bbc.com Thai police investigating the murders of two Britons claim to be ''close to making an arrest'' and are looking for a man thought to have fled to Bangkok.

smh.com.au A deal to resettle refugees in Cambodia who actually wish to go to Australia will be signed by Immigration Minister Scott Morrison on Friday.

bbc.com Former Radio 1 DJ Dave Lee Travis has been found guilty of indecently assaulting a researcher on the Mrs Merton Show in 1995. He will be sentenced on Friday.

telegraph.co.uk One of the most astonishing shoot-outs in English history was finally settled when Albert Adomah, the Middlesbrough winger, missed, giving Liverpool a 14-13 victory.

reuters Liverpool reached the fourth round of the League Cup after winning an epic and nerve-shredding penalty shootout 14-13 at home to second-tier Middlesbrough, with the teams ending extra time tied at 2-2.

nytimes.com A young man was mauled to death by a white tiger at the New Delhi zoo after he fell into a moat and was unable to climb out, witnesses said: ''We do have tranquilizer guns, but by the time we could organise them, he was dead.''


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



nationmultimedia.com Police are looking for the son of a former Koh Tao village headman in their pursuit of the killers of two British backpackers on the night of September 14, after learning that the man left the island the following morning. Another man, the younger brother of the former village headman, who is believed to be the man seen on a security camera near the crime scene, is still in custody.

news.com.au The Mirror reports that Police Lt-Gen Panya Mamen said detectives had uncovered the motive for the murders of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller, and arrests were expected to be made by the end of this week. Numerous blogs from foreigners who have lived on the island of Koh Tao and posts on Trip Advisor warn visitors about the dangers of the Thai mafia who allegedly run the island with stand-over tactics and violence.

time.com The case of Witheridge and Miller has, once again, laid bare the dichotomy between Thailand's palm-fringed islands and dark underbelly - immortalised in Alex Garland's 1996 dystopian novel 'The Beach.' Drugs, rape and assault are an unfortunate consequence of Thailand's reputation for hedonism, and the criminal elements it attracts.

irishtimes.com The chief suspect for an early morning attack in which a woman was left fighting for her life after being stabbed on her way to work in a Dublin creche is wanted for murder in Thailand. While charged with murder he was granted bail after surrendering 30,000 euros and then left Thailand.



reuters Global experts issued stark new warnings of the scale of West Africa's Ebola outbreak, with the US government estimating between 550,000 and 1.4 million people might be infected in the region by January.



nationmultimedia.com Russian Anton Lilin, 30, arrested for allegedly installing a ''skimmer'' device to steal PIN numbers of ATM cardholders at a convenience store in eastern Bangkok, allegedly told police he would be killed by other members of a gang based in Russia if he revealed details of this crime.

theage.com.au An 18-year-old man has been shot dead by counter-terrorism police and two policemen have been stabbed in Melbourne's outer south-east. The dead man had been shouting insults at Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the Australian government in general in the moments before he was shot.

news.com.au Police say the teenager produced a knife and stabbed the federal agent multiple times, while the Victoria Police officer was stabbed twice in the forearm. The Victorian Police officer discharged a single shot, killing the man.

irrawaddy.org Among the workers at Ongkan pier, located in the largest fishing port in Phuket,were ethnic Mon, Tavoyan, Arakanese, Burman and others, some who had been there for more than a decade. Gorragot, the deputy chief of the port, said that Burmese workers accounted for 90 percent of the 300-strong workforce. Port authorities said more than half of the fishermen use drugs, while some of the fishermen themselves think the figure is even higher.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/?p=69039

thejakartapost.com Bali has been named the 'Best Island in Asia' by Travel + Leisure magazine, making it the only island in Asia to make the magazine's Top 10 Islands in the World list for 2014.

nationmultimedia.com GrabTaxi, which originated in Malaysia and has since spread to 16 cities in the region, lets customers book a taxi via a Smartphone application, promising passengers a safe, fast and convenient way of getting around the city. Drivers using GrabTaxi always charge the metered rate plus a modest booking fee. The app is already the preferred option of taxi riders sick of dodgy cabbies.

smh.com.au Three waves of bombers, missiles and drones were launched by the US and its Arab allies against targets in three regions of Syria over four hours as world leaders gathered for a UN General Assembly meeting in New York.

bangkokpost.com Suthep Thaugsuban will hit the road again this time as a monk. Signs promoting Phra Suthep's appearances popped up on roadsides in Phatthalung for both monk's robes-donation ceremonies at Wat Lohharn on Oct 10 and Wat Hua Toey on Oct 12.

afp Osama bin Laden's son-in-law and former Al-Qaeda spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, 48, was jailed for life after a US judge warned he remained a deadly threat to American citizens.

scmp.com An explosion at a fireworks factory in southern China killed 12 people and injured 33 others, the local government said.

un.org Dozens of Governments, businesses, civil society and indigenous peoples participating in the UN Climate Summit in New York pledged to halve deforestation by 2020 and to end within the following decade.

independent.ie Scaffolder Robert Robinson, 32, who died from severe head injuries sustained when he fell from a fourth floor balcony in Bangkok, was trying to get into his friend's apartment without disturbing the neighbors, an inquest heard.

theguardian.com Google's anti-trust row with the European commission could turn into a case bigger than the one that cost Microsoft more than 2.2bn euros, the outgoing competition commissioner warned.

smh.com.au A Florida woman who goes by the name Jasmine Tridevil has had a procedure to give her a fake third breast. The 21-year-old is planning to sell her story to MTV with a documentary called Jasmine's Jugs, which will document her difficulties as a three-breasted-woman.



3news.co.nz A New Zealand man could spend the next five years in an Indonesian jail after he was arrested for stealing a surfboard. Forty-year-old Richard James Wackrow, from Wellington, was detained at Denpasar Airport on the island of Bali.

afp Tens of thousands of Chinese tourists have cancelled trips to the Philippines after a travel warning by Beijing, inflicting major pain on hotels, airlines and tour operators, industry figures said.

nytimes.com When an Indonesian law student posted an online rant saying the historic city of Yogyakarta in Central Java was ''poor, stupid and uncultured,'' she earned more than the ire of its residents. She ended up in a police detention cell, charged with cyberdefamation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/world/asia/23indonesia.html?_r=0

irrawaddy.org Alleging defamation, Burma's Ministry of Information plans to take legal action against two media outlets after negotiations mediated by the country's Interim Press Council broke down, according to the president's spokesman.



nationmultimedia.com Thailand football coach Kiatisak Senamuang was left cursing his luck after it was confirmed that Chananan Pombubpha will miss the rest of the Asian Games due to the injury he sustained while celebrating his opening goal in the 6-0 romp over Indonesia.

afp A footballer from Tajikistan had become the first athlete at the Incheon Games to fail a doping test.



September 24-October 2 Vegetarian Festival, Phuket

October 23 Chulalongkorn Memorial Day

November 1-3 Patong Carnival

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