 4-11 Phuket King's Cup Regatta
2011
January 6-9 PIMEX boat show, Royal Phuket Marina
February 9-13 The Bay Regatta - Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi