news.sky.com More reservists are called up as Benjamin Netanyahu says there will be no let up until Hamas ''terror tunnels'' are destroyed.

bbc.com Sierra Leone's president has declared a public health emergency to curb the deadly Ebola outbreak. Ernest Bai Koroma said the epicentres of the outbreak in the east would be quarantined and asked the security forces to enforce the measures.


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 Authorities will bar visitors who overstay their visas from returning to Thailand for between one year and a whole decade. The longer the overstay period, the longer will be the re-entry ban. Starting from August 29, the ban will be imposed on any foreigner found to have overstayed his or her visa or visa-exemption period.

bangkokpost.com Seldom seen, rarely photographed and with a three-million baht reward on his head, the BRN leader and bomb expert Masae Useng has masterminded a new action plan of increased and violent terror and strife for the deep South. Security agencies are on full alert following a report that nine members of a southern separatist group met in Malaysia recently to plan attacks.

nationmultimedia.com Motorists are banned from using their smartphones while driving, be it for calling or texting, Deputy Metropolitan Police chief Pol Maj-General Adul Narongsak announced. Penalties range up to 1000 baht.

bangkokpost.com The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) and the military detained an army general, Maj Gen Jennarong Dechawan, and four civilians in a sting operation for allegedly extorting money from vendors at Patpong, Bangkok's best known night entertainment strip. The general denied the allegation.


nationmultimedia.com Thai authorities have joined the rest of the world in monitoring the spread of the Ebola virus and are closely screening all arrivals from West Africa, a source at the Foreign Ministry said.

afp The US Peace Corps is pulling volunteers from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone due to growing concerns over the spread of the deadly Ebola epidemic raging in West Africa.



metro.co.uk A Malaysia Airlines plane was forced to abort a take-off after air traffic control urgently radioed pilots to tell them they were on a collision course with another jet. Flight MH136, which had 167 passengers on board and was heading for Kuala Lumpur, applied its brakes while on Adelaide Airport runway.

wsj.com International investigators may not be able to get to the crash site of Malaysia AirlinesFlight 17 for some time due to the fighting between Kiev's forces and the pro-Russian rebels, a Ukrainian official said.



nationmultimedia.com After Thai Smile Air relocates from Suvarnabhumi to Don Muang on August 8, it will serve three major cities - Phuket, Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen - in the first phase. The budget carrier will also target Japan, China and Europe: ''We hope to grab passengers from our rivals, particularly AirAsia.''

travelweekly.co.uk Martial law looks set to continue until at least October 2015 when army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha has promised elections. But there is little evidence of it as far as tourists are concerned. Holidaymakers can carry on as if nothing has happened.

theguardian.com UN officials described the killing of sleeping children as a disgrace to the world and accused Israel of a serious violation of international law after a school in Gaza being used to shelter Palestinian families was shelled.

afp Drug-resistant malaria parasites are now firmly established in border regions in Thailand and three neighbouring countries, imperilling global efforts to control the disease, experts warned.

theguardian.com UK and US supermarket groups are meeting in Thailand this week to create a taskforce to tackle trafficking and forced labor in the shrimp feed industry.

undercurrentnews.com CP Foods has been at pains to defend its business and is now taking buyers to Thailand to see for themselves. As part of the visit, they plan to view CP Foods' fish feed factory, feed mill and new production lines, sources said.

mcot The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the US has acknowledged labor solutions in National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) actions and might remove four Thai products from its child and forced labor watch list.

dailystar.co.uk Calls for paedophile Rolf Harris's jail term to be increased were rejected by the Government's chief legal adviser.

afp The death toll from a major landslide in western India was expected to exceed 150, a health official said, after heavy monsoon rains sent mud and rocks tumbling onto homes.

aap Jetstar has apologised after a crew member advised Splendour in the Grass festival goers to dump their drugs before landing in Sydney. The announcement reportedly sparked a rush to the bathrooms



wsj.com Singapore Airlines said its first-quarter net profit fell 71 percent, as revenue weakened and it remains under pressure to sell seats at a discount due to stiff competition.

maritime-executive.com Rescue teams were searching for six missing people in Indonesia's Kapuas River after a ferry sank, killing at least 12 people.

sbs.com.au Campaigners say tourism is damaging Bali and making life increasingly difficult for its permanent residents: ''We Balinese should take the move to save Bali . . . before it's too late.''

washingtonpost.com The UN says that 135,000 ethnic Rohingya Muslims are still stuck in refugee camps on the western coast of Burma, two years after the government rounded them up in the wake of religious violence that left villages scorched, thousands homeless and more than 200 dead.

huffingtonpost.co.uk Tourism may be rocketing, but Burma is fragile. It's isolation until it opened up to tourism three years ago offers a clean slate for tourists to make sure they have a positive impact from the outset, but with the popularity of the destination rising, tourism companies and tourists alike need to tread very carefully; Burma is not yet fixed.



smh.com.au Francois Etoundi, a member of the Australian Commonwealth Games team has been detained by police over an alleged altercation at the athletes' village in Glasgow. Fairfax Media has been told Scottish police will allege that Etoundi, who won a bronze medal in the 77kg class weightlifting, assaulted a Welsh athlete.



August 11 Special holiday for Queen's Birthday

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