watoday.com.au Australia and Indonesia should improve search and rescue responses to calls for assistance by asylum seekers boats, the West Australian Coroner has recommended, ruling on a sinking in which 17 bodies were found and 85 remain missing.

bbc.co.uk The Queen was expected to urge the people of the United Kingdom to ''pray'' in the event of a nuclear war, government documents from 1983 reveal.

un.org A UN independent expert appealed for calm and reconciliation in Cambodia, following the ''largely peaceful'' presidential elections on Sunday. Cambodia's opposition party rejected the results, saying it had won the majority and claiming there had been irregularities during the election, which has led to tension in the country.


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

inquirer.net Thailand's 85-year-old king is set to leave the hospital where he has lived since being admitted for lung inflammation four years ago and return to his seaside palace, officials said.

bangkokpost.com Riot police staged a full-scale dress rehearsal of tactics they will use against possible civil unrest as the government declared a 10-day security clampdown to begin ahead of planned protests on Sunday.

theglobeandmail.com An American tourist who insisted on singing with the band in a bar in a beach town in Thailand was killed by one of the musicians, police said.

huffingtonpost.com Bobby Ray Carter Jr., 51, died at a hospital of a stab wound in his chest after a brawl broke out early Wednesday at the bar at Ao Nang beach in Krabi province, police Lt. Col. Jongrak Pimthong said.

cbslocal.com ''Witnesses said Carter got angry when the band played 'Hotel California' instead of the song he requested, and he refused to step down,'' Krabi city police chief Col. Taksin Pochakorn said.

dnaindia.com Krabi, the jewel of the Andaman Sea, has remained a well-kept secret within the international diving community, until very recently. But that's changing, thanks to Hollywood, Full Moon parties, and intrepid snorkelers.

bangkokpost.com A Phuket-bound Orient Thai charter aircraft carrying 137 Chinese passengers made a safe emergency landing at Surat Thani International Airport after experiencing engine failure then suffered a flat tyre, causing it to get stuck on the runway.

nnt According to Aeronautical Radio of Thailand President Prajak Sajjasophon, the pilots had asked air traffic controllers for permission to land at Surat Thani airport because they were having engine problems and the weather at Phuket airport was unsafe for landing. Upon landing, two tyres of the left main landing gears exploded, prompting airport authorities to shut down the runway.

news.sky.com An oil spill that has blackened the shores of a popular Thai tourist island has spread to nearby isles despite a major clean-up operation. The black tide has washed into Prao Bay on Ko Samet Island, a popular getaway destination for Thai citizens and foreign tourists.

greenpeace.org Greenpeace is now demanding that PTT Global Chemical be held financially liable for the cost of cleaning and restoring the natural environment and is mobilising the public through an online petition. It's time for the Thai government to review its energy policy and put an end to oil drilling and exploration in the Gulf of Thailand.

AP The company apologised and said the bay would be cleansed within three days, a goal questioned by environmental activists.

nationmultimedia.com Phuket's tourism industry is thriving despite the disappearance of visitors from Western Europe, thanks to the throngs of Chinese travellers who fill up hotel rooms but also strain the infrastructure, said Bill Barnett, managing director of consulting firm C9 Hotelworks.

asiatraveltips.com ''C9's report shows that mid-year Phuket market wide occupancy stood at 76pc, which is the highest level since 2008. More importantly average rates year-on-year rose by 7pc for the same period,'' added Mr Barnett.

thephuketinsider.com The report, which excludes arrivals from Hong Kong, found that 457,401 Chinese arrived at Phuket International Airport between January to June, up from a mere 37,948 in 2007. Twenty-two Chinese cities now have direct flights to Phuket, up from seven in 2007.

nationmultimedia.com "We are forecasting a record high three million international visitors for the full year 2013 with the duo of China and Russia boosting 44 percent of the total overseas volume at the end of June.''

nationalmultimedia.com Tourism businesses should study in deeper detail the opening of the Asean Economic Community in 2015 to maximise benefits for their operations, especially ways to cut costs and stimulate sales, said Piti Sriseangnam, an economic lecturer at Chulalongkorn University.

scmp.com Eight major mainland airports are trying to reduce flight delays by ordering commercial planes to take off on time - even if they have no landing slot at their destination. The drastic move, ordered by aviation authorities, could lead to planes having to circle airports for hours waiting for clearance to land and has been slammed as unsafe and impractical.

cnn.com A Saudi court sentences a blogger to seven years in prison and 600 lashes for insulting Islam, under the nation's anti-cybercrime law.

forbes.com 'The World's Most Dangerous Waters' was one headline used to describe Indonesia's seas, which last year had the dubious distinction of overtaking Somalia and the Gulf of Aden as home to the most pirate attacks in the world. In 2012 there were a total of 297 pirate attacks worldwide, 81 of which occurred in Indonesia's waters.

scmp.com One of the worst heatwaves in recorded Chinese history is roasting eastern and southern parts of the country, prompting the issuing of the first ''level-two'' national emergency alert for inclement weather.

reuters High-profile shootings and a surge of deaths of suspects in custody are stoking public anger in Malaysia, piling pressure on the government to tackle crime and clamp down on police corruption and brutality.

scmp.com Lavish weddings, fancy holidays and lunchtime wine on the public dime were among transgressions detailed that led the Communist Party to discipline 2290 officials so far this year in a frugality campaign aimed at addressing public anger.

huffingtonpost.com Over 400 girls are blossoming like beautiful lotuses at the Dhammajarinee Witthaya School - the first Buddhist boarding school for girls from kindergarten through 12th grade.

bbc.co.uk People now have to pay to read The Sun newspaper online. The online version is called Sun+ and costs subscribers 2 pounds per week. The print tabloid is published everyday and costs 3.20 pounds a week.

northdevongazette.co.uk The British Red Cross warns the common belief of urinating on jellyfish stings is in fact innafective, after sightings of the colorful creatures rise in North Devon.



theage.com.au ''I'm not ready to walk away from cricket,'' Michael Clarke declared on the eve of the third Ashes Test. ''I love the game as much now as I ever have, that's for sure. I have no intention to walk away from this game right now.''



August 3 Phuket FC v Thai Tobacco Monopoly, Surakul Stadium, Phuket City

August 12 HM The Queen's Birthday

October 5-13 Phuket Vegetarian Festival

October 23 Chulalongkorn Memorial Day

October 29-November 3 Womens' volleyball, Karon beach

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