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



reuters Three people were wounded in a shooting by a machine gun-toting attacker on a high-speed train between Amsterdam and Paris, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said. Unconfirmed reports said US marines had overpowered the assailant.

bbc.com The French Interior Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, speaking near the scene in northern France, said the Americans had shown ''extreme bravery in extremely difficult circumstances.''

afp Busloads of visitors from China flocked to the Grand Palace in Bangkok, but days after the Erawan shrine bombing killed 20 people including five Chinese visitors, Thailand's biggest-spending holidaymakers are rattled: ''We shouldn't go to any place that is dangerous,''



bangkokpost.com Foreigners with even a passing resemblance to the prime suspect in the Erawan bombing are being detained and questioned by police scrambling to solve the case.

scotsman.com Sombre horns sounded at the site of Bangkok's deadly bomb blast as officials joined a multi-religious ceremony for victims of this week's attack - the latest effort to show that the bustling capital was respectfully, if cautiously, moving on.

time.com ''Don't you think it is hugely irresponsible for anyone to draw a conclusion without any evidence?'' an unnamed spokesperson at the Chinese embassy in Bangkok told the South China Morning Post.

bangkokpost.com Echoing Australian PM Tony Abbott, who told his citizens not to stop visiting Thailand and encouraged Thai people to stand strong against violence, PM Prayut h Chan-ocha said Thai people should not give in to perpetrators of violence.

independent.co.uk Apart from the area in the immediate vicinity of the attack in Bangkok, life for tourists in Thailand continues more or less as normal. Having said that, the Thai government's response to the atrocity in the capital is likely to affect all visitors.

thehindu.com The August 18 bomb blast in central Bangkok, killing 22 people and injuring 123, has forced a section of Indian tourists to defer their trip to the popular South-east Asian destination. Various nations have issued travel advisories, with most advising caution rather than avoiding travel to Thailand. And travel companies have not seen any major cancellations.

Phuket Update Phuket police staged a public-awareness exercise through social media to explain what to be on the lookout for when conducting bomb-security searches and called on the public to report any suspicious items by calling 191.



news360.com Maung Htay quickly realised that his release from jail in Thailand actually meant he had been sold to a human trafficking gang and was being sent to work as a slave on a fishing boat in Indonesian waters.
http://news360.com/article/308200200

sbs.com.au Australian journalist Alan Morison and his Phuketwan colleague Chutima Sidasathian exposed the plight of the Rohingya, so why are they now on trial and facing seven years in a Thai jail for reporting the truth? Dateline's Amos Roberts spends day and night with them as they prepare for court and then he attends the trial.

Preview of Tuesday's SBS Show
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/dateline



reuters Fears of a China-led global economic slowdown drove Wall Street to its steepest one-day drop in nearly four years on Friday and left the Dow industrials more than 10 percent below a May record.

scmp.com China has reclaimed more land in the disputed Spratly islands of the South China Sea than previously known, according to a new Pentagon report, which says Beijing is also completing construction of a runway on one of its seven man-made outposts.

Phuket Update American Brian Connolly has been named the new General Manager of Angsana Laguna Phuket. He moves to the new position from Surin beach where he headed up the DoubleTree by Hilton.

reuters Britain's newest theme park features a decrepit castle, a merry-go-round horse set to be cooked and model boats on a pool full of refugees, all courtesy of British street artist Banksy. Called Dismaland, the ''Bemusement Park'' is tagged as ''The UK's most disappointing new visitor attraction!'' and features work by other artists including Damien Hirst.

cnn.com North Korea outlined an ultimatum Friday to its southern neighbor: Stop the ''provocations'' and ''psychological warfare'' or pay the price. ''If South Korea does not respond to our ultimatum,'' North Korean UN ambassador An Myong Hun told reporters, ''our military counteraction will be inevitable and that counteraction will be very strong.''

bulletinleader.com Emirates, a Dubai-based airline company, plans to resume its flights to Baghdad, offering four weekly flights to the Iraqi capital starting September 17. The return flight, EK397 will depart Phuket at 09:30 and arrives in Dubai the same day at 13:20.

csmonitor.com The UK's Information Commissioner's Office has ordered Google to remove links to nine news articles about a 'right to be forgotten' request. Google says the stories are in the public interest, but the ICO argues that they defeat the point of the original request.

news.com.au The world can breathe easy. A giant asteroid is not hurtling towards Earth about to wipe out much of the Americas, NASA has felt compelled to explain following a swirl of online rumors.



afp Myanmar's parliament passed two controversial bills proposed by hardline Buddhist nationalists, MPs said, completing a package of legislation that activists fear will curb religious freedoms as anti-Muslim tensions fester. Nationalist monk Wirathu welcomed parliament's decision.



theage.com.au England's hopes of winning four Tests in a home series for the first time are in tatters after day two of the final Test at the Oval, because of their calamitous start of 8/107 in pursuit of Australia's first innings of 481.



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