nytimes.com At least 717 people were killed, and 863 were injured, in a stampede near Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday morning. The deaths - at an intersection in Mina, about six miles east of the city- occurred around 9am on the first day of Eid al-Adha, one of the holiest holidays in the Muslim calendar, and as millions of Muslims were making their pilgrimage, or hajj, to Mecca.


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



afp The chief executive of Volkswagen America, Michael Horn, said ''We have totally screwed up'' in admitting wrongdoing after the German car giant was caught cheating in US pollution measuring tests. Eleven million diesel cars worldwide are equipped with devices that can cheat pollution tests.

theguardian.com The chief executive of Volkswagen has quit the car firm, insisting he was not involved in the emissions tests scandal that has rocked the automotive industry and could lead to one of the biggest ever legal claims. Martin Winterkorn said the German company needed a fresh start but stressed he was ''not aware of any wrongdoing on my part'' as he stepped down as boss.

prachatai.org The Cabinet under the junta has ordered relevant agencies to speed up the process to reduce multiple internet gateways to a single one in order to increase the efficiency of the state's surveillance system. Currently, there are about 10 international internet gateway operators in Thailand.



Phuket Update Two Filipino politicians who lived in Rawai for three years as fugitives wanted for murdering a prominent environmental activist in the Philippines have been presented to Phuket Provincial Court and are now awaiting transfer to Immigration for deportation, possibly as early as today. Joel Reyes, 63, former governor of Palawan province, and his brother, Mario JR Reyes, 54, are being held at Chalong Police Station.

nationmultimedia.com The new United States ambassador to Thailand, Glyn Townsend Davies, officially took office almost 10 months after the post became vacant.

Phuket Update Inevitably I have seen a fair amount of unethical and immoral behavior in Phuket connected to my work and the experiences of clients. It would be great to see more honesty in the world generally, and Phuket is no exception to that wish. - Phuket property lawyer

bangkokpost.com The European Commission has insisted it will not extend the deadline for Thailand's operations to deal with Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing: ''[There is] no extension indeed. It was only false stories coming from the Thai press."

Phuket Update Construction workers at Supalai Lagoon in Koh Kaew dropped their tools when they spotted a gigantic waterspout off the east coast of Phuket. The towering ''twister'' appeared at about 10am several miles off Sapam Beach.

itv.com Defence lawyers working on the trial of the two men accused of murdering David Miller and Hannah Witheridge in Thailand, have alleged police incompetence and mishandling of evidence.

theguardian.com Pope Francis addressed one of the thorniest issues in American politics with a White House speech explicitly supporting Barack Obama's plan to cut carbon emissions and chastising climate change deniers for failing in their duty to protect our ''common home''.

nytimes.com To the chagrin of security personnel, Pope Francis prefers a popemobile without a bulletproof barrier, which he described as being inside a ''sardine can.'' ''It's true that anything could happen,'' he told a Barcelona newspaper. ''But let's face it, at my age I don't have much to lose.''

independent.co.uk Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has split from his wife, Annie, according to reports. Wenger has an 18-year-old daughter with Annie, 59, but there has been long speculation about the state of the marriage, with the couple not pictured together since 2013.

smh.com.au Franchisees at the troubled 7-Eleven chain are charging staff up to $70,000 to help secure Australian work visas for their staff as a sideline revenue stream to help plump up low income from their stores.

cnn.com After more than decade under construction, the doors of the newly built Moscow Cathedral Mosque have finally opened in the European city with the largest Muslim population. It's hoped the mosque, which can accommodate more than 10,000 worshipers, will help alleviate the acute shortage of space for Muslim prayer in the Russian capital.

samui times Jula Sukmanop the General Director of the Harbor Department has revealed plans to built yacht ports in Krabi and Samui. The Government will carry out a study to choose the most suitable location for the ports, once a decision has been made private organisations will be invest in the project and share their experience in attracting tourists.

bbc.com Everyone is surrounded by a unique ''cloud'' of millions of their own bacteria, according to scientists at the University of Oregon in the US. Walk through someone else's cloud, and it will ''rain'' bacteria on your skin and be breathed into your lungs.



nst.com.my The haze has become a national threat on an annual basis. It is evident that Indonesia is the source of this manmade catastrophe, but the Indonesian government has failed to control the massive open burning and land clearing in its territory. How much long must we be patient and put up with this hazardous condition?

bangkokpost.com Malaysia is blaming Thai dogs for possibly causing a rabies outbreak in its border state of Perlis. Malaysian health authorities were alert on the disease after six of 22 dogs that bit people in the state since August 17 were found to be carrying the virus, according to the Bernama news agency.



afp Barcelona coach Luis Enrique hailed the quality displayed by his former club Celta Vigo as they thrashed the European champions 4-1.

telegraph.co.uk Belgium have confirmed that the Davis Cup final against Great Britain will be played on an indoor clay court in Ghent, from November 27-29. The venue will be the Flanders Expo, which has a capacity of 13,000 fans.

smh.com.au The World Cup of minnow nations had the Wallabies on edge for more than an hour as they were forced to put up an almighty fight to beat Fiji 28-13 in their tournament opener.



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




January 7-10 Phuket International Boat Show