latimes.com A young black man was shot to death by an off-duty white police officer in St. Louis on Wednesday night. A tense crowd gathered at the scene nearly two months to the day after a white policeman shot an unarmed black man to death in nearby Ferguson.

bangkokpost.com Ranong is among provinces that will be twinned when Thailand and Myanmar sign three memorandums of understanding to foster a closer relationship as Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha begins his official visit today.

afp A Super Hornet fighter jet has carried out Australia's first bombing raid in Iraq, targeting what the defence ministry described as a ''facility'' of the Islamist State group.


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 Surat Thani-based public prosecutors returned the police investigation report into the murder of two British tourists to the officers that had produced it, asking them to supply ''more crucial information''. Describing the killings ''as high profile, attracting attention from society around the world,'' the prosecutors reportedly also told the police to ''fix certain flaws'' and make the 850-page report ''more succinct,'' without giving them a time frame in which to do so.

bangkokpost.com Police apprehended a Dutchman suspected of killing his Thai wife at their Nakhon Pathom home over her frequent online chats after Matthew Mannen, 40, fled to Cambodia. Mr Mannen allegedly confessed to killing his wife in a fit of jealous rage.

nationmultimedia.com The Defence Ministry Permanent Secretary's Office suggested sweeping changes to the National Reform Council as part of national reforms. Among the proposals are direct election of the prime minister or appointment of the government head by the legislature, requiring election candidates to gain sufficient support in a ''primary vote'' in their constituencies and to be free of offences against the monarchy, and requiring election winners to gain at least 50 percent of votes.



mirror.co.uk The distraught family of murdered Brit backpacker Hannah Witheridge last night ''begged'' for horrific pictures of her corpse to be removed from the internet. In a moving statement ahead of her funeral tomorrow they said they were going through ''indescribable agony.''

news.sky.com Two Burmese migrants accused of killing a pair of British tourists in Thailand have claimed they were beaten and threatened with electrocution by police. Win Zaw Htun and Zaw Lin, who are both 21, claim they were mistreated following their arrest for the murder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, on the island of Koh Tao on September 15.

bangkokpost.com Police may have spoken their last word on the Koh Tao murder investigation, but sceptics and amateur detectives still have plenty to say online. Crime-scene-investigator wannabees upload photos, dissect conflicting media reports and while away the hours trying to poke holes in the Royal Thai Police case.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/social/436537/koh-tao-case-ends-for-police-not-for-social-media-detective



mirror.co.uk Britain has stepped up its role in the battle against Ebola by sending 750 troops to Sierra Leone to help tackle the outbreak. A medical ship and three Merlin helicopters will also head for the West African country, where the situation is becoming increasingly desperate.

cnn.com A doctor treating the Spanish nurse's assistant who's the first person to contract Ebola outside Africa in the current outbreak said that she may have been exposed while removing her protective suit.



nationmultimedia.com Thai and foreign tourists are travelling in greater numbers to Koh Tao and nearby Samui and Phangan in the wake of the Full Moon Party last night on Phangan, resulting in two extra ferry trips to accommodate them. Bunsiri Deowanich, the manager of a ferry company, said there had been a 20-per-cent drop in visitor numbers to Koh Tao before the arrests of the two suspects.

bangkokpost.com A German tourist drowned at Nai Harn Beach, Phuket on Wednesday after ignoring a safety warning sign urging beach-goers not to swim in rough weather, police said.

nationmultimedia.com Hotel operators in Pattaya are expected to continue to suffer, judging from low advance bookings from overseas markets for the coming high season. Meanwhile, the government is being urged to crack down on illegal operators in order to rebuild the city's image and lure tourists back.

cnn.com Kelly Ecker, a nurse, and Dr George Scott Samson married Saturday afternoon in Terre Haute, Indiana. By their wedding night, both were dead. Samson shot his bride then himself in their home just hours after they exchanged vows, authorities said.

bangkokpost.com Thailand is at ''high risk'' of more civil unrest that would disrupt business and factory operations, a global forecasting company said in a worldwide survey. Eleven countries are at ''extreme risk'' levels. Thailand is in the second category.

latimes.com At least 331 people have been killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine since a September 5 cease-fire was supposed to quell the armed conflict, the United Nations said.

abcnews.go.com Life expectancy in the US is at an all-time high of 78 years and nine and a half months, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heart disease and cancer remain the leading causes of death.

independent.co.uk This week, in what is believed to be the first court case of its kind, lawyer Steven Wise will argue that Tommy the 26-year-old chimp and other chimps are entitled to ''legal personhood''.



AP Authorities sealed off villages in Myanmar's only Muslim-majority region and in some cases beat and arrested people who refused to register with immigration officials, residents and activists say, in what may be the most aggressive effort yet to force Rohingya to indicate they are illegal migrants from neighboring Bangladesh.

abc.net.au At least 17 people from a wedding party, including three children, have died after a boat sank on its way to the Indonesian island of Bali, an official says.



cnn.com The family of Jules Bianchi, the Formula One racing driver who was critically injured at Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix, have revealed that he is suffering from a ''diffuse axonal injury.'' It is a potentially devastating type of brain injury which causes widespread tearing of nerve fibers across the whole of the brain.



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