bangkokpost.com Jet Asia Airways, Thailand's charter-focused carrier, rebutted suggestions it left Chinese passengers stranded in Phuket ''eating instant noodles'' during a flight delay lasting 34 hours. The rebuttal came as China's central tourism authority issued a notice to ''recommend passengers choose this airline with caution.''

watoday.com.au Perth scientists have cast doubt over claims that a spider burrowed into a man's body during his first trip to Bali. The story went global, generating hundreds of stories online.

Phuket Update After the lowest profile liberty shore leave in recent memory, the guided-missile frigate USS Rodney M Davis is scheduled to leave Phuket waters today, Phuketwan has learned. The warship and two supply ships, Pecos and Richard Byrd, .are understood to have been anchored off the Thai holiday island.


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



bangkokpost.com Police at more than 50 border checkpoints have been ordered to crack down on the illegal ivory trade. Areas subject to increased checks include Phuket.

afp Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan Ocha slipped quietly into the club of world leaders against a backdrop of noisy protests against the former general who seized power in May.

bangkokpost.com The pride of representing Thailand at an international summit wasn't dimmed by anti-coup protests, but the Japanese premier told him to speed up democracy, and the sister of the slain Italian photographer called Gen Prayut ''an assassin''.



bangkokpost.com The British public will protest what is felt to be sluggish police work on the Koh Tao murders, as the UK ambassador raps Thai media reporting.
http://bangkokpost.com/news/crime/438053/brits-urge-uk-probe-of-koh-tao-case

nationmultimedia.com The father of a Myanmar (Burma) national accused of killing two Britons on Koh Tao has insisted that this son, Win Zaw Htun, is innocent. ''My son isn't an aggressive person and has good morals,'' he said.



AP An Air France plane was isolated at Madrid's airport because of a suspected Ebola case after a passenger was reported to have a fever and shivers, officials said.

cnn.com Desperate Liberia declares a shortage of basic Ebola fighting kit from masks to 85,000 body bags which are crucial to fighting the deadly virus.



bangkokpost.com An AirAsia passenger plane hit an egret while landing at Nakhon Si Thammarat airport and the incident delayed its return flight to Bangkok. On August 5, another AirAsia plane hit a school of birds on takeoff and it make an emergency landing at Phuket airport.

theguardian.com Islamic State militants have released a fifth video of a British journalist who has been held captive for two years. In the film, John Cantlie delivers a message under duress, warning that western governments and media are gearing up for a third Gulf war.

nationmultimedia.com Airports of Thailand has cut the budget for the second phase of the expansion at Suvarnabhumi Airport. In the past 12 months domestic passengers to Phuket and the five other AoT airports has grown of 14 percent, but international passengers are down by 5.6 percent. Revenue is expected to drop slightly.

scmp.com Police removed barricades, tents, shrines and umbrellas in Hong Kong's Mong Kok in the early hours of Friday, ending a three week-long democracy protest there.

bangkokpost.com Thailand's rubber panel said it plans to introduce measures worth $1.8 billion to shore up rubber prices and support local farmers to deal with sharp price declines. The National Rubber Policy Committee suggested that the government buy natural rubber from local growers in an effort to boost prices.

telegraph.co.uk Rapes reported to and recorded by police in England and Wales are now at their highest ever level, official figures reveal. Office for National Statistics figures also showed violent crime recorded by the police has jumped by 11 percent. More than 22,000 rapes were recorded, a 29 percent rise.

scmp.com Thai television soaps under fire for plotlines depicting rape as romantic.

bernama A Malaysian, suspected to have been a luxury car-jacker, was found shot dead at a rubber plantation in the southern province of Narathiwat. Sukri Ismail, 50, who was high on the Malaysian police wanted list for smuggling stolen luxury cars into Thailand, sustained gunshot wounds in the head and back.

smh.com.au Virgin will consolidate its grip on loss-making budget carrier Tigerair Australia, buying the 40 percent stake it doesn't already own for $1. There was no indication whether there would be a brand change on flights to Phuket, Bali and Fiji.

smh.com A recent spate of attacks on Muslims, and vision of a racist attack on a Brisbane train guard on Sunday, have prompted questions about when to step in if you see someone being physically or verbally abused.
http://www.watoday.com.au/national/you-could-have-helped-australia-20141016-1140i3.html

reuters Apple's new iPad Air 2, announced on Thursday, will allow subscribers to switch wireless carriers much more easily, by swiping an icon across the screen of the device.

thenextweb.com Hailo will stop offering taxi services in North America following a rethink of company strategy amid fierce competition from rivals like Uber. Instead, it plans to put more focus on Europe and Asia.



news.com.au Dylan Thomas's first trip to Bali last weekend was complete with a visit to the Bali International Medical Centre to have a tropical spider pulled out of his stomach. 21-year-old Dylan awoke after a quiet night in his four and a half star hotel room to find a bizarre red trail two inches from his navel and heading upwards.

reuters Venezuela, Malaysia, Angola, New Zealand and Spain won seats on the United Nations Security Council for two years from January 1, 2015.



bloomberg Rescuers searching for survivors of a blizzard and an avalanche that occurred on Nepal's Annapurna mountain range have found at least 24 bodies of trekkers and guides, the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal said.



October 23 Chulalongkorn Memorial Day


November 1-3 Patong Carnival

November 6 Loy Kratong

November 14-23 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket

December 5 King's Birthday

December 10 Constitution Day

December 25 Christmas Day

December 26 10th Anniversary, 2004 Tsunami

December 31 New Year's Eve



February 13-15 Phuket Yacht Show