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Phuket Update Taxi driver Sakchai Niyomdecha, 22, kept kratom in car speakers and yah bah tablets in a pink teddy bear, Thalang volunteers discovered when they arrested him as a result of a tip-off from neighbors that he was selling drugs to Phuket youngsters.
washingtonpost.com At least 24 people died and hundreds were rescued after two passenger trains derailed nearly side by side as they crossed a bridge in central India late Tuesday night. Only minutes earlier, a flash flood hit the same spot.
nytimes.com The uproar over the decision by Germany's top prosecutor to investigate two journalists on charges of treason intensified when the justice minister, with the support of Chancellor Angela Merkel, called for the prosecutor to be fired.
smh.com.au Super Typhoon Soudelor, the most powerful storm so far this year, is generating waves of close to 15 metres as it barrels towards Taiwan.
PhuketWATCH Daily Media Wrap
PHUKET: The daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media. Beware of inconsistent imitations.
Top Stories
watoday.com.au Jetstar has delayed two Bali flights from Australia on Wednesday morning, as winds push the ash cloud towards Denpasar airport. The airline cancelled four flights from Perth and Melbourne to Bali on Tuesday night.
nationmultimedia.com A villager was killed and another injured in a gun attack on a teashop in Narathiwat's Chanae district while a school bus driver was hurt when another teashop in Pattani's Ma-Yor was attacked in a similar fashion.
Human Trafficking in Thailand
nationmultimedia.com Five Thais suspected of being members of a transnational gang that forced Thai women into prostitution in China by promising ''hooter girl'' jobs have been arrested after four victims filed police complaints. One suspect, Jittanan Sithichai, 31, was arrested on Phuket..
bangkokpost.com Police arrested US missionary Isaac Byungdo Lee, 41, a long-time resident of Thailand, for smuggling North Koreans to Thailand.
nationmultimedia.com Turkey's Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told his Thai counterpart General Thanasak Patimaprakorn that his country was ready to take on the remaining 59 Uighur asylum seekers awaiting nationality identification, a source said.
Phuket World of People
bangkokpost.com Operators of budget hotels on Koh Samui are facing hard times with occupancy of 50-60 percent. The Koh Samui Tourism Associiton is teaming up with the Phuket Tourism Association and the Tourism Authority of Thailand to organise a roadshow in Australia.
ewn.co.za The Thai government has extended an invitation to all foreign embassies who have citizens incarcerated in Thailand to enter into an agreement that would enable citizens to be repatriated. To date 37 countries have accepted this invitation.
iol.co.za Open Letter: We have undertaken to petition you to request the South African government to enter into these negotiations with the Thai government to achieve such an agreement on behalf of the 11 South African citizens incarcerated in Thailand.
bangkokpost.com Police are investigating 15 people, mostly foreigners, for allegedly falsifying or using Thai national identification cards bearing the names of dead people.
afp More than 2000 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe this year, data showed, bearing testimony to migrants' increasingly desperate attempts to reach the continent.
nationmultimedia.com An insurance firm paid out1.2 million baht to the families of each of three cyclists killed in a car accident in Chiang Mai last month. The crash made headlines, prompting authorities to review bicyclist-safety measures.
ttrweekly.com Thailand does not have a dedicated cruise port. According to the Cabinet document, there are 33 potential locations on the coasts of the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand. Of that, 11 are on the Andaman Sea coast in Ranong, Phang Nga, Phuket, Trang and Satun provinces, while 22 are on the Gulf of Thailand.
latimes.com Bowing to a public outcry, the Indian government said it would lift a days-old ban on hundreds of pornographic websites after critics accused the government of encroaching on personal freedoms.
smh.com.au A giant sinkhole has opened up on the streets of New York, forming a cavity big enough to swallow a car. The sinkhole emerged on a busy Brooklyn intersection on Tuesday morning New York time, bringing peak-hour traffic to a halt.
afp Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog shocked Muppets fans on their respective social media accounts by announcing the end of their love affair. Kermit revealed that he now is dating another pig named Denise who works in marketing at the Disney-owned television network.
Around the Region
reuters Malaysian opposition parties and activists kept up pressure on Prime Minister Najib Razak, undeterred by an anti-corruption agency statement apparently clearing him of receiving nearly $700 million from the debt-laden state fund 1MDB.
Phuket World of Sport
dailymail.co.uk American BASE jumper Josh Miramant, 28, performed what is known as a suspension jump from a cliff in Ton Sai, Thailand, claiming it gave him the strongest ''adrenaline kick'' he'd ever felt. Footage of the stunt shows the metal hooks being embedded into the skin on his back before he makes the leap into the water near the Thai rock climbing mecca of Krabi.
afp Four-time European champions Ajax have been eliminated at the third qualifying round stage of the Champions League after a humiliating 3-2 second-leg defeat to Rapid Vienna.Monaco advanced with a 4-0 win.
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
August 12 HM The Queen's birthday
August 23-30 Por Tor (Hungry Ghost) Festival
September Quicksilver surf carnival at Patong beach
October 15-23 Phuket Vegetarian Festival
November Patong Festival
November 20 Laguna Phuket Triathlon
November 25 Loy Kratong festival
November 29 Challenge Laguna Phuket 2015
November 29 Phuket King's Cup Regatta
December 5 HM The King's Birthday
December 26 Tsunami memorial ceremonies
I think if the Thai government wants to boost tourism and exports it really needs to look at lowering the baht. I just bought a jar of coconut oil that is more expensive in Thailand than Australia which is ridiculous. With a weak exchange rate people don't spend as much as things don't seem cheap.
Posted by Arun Muruga on August 5, 2015 15:55