AP The US is shuttering its embassies and consulates throughout the Muslim world on Sunday after receiving an unspecified threat, officials say. State Department officials saidthat they were taking action out of an ''abundance of caution.''

andrew-drummond.com A British investigative journalist based in Thailand claimed today that foreigners with background of crime and fraud had succeeded in courting regional local police and city officials and used their supposed acquired ''influence'' to threaten and cheat foreigners in Thailand. Pattaya was particularly badly affected, claimed journalist Andrew Drummond, but these characters are mirrored in resort areas throughout Thailand.

pattayaone.net A meeting was held at the Chonburi Immigration Office to discuss how Pattaya should react to claims that Russian ''Mafia'' activities in Phuket, which have been much publicised in the press, are also present in Pattaya.


JOURNALIST Andrew Drummond explains how evil expats are trying to have him jailed.
http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2013/08/documentary-highlights-foreign-criminal.html


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 A crime-fighting centre to crack down on local and foreign ''mafias'' on Phuket island will open next week, Justice Minister Chaikasem Nitisiri said. The mafia-busting centre will be officially launched on August 9 at Phuket international airport and another location in the city centre with officials from the Department of Special Investigation, Phuket police and officials, tourism officials and tourism police.

nationmultimedia.com A small homemade time bomb planted in a garbage can went off near the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation office, but no injuries were reported. Police suspect that the motive was not to kill anyone but to threaten someone, possibly due to an internal conflict.

wsj.com Luxury vacation homes built on the water cost 63 percent more, on average, than similar properties that are landlocked, according to an analysis by global property consultancy Knight Frank. Italy's Lake Como, about 30 miles north of Milan, and Barbados have the highest price premium, followed by Phuket.

independent.co.uk The law has finally caught up with Silvio Berlusconi after Italy's Supreme court declared the former prime minister a tax fraud. The three-time premier will die with a criminal record after 12 judges in Italy's highest legal body definitively convicted the billionaire mogul for hiding millions of euros from his media empire in overseas slush funds.

wsj.com Ariel Castro, 53, who kidnapped and repeatedly raped three women for a decade, was sentenced to life in prison plus 1000 years after pleading guilty to 937 counts, including aggravated murder, kidnapping, rape and assault.

guardian.co.uk The White House expressed anger and dismay after Russia granted temporary asylum to the American whistleblower Edward Snowden and allowed him to leave the Moscow airport where he had been holed up for over a month.

smh.com.au Twenty-six passengers on a Qantas flight from Santiago to Sydney were struck down with a gastro intestinal illness midflight, resulting in a mass vomiting and diarrhoea episode. A team of paramedics met QF28 when it landed.

aljazeera.com About 25,000 people evacuated from homes in Burma (Myanmar) while flood water inundates provinces in bordering Thailand: "Across much of South Asia this year's rains have been up by as much as 50 percent compared with a typical year.''

bloomberg Airbus is pushing airlines to view its A380 superjumbo as a high-density workhorse rather than a luxury flagship as it targets orders from mass-market carriers in countries such as China, Japan and Indonesia. The European planemaker has begun pitching the double-decker as carrying 558 people, 33 more than the average stated for the past six years.

whatsonxiamen.com Taiwanese heartthrob Jimmy Lin's wedding, a fusion of western and Thai elements, was held at a resort in Thailand, Phuket. The lovebirds registered their marriage in 2009 after Kelly gave birth to toddler son, Kimi.

watoday.com.au Asylum seekers face another hurdle in their bid to reach Australia after Malaysia announced a visa crackdown. Malaysian Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said his country had made the decision after a request from Australia. He did not say which nationalities would be affected.

aap Papua New Guinea's opposition has resurrected a constitutional challenge to Australia's detention centre on Manus Island as the first group of asylum seekers arrive to experience Labor's tough resettlement policy.

theage.com.au Former indigenous Australian Rules champion Leon Davis says of Aussie racism: ''You would go in a shopping centre and the security guard would come straight up and follow you around, or shop attendants would watch you. That stuff happened in Melbourne all the time and that was to me, I was playing for Collingwood and I was an All-Australian and it was happening to me.''

bbc.co.uk Members of Uruguay's House of Representatives have passed a bill to legalise marijuana. If it goes on to be approved by the Senate, Uruguay will become the first country to regulate the production, distribution and sale of marijuana.

economist.com The hope is that the Thai middle class could soon be driving their Japanese cars over the mountains and through the jungle into Burma (Myanmar). In anticipation of a new gateway for international trade and tourism into South-East Asia, land prices in some parts of Thailand's Kanchanaburi province have already begun to rise. But dogs still outnumber cars on the road to Dawei.

dailymail.co.uk The married socialite expecting Simon Cowell's baby was accused of being a gold digger. Lauren Silverman has allegedly issued the X Factor boss with a string of outrageous demands, telling him she wants marriage and her own reality TV show before she will allow him access to the child. Mrs Silverman's husband, Andrew, has cited Cowell in divorce papers.

traveldailymedia.com Accor has launched a new Novotel in Phuket. The 166-room Novotel Phuket Kamala Beach is located on the island's west coast, overlooking Kamala Beach, and offers views of the Andaman Sea.

wsj.com Many TripAdvisor reviews, Skyscanner flight searches, and friends' emails later, I chose Koh Yao Noi. It's a 40-minute boat ride from Phuket, yet, due to some rocky beaches, undeveloped enough to offer peace, quiet and some local culture.

dailylife.com.au I checked into Cape Panwa Hotel and Spa - a luxury resort that stretches over 300 metres of private beach overlooking the Andaman Coast. Locals refer to the southeastern tip of the province as the 'real' Phuket.

nationmultimedia.com Sansiri is launching six condominium projects worth a combined 6.38 billion baht under the dCondo brand this weekend, including the the 730-million baht dCondo Luxe Phuket.

thestage.co.uk Review of Forget Turkey! (We're Going to Phuket this Christmas): The whole thing signs off with a mischievously alternative version of Fairytale in New York before ditching the turkey and boarding a plane for the exotic delights of the Far East.



bbc.co.uk Striker Alvaro Negredo's first goal in a Manchester City shirt was not enough to prevent a 2-1 Audi Cup final defeat to European champions Bayern Munich.

bbc.co.uk Captain Michael Clarke scored a vital century as Australia breathed life into their Ashes campaign by dominating the opening day of the third Test against England. Trailing 2-0 and needing a win to have any chance of regaining the Ashes, Australia won the toss and reached 303-3 by the close at Old Trafford, with Clarke unbeaten on 125 and Steve Smith 70.

independent.co.uk Something amazing and, quite frankly, entirely uplifting happened and it wasn't merely that Australia had a surprisingly good day. They also carried a passing resemblance to, well, Australia.It was a little bit as though a whole embattled sports culture had been brought back from the edge of the precipice.

espncricinfo.com Usman Khawaja's dismissal before lunch at Old Trafford, adjudged caught behind after the on-field umpire's call was reviewed and upheld, has triggered an outpouring of furious tweets from former players and even the Australian prime minister.

aap James Magnussen defended his 100m freestyle world title with an emotional victory in Barcelona. A year on from his heartbreaking defeat in the London Olympic final, the Australian reasserted himself as the world's fastest swimmer over the distance as he clocked 47.71 seconds to win.



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