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



Phuket Update The new Region 8 police HQ near Phuket's Tachatchai Checkpoint will gradually open for businesses from Monday despite claims that up to 80 percent of officers are reluctant to move from the existing HQ in Surat Thani. Tourism has made Phuket more significant.

bangkokpost.com The Bank of Thailand has again cut the country's economic growth and export projections.

mirror.co.uk Police are reportedly probing whether members of the Bin Laden family were on board the private jet which crashed in Hampshire, killing four people. Although based in Saudi Arabia, the aircraft was flying into Hampshire from Milan.



AP Authorities in Papua New Guinea have rescued eight fishermen held on board a Thai-owned refrigerated cargo ship. Dozens of other boats are still being sought in response to an AP report that included satellite photos and locations of slave vessels at sea.

nytimes.com After one year on the State Department's list of countries that are failing to combat modern-day slavery, Malaysia has been upgraded to a higher category. That judgment, part of an annual evaluation of how 188 countries deal with human trafficking, strains credulity, given how little Malaysia has done to address the problem.



bangkokpost.com Editorial: The Tourism Authority of Thailand is constantly promoting new destinations. The problem is expansion without proper planning or controls.

afp Eighteen people were wounded in an attack Friday by suspected rebels wielding grenade launchers and automatic weapon in Yala province in Thailand's war-torn Muslim-majority south, officials said.

bangkokpost.com A 32-year-old transvestite prostitute arrested for slashing a Russian tour guide's face in Pattaya claimed he attacked the man in a fit of anger for allegedly refusing to pay him 1000 baht for services rendered.

torontosun.com Scientists say a made-in-Canada vaccine could be the beginning of the end of the Ebola outbreak. A new study says the vaccine designed by scientists at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg induces a quick and highly protective response against the deadly virus.

smh.com.au Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg says he and his now-pregnant Harvard University sweetheart suffered three miscarriages over the past two years.

rt.com Microsoft's new Windows 10 operating system is immensely popular, with 14 million downloads in just two days. The price of the free upgrade may just be your privacy, though, as changing Windows 10's intrusive default settings is difficult.

reuters Facebook Inc. announced it has completed building its first full-scale drone, which has the wingspan of a Boeing 737 and will provide Internet access to the most remote parts of the world.

mmtimes.com Bangkok Airways has introduced ''Fly me to the Beach,'' a two-night, three-day package for Myanmar (Burma) travellers wishing to go to Phuket and Krabi from Yangon or Mandalay.

bbc.com People are being warned to take care after a Portuguese man-of-war washed up on a beach in Cornwall. The eye-catching but potentially dangerous floating sea creatures are only occasionally reported in the UK.



afp Major floods have killed at least 27 people across Myanmar and inundated the homes and fields of tens of thousands more, a disaster relief official said, warning of further heavy rains.



smh.com.au England have taken a 2-1 series lead with an eight-wicket victory in the third Ashes Test, passing a victory target of 121 set by Australia midway through the third day.



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 26 Tsunami memorial ceremonies