UPDATING All Day, Every Day
bangkokpost.com Martial law is still necessary at this stage to enable the implementation of planned and essential reforms, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Monday.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk Following an analysis of disease spread patterns and airline traffic data, experts have predicted there is a 75 percent chance the ebola virus could be imported to France by October 24, while there is a 50 percent chance it could have also hit Britain.
bangkokpost.com The Metropolitan Police Bureau, the key agency overseeing police work in Bangkok, has never seen such a massive transfer of senior officers as in the recent reshuffle which saw a shake-up of metropolitan police units at virtually all levels.
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.
Today's Top News Items
bangkokpost.com The lifting of martial law in certain areas may be discussed at the first joint meeting of the National Council for Peace and Order and the Cabinet on Tuesday at the Army Club, Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul said. She cited as an example Phuket where the 2014 Asian Beach Games will be held between November 14 and 23.
dailytelegraph.com.au Aussie outlaw bikie gangs are aggressively recruiting Asian members and expanding their power bases and networks in popular overseas tourist havens. The gangs are thriving in Phuket, Bali, Jakarta, Singapore, Malaysia and Chiang Mai, with hundreds of new recruits joining the gangs.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/aussie-bikies-invade-asia-gangs-on-overseas-recruiting-drives/story-fni0cx12-1227080879424
bangkokpost.com Two Indian tourists, a man and a woman, drowned on Sunday after their chartered long-tailed boat capsised in bad weather off Ao Nang beach.
AP Thailand's tourist industry has been struggling to recover from a May 22 military coup, and Sunday's [drowning] deaths come after the killing last month of two British tourists on a beach on the southern Thai island of Koh Tao.
voanews.com Pro-democracy protesters remained in a tense stalemate with the Hong Kong government early Monday after authorities warned they were determined to get the Asian financial hub back to work after more than a week of unrest.
nytimes.com The pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong have a new symbol: a roughly 12-foot-high figure of wood blocks holding a bright yellow umbrella in its outstretched right hand. The students call it Umbrella Man.
Tourists' Murder on Koh Tao
nationmultimedia.com Police plan to forward their investigation report on the killing of two British tourists on Koh Tao to public prosecutors this Wednesday.
Latest on the Ebola Outbreak
reuters The first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States was fighting for his life at a Dallas hospital on Sunday and appeared not to be receiving any of the experimental medicines for the virus, a top US medical official said.
Phuket World of People
Phuket Update The Russian victim of an alleged rape in the Phuket holiday coast destination of Karon flew out on Thursday while the man accused of raping her twice, Somdate Srisai, 33, awaits a trial. Khun Somdate, who says sex was consensual, remains in Phuket Prison.
bangkokpost.com According to the TAT, the people of Myanmar and Bali, Indonesia, have developed friendliness and a welcoming attitude towards international tourists - the very traits that Thais are apparently losing, particularly the mindset of locals at several major destinations including Phuket, Krabi and Samui.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/social/436070/greed-calls-for-return-to-thai-values
afp An Egyptian jihadist group has released a video showing the execution of four men - including three being beheaded - accused of spying for the army and for Israel's Mossad intelligence service.
bangkokpost.com A young Thai man has been arrested for assaulting a 70-year-old British man in Pattaya Klang in the fit of rage after he failed to collect a 40-baht-parking fee from him.
foxnews.com One US Air Force member is dead and two are missing after being swept away in a typhoon that hit Okinawa, Japan, Sunday, Fox News confirmed.
nationmultimedia.com Pattaya has been urged to rebrand itself as a family and MICE destination after a study showed that more visitors from neighboring countries will visit the city when the Asean Economic Community comes into full effect next year.
straitstimes.com Gay pubs, clubs and saunas are common in Bangkok and tourist hot spots such as Pattaya and Phuket. Yet, the reality for Thailand's sexual minorities is far more trying.
theguardian.com History will judge Australia ''very, very poorly'' in relation to its treatment of asylum seekers, the outgoing administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean territories has said: ''We've implemented and carried through on policies that I don't believe are appropriate for Australia, or indeed for any nation.''
nytimes.com Jean-Claude Duvalier, a former president of Haiti known as Baby Doc who ruled the country with bloody brutality, and then shocked the country anew with a sudden return from a 25-year exile in 2011, has died aged 63.
rocketnews24.com Maruyama Zoo in Japan was the scene of awkwardness when it was learned four years into a breeding program that two spotted hyenas slated for making babies were actually both males.
theguardian.com Penises grown in laboratories could soon be tested on men by scientists developing technology to help people with congenital abnormalities, or who have undergone surgery for aggressive cancer or suffered traumatic injury.
usatoday.com Paul Revere, leader of '60s rock group Paul Revere and the Raiders, died Saturday at age 76, according to the band's official website.
Around the Asean Region
abc.net.au Eighteen people have been killed after an illegal gold mine collapsed in remote central Indonesia, a local search and rescue official says.
reuters Malaysian authorities have detained 155 Uighurs, more than half of them children, who were found crammed into two apartments in Kuala Lumpur. Ninety people, including 44 children, were crammed into one unit, while the remaining 65 were in a second unit, according to a report from enforcement operations unit chief Basri Hassan.
wsj.com After a months-long pause while a remote stretch of the southern Indian Ocean's floor was mapped, crews are preparing to resume the deep sea search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
Phuket World of Sport
afp Chelsea went five points clear of reigning champions Manchester City at the top of the Premier League after a 2-0 win at home to Arsenal in a fiery all-London clash.
theage.com.au Lewis Hamilton is declared the winner of the Japanese Grand Prix after officials prematurely end the race due to growing concern about injured driver Jules Bianchi.
independent.co.uk Bianchi was understood to have crashed into the recovery vehicle that was in the process of removing Sutil's car and, with an ambulance deployed, the race was halted after 44 laps.
bangkokpost.com Up to 70,000 people descended on Buri Ram this weekend as Thailand's first motor circuit capable of hosting F1 racing opened its doors.
smh.com.au South Sydney complete a comprehensive 30-6 victory over the Canterbury Bulldogs in Australia's 2014 NRL Grand Final.
afp A 55-metre Patrick Lambie penalty gave South Africa a thrilling 27-25 Rugby Championship victory over New Zealand, condemning the world champions to a first defeat in almost two years.
Coming Events on Phuket 2014
October 23 Chulalongkorn Memorial Day
November 1-3 Patong Carnival
November 6 Loy Kratong
November 14-23 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
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
February 13-15 Phuket Yacht Show
Bangkok Post today has published quite interesting and relevant comment:
http://goo.gl/ng9Vy9
Sugree Sithivanich, the deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), is not confident about the future of the country's tourism.
"Thailand's tourism trade will remain a leader in the region for now but the future is quite doubtful. The key reason is that the quality and morality of Thais these days are terrible," he claims.
Over the past few decades, Thais and Thainess have changed for the worse. The litany of troubles, frauds and crimes has grown as a result of increasing greed of the people, business operators and government officials.
Many ask whether the "land of smiles" slogan is still valid when increasing numbers of international tourists are cheated, harassed, abused or murdered.
"Thailand's tourism won't be able to move forward if Thais don't improve their mindset," says Mr Sugree.
"A number of tourism operators take advantage of tourists, noticeable from the increase in tourism frauds. Thainess in terms of food and culture has not really changed but Thais' morality and integrity have changed for the worse," he adds.
Natural resources, he adds, are one thing. But Thais and Thainess are also the country's strong selling points.
"So Thais shouldn't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. That's not clever," he says.
Sumet Sudasna, president of the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association, concurs, saying many tourism operators are greedy while the police and authorities turn a blind eye.
Thailand, he continues, has its dark side with fraudulent and illegal practices.
"If we go down this road and overlook these problems, the country will lose its tourism confidence in next the five years," he says.
Posted by Sue on October 6, 2014 06:11