afp The death toll from a huge earthquake in southwest Pakistan this week has soared to around 350 people with more than 500 injured, officials said, amid fears the toll could still rise.

theguardian.com Scores more bodies are believed to be buried under rubble in Kenya's Westgate shopping mall five days into a siege with one attacker still firing and a morgue preparing for at least 160 dead.


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

nationmultimedia.com Shops in Phuket International Airport are being moved out to make way for more immigration officers, as the airport is bracing for a deluge of passengers, whose numbers currently exceed 10 million per year. Airport director Pratuang Sornkham said that construction on a temporary terminal would be completed in January to accommodate chartered flights and private jets.

nationmultimedia.com Tighter legislation introduced by Beijing and affecting Chinese travellers will take effect on October 1, a move that the Tourism Council of Thailand projects will have a short-term impact on the flow of Chinese visitors. The number of Chinese visitors to Thailand via tour agencies is expected to fall by 200,000 over the next three months - before the trend starts to return to normal.

bangkokpost.com Phuket, Bangkok and Chiang Mai are listed in the 20 most popular destinations for Chinese travellers according to a poll by daodao.com, a brand operated by leading global travel site, TripAdvisor. Lily Cheng, managing director of TripAdvisor China, said that in 2012 China surpassed the US and Germany as the world's largest source of outbound tourism by expenditure.

wsj.com A recent survey by Travelzoo Asia Pacific, a global Internet media company and publisher, showed that that 41pc of Travelzoo subscribers in China said they opt to travel individually, only 11pc said they opt for group tours. ''This means China's outbound tourist spending will not only continue to grow but will be much more dynamic in sectors that cater to individual pursuits,'' said Jason Yap, CEO of Travelzoo Asia Pacific.

watoday.com.au Rihanna Review: It's hard not to be cynical about the kind of show that will be put on by a performer who makes more headlines for public spats, tweeting notes on a Thai sex show and posting an illegal snap with a protected animal, than her own gigs. rating 2/5.

mirror.co.uk Rihanna confesses she hasn't had sex in ages and plans to quit partying: Could this be the same woman who just this week regaled her Twitter followers with the intimate X-rated details of a live sex show she attended in Phuket, Thailand?

oxfordbusinessgroup.com The government in Thailand is hailing a recent agreement with China as a significant step towards reducing its extensive rice stockpile. However, critics of the program, which offers growers a minimum price for their crops, say that the deal with Beijing will put only a dent in Thailand's so-called rice mountain.

qz.com A generous car-buying incentive program has hit a major pothole in Thailand, which touts itself as the Detroit of Southeast Asia - presumably referring to the auto manufacturing, not crushing levels of government debt - in the latest in a string of questionable stimulus programs. The $2.5 billion car-buying scheme was similar to the US ''cash for clunkers'' plan, but without the clunkers - first-time buyers simply received a tax refund of up to $3200 in an attempt to encourage lower-income Thais to buy domestically made cars.

gulf-times.com Thailand sits near the bottom of an annual US people trafficking report and must improve its efforts on combating forced labor or face relegation next year - which could trigger cuts in non-humanitarian and non-trade US aid. Earlier this month the International Labour Organisation warned of ''serious abuses'' in the fishing industry such as forced labor and violence.

nationmultimedia.com Despite heavy downpours over the past two weeks, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration still believes the capital should escape floods this rainy season. ''Run-offs and rain will not coincide with high tides this year,'' an official at the BMA Flood Prevention Centre said.

nytimes.com The Kenyan shopping mall massacre plot was hatched weeks or months ago on Somali soil, by an ''external operations arm'' of al-Shabab, a militant Islamist group based there, according to US security officials. A team of English-speaking foreign fighters was carefully selected, along with the target: Westgate, a gleaming upscale mall popular with expatriates and Nairobi's rising middle class.

cnn.com A Beijing man who snatched a baby from a pram and hurled it to its death in an argument over a parking space was Wednesday sentenced to death by a Beijing court, according to court documents.

reuters Casino operators and regulators around Asia are watching Singapore's two multi-billion-dollar gaming resorts as they focus on tourists and trade shows to boost revenue in response to restrictions on gambling and a sluggish broader market.

norfolkdailynews.com Located in southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal between Bangladesh and Thailand, sits a country about the size of Texas. It's called Burma. Or is it Myanmar? Editor's note: Information from the CIA contributed to this report.



reuters Oracle Team USA won the 34th America's Cup, coming from behind to defeat Emirates Team New Zealand in the tie-breaking 19th race of the finals. Some regard it as the greatest sporting comeback of all time.

independent.co.uk In an extraordinary, near-unprecedented climax to the most prestigious event in sailing, the US Oracle Team has capped a monumental comeback by winning the last race of the contest - and thus claiming the 34th America's Cup.

afp Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez ruined Luis Suarez's long-awaited return from suspension as the Mexican clinched a 1-0 win against Liverpool in the League Cup third round.

skysports.com Arsenal beat West Brom in a penalty shootout after their Capital One Cup third-round tie finished 1-1 after extra time.

dailymail.co.uk British snooker star Stephen Lee has been banned for 12 years after being found guilty of seven charges of match-fixing. The 38-year-old was found guilty of seven match-fixing charges by an independent tribunal.



Until September 30 French Wine Week at Sofitel Krabi Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort, Krabi

September 28 Krabi 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

October 31 Halloween

November 5 Melbourne Cup Day

November 17 Loy Kratong Day

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

December 5 HM The King's birthday

December 26 Commemoration of 2004 Asian Tsunami



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

November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket