UPDATE
andrew-drummond.com David McMillan, part Brit, part Australian, billed as the only foreigner to have escaped the Bangkok Hilton, has been jailed in Britain for six years after being caught with heroin he imported from Pakistan. His drugs smuggling life was recorded in the Australian telemovie: 'Underbelly Files - The Man who Got Away.'
PhuketWatch Daily Media Wrap
PHUKET: A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media.
traveldailymedia.com AirAsia has launched a new service offering transfers to five of Thailand's most popular resort islands. Passengers will soon be able to book transfer services to Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta and Koh Lipe, as part of their AirAsia flight itinerary.
telegraph.co.uk British police warned anyone involved in the killing of two unarmed policewomen to ''come forward'' or be hunted down as they charged 29-year-old Dale Cregan with murder. Cregan has also been charged with the murder of a father and son who were killed in separate gun and grenade attacks earlier this year, and the attempted murder of four other people.
dailymail.co.uk Cregan was held at Manchester Airport in June after returning on a flight from Thailand. But he was allowed home pending further inquiries. He was well-known as an intimidating character. He told friends that he lost an eye after being hit with a knuckleduster in Thailand.
travel.aol.co.uk A woman was stung by jellyfish just hours after she arrived at a luxury resort [in the Phuket region] in Thailand for a holiday. The Daily Mail reports how Sam Webster, 37, suffered third degree burns and was left with horrific scarring after falling from a banana boat and being attacked by the dangerous animals. [Box jellyfish do not ''attack'' but they will sting on contact.]
ttrweekly.com Travel industry leaders in Krabi have asked the government to crack down on illegal entertainment spots and the sale of narcotics claiming the death of Canadian sisters Noemi and Audrey Belanger could be linked to the possible sale of illegal substances on Phi Phi. ''The government must organise entertainment venues and ensure that pubs are not serving drinks that are illegal or dangerous,'' one said.
nationmultimedia.com House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont, who is leading a group of 35 people on a jaunt to Europe, could land in hot water if he insists on completing the European tour. The House panel on parliamentary affairs is preparing to summon him for investigation after news broke that the nine-day foreign trip may have cost taxpayers up to seven million baht.
Editor's Choice: Today's Essential Reading
South-east Asia holiday deals put to the test
Our secret shopper was after a south-east Asian jaunt in January and sought the advice and best offers of several leading tour operators. Here's the verdict.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/columnists/9553225/South-east-Asia-holiday-deals-put-to-the-test.html/
irrawaddy.org Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been ''neutralised'' by the government and, as such, she can no longer speak for the people, prominent Shan leader Hkun Htun Oo alleged. ''If she goes on like this she will not represent the people.''
kamcity.com Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke said the ''tectonic plates are shifting'' in the retail industry as problems in the euro zone start to affect previously high-growth regions, with ''consumption weakening'' in China, Thailand and South Korea.
news.com.au More Australians could face tough justice in the United Arab Emirates after a new agreement between Qantas and Dubai-based Emirates airline, a Liberal MP warns. Senator Helen Kroger says the British charity group Detained in Dubai has reported a number of arbitrary arrests in Dubai airport.
telegraph.co.uk Life must be made harder for criminals, British Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has said as he pledges to crack down on prisoners watching television and enjoying themselves.[Briton Lee Aldhouse is resisting extradition to face a murder charge on Phuket because of prison conditions in Thailand.]
bangkokpost.com Air France plans to spend hundreds of millions of euros to upgrade its products and services to regain its market position and respond to competition from Persian Gulf and Asian carriers.
news.com.au Cancer patients are increasingly living longer with 66 percent now surviving for at least five years - a dramatic rise from the 47 percent rate for all cancers combined in the mid-1980s. The cancers with the largest so-called survival gains from 1982-1987 to 2006-2010 were prostate and kidney cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, says a new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
bangkokpost.com A sushi restaurant in Montreal, Canada, has been ordered by the court to change its name from Fukyu, which people in the neighborhood feel is inappropriate and offensive. The restaurant will become the Kabuki bar.
Phuket World Sports Wrap
asiaone.com It is crunch time for the Singapore Grand Prix as SingTel is mulling over whether to remain in the driver's seat as title sponsor beyond 2012.
ft.com Tony Fernandes, the Malaysian entrepreneur who transformed AirAsia into one of the world's most successful low-cost carriers, is a high-profile sponsor of the sport who now owns the Caterham F1 team. He says: ''The amount of business I've done by networking [at the Singapore Grand Prix] is massive. AirAsia started with 200,000 passengers and now has 33 million annually. That would not have happened without F1 and other sports sponsorships.''
bangkokpost.com Tennis player Danai Udomchoke will become the only player to play in all 10 editions of the Thailand Open as he has received a wildcard berth for this year's tournament. The 2012 tournament begins next week at Muang Thong Thani's Impact Arena.
Phuket Coming Events 2012
TWINPALMS Phuket, perhaps the island's most exciting and stylish contemporary resort, is holding its anniversary party on September 22 at Catch Beach Club, Surin Beach, from 8pm to 2am. All are invited. The dress code: sexy white.
September 24 Mahidol Day
October 14 Vegetarian Festival
November 25 Laguna Phuket Triathlon
November 28 Loy Kratong Day
December 1 World AIDs Day
December 1-8 King's Cup Regatta
December 5 HM The King's Birthday
December 10 Constitution Day
December 15-20 Patong Carnival
December 25 Christmas Day
Phuket Coming Events 2014
November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket
