smh.com.au Police have gathered outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, in anticipation that Julian Assange may be about to end his self-imposed two-year exile. If he walks out he is likely to be arrested and extradited to Sweden where he faces an investigation into sexual assault allegations.

nytimes.com Michael Brown, the unarmed black teenager whose death at the hands of police has sparked protests around America, was shot at least six times, including twice in the head, a preliminary private autopsy performed has found.

afp Eight foreigners and five Indonesians were rescued two days after their tourist boat sank in a storm as it travelled between islands in Indonesia's east, a search official said. Some were in a lifeboat and some floating with their life jackets on, officials said.

theguardian.com With limited space in the lifeboat, one group decided to swim three miles to the nearby island of Sangeang, only to find an erupting volcano. They had to drink their own urine while they awaited rescue and are now recovering in hospital.

nationmultimedia.com The Thai embassy in Australia has dismissed a statement by an anti-coup group in Australia, which claimed Canberra had downgraded bilateral relations because of the coup in Thailand in May. The embassy said the Thai Alliance for Human Rights Australia had distorted information in its online statement that military links between Thailand and Australia had been downgraded.

bangkokpost.com The Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONREPP) will investigate a controversial 53-storey condominium in Pattaya, following complaints that it is blocking views of the beach.


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



nationmultimedia.com The ruling junta has done well in the first phase of its mission, but the road ahead will not be rosy, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva told The Nation.

news.com.au Channel Nine's 60 Minutes, which routinely pays $200,000 for a big interview, made a $5000 donation to the Australian charity raising money for baby Gammy's care in Thailand after its exclusive interview with his biological parents last week. 60 Minutes would expect to make at least $500,000 in advertising revenue in that hour.

nationmultimedia.com Thai police are awaiting the return of a Japanese man at the heart of surrogacy allegations concerning many children, whose lawyer has said will come back to Thailand this week to give information. Deputy Metropolitan police commissioner Pol Maj Gen Thitirat Nongharnpitak said Mitsutoki Shigeta'[s lawyer told police Shigeta may meet police between Monday and Wednesday.



bbc.com A quarantine centre for suspected Ebola patients in the Liberian capital Monrovia has been attacked and looted by protesters, police say. At least 20 patients who were being monitored for signs of the illness have left the centre. Blood-stained bedding looted from the centre posed a serious infection risk.

news.com.au Seventeen patients infected with Ebola are unaccounted for after fleeing an armed raid on a quarantine centre in Monrovia by men who claim the epidemic is a fiction.



bangkokpost.com After complaints about inflated bills for meals in Hua Hin, the Commerce Ministry has tasked authorities to tighten inspections at food outlets in tourist destinations and beaches nationwide to see whether food bills comply with actual costs.

NNT Thailand is for the first time ranked 10 in the list of world's top destinations according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

thephuketinsider.com As part of the TAT's plan to push Thailand's tourism industry to recovery a new travel insurance program has been put in place. The TAT has worked with domestic insurance providers to offer what is terms Thailand Travel Shield.

scmp.com Britain's cash-strapped government has made more than HK$1.3 million from Hong Kong residents seeking emergency passports amid a massive backlog in renewals, the Sunday Morning Post has discovered.

bloomberg The boom in Chinese tourists visiting Paris is beginning to slow, partly because of reluctance to spend large sums in the face of President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption crackdown, and partly because of concern about the welcome awaiting them in Paris. ''I thought Europe would be a very clean place but I found that Paris is quite dirty and French people don't really care about cleanliness,'' one tourist said.

news.com.au A group of immigrants rescued from a shipping container at Britain's Tilbury docks are Sikhs understood to be from Afghanistan, police say. The arrival of the 35 stowaways prompted an international investigation after one man died.

scmp.com Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in protest at the threat by Occupy Central campaigners to paralyse the Central district of Hong Kong and pressure Beijing into giving Hong Kong ''genuine'' universal suffrage.



skynews.com.au Ten foreign tourists and five Indonesians are missing after a boat travelling between islands in the east of the archipelago sank, a search and rescue official says.

theguardian.com.au Two Britons are in hospital and 15 other people are missing after a tourist boat sank while travelling between islands in Indonesia. The group was travelling between Lombok and the Komodo Islands in eastern Indonesia when the boat sank about 7pm on Saturday.

smh.com.au The Australian government has sent a senior official to Phnom Penh to take charge of a controversial scheme to resettle refugees, even before Cambodia signs an agreement to accept them. Australia has also boosted the staff of its embassy in the Cambodian capital by 10.

themalaymail.com Penang police obtained a three-day remand order from the magistrate's court for seven Malaysians and a Singaporean said to have participated at seaside sports festival naked.



AP Daniel Sturridge ensured Liverpool began the post-Luis Suarez era in victorious fashion, scoring a late goal to seal a 2-1 win over Southampton in their first match of the Premier League season.

boxscorenews.com Brazil stayed unbeaten in the Intercontinental Round after they thumped hosts Thailand in straight sets (25-15, 25-18, 25-17) in Pool G of the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix at the Indoor Stadium Huamark.

afp England inflicted yet another humiliating defeat upon India as they won the fifth and final Test at The Oval by an innings and 244 runs to complete a 3-1 series win.

usatoday.com.au World No. 1 Serena Williams has another title to add to her resume: Western & Southern Open champion. The 17-time Grand Slam singles champ claimed a career-first W&S Open title at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason by defeating Serb Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-1 in 62 minutes.

afp Marc Marquez's hopes of setting a record 11 straight MotoGP wins ended on Sunday as Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa of Spain won the Czech Republic Moto GP in Brno.



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



February 13-15 Phuket Yacht Show