bangkokpost.com A six-storey condominium building under construction in Thanyaburi district, Pathum Thani province, collapsed on Monday evening, killing at least seven people and injuring 20 others.

afp A shocking image of what is believed to be the young son of an Australian man holding a decapitated head in Syria shows how barbaric the Islamic State ''terrorist army'' is, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said.

bangkokpost.com After one last snack with Big Brother at a Singapore food court, the ex-premier Yingluck Shinawatra flew back to Thailand as promised, to face the legal music.

cbssports.com Rory McIlroy went out on the first nine in 36, one of the few to not be under par. Then dropped a sweet 32 on the back nine to beat Phil Mickelson by one stroke at the PGA Championship.


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



afp An Iranian passenger plane crashed moments after takeoff from Tehran, killing 39 people on board and narrowly avoiding many more deaths when it plummeted near a busy market.

ft.com Central Group chief executive Tos Chirathivat is drinking coffee in Harrods in his newest shopping centre and lauding the calm since the military ended the Thai capital's latest street confrontation via the May 22 coup and crackdown on dissent: ''You feel better, business is better, everything's better.''

bangkokpost.com Thai travel agents have teamed up with Japanese tour operators to bring at least six charter flights from Japan to Thailand in a bid to boost tourism for both countries.

andrew-drummond.com Two Scots and one American posing as lawyers in Thailand have been uncovered attempting a scam involving the frozen billions of ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra: ''I thought, what the hell is going on with this guy. Why is he telling me this? He also said he knew all the main characters in an Australian television documentary series called 'Underbelly.'''

bangkokpost.com The military has identified 11 key areas for reform, but a senior member of the NCPO is warning that disparities in the way officials treat people from different sections of society is threatening to derail any genuine progress.

nationmultimedia.com The Health Service Support Department is investigating a Bangkok clinic that provided surrogacy services to more than 100 clients, including the Australian couple linked to the baby Gammy controversy and probably many other Australians.



scmp.com Nigerian staying at Hong Kong's Chungking Mansions tests negative for Ebola: The deadliest Ebola epidemic in history continued its spread, as a brief scare in Hong Kong highlighted the risk of an outbreak in the city. Chinese medical experts headed for West Africa to bring medical supplies worth HK$37.7 million to countries suffering from an outbreak of the Ebola virus.



scmp.com A Hong Kong-based Japanese man wanted by Thai police for alleged human trafficking helped to create an application for mobile devices designed to monitor the movement of children and their family members.

independent.co.uk The Australian couple accused of abandoning their son because he had Down's syndrome have denied the claims in a TV interview, saying instead that his Thai surrogate mother demanded to keep the child.

sbs.com.au David Farnell denied he would harm his daughter, after it was revealed he was a convicted paedophile. ''She will be 100 per cent safe because I know I would do everything in the world to protect my little girl,'' he said,
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/08/11/gammys-biological-parents-say-they-did-not-abandon-son/

wantchinatimes.com Foreign visitor arrivals to Taiwan surged 26 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2014 to 4.8 million. The only Asian country posting a decline in inbound tourism was Thailand, with Thai visitors down 1.45 percent year-on-year.

afp A fresh 72-hour ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect in Gaza on Monday, paving the way for talks in Egypt for a durable end to a month-long conflict that has wreaked devastating bloodshed.

smh.com.au Thailand appears to be the most sexually exploited country in the world. Baby boomers are marrying Thai women for the price of a cab. Gays are helping themselves to Rice Queens and now we are using Thai women to incubate our babies.

afp Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed a ''new era'' of reconciliation in Turkey after winning a ''historic'' victory in presidential elections.

stickmanweekly.com Visa services have long been offered by enterprising folks working with the odd crooked official, where unbeknown to the passport holder (or otherwise, as the case may be), questionable and often illegal methods are employed to get a new visa. For as long as I can remember, foreigners in Thailand have been queuing up to utilise these services.

theage.com.au Sales at McDonald's have recorded their worst results in over 10 years. Global sales at the fast food giant dropped 2.5 percent in June and July.

nnt Australia has confirmed its support for Thailand's road map, as developed by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and hopes to see democracy returned to Thailand soon.

forbes.com The newly published names of individuals who renounced their US citizenship or terminated long-term US residency is up, with 576 for the quarter and 1577 so far this year. The growing trend is a sad one, with record numbers of Americans renouncing their US citizenship.

argyllfreepress.com Blinded by this prevalent fact that people are being shipped here from Bangkok, people should be aware that trafficking in the Dakotas is a case of our own kids, happening in the same community. We need to open our eyes and see the present scenario.
http://argyllfreepress.com/2014/08/10/conference-addressing-issue-of-human-trafficking-by-us-attorneys-a-major-concern/

usatoday.com It should come as no shock when a tortoise wins a race. 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,' the fifth critically ravaged installment of the kids' franchise, stunned 'Guardians of the Galaxy' this weekend, dethroning the superhero squadron after just one week at No. 1.



straitstimes.com An empty cable car fell on a construction site along Imbiah Walk near Underwater World in Sentosa. Another nearby cabin, with a technical supervisor inside, was halted in mid-air. The incident happened on a line that is being constructed on the island, not the existing one.

smh.com.au A controversial deal to allow Australia to send refugees to Cambodia is imminent and could be signed as early as this week, sources have told Fairfax Media.

wsj.com US Secretary of State John Kerry reaffirmed American support for the reform process in Burma (Myanmar), despite warnings from the US Congress of backsliding as the country wrestles with sectarian violence and allowing democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi a shot at the presidency in elections next year.



afp French 13th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won the Toronto Masters title on Sunday with a 7-5, 7-6 (7/3) victory over second seeded Roger Federer.

afp Liverpool warmed up for the start of their Premier League campaign with a Philippe Coutinho-inspired 4-0 friendly win over Borussia Dortmund at Anfield.

vichermans.com Phuket invited us afterwards to play a friendly [futsal] game with the National Team on September 12. Something I'm really going to do because Phuket with their Brazilian star players is a good sparring partner.



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

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