nationmultimediacom Myanmar's president has asked Thailand's visiting PM to ensure a ''clean and fair'' investigation for a pair of Burmese workers charged with murdering two British tourists, an official said. The comments came after reports the accused were tortured into confessing - an allegation Thailand has strongly denied.

Phuket Update A 20-year-old Burmese named ''Kla'' was arrested by Patong police for stealing an iPad, a camera and cash from a Korean family near Loma Park on Patong beach. More thefts are feared in the absence of beach vendors.


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



wsj.com Thailand's anticorruption commission said it will ask the country's military-appointed legislature to impeach former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra for alleged mismanagement of a rice-subsidy program. She denies any wrongdoing.

bangkokpost.com Two years after losing its place as the world's biggest rice exporter, Thailand has displaced India to return to the top position.

reuters Thailand's traffic policemen will get money in return for refusing bribes, police said, part of the junta's efforts to combat what it has called an ingrained culture of corruption within the force.



theguardian.com Further doubts have emerged about the police investigation into the murder of two British backpackers in Thailand, after a Burmese official said the two migrant workers arrested for the crime had now retracted the confessions that were ''beaten out of them''.

bangkokpost.com A third Myanmar man, Maung Maung, who is being held in custody as a witness in the murder of two British tourists on Koh Tao said he did not see the killings, according to DVB.

huffingtonpostco.uk There is growing international concern over the murder investigation after Thai forensic expert Dr Porntip Rojanasunan said the police's supposed evidence ''contradicted the principles of forensic science.'' while Amnesty International has demanded an investigation into possible human rights abuses.

bangkokpost.com ''The weak point (in the investigation) is that police do not understand that the case requires a forensic pathologist, so the officers who collected evidence did not call in one from Surat Thani Hospital,'' Dr Porntip said.



channel4.com A British man suspected of contracting the Ebola virus has died in Macedonia, a senior Macedonian government official confirmed, adding that the victim is thought to have travelled from Britain.

bbc.co.uk The UK is to introduce ''enhanced screening'' for Ebola for people arriving from affected countries. Downing Street said passengers arriving at Gatwick, Heathrow and on the Eurostar would face questions and potentially a medical assessment.

news.com.au Islamic State members could be planning to infect themselves with Ebola and travelling to the West, waging bio-terror as ''suicide bombs,'' according to a military expert.

telegraph.co.uk The health of a Spanish nurse with Ebola worsened as one of the doctors who initially treated her at a local hospital said the protective suit he wore while attending her was ineffective.



nationmultimedia.com Le Versace in Phuket, Cafe des Amis in Pattaya and Siam Supper Club in Phuket were second, fifth and seventh in the top 10 restaurants in the region, according TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site.

phuket.com Many would say that Versace is way over the top and they'd be correct in the strictest term of the expression as it is the highest open-air restaurant in Patong. It may well be advisable to wear sunglasses there, even at nighttime.

ft.com Hong Kong opposition lawmakers have asked the territory's anti-corruption agency to investigate CY Leung, the chief executive, following revelations that he received 4m pounds in undisclosed payments from an Australian company.

telegraph.co.uk Hong Kong's government has called off planned talks with the pro-democracy protest leaders who led tens of thousands of demonstrators onto the streets of the former British colony in the biggest challenge to the Chinese Communist Party rule in decades.

scmp.com LIVE: Student leaders call for mass rally in Admiralty after government calls off talks

Dow Jones Online retail giant Amazon.com plans to open its first brick-and-mortar store, according to people familiar with the plans for the New York outlet. The site, set to open in time for the holiday-shopping season on Manhattan's busy 34th Street, would mark an experiment by Amazon to connect with customers in the physical world.

smh.com.au Headline: Kim Jong-un has not been seen for 37 days and the internet is about to explode.

reuters North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in firm control of his government but has hurt his leg, a source with access to the secretive North's leadership said, playing down speculation over the 31-year-old's health and grip on power.

nationmutimedia.com By the end of the year Sixt plans to expand the number of its car rental outlets to 20. The 18th branch has been opened at Don Muang airport, while two more branches will open in Patong (Phuket) and Nakhon Si Thammarat.

afp Patrick Modiano, a French historical novelist whose work has often focused on World War II and the 1940s, has won the Nobel Literature Prize.



smh.com.au The body of an Australian passenger on Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was found wearing an oxygen mask, Dutch prosecutors say, raising questions about how much those on board knew about their fate when the plane plunged out of the sky above eastern Ukraine in July.

AP Malaysia's prime minister said lawlessness won't be tolerated after a grenade was tossed outside a night club at a popular tourist belt in Kuala Lumpur, killing one man and wounding 12 others, including foreigners.

channelnewsasia.com The pre-dawn blast, suspected to be related to a gangland turf battle, occurred outside a pub at Bukit Bintang. A Malaysian parking lot attendant has died, and among those injured include a Singaporean, a Thai and two Chinese nationals.

irrawaddy.org A group of Burmese NGOs urged Burma and Thailand to address the complaints of local communities in southern Burma over a lack of adequate consultation and compensation during the initial phase of the Dawei Special Economic Zone.

the west australian The wedding plans of some WA couples are in tatters after a Perth-based Bali event planner went broke, leaving clients tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket.

newsweek.com Confusion about the offence Nazi symbols cause and the use of Nazi iconography during Indonesia's election campaign, exposes the nation's complex relationship with far-right ideology, which combines a fascination with a lack of understanding of the history of hatred underpinning Nazi motifs.



afp Defending European champions Spain suffered their first qualifying defeat in eight years when they slumped to a 2-1 loss against Slovakia while England made it two wins in two.

NNT The Minister of Tourism and Sport has met with Phuket Governor on the preparations of 4th ASEAN Beach Games. [Ed: Close, but no cigar. Actually Phuket is holding the Asian Beach Games. Asia . . . you know . . . that big place, even bigger than Asean.]



October 23 Chulalongkorn Memorial Day

November 1-3 Patong Carnival

November 6 Loy Kratong

November 14-23 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