UPDATING All Day, Every Day
dpa The construction of a dolphinarium on Phuket sparked outrage from animal rights groups Friday, who said the development was unnecessary, and harmed animals. The groups said they would petition the fisheries department against granting the dolphinarium an aquatic zoo licence.
cnn.com The magnitude of the Ebola crisis in West Africa is ''vastly'' underestimated, the World Health Organization said this week, as the death toll rose to more than 1000.
usatoday.com A Virginia sheriff's deputy mistook his 16-year-old daughter for an intruder and shot her as she sneaked back into their home, authorities say. After alerting 911, the deputy then crashed his car while racing her to the hospital. She is in a stable condition.
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
nationmultimedia.com The number of deaths caused by the building collapse in Pathum Thani province on Monday has risen to 11, with eight more bodies being retrieved from the rubble and three workers still unaccounted for.
aap Two Australian couples have reportedly been stopped from leaving Thailand with their surrogate babies amid a crackdown on surrogacy laws in the country. The ABC reported that the two homosexual couples were prevented from leaving Bangkok's international airport after Thai police ordered that no surrogate babies be allowed out of the country without a court order.
nationmultimedia.com A Japanese at the heart of the surrogacy scandal in Thailand had invested in an application company, Familonet, but has now been suspended as an investor as a precautionary measure, the South China Morning Post reported. Thai police have tried to locate Mitsutoki Shigeta, 24, who is believed to have fathered a dozen children through Thai surrogate mothers.
The Ebola Outbreak
voanews.com Zimbabwe's government is in a quandary as the country prepares to host a three-day Jehovah's Witnesses conference with 50,000 people from around the world expected to attend. Some delegates will come from West Africa, where there has been an outbreak of Ebola.
Phuket World of People
reuters Thai Union Frozen Products, world's largest producer of canned tuna, is seeking acquisitions to boost sales next year to $5 billion, its chief executive said. In June, the US downgraded Thailand to the worst level for human trafficking, Tier 3. ''No clients cancelled orders,'' said CEO Thiraphong Chansiri. ''But in the longer term, the issue could drag down competitiveness of Thai exporters.''
goal.com Former Accra Hearts of Oak player Stephen Offei has rubbished claims by Isaac Nikwei of Ayutthaya FC in Thailand that he is in a mess in the Asian country: ''The Nikwei guy who had that interview is frustrated of himself because he is not been played and also been paid with small amount of money. I managed to contact him after hearing the story but he denied saying that.''
nnt The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) is taking steps to put an end to divisions at every level in Thai society - from members of administrative bodies to the general public.
in.rbth.com Thailand, which is warming up to Russia after being on the other side during the Cold War, is increasingly becoming a home away from home for Russians wary of the long winters. Around 110,000 Russians live in the tourist resort of Pattaya and many Thais believe that this expat community has kept the economic engine running in the area.
abcnews.go.com Actor Michael J. Fox was ''stunned'' to learn Robin Williams battled Parkinson's disease. Fox tweeted his response today after Williams' wife, Susan Schneider, released a statement saying her husband was in the early stages of Parkinson's disease.
bbc.com The pop star Sir Cliff Richard has had his home in Berkshire searched by South Yorkshire Police, in connection with an allegation of sexual assault involving a boy who was under 16 at the time. The BBC understands the alleged sexual assault is claimed to have taken place at a rally by the Christian evangelist Billy Graham at a football stadium in Sheffield.
eturbonews.com Thailand needs tourists, but safety is always first. Aviation authorities in Thailand have revoked landing rights for City Airways, and yesterday the airline - which has been operating regular flights since October 2012 - asked Hong Kong to cancel its parking slots at Chek Lap Kok airport.
sevenoakschronicle.co.uk A reward of 100,000 Thai baht is being offered for information leading to the return of British sisters Ananya and Alina Day, aged 11 and six, who have been missing in Thailand since June 1.
reuters Lawyers for former Boston mobster James ''Whitey'' Bulger - once hunted on Phuket - filed a formal appeal of the sweeping 2013 racketeering conviction on charges of committing or ordering 11 murders in the 1970s and 1980s.
bangkokpost.com AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes has renewed his call for Thailand to lower airport charges to stimulate the tourism industry, which stalled earlier this year due to political unrest.
moodiereport.com Airports of Thailand (AoT) has reported a -21.35 percent fall in net profit to 2479.46 million baht (US$77.5 million) for the third quarter of the financial year ended June 30, 2014. Total revenues fell by -6.37 percent to 9095.81 million baht. Non-aeronautical revenues - which make up 42 percent of income - for the three-month period grew by +6.7pc to 3698.36 million baht (US$115.6 million), far surpassing the -6.9pc dip in aeronautical revenues to 5023.97 million baht (US$157.05 million).
bangkokpost.com Air force chief Prajin Juntong has resigned as board chairman of Thai Airways International to avoid a conflict of interest.
scmp.com Pope Francis arrived in the South Korean capital Seoul after sending an unprecedented message of good will to China as he flew over the country.
Elite Daily A hotel in Egypt has issued guests a letter alerting them of the fine associated with defecating in the hotel pool, a trend called ''logging.'' Intoxicated British tourists decided that any large hole filled with water could be considered a toilet, the UK's Metro reported.
telegraph.co.uk It seems a strange thing to say about an earthly paradise, but Phuket has something of an image problem. Its golden beaches and sweltering temperatures have made it synonymous with sunshine and sunloungers, but it's also all too easily associated with low-end tourism. We soon found that Phuket offers enough attractions to suit any taste.
Around the Asean Region
afp A Malaysia Airlines cabin crew member has been detained in France over allegations that he sexually assaulted a passenger who was scared of flying with the disaster-prone airline. The Australian passenger said the steward sat beside her and sexually assaulted her under the pretext of ''comforting'' her, she said, according to a source close to the French probe.
chinatopix.com Australian government plans to move 1000 refugees, who currently detained in Nauru, to Cambodia for permanent settlement has sparked criticisms from human rights groups, UN officials, and other opposition politicians, reports said.
dvb.no An alliance of rights groups revealed that they have documented 103 cases of human rights abuse in Burma since the start of 2014. A 21-page report by the Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma (ND-Burma) claimed that violations are still ''rampant'' in conflict areas as well as in territories currently under ceasefire agreements.
aapAn Australian man has died after being ''smashed'' by a huge wave on a remote Indonesian beach, local police say. Police say Peter Luke was surfing five-metre waves off Jelenga Beach in West Sumbawa. Friends found his body on a nearby reef.
AP As Indonesian police question the 19-year-old daughter of a woman whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase in Bali, authorities in an upscale Chicago suburb examined records of 86 incidents in which police were called to the family's house.
Phuket World of Sport
nationmultimedia.com Thailand suffered an early setback when Thai Premier League leaders Buriram United refused to release two key defenders for the Games, which begin in Incheon, South Korea, on Tuesday. The team will travel to Phuket tomorrow for a two-week training camp and at least two warm-up matches, against Burma (Myanmar) and Qatar.
afp Luis Suarez failed to win a reprieve from his four-month ban for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup, but got a green light to resume training.
Coming Events on Phuket 2014
August 30 Thailand vs Burma football 6.30pm
September 3 Thailand vs Qatar football 6pm
September 7 Thailand vs Phuket mixed team 4pm
September 7 Qatar vs Australia football 6.30pm
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
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
February 13-15 Phuket Yacht Show
*The plastic bottle on the right on the mantelpiece.
