nnt The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) has cautioned residents in Phuket and 14 other provinces in the East and South of Thailand to beware of heavy rains and strong gusts for the next couple of days.

nypost.com A 9-year-old girl accidentally killed an Arizona shooting instructor as he was showing her how to use an automatic Uzi, authorities said.

bangkokpost.com A combined force swooped on five resorts next to the Srinagarind dam in Kanchanaburi in the latest clampdown on land encroachment. At the ARK Resort Krisana Montha, 31, told authorities he was hired by the owner, Alisa Chailert, who lives in Phuket.

smh.com.au Tournament favorite Roger Federer gets his US Open off to an ideal start after a straight sets win over Australian Marinko Matosevic.


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



bangkokpost.com Police will display photos of stolen vehicles, wanted car thieves and missing persons on digital billboards around Bangkok to elicit public help in their investigations, with billboards in Pattaya, Phuket, Hat Yai and Chiang Mai to follow later.

cnn.com Tens of thousands of people are fleeing violence in Burma (Myanmar) only to be robbed, beaten and starved on boats helmed by human traffickers, according to a new report from the United Nations Refugee Agency. ''It's a humanitarian disaster,'' said Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch. ''[The Rohingya] are getting on these boats, and these boats are landing in Thailand, and they're being put in jungle camps where they're on starvation rations unless their relatives can find exorbitant fees that the traffickers are demanding to release them and send them onto Malaysia.''

Investigation: Aussie supermarket prawns a product of slavery
Escaped slaves, who still fear for their safety, tell of spending years on fishing boats with little or no pay, while being abused, tortured and even killed for trying to fight back.
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/08/26/investigation-aussie-supermarket-prawns-product-slavery

bangkokpost.com As authorities continue to unravel the tangled business of surrogate births, the lawyer of businessman Mitsutoki Shigeta wants all the estimated 15 surrogate children he fathered be sent to him in Japan, while promising to talk to police - but only in his country.

nytimes.com Thailand's Business in Paid Surrogates May Be Foundering in a Moral Quagmire: a pair of recent scandals have focused scrutiny on the largely unregulated industry, raising ethical questions and prompting the government's crackdown.

voanews.com Thailand's military-led government is planning to hold talks with separatist groups in Southern Thailand to try to end a decade of violence that has claimed more than 6000 lives. Analysts remain cautious about potential progress after previous talks stalled.



xinhua The World Health Organization (WHO) has temporarily pulled back its health workers from Sierra Leone's Ebola hot zone, the Kailahun post, to the capital Freetown after one of their health workers was infected.



afp Authorities urged visitors to the popular Thai resort island of Koh Phangan to take care when swimming after a five-year-old French boy died from a sting by a box jellyfish, one of the world's most toxic creatures.

nationmultimedia.com Phuketwan website reported that Phangan acting district chief Kasitdet Thongchu asked local administrative authorities and beachside hotels to post signs warning of poisonous jellyfish and prepare first aid measures in case of stings.

bustle.com In central Florida this weekend, more than 400 people were stung by jellyfish off Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach when a large swarm of jellyfish washed toward shore. When lifeguards began noticing throngs of people yelling, ''Ow! What was that?!'' and coming on shore with red marks during the weekend, they raised the purple flag, which signals hazardous marine life like jellyfish or sharks.

csmonitor.com A fight started on a United Airlines flight because a man was using the Knee Defender, a $21.95 gadget that attaches to a passenger's tray table and prevents the person in front from reclining. The woman in front stood up, turned around and threw a cup of water at him, an official says. That's when United decided to divert to land in Chicago.

usatoday.com Passengers of all sizes tend to believe that their tickets - especially on long flights - come with the right to recline. Both Row 12 and Row 11 need to get a grip, which their unscheduled stop in Chicago surely gave them the chance to do.

nationmultimedia.com The Tourism Authority of Thailand's Moscow Office and 13 leading tour operators in Russia are planning to launch a range of promotions next month to attract high-end travellers from 35 cities to Bangkok, Phuket and Krabi on 3240 charter flights, according to preliminary plans.

9news.com.au A couple stuck in Thailand for weeks have finally touched down in Australia, bringing with them twin daughters born to a Thai surrogate mother. Adam and Kate Osborne's daughters Mali and Sierra-Leone were born on May 22, and the parents were caught up in new anti-commercial surrogacy laws passed after the fallout of the baby Gammy scandal.

bangkokpost.com The military has approved a budget of 5.94 billion baht for the overhaul of the rubber industry, focusing on maintaining a state stock and increasing domestic use, after below-cost prices threaten planters' survival.

cnn.com An American named Douglas McCain was killed last weekend in Syria, where he was fighting for ISIS, two US officials told CNN. According to his uncle, Douglas McCain's journey to Syria began sometime after he converted several years ago from Christianity to Islam.

AP Israel and Gaza's ruling Hamas agreed to an open-ended cease-fire after seven weeks of fighting - an uneasy deal that halts the deadliest war the sides have fought in years, with more than 2200 killed, but puts off the most difficult issues.

huffingtonpost.com If you had told me last year that Phuket was amazing, I might've laughed at you. I first visited Thailand's largest island back in 2011 but after just four hours on the island, I looked for any way out. Fast forward to this summer when I visited during a two-week holiday to Thailand, and bam! Phuket was awesome.

theepochtimes.com In general, Thailand is a very cheap country, but this doesn't apply to the west coast. Phuket and the surrounding islands such as Phi Phi are the most expensive places in the whole country. Don't be surprised to find prices doubled or sometimes tripled in peak seasons.

bangkokpost.com Singapore's Century Ice Wonderland Pte plans to open the 80 million baht Harbin Ice Wonderland in Bangkok near Bearing skytrain station in October, expecting to break even in two months. The company is seeking a large plot in major Thai destinations like Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen or Hua Hin to develop a permanent ice city in the next few years.

smh.com.au Australian PM Tony Abbott told government MPs he had to schedule an early morning visit to a cancer research centre in Melbourne so that he could justify billing taxpayers to be in the city for a ''private function'' the night before.

Phuket Update The exclusive five-star Phuket hideaway, Paresa, has appointed South African hotelier Dawid Koegelenberg as General Manager. Dawid relocated to Thailand in 2010 as Resort Manager of the award-winning five-star Sarojin Resort in Khaolak, Phuket, and managed Six Senses Koh Samui the two years before his move to Paresa.

telegraph.co.uk Burma's Mergui Archipelago remains irresistibly lovely. Beyond the port of Kawthaung and its vicinity in the south, not a single tourist bed is yet available on a single island. I joined their 82ft ketch Meta IV (the name is not a pun: Metas I to III existed) on a five-night itinerary through the southern half of the island chain.

zdnet.com Apple is slated to build a 12.9-inch iPad in the coming year, according to a new report.

usatoday.com The US-based Burger King restaurant agreed to merge with the Canada-based Tim Hortons restaurant chain. The deal, valued at about $11 billion, will create the world's third-largest fast-food company, with about $23 billion in sales and more than 18,000 restaurants in 100 countries.



afp Nearly 200 cabin crew have resigned from Malaysia Airlines following the two deadly tragedies which have hit the carrier this year, it said, and some reportedly cited fears for their safety.

mypost.com Malaysia Airlines flights have transformed into mile-high ghost towns as pictures posted to social media depict a barren scene of near-empty planes and desolate terminals.

munchies.vice.com A Cambodian farmer, Chhoeun Chhim, told the BBC that, on a good night, he can catch up to 25 kg of rats, and at the height of the season, some rat traders can export up to two tonnes of rats to Vietnam each morning. That's a lot of pate potential.



usatoday.com Just when things were looking up for Manchester United fans, the team went to Milton Keynes and lost 4-0 in embarrassing fashion to League One side MK Dons in the Capital One Cup. The Dons, from the town of Milton Keynes, play in League One, the third division of English football.

theguardian.com Unlike the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Louis Van Gaal's Manchester United tactics playbook does not appear to have ''Don't Panic'' written in large, friendly letters on the cover.

afp Manchester United have agreed a British record transfer fee of $98 million to sign Argentina midfielder Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid according to British media reports.



August 31 Thailand vs Burma football 6.30pm

September 3 Thailand vs Qatar football 6.30pm

September 7 Thailand vs Phuket FC 6.30pm

September 12 Amcham at Angsana: the New Phuket

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