cbc.ca A Quebec coroner is challenging the autopsy findings of Thai officials that ruled two Canadian sisters found dead in their hotel room in June were accidentally poisoned. Coroner Renee Roussel told Radio-Canada the concentration of the chemical DEET in the sisters' systems wasn't enough to be fatal.

Phuket Update As Phuketwan first reported, police investigating the sisters' deaths on Phi Phi said insecticide was found in the bodies. The final police report said they were unable to establish a cause for the deaths. Because of Canada's privacy laws, some media reports remain confused and unreliable. No autopsy results have been made public.


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

nationmukltimedia.com Average speeds in Bangkok dropped from 19 kilometres per hour last year to 18kph this year during morning rush hour and from 24kph to 23kph during evening rush hour, the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning said.

bangkokpost.com A campaign was underway in downtown Narathiwat to spur Friday retail trade subdued by threats of insurgent attacks. In central Narathiwat, deputy provincial governor Samart Waradisai presided over the launch of a walking parade around the city encouraging traders to conduct their business as usual on Fridays.

dvb.no Hundreds of Burmese monks took to the streets in Arakan state to protest against local Muslims and against violence targeting Buddhists in neighboring Bangladesh. Flanked by police and hundreds of onlookers, maroon-robed clerics demonstrated outside the Bangladesh consulate in the Arakan state capital Sittwe chanting ''Stop insulting Buddhism'' and ''No need for violence.''

bloomberg Turkish authorities discovered crates of military equipment bound for the Syrian armed forces after forcing a passenger jet from Moscow to Damascus to land, Turkish newspapers reported. Intelligence reports said the plane was carrying cargo banned by civil aviation rules, Turkey's Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said.

aap Australian tourism operators cannot hope to compete on price with South-East Asia and should focus on high-value niche markets, the convenor of an international ecotourism conference says. Operators and tourism experts will gather in far north Queensland next week for the Global Eco Asia Pacific ecotourism conference.

ibtimes.com To develop a more profitable tourism industry, Ecotourism Australia Chief Executive Kym Cheatham pushed for more focus on high-value visitors instead of just increasing the number of tourists: ''It is time to reinvent Australian tourism.''

bbc.co.uk A Moscow court has freed one of the convicted women from the punk band Pussy Riot but upheld two-year jail terms for the other two. There were cheers in court when the two-year jail term of Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, was suspended.

heraldsun.com.au A union official working in Singapore has been sacked for a racist Facebook rant about a Malay wedding being conducted below her apartment. Amy Cheong, 37, a Malaysian-born Australian, later told media she was returning to Perth to escape threats of violence to her and her family.

hospitalitynet.org The renowned Quay Grand Suites Sydney will rebrand to Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbor, signalling a dramatic expansion of Accor???s 5-star Pullman brand in Australia. Pullman is on track to becoming Australia???s largest 5-star network, with the brand expected to grow to up to 15 hotels by the end of 2013.

afp An 11-year-old boy from a nomadic family in Russia's north has stumbled upon a massive well-preserved woolly mammoth, in what scientists describe as the best such discovery since 1901. Yevgeny Salinder, whose family lives near a polar station in the northern Taimyr Peninsula, discovered the frozen prehistoric animal when he was strolling along the banks of a river in late August.

elitetraveler.com On December 1, Regent Phuket Cape Panwa will be unveiling an extravagant experience in a breathtaking location in Southern Thailand. The Regent Phuket Cape Panwa will be located on a secluded bay next to its own private beach with a view that looks out across Andaman Sea.



bbc.co.uk Cycling legend Lance Armstrong's team ran ''the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping program the sport has ever seen'' according to a report by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. In its report, Usada said Armstrong, 41, ''engaged in serial cheating'' associated with doping.

nytimes.com A 202-page account of the agency's case against Armstrong included sworn testimony from 26 people, including nearly a dozen former teammates on Armstrong's US Postal Service and Discovery Channel squads who said they saw Armstrong doping to help him win every one of his record seven Tour de France titles.



Friday for IBAP, 6pm Urban Food restaurant, Central Festival
Speaker Anant Akanisthaphichatis a well-known attorney experienced for approximately eight years in Phuket. He specialises in property issues and litigation.
In his own words: ''My personal opinion is quite conservative about the property issues in Phuket and may be quite discouraging to people considering real estate here in Phuket.''
Khun Anant has very interesting arguments for considering rentals and leasing as opposed to purchasing and he's pleased to deal with individual questions, making this a program you won't want to miss.

October 14-22 Phuket Vegetarian Festival

October 21-24 Phuket International Sports Fishing titles

November 25 Laguna Phuket Triathlon

November 28 Loy Kratong Day

November 30 AustCham Phuket sundowners social and business networking

December 1 World AIDs Day

December 1-8 King's Cup Regatta

December 5 HM The King's Birthday

December 10 Constitution Day

December 15-20 Patong Carnival

December 25 Christmas Day



November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket