Press Association A nine-year-old boy has been shot dead as he got off a bus in Bangkok, and unknowingly stepped into the crossfire of rival high school gangs, according to police in Thailand. According to witnesses, the same gang of students threw beer bottles and bricks at the next bus as well.


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

thephuketinsider.com A resurgence in Greater Phuket is seeing a new hotel development spurt in Khao Lak. Owners of Patong's Graceland resort have commenced construction of a 350 room project in Bang Sak. An opening in early 2012 is being planned for what will be known as the Graceland Khao Lak Resort.

smh.com.au A Qantas jet bound for Sydney was forced to turn back to San Francisco after an engine problem punched a hole in the metal shell around it. Flight 74 was carrying 212 passengers and a crew of 18.

aap Australian band the John Butler Trio and a state cricket team were involved in a tense situation when the landing gear of their Qantas plane appeared to fail and they were advised to brace for a crash landing. The flight from Darwin to Adelaide landed safely.

swvatoday.com An attempt to get a pension led to US marshals apprehending longtime fugitive Terry Rollins, 62, on the run since 2001. Rollins was located in Thailand where he was teaching English. He had married a woman there and was in the process of adopting her three-year-old daughter. Thai authorities arrest him for being in the country illegally.

Associated Press Civil servants in Thailand now have legal protection from sexual harassment by colleagues under new regulations approved by the Cabinet. In addition to mandating punishment for civil servants who harass colleagues, the new rules define what is wrongful behavior, such as making any inappropriate gestures including sexually implicit body language and eye contact and sending pornographic e-mails, letters, stories or messages.

chicagotribune.com Singapore's Changi Airport now boasts a 10-metre slide that twists around like something at a water park. The airport has installed the slide to keep people amused while they're waiting for a flight. I thought that's why there were bars.

businesswire.com Poland has emerged as one of the favored destinations for medical tourism among international travelers. The low-cost treatment facilities coupled with well established tourism and health infrastructure has led to favorable growth of medical tourism. It is anticipated that Poland will give stiff competition to already established destinations, India, Singapore and Thailand.

dow jones Google has bought social games start-up SocialDeck, the latest in a series of acquisitions aimed at competing with Facebook. The purchase will help the internet search giant build a social networking service. Financial terms were not disclosed.

afp Singapore's population crossed five million this year and more than a third of the total are foreigners. The city-state's total population stood at 5.08 million people at the end of June: 3.23 million citizens, 540,000 foreigners with permanent residency and 1.3 million foreign professionals and workers along with their dependents.

go-jamaica.com Malaysia is considering releasing genetically modified mosquitoes in an attempt to combat dengue fever. The government is looking to release between two thousand and three thousand genetically modified Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes in two Malaysian states in October or November. The female of the Aedes species are responsible for spreading dengue fever.
Officials say the laboratory engineered mosquitoes have showed that their offspring have a shorter lifespan, which they hope would curb the growth of the population and eventually lead to eradicate the dengue-transmitting mosquito. But environmentalists have raised concerns that the genetically modified mosquitoes could fail to prevent dengue and could also have unintended consequences. [Ed: And will Malaysian mosquitoes be turned back at the border with Thailand?]

chinapost.com.tw China's so-called ''high-speed railway diplomacy'' has made its way to Thailand. A joint Thai-Chinese committee is exploring the feasibility of building the first standard-gauge railway in Thailand, as part of an ambitious cross-border rail program envisioned by Beijing. The standard-gauge is 1.435 meters wide, compared to Thailand's existing one-meter tracks. The proposal will herald a new era of rail development in the country.

csmonitor.com Two Chinese warships docked at a Burmese port, highlighting China's expanding naval presence near Asia's other rising giant, India. Chinese news agency Xinhua described the friendly port call as a first-ever in Burma by Chinese warships. It comes amid heightened tensions between Beijing and New Delhi, including India's reported suspension of military exchanges with China.

thehindu.com Kerala's serene beaches, tranquil stretches of emerald backwaters, lush hill stations and exotic wildlife has emerged as the winning combination for the travellers to vote the state as the best Asian holiday destination ahead of Bali, Phuket and the Maldives. The accolade was revealed in the 'Best in Travel poll 2010' carried out by an independent online travel magazine Smart Travel Asia.

asiatraveltips.com Legend of the Seas, currently in her North Asian season, will be returning to Singapore from November 22 to offer her three, four and five-night Southeast Asian cruises to Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi in Malaysia as well as to Phuket. There will also be a six-night cruise in January 2011 which features an overnight stay in Phuket.

guardian.co.uk A serial rapist who targeted British holidaymakers in Corfu was imprisoned pending trial following his arrest in a forest on the island. Dimitris Aspiotis confessed to sexually assaulting four women over a six-week period, including a 47-year-old English writer and an 18-year-old tourist rep.

nytimes.com Allen H. Neuharth, 86, who founded USA Today nearly 30 years ago, had some tart words for the people now in charge of his beloved paper. When USA Today wrapped its front section in an advertisement for a Jeep last month, obscuring the entire front page, Mr Neuharth fired off an angry letter to the paper's publisher, David L. Hunke. He called it ''the low point in any decision any USA Today publisher has ever made.''


Nampetch Tipaxsorn, for six years the Marketing Communications Manager at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa, had her last day working down south yesterday. Today is her first day working up north, in the same position at the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket.



September 4 Rip Curl Hunt for Young Surfers, Kata beach
September 8 Phuket Governor heading meeting about Phuket's entertainment zones, Metropole Hotel, Phuket City
Until September 9 Ramadan
September 11 Phuket Surf Lifesaving Carnival, Loma Park, Patong
September 13 Phuket Tsunami Evacuation Drill, Loma Park, Patong, 10.30am
September 16-17 Celebration of the 114th birthday of Luang Pu Supha at the Chalong temple named in his honor.
September 18 Rip Curl Hunt for Young Surfers, Surin beach
October 1-3 Asian Hospitality and Travel Show, Central Festival Phuket Convention and Exhibition Center, Phuket City
October 8-16 Vegetarian Festival, Phuket
November 2-7 Phuket womens' beach volleyball, Karon beach
November 5 Phuket Charity Pro Am Golf, Blue Canyon
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