theguardian.com US secretary of state John Kerry has given President Bashar al-Assad one week to hand over his entire stock of chemical weapons to avoid a military attack. But Mr Kerry added that he had no expectation that the Syrian leader would comply.

bangkokpost.com A maintenance crew on a crane painted over the national flag and logo of Thai Airways International after the landing gear of an Airbus 330 flight from China malfunctioned, injuring 13 passengers and blocking one of the two Suvarnabumi airport runways.

theaustralian.com.au Two journalists, one American and one Dutch, have been taken to the police station on Australia's Christmas Island after apparently arriving on an asylum boat from Indonesia.

bbc.co.uk World number one Serena Williams won her fifth US Open title in a thrilling final against Victoria Azarenka 6-7 (6-8) 6-1 to repeat last year's final victory.

patayaone.net Briton Mancuso Salvatore, 61, and Italian Dolcege Svalno, 51, reported waking up in their respective hotel rooms to find items valued around one million baht had been taken. Two women were also missing.


PHUKET: The daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media. Beware of inconsistent imitations.

Thailand Update All 298 people on board Thai Airways International's flight TG669 from Guangzhou to Bangkok are safe despite skidding off the runway at Suvarnabhumi on landing about 11.30pm. One of the engines of the Airbus A330 aircraft reportedly caught fire.

airlinereporter.com According to the official Twitter account of Thai Airways (@thaiairways), the A333 crashed while landing, with 14 people taken to area hospitals. It appears the plane slid off the runway after landing. Thai Airways has issued the following statement via Twitter: ''TG679 Guangzhou-Bangkok experienced incident while landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport. 14 passengers were slightly injured and sent to hospital.''

avherald.com A Thai Airways Airbus A330-300 veered right off the runway and came to a stop with all gear on soft ground, a large plume of dust rose above the aircraft initially creating fears of a crash followed by smoke from the right hand engine. The aircraft was evacuated via slides. 12 people received minor injuries in the evacuation, the aircraft received damage to both engines and the nose gear, the nose gear is bent but did not collapse.

nationmultimedia.com Thailand is on its way to becoming a shopping mecca like Hong Kong and Singapore, with Cabinet expected to cut import duties on designer goods in a couple months. The proposed reduction in import duties would initially be on items like cosmetics, perfumes and watches.

afp Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle announced a new electrical problem with one of its Boeing 787 ''Dreamliners.'' The plane was scheduled to leave Oslo for Bangkok, but after waiting for more than 24 hours, the passengers were transferred to Stockholm, where they boarded a chartered plane.

bangkokpost.com Elephant poachers who bribe officials to obtain illegal domestic registration papers for the animals are being targeted by the authorities. Investigations are continuing in in Phang Nga, Phuket, Kanchanaburi, Surin, Chaiyaphum, Chon Buri, Chiang Mai and Trat.

news.com.au A fresh smartphone war is about to break out with major manufacturers poised to unleash a new wave of mobile technology before Christmas. With Apple due to reveal two new iPhones next week, a host of launches from big names including Samsung and Sony in Berlin last week, and Microsoft joining the game for the first time, consumers can expect to be spoiled for choice in the coming months.

news.com.au Hours after Tony Abbott was elected prime minister promising hardline policy and immediate action on asylum seekers arriving by boat, authorities found a suspected people-smuggling vessel off Australia's north coast.

theguardian.com As wrestling was celebrating a reprieve by the International Olympic Committee of a decision to drop it from the program for the 2020 Games in Tokyo, questions were being asked over the tortuous decision-making process that got them there. [The sport's recovery began with a summit on Phuket.]

nationmultimedia.com Violence in some parts of Thailand's southern provinces may have disrupted many businesses, but Hat Yai, the biggest city in the region, has escaped relatively unscathed. The city is boosting the South's economy by emerging as a Mice destination despite the long-running violence in some parts of the region.

nationmultimedia.com Laguna Resorts and Hotels Plc has embarked on a 2000-unit residential community covering 237 rai of land in Phuket called Laguna Park that is expected to take five years to construct at a cost of Bt15 billion-Bt17 billion. Tourism is booming on the resort island and demand for vacation homes is growing, especially from overseas buyers, Stuart Reading, deputy managing director, said at the project launch.

bbc.co.uk Briton Andrew Sturgess, 34, has died in Italy, the Foreign Office said, with local reports suggesting he drowned while swimming in the sea off south-west Sicily. His girlfriend, named in the reports as Carmen Spiridon, 25, also died.

AP A 107-year-old man was killed after SWAT officers shot back at him during a standoff at a home, police in the southeastern Arkansas city of Pine Bluff said.

vaildaily.com I always thought of Bali as such a cliche Southeast Asian tourist destination. Not that Phuket, Thailand - a place I've been twice - isn't, but perhaps it was Julia Roberts' visit to Bali in that abysmal 'Eat. Pray. Love' film a few years ago that turned me off.



bangkokpost.com Thailand ended the 2014 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship qualification in Japan with a second place in group A after being beaten by host Japan, though both teams have secured finals berths in next year's world championship.

bbc.co.uk Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel beat title rival Fernando Alonso with a dominant performance in the Italian Grand Prix. Vettel's sixth win of the year extended his lead over his Ferrari rival to 53 points, with 175 available in the remaining seven races.

scmp.com Tokyo celebrated after winning the right to host the Olympic Games for the second time, overcoming fears about radiation from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant to land the 2020 edition of the world's biggest sporting event.

smh.com.au Michael Clarke led from the front as Australia delivered the most complete performance of their UK tour in an 88-run one-day win over England in Manchester. The Australian captain scored 105, his eighth ODI hundred.



September 13 IBAP at A2, Bypass Road. Female Entrepreneurship in Thailand. Ms. Ulrike Guelich, Lecturer and Researcher at the School of Entrepreneurship and Management, Bangkok University, Bangkok

September 14 Rayong FC v Phuket FC

September 29 First weekly Sunday walking street, Thalang Road and Soi Romanee, Old Phuket Town, 4pm-10pm

October 5-13 Phuket Vegetarian Festival

October 12 Phuket Soi Dogs Foundation 10th anniversary party, Andara

October 23 Chulalongkorn Memorial Day

October 29-November 3 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, Karon

November 17 Loy Kratong Day

November 24-December 1 Challenge Laguna Phuket Tri-Fest. Laguna Phuket

December 5 HM The King's birthday



January 9-12 Phuket International Boat Show, Royal Phuket Marina

November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket