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
latimes.com An armed Chinese fighter jet conducted what Pentagon officials called an aggressive midair intercept of a US Navy submarine-hunting aircraft during a routine patrol above international waters.
nytimes.com The intercept is bound to increase the already heated tensions between the Pentagon and the Chinese military over Beijing's aggressive action against Japan and other American allies concerning territory in the South China Sea.
bangkokpost.com General Prayuth calls on opposition groups to end all activities against the National Council for Peace and Order as they would slow down Thailand's development, and urges all Thais to participate in the reform process.
AP Interpol said it has launched a multinational investigation into what Thailand has dubbed the ''Baby Factory'' case: a 24-year-old Japanese businessman who has 16 surrogate babies and an alleged desire to father hundreds more.
Latest on the Ebola Outbreak
time.com Nigeria's health ministry confirmed two new cases of Ebola in the country, the first people to come down with the disease who didn't have direct contact with an infected traveler who brought the virus into the country from nearby Liberia.
bangkokpost.com A Thai woman recently returned from Ebola-stricken Liberia has been cleared by doctors who determined she did not have the deadly virus.
Phuket World of People
itar-tass.com The suspected Russian crime lord of a Siberian gang on the international wanted list since 2010 was deported to Russia from Thailand where he had lived on a Cambodian passport. Mark Lunev ''flew on a morning flight from Bangkok to Moscow accompanied by officers of the Russian National Central Bureau of Interpol,'' a source at Russia's embassy in Thailand said.
bangkokpost.com A coal power plant planned for Krabi province should be scrapped in favor of a clean energy option, Greenpeace Southeast Asia says. Director Tara Buakamsri said the province has the capacity to generate its own renewable energy, as long as the government supports the policy.
theage.com.au Australian passenger Laura Bushney has broken her silence about her alleged abuse at hands of Malaysia Airlines steward.
scmp.com Fifteen people involved in the black-market organ trade - including doctors - have been sentenced to prison by a Beijing court for harvesting and selling 51 kidneys, the largest haul in China's recent history.
nationmultimedia.com The US State Department was a day too late when it issued a note prohibiting American diplomats from taking part in the Ice Bucket Challenge charity campaign. US Ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenney had already taken the plunge.
peta.org.uk Travel agency Responsible Travel no longer promotes trips that include elephant treks or elephant performances, and STA Travel, the world's largest student travel company, has pulled promotions for elephant rides as well as Thailand's notorious Tiger Temple and SeaWorld.
nationmultimedia.com James Gunn, who directed the latest sci-fi blockbuster, 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' posed with fans in Bangkok before heading off to Phuket to get some of that sun, sand and sea he'd been yearning for.
afp Hamas executed 18 alleged collaborators in Gaza City as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed harsh retribution for the killing of a four-year-old boy by Palestinian mortar fire.
bangkokpost.com Huge numbers of colorful moon jellyfish feeding on plankton are crowding into a bay in Samet National Park, in Rayong, to the delight of tourists.
AP Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid apologised for jokes he made about Asians during a luncheon of business leaders in Las Vegas earlier this week: ''My comments were in extremely poor taste and I apologise. Sometimes I say the wrong thing.''
Around the Asean Region
watoday.com.au Consumer Protection has issued a call seeking West Australians who have paid for flights or accommodation with a travel business called Bali Indulgence, run by an Australian woman named Chivonne Betts, only to find they were not booked with the airline or hotel.
thejakartapost.com Members of Asean have a serious problem in their backyard. Every day in Myanmar approximately 1 million Rohingya Muslims are denied their most basic human rights and face a risk of crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. With unfolding crimes against humanity on their doorstep, will Asean states continue to shirk their responsibility?
time.com Malaysia came to a standstill Friday morning as the first remains of its nationals killed on the downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 were received with a minute of silence.
smh.com.au Indonesia is closer to Africa in its levels of poverty than to its South-east Asian neighbors. In 2011, 43 percent of people scraped by on less then two dollars per day, a ten-times greater proportion than in Thailand and 20 times higher than neighbor Malaysia.
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
