bangkokpost.com Authorities will seize seven holiday resorts on the popular Koh Lipe, which is part of Tarutao Marine National Park, early next month for allegedly encroaching on the park.

interaksyon.com Former Palawan governor Joel Reyes and his brother Mario, accused masterminds in the murder of journalist Gerardo Ortega, arrived back in the Philippines about 3am Friday, four days after they were arrested on Phuket for overstaying.

bangkokpost.com Deputy Prime Minister Prajin Juntong has tried to calm down concerns about the government's single internet gateway initiative, saying the issue is still under study and has not been implemented.

watoday.com.au A Perth man has described the shock and panic of seeing flames coming from an engine outside his plane window on a Cathay Pacific flight that made an emergency landing in Bali on Friday morning.


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



watoday.com.au A Cathay Pacific aircraft flying from Perth to Hong Kong reportedly caught fire mid-flight, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bali. A man is reported to have contacted ABC News saying his brother was on board the flight when there was a ''loud bang and sparks and flames.''

bangkokpost.com The European Union (EU) delegation called for Thailand to respect basic freedoms and restore democracy as Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha prepares to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week.

nationmultimedia.com The Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa) has unveiled four new flagship projects to support the government's ''digital economy'' policy. Phuket and Chiang Mai are set as the priority provinces to host smart cities this year according to Sipa's plan.



nationmultimedia.com Adem Karadag, the foreigner arrested late last month in connection with the Erawan Shrine bombing, has confessed that he was the man who planted the explosive device that killed 20 people and injured 100 others on August 17. Karadag, or Bilal Muhammed, has confessed that he was the man who planted the bomb at the shrine, according to a source familiar with the ongoing police investigation.

bangkokpost.com Authorities are hunting for further evidence to confirm that detained suspect Bilal Turk, also known as Adem Karadag, was the bomber behind the Erawan shrine blast, despite his alleged confession.



bangkokpost.com Myanmar man Naing Win, 28, has been arrested for allegedly stealing a mobile phone from Russian Dmitri Surkov, 32, at Phuket's Patong beach. Police traced the telephone to a Phuket construction site. [Security at Patong beach is said to have deteriorated with the removal of all sunbeds.]

bbc.com The sparkling seas and warm beaches of Phuket are a magnet for sun-seeking holiday-makers and, increasingly, for foreigners seeking a comfortable and cost-efficient retirement. More than 100,000 foreigners have settled on the island - though some now bitterly regret it. British expat Ian Rance and Irishman Colin Vard are now living almost penniless with their children on the outskirts of Bangkok as they struggle against overwhelming odds to recover properties they bought on Phuket. Both men lost all their investments through frauds that neither of them imagined were possible.

news.com.au Pilots at Cathay Pacific have sent a warning to the airline's management that flight safety is under threat because of fatigue and exhaustion. The letter, published in full by the South China Morning Post, reveals a number of captains at the Hong Kong-based carrier are deeply concerned about several issues, including rostering practices, pilot experience levels and fatigue.

nationmultimedia.com Opinion: It should be easy for the Samui court to see that the police have botched their investigation of the brutal murders of two British backpackers and lack credible evidence against the two defendants. As in the Phuket court's acquittal of the Phuketwan defendants, the Samui court can best serve Thailand by showing that justice has been done - and throw the cops' botched case out.

Facebook Andy Hall writes: I was absolutely horrified at the level of degregation or abusive nature of the Koh Tao murder case prosecutor questions to a Myanmar migrant defence witness today at Samui Court. For me, this is beyond the bounds of reasonable behavior by a prosecutor, lawyer or thai government official . . .

bbc.com Saudi Arabia's King Salman has ordered a safety review for the Hajj pilgrimage after at least 717 people died in a stampede near the holy city of Mecca. Another 863 people were injured in the incident at Mina.

washingtonpost.com A crowd safety and risk analysis specialist, G. Keith Still, told The Washington Post the deaths appeared to have occurred as the result of these groups of people moving in two directions, creating a compression, a dangerous situation that can be further fuelled by panic. In 1990, more than 1400 people were crushed or suffocated to death in a pedestrian tunnel.

Phuket Update The Human Trafficking Crime Prevention and Suppression Centre delivered its report this week and found no human trafficking on Phuket. from May 6 to September 17, officials investigated 271 fishing boats and interviewed 3564 crew.

smh.com.au Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics, challenged Congress and by extension the US to break out of its cycle of polarisation and paralysis to finally use its power to heal the ''open wounds'' of a planet torn by hatred, greed, poverty and pollution.

theonion.com Satire: Admitting the startling discovery had compelled him to reexamine his long-held beliefs, His Holiness Pope Francis announced that he had reversed his critical stance toward capitalism after seeing the immense variety of Oreos available in the United States. ''Oh, my goodness, look at all these! Golden Oreos, Cookie Dough Oreos, Mega Stuf Oreos, Birthday Cake Oreos - perhaps the system of free enterprise is not as terrible as I once feared.''

bbc.com One German newspaper has described Volkswagen's rigging of emission tests as the ''most expensive act of stupidity in the history of the car industry''. To that might be added that VW could now be entering one of ''the longest legal nightmares in corporate history.''

Phuket Update A British man was found hanged inside a Patong hotel room in Soi Sansabai when he failed to check out on time. Police say evidence points to suicide. The name of the 45-year-old man from Edinburgh is being withheld until the embassy and his family have been notified.

The Command Centre for Combating Illegal Fishing proposed offering jobs on trawlers to recently discharged sailors as a way to prevent Thailand's seafood exports from being banned in the European Union. The resolution was one of several adopted by the task force formed after the EU this spring slapped Thailand with a ''red card'' warning over its violation of illegal, unregistered and unreported fishing standards.

cnet.com In recent years Thailand hasn't shied away from banning websites that slander its leaders or display explicit pornography, but its Internet hasn't been systemically censored like China's. That all may be set to change though, as the country's military government is reportedly laying the political groundwork to dramatically restructure Thailand's Internet, according to anofficial government release.

nationmultimedia.com Police have arrested a Nigerian man for having allegedly selling narcotics in Bangkok. Police Colonel Thirachai Chamnarnmor, commander of the investigation subdivision 2 of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said Clement Okafor, 33, was arrested in a sting operation.

Around the Region

AP Myanmar has defended a decision barring 800,000 ethnic minority people from voting in November elections by saying that green card holders can't vote in US elections either. Foreign Minister Wanna Maung Lwin drew awkward laughter in New York at the Council on Foreign Relations when he likened the situation of foreign citizens permitted to live and work in the US with Myanmar's so-called ''white card'' holders, many of them stateless Rohingya Muslims.

Phuket World of Sport

theguardian.com The New Zealand coach Steve Hansen hailed Namibia for ''giving everything they could give'' and admitted his team had struggled to deal with the stop-start nature of the game in their 58-14 victory.

Coming Events on Phuket 2015

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

Coming Events on Phuket 2016

January 7-10 Phuket International Boat Show