UPDATING All Day, Every Day
afp Chinese police have arrested 12 people over giant explosions that killed 139 people and devastated a swathe of a Chinese port city, state media said.
khaosodenglish.com A 78-year-old German man crossing a road was killed by a public van driver. The public van, which runs between Bangkok and Pattaya, struck the German on a road near Bang Saen beach about 9pm before the driver fled the scene, leaving passengers in his van, say police.
afp A nine-year-old girl left seriously injured by a bomb which killed 20 people at a Bangkok shrine - the youngest person wounded by the blast - returned to Hong Kong Thursday.
ft.com Latest trade data from Thailand paints a picture of an economy under strain, with exports from the southeast Asian nation falling for seven consecutive months now.
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 Stories
bangkokpost.com Police investigating last week's Erawan shrine bombing and the subsequent explosion at Sathon pier have zeroed in on more than 20 Turkish nationals who entered Thailand within 15 days leading up to the shrine blast, according to a source.
nationmultimedia.com Businesses in the shopping zone near the Erawan Shrine have plunged into stagnant trading.
bangkokpost.com Peace talks between Thai authorities and southern insurgents have stalled as the Thai government considers the separatists' requests for immunity from criminal prosecution and for the talks to be made an official part of the Thai national agenda.
Phuket World of People
Phuket Update The contractor for Phuket's Samkong Underpass has been ordered to undertake urgent major road repairs to make the detours around the construction site safe. Completion has been delayed by flooding and the underpass will not be open until next year.
traveller.com.au North Korea's Koryo Air has been named the world's worst airline again for the fourth year running by Skytrax, which holds the annual World Airline Awards. In the region, Lion Air Indonesia scores 4/10.
nytimes.com A former reporter who had been fired by a Virginia television station shot and killed two of the station's journalists as they broadcast live, officials said, recording the act on video himself then posting the video online. He later took his own life, officials said.
smh.com.au He shot cameraman Adam Ward first, filming the murder even as Ward recorded and broadcast his own death. Back in the station's control room Ward's fiance, Melissa Ott, witnessed the killing too. Then as she screamed and tried to escape, he shot reporter Alison Parker dead, and then fired on guest Vicki Gardner. After the killings Flanagan managed to escape, and while on the road he published his footage on both Facebook and Twitter.
nationmultimedia.com The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has announced its 2016 proactive marketing plan for the international MICE industry, mainly targeting ''premium'' travellers in Asean+6 countries. Phuket is among likely beneficiaries.
afp At least 55 bodies have been discovered on three overcrowded asylum boats in the Mediterranean, the Italian coastguard says. Almost all of the victims - 51 - were found in the hold of a wooden boat found drifting precariously off the Libyan coast by Swedish coastguard vessel the Poseidon.
nypost.com Dust-covered 9/11 terror attack survivor Marcy Borders whose haunting ''Dusty Lady'' image became an emblem of the tragedy has died after a yearlong battle with stomach cancer aged 42, her family said.
cbc.ca Thai authorities destroyed more than two tons of seized and smuggled ivory in the latest move by the government to avoid possible economic sanctions over a perceived failure to tackle the illicit trade.
thediplomat.com The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has received the four new medium-lift helicopters it ordered, Airbus Helicopters announced. The four EC725 helicopters, which were ordered in 2012, were delivered and will become operational next month. Two additional EC725s ordered in 2014 are expected to be delivered in 2016.
afp The smaller of the two giant panda cubs born at the US's Smithsonian National Zoo over the weekend has died, zoo officials said.
scmp.com A mainland prostitute was allegedly killed in a frenzied knife attack by her client in a Hong Kong brothel less than 24 hours after arriving in the city. The 20-year-old suspect fled the brothel in his underpants and jumped into the sea in an apparent suicide attempt.
traveller.com.au When airport security told a Chinese passenger in Beijing that her US$200 bottle of cognac exceeded the 100ml limit and couldn't be taken on board, she wasn't fazed. She skolled the entire thing. But the plan backfired when she was then barred from the flight for being ''too drunk to fly,'' according to the South China Morning Post.
Around the Region
philstar.com The son of former president Ferdinand Marcos, Senator Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr., admitted that he is open to running with Vice President Jejomar Binay as a team in the 2016 national elections.
Phuket World of Sport
afp A Wayne Rooney hat-trick inspired Manchester United to a 4-0 win over Club Brugge in their Champions League play-off second leg on Wednesday, 7-1 on aggregate, and a return after a year's absence to the lucrative group stage.
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
August 26-September 3 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 5 HM The King's Birthday
December 26 Tsunami memorial ceremonies
