Updating All Day, Every Day
hoteldesigns.net The 350-room Premier Inn Phuket will open its doors in early 2017 in partnership with Rayaburi Group Co., Ltd. Phuket is a key market for Premier Inn with a further five hotels for the area to open by 2020.
reuters The government in Hakha, the capital of impoverished Chin state in northwest Burma (Myanmar), was moving nearly 4000 people to safety after landslides caused by rains destroyed 375 houses.
bangkokpost.com Travellers leaving Bangkok by Nok Air experienced frustrating delays at Don Muang airport this morning when the airline's check-in system crashed.
news.sky.com In an interview with The Sun newspaper, ex brothel madam Myra Ling-Ling Forde said former British PM Sir Edward Heath was a ''shy gay man'' but not a pedophile.
AP Authorities in Azerbaijan say one of the country's leading players is among six people arrested in connection with the death of a journalist who criticised him. Journalist Rasim Aliyev died on Sunday, a day after receiving a severe beating.
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.
Top Stories
bangkokpost.com A surprise clause for the draft constitution will set up a ''national strategy and reconciliation panel'' with powers to outrank the elected government.
bloomberg China's shock move to devalue the yuan risks opening a new front in a currency war that stretches from the eurozone to Japan as nations look to energise their economies.
reuters The UN denounced ''shockingly'' long prison terms imposed by Thailand for insulting the monarchy and urged authorities to amend the law and release those convicted. Thai military courts on Friday jailed two people for insulting the monarchy, one for 30 years and the other for 28, the heaviest sentences for the crime in Thai history, lawyers and a legal monitoring group said.
AP A pickup truck carrying a group of students in Narathiwat, southern Thailand, careened onto a traffic island and hit some trees, killing eight of the students and the driver, police said.
Human Trafficking in Thailand
bangkokpost.com Editorial: US reports have only proved what many already knew - that Thailand's attempts to combat 21st century slavery have been paltry and hesitant. The new special courts should provide an impetus for new and stepped-up campaigns aimed at dealing with this offensive, dirty business.
bdnews24.com Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will raise the issue of the Rohingya Muslim genocide in Myanmar at the UN during its coming General Assembly session, according to a report on the aaj.tv website.
Phuket World of People
telegraph.co.uk Airport retailers must cut their prices, ministers have said after it emerged that they are pocketing millions in VAT discounts on duty free items by making passengers show their boarding passes at the checkout. Many passengers assume that the demand is a legal requirement, but the information is actually used by stores to avoid paying 20 per cent VAT on everything they sell customers travelling outside the EU.
nationmultimedia.com Thailand's Cabinet has approved in principle the Tourism and Sports Ministry's idea of attracting the producers of Hollywood movies to use Thailand as the setting for their next blockbusters.
rustourismnews.com The new Eurowings looks all set for a successful launch of its attractively-priced long-haul services. Three months ahead of its first such flights - to the Caribbean, Thailand and Dubai - Lufthansa's new budget-fare subsidiary reports promising booking levels.
kitv.com Kalae McShane, 22, a promising young professional boxer from Hawaii, lays in a coma in a Thailand hospital as he fights for his life. His new facility suspects an infection caused swelling in the brain. The McShanes have racked up $18,000 in medical bills but are confident Kalae will get up off the canvas.
afp For the holidaymakers forced to dive for cover that evening on Samui, the murder - which police say was over a commercial dispute - was a glimpse into a reality familiar to locals: Thailand's deadly enthusiasm for guns. Disputes are all too frequently settled with a bullet and a body.
http://news.yahoo.com/bullet-body-thailands-troubling-gun-murders-043423678.html
time.com Tattoo artist Khachon Cherdchoo, 40, who told his customers his work would protect them from harm was fatally gunned down in southern Thailand, a local media outlet reported.
bbc.com A rare white humpback whale has been seen off Australia's Gold Coast. The whale was filmed by a group of whale watchers.
centreforaviation.com Thailand's Nok Air plans to pursue rapid growth of its international network in 2H2015 with new services to China, Vietnam and Singapore. Nok's only scheduled international service, from Bangkok to Yangon, was launched in late 2013 and is being increased in Sep-2015 from 14 to 18 weekly frequencies.
afp A young Asian woman drowned after her father allegedly prevented Dubai lifeguards from coming to the rescue because that would ''dishonor'' her, Emirati news media reported. The father was later arrested. [Some reports say this incident dates from 1996.]
xinhua An increased number of Chinese and Indian travelers are expected to visit Thailand given a multiple visa to the Southeast Asian country, said Tourism and Sport Minister Kobkarn Watanawarangkura. Travelers to Thailand may visit as many times as they wish if they pay 5000 baht, compared to the ordinary visa at 1000 baht.
thesun.co.uk A report by the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers has found that over the past ten years the number of venues on its books has almost HALVED. There are just 1733 UK clubs now compared with 3144 in 2005.
afp People who eat lots of fried food and sugary drinks have a 56 percent higher risk of heart disease compared to those who eat healthier, according to US researchers.
Around the Region
channelnewsasia.com The Singapore dollar weakened to a five-year low against the US dollar, as investors reacted to the surprise change in China's foreign exchange (forex) policy. The central bank devalued the tightly-controlled yuan, causing the Chinese currency to post its biggest one-day loss against the US dollar in 20 years.
Phuket World of Sport
telegraph.co.uk Substitute Pedro scored the winner on what may be his final Barcelona appearance before his predicted move to Manchester United, as the Catalans emerged with a 5-4 extra-time victory from a thrilling Uefa Super Cup clash with Primera Division rivals Sevilla.
AP Thirteen rowers on the 40-member US team came down with stomach illness at the World Junior Rowing Championships - a trial run for next summer's Olympics - and the team doctor said she suspected it was due to pollution in the lake where the competition took place.
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
August 12 HM The Queen's birthday
August 23-30 Por Tor (Hungry Ghost) Festival
September Quicksilver surf carnival at Patong beach
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
