ninemsn.com.au A UK backpacker drowned after being swept from the arms of her boyfriend as they were swimming at a beach in Thailand. Rebecca Callaghan, 21, was embracing her boyfriend Ian Fenwick in calm, knee-deep water off Phuket on June 12 when a freak wave knocked them over, an inquest heard.


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

Phuket Update Police in Patong this week carried out a sting operation that led to the arrest of the security chief of an unnamed local hotel. Wattana Jareansin, 39, responded to an offer from an undercover officer to supply 50 yah ba pills for 2500 baht. The arrest came at 8.30pm on Tuesday.

Andaman Update Sea gypsy brothers Suriyan and Tawan Krathalay are heading for Norway and the Kon Tiki Museum where an earlier display of their traditional fishing boat attracted as much interest as a Viking vessel. The brothers, from Surin island off the Andaman coast, are now to explain to visitors their amazing survival techniques at sea. Phuket sea gypsies recently dived to 43 metres using basic equipment to raise a sunken fuel trawler.

Phuket Update Phuket police swapped their uniforms and guns for shorts and a round ball to take part in the Tantipong Cup this week at the Karon Sport Stadium. The tournament is named in honor of Phuket Police Chief Pekad Tantipong. For great action photos, click on the Photo Album above.

bbc.co.uk A verdict of accidental death has been recorded at the inquest on a woman who drowned in the sea on holiday in Thailand. Rebecca Callaghan, 21, from Evesham, drowned in the sea off Karon Beach on Phuket on June 12.

dailymail.co.uk Miss Callaghan's brother Rob, a 24-year-old student, said: ''She went out with her boyfriend and was told to swim only to waist height, which she did. People don't understand how dangerous it is. Travel agencies need to make people aware what happens in these waters. They need to raise awareness of the rip tides. You can be the best swimmer in the world and this can still happen.''

nationmultimedia.com The Tourism Authority of Thailand will officially kick off the Thailand Happiness Deals campaign to help tourism-related operators increase their sales channels to promote products and services online. TAT governor Suraphon Svetasreni will preside over the media conference on Tuesday.

bbc.co.uk Thailand's latest attempt to auction 3G mobile licences has been blocked after requests from a state telecoms company. The move appears to be another sign that Thailand is falling behind its poorer neighbors such as Cambodia and Laos when it comes to 3G technology. Many Asian countries are introducing 4G technology.

herald-sun.com.au Long-haul airline V Australia now has a fighting chance of survival after winning interim approval to embark on a profit-sharing alliance with Etihad Airways. Loss-making services to Phuket, South Africa and Fiji are to be scrapped under a plan to recover losses.

nationmultimedia.com Hilton World Wide has completed a survey of energy-saving in many countries under a scheme expected to help reduce energy use by 510 percent. Hilton World Wide operates four properties in Thailand, including the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa.

stuff.co.nz New Zealand road deaths are among the highest in the world per capita, alongside Cambodia, Malaysia, Lithuania and Slovenia, new statistics show. Road-fatality figures from 33 countries released by the International Transport Forum (ITF) show New Zealand has the seventh-highest ratio of deaths per billion vehicle kilometres travelled and is the ninth highest in deaths per capita. Malaysia had the highest ratio, with 23.8 deaths, while Britain had the lowest at 3.8.

prnewswire.com Best Western International currently has more than 40 new hotels in Asia and the Middle East in various stages of development and by the end of 2011 the chain expects to have more than 235 Best Western properties open in these regions, the company announced.

mcot.net Saudi Charge d'Affaires Nabil Hussein Ashri stood firm that the recent impasse between Thailand and his country over the promotion of a top Thai police officer was unrelated to the Saudi embassy's handling of visa applications for Thai-Muslim pilgrims intending to make the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

theatlantic.com When the U.S. Navy's 60,000-strong Seventh Fleet joined with the Japanese military last month to simulate the "re-invading" part of Japan that had been taken by an outside force, the hypothetical invader went un-named for reasons of diplomatic decorum. But that didn't stop a senior Japanese military official from boasting to a national newspaper, "We'll show China that Japan has the will and the capability to defend the Nansei Islands.''

scmp.com China is not seeking hegemony and never will, Premier Wen Jiabao said in New York in an apparent response to widespread concerns about Beijing's growing global clout, especially on the military front.

bbc.co.uk Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy has been sentenced to 10 years in jail after being found guilty of altering public documents and disinformation. Mr Rainsy was sentenced in his absence as he has been living in self-imposed exile in France for the past year.

afp Firefighters rescued a 23-year-old German tourist after a hole he spent hours digging at a beach on Spain's Canary Islands collapsed and buried him up to his head, local official said.

businessweek.com Extreme weather across the globe this year is lighting a fire under commodity prices. Now the price of rubber, a key industrial commodity, is taking off. The global economic recovery and white-hot growth in China are powering demand for rubber products.

Associated Press A Malaysian court has awarded damages to indigenous villagers after ruling that authorities unlawfully demolished their Christian chapel, their lawyer said. The members of the small tribe in southern Johor state known as the Straits People took the case to court after authorities tore down their new chapel just 10 days before Christmas in 2005 on grounds that it was built on state land.

bloomberg.com Singapore's inflation accelerated to an 18-month high as record economic growth in the first half of the year spurred demand for goods and services, sustaining pressure on the central bank to allow currency gains. The consumer price index climbed 3.3 percent in August from a year earlier, Singapore's Department of Statistics said.

Associated Press A rare Sumatran tiger has killed a palm oil worker in western Indonesia - the second deadly attack in as many months. The World Wildlife Fund said that the tiger was found eating the remains of the 35-year-old worker earlier this week in Bengkalis, a district in Riau province.

smh.com.au Richard Branson says: I always stay at the Holiday Inn at Potts Point in Sydney, which is not the most salubrious of hotels but the bar is throbbing with Virgin Blue crew and I can assure any businessmen that come to Australia they'll have a good time there.



September 25 International Reef Cleanup Day, Phuket. More: Roger Chubb 087 628 2805 E: scubawoj@gmail.com
September 25-26 Phuket Dinghy series, for young sailors, begins
Until September 26 Quiksilver 2010 Surf Competition, Kata beach
Until September 29 USNS Walter S. Diehl to visit Phuket
October 1-3 Asian Hospitality and Travel Show, Central Festival Phuket Convention and Exhibition Center, 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