usatoday.com The Marin County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of actor-comedian Robin Williams in Tiburon, Calif., north of San Francisco. According to a press release issued by the coroner's division of the sheriff's office, Williams, aged 63, was found unconscious and not breathing inside his home in Tiburon around noon local time, and was pronounced dead shortly after.

cnn.com Coroner investigators suspect ''the death to be a suicide due to asphyxia,'' according to a statement from the Marin County, California, Sheriff's office. ''He has been battling severe depression of late,'' said his media representative, Mara Buxbaum.

ew.com Williams recently signed on to reprise his beloved role as 'Mrs Doubtfire' and was last seen opposite Annette Bening in the indie film 'The Face of Love.' His sitcom 'The Crazy Ones' premiered on CBS last fall, but was not picked up for a second season.

abcnews.go.com He won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in 'Good Will Hunting' and appeared in dozens of films including 'Good Morning Vietnam,' 'Mrs Doubtfire,' 'Dead Poets Society,' and 'Patch Adams.' Williams voiced the Genie in the Disney animated film 'Aladdin' and again for the 'King of Thieves' sequel.


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 US Secretary of State John Kerry extended good wishes to Her Majesty the Queen for her 82nd birthday, which will be marked throughout Thailand today.

afp At least three workers died and 17 others were injured when a six-storey building under construction collapsed in Pathum Thani province just outside Bangkok, police say. Rescuers are now searching for an unknown number of missing people.

nationmultimedia.com Hotels and shopping malls in Bangkok are pushing for the lifting of martial law before the high season arrives. Bangkok hotels are running at only 40-50 percent full, 10-20 percentage points lower than a year ago. Occupancy at hotels in Phuket, Krabi and Koh Samui is 80 percent.

sevenoakschronicle.co.uk The grandparents of two sisters who went missing and are believed to have been abducted while they were in Thailand 72 days ago are pleading for holidaymakers to keep their eyes peeled for Aleena and Ananya Day, aged 6 and 11. An arrest warrant has been issued for Onwarat Gamlem, 33, on suspicion of abducting her daughters.



afp Eight Chinese medical workers who treated patients suffering from the deadly Ebola virus have been placed in quarantine in Sierra Leone, the Chinese ambassador in Freetown said. The outbreak has claimed at least 932 lives in four west African nations.



scmp.com A rowdy passenger was in custody after forcing a London-bound Virgin Atlantic flight to head back to Hong Kong, where he was promptly arrested.

skynews.com Flight VS201 had been in the air for 90 minutes when the pilot turned the jet around: ''The crew ended up put him down temporarily with an injection (we guess) and tied him up with belts.''

VIDEO 'Heroic' mission rescues desperate Yazidis from ISIS
The Iraqi air force and fighters with the Kurdish peshmerga carried out a dramatic rescue mission at Mount Sinjar, taking supplies to desperate Yazidis and bringing some on board the helicopter to make it safely out.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/11/world/meast/iraq-rescue-mission/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

foxnews.com What began as a peaceful protest of the shooting of an 18-year-old unarmed black man by a police officer in a St. Louis suburb turned into what the town's mayor called a ''huge mess'' as several businesses were looted and cars were vandalised.

designboom.com The NAKA phuket hotel and resort in thailand has opened its doors to guests as an exclusive getaway only accessible via an isolated mountain road. The complex comprises villas featuring floor-to-ceiling glazed walls that protrude from the sloping terrain. The 94 private units are accompanied by a private beach.

Sunday Times Prince Andrew once showed up on Courtney Love's doorstep in LA looking for a party: ''I had all these Jubilee mugs with pictures of the Queen on, so I made him a really good pot of tea and I hand him a mug with his mum on it, and he saw the joke. He asked, 'What do you do all day?' which I thought was just nerdy. I said, 'What do you do all day, Prince?''

bd.thedailystar.net When it comes to Thailand, most people think of Bangkok and the beaches of Phuket and Pattaya, with beautiful clear water and mountains forming a heavenly vista. But there are some gems in this country that many have not heard, and which many will not associate with the trappings of Thailand.



cnbc.com Singapore's reputation as a shopping haven could be at stake as rising prices and growing regional competition threaten to erode the city-state's allure. Latest figures from the Singapore Tourism Board showed tourists' expenditure on shopping falling six percent on-year during the first three months of 2014.

AP A growing number of Rohingya children are going hungry and showing signs of malnutrition. Yanghee Lee, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma (Myanmar), summed up what she saw. ''The situation is deplorable,'' she said.

irrawaddy.org The US will not turn a blind eye to problems including human rights violations in Burma, Secretary of State John Kerry said during his visit to the country, while reaffirming his government's endorsement of President Thein Sein's reforms. Kerry reportedly also raised US concerns over ongoing discrimination against the Rohingya.

incentivetravel.co.uk Centara Hotels & Resorts of Thailand will be opening its third property in Bali, Centara Crystal On The Bay Nusa Dua, early in 2015.



afp German striker Miroslav Klose, the all-time World Cup top scorer, announced his retirement from international football.

abcnews.go.com Authorities investigating the Tony Stewart racing accident that killed a fellow driver said that ''at this time, there are no facts to support any criminal behavior,'' Ontario County Sheriff Philip Povero said. Kevin Ward Jr., 20, was killed after he got out of his car in what looked like an attempt to confront Stewart.



bangkokpost.com Suvarnabhumi airport will officially open a women's parking zone on Tuesday to celebrate Mother's Day.

August 12 Queen's Birthday

September 24-October 2 Vegetarian Festival, Phuket

October 23 Chulalongkorn Memorial Day

November 6 Loy Kratong

November 14-21 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