bbc.com A man has died and others have ''significant health problems'' after more than 30 people - including children - were found in a shipping container at Tilbury Docks in Britain, police say.

A Japanese man suspected of fathering at least 15 surrogate children in Thailand planned to sire as many as 1000, The Japan Times reported.

bangkokpost.com Bangkok police urged the Japanese businessman to meet with Thai officials to prove he is the father of all the children and to tell the officials why he wants to father so many children.

AP Authorities say that four men who were indicted in 2011 in the killing of a German tourist who was visiting San Francisco when she was caught in gunfire pleaded guilty to lesser charges and will each serve between five and nine years in state prison.

scmp.com A cracked windshield forced an Indonesia-bound Hong Kong Airlines plane carrying 261 people to return. The Airbus A330 had entered Manila airspace when its pilot decided to turn back to Chek Lap Kok airport, the Civil Aviation Department said.


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



reuters The number of tourists arriving in Thailand in July fell 10.9 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Department of Tourism, showing the key industry has not recovered from dents caused by prolonged political tension.

AP Experiencing a dramatic surge in tourism, Thailand has surpassed the US with 1250 hotels truly set on its beaches, according to a survey of more than 11,000 hotels in 109 countries released by the Beachfront Club, a website that maps and details seaside hotels around the world.

bangkokpost.com Tourists flock to wildlife attractions to swim with dolphins and pet tigers, but activists say the animals are often neglected or illegally trafficked.

Thailand's Booming Animal Attractions Take Toll
NGOs are mounting campaigns and protests to stop the opening of a dolphinarium on Phuket in October. ''We are teaching children all the wrong things,'' said Richard O'Barry, head of the conservationist group Dolphinproject.org.
http://main.omanobserver.om/?p=103067

bangkokpost.com The family of a two-year-old girl who received an electric shock from an ATM in Trang province agreed to switch off her life support machine. Parichat Noopinit had been in a coma at Trang Hospital after getting an electric shock when she touched a Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) ATM at an Esso petrol station on August 7.


wsj.com Even before Ebola, Liberia - with just 51 doctors for four million people - had the second-fewest physicians per person on Earth, after Tanzania, according to the World Health Organisation. Rubber gloves are nearly as scarce as doctors in rural Liberia.




thephuketnews.com Contradicting a local report asserting that he denied ordering his officer to enforce the 2am closing laws for Patong bars and entertainment establishments, the town's police chief, Col Jiraphat Pochanapan, told The Phuket News, ''I follow the law. I would not say anything other than the law.''

phuketgazette.net Patong Police denied rumors of an order demanding that they more strictly enforce the 2am closure of nightlife venues in Phuket's premier party town. ''I'm sorry, but I've not heard about this,'' Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan told the Phuket Gazette when asked about the order.

Phuket Update The body of wrong-way motorcycle rider Charnwit Pitiwat, 31, was found in a ditch after he was struck and killed by a HotelBeds minivan near the Makro store in Vichitsongkran Road in Phuket City about 4.30am. The minivan was heading towards Patong.

AP Several couples from the US and Australia have been prevented from leaving Thailand with surrogate babies as part of a government crackdown on the burgeoning commercial surrogacy industry, an Australian broadcaster reported.

abc.net.au An Australian same-sex couple at the centre of Thailand's surrogacy scandal has been able to leave the country with their newborn babies. On Thursday, two Australian couples with babies born through commercial surrogacy deals were prevented from leaving Bangkok International Airport. ABC NewsRadio can confirm one of the couples has now arrived in Singapore with their newborn twins who were born last month via surrogate.

dw.de Thailand is set to implement a new law banning surrogate babies leaving the country by the end of the year. The government crackdown comes weeks after the abandoned downes syndrome baby scandal.

nationmultimedia.com Two more suspects wanted over the death of at least 14 building workers when a condominium being built in Pathum Thani province collapsed on Monday have contacted police to announce they will surrender shortly - but another suspect remains elusive, police said.

bbc.com An open verdict has been recorded into the death of a British man found hanging in a police cell in Thailand. Liam Whitaker, 24, from Helston, died last October in Chanasongkram police station after being arrested in Bangkok for possessing methamphetamine.

ttgasia.com The Jet Ski Rental Service Standards require jet ski operators on Phuket and in Pattaya to have a three-month legal business licence tied to a permanent address and a valid insurance policy.

stuff.co.nz Authorities are investigating how a Jet Airways aircraft dropped more than 1500 metres in airspace over Turkey while the pilot was reportedly asleep. An aviation regulator is looking into whether the co-pilot was also dozing as the Boeing 777-300 travelled from Mumbai to Brussels, the Times of India reported.



bangkopkpost.com Malaysian police have arrested a bank officer and her husband accused of stealing more than $30,000 from the accounts of four passengers aboard the missing flight MH370.

thestar.com.my The first batch of victims' remains of the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 to arrive in the country on August 22 includes that of a former Malaysian citizen. The woman's body and that of 15 other Malaysians will be flown back on a Boeing 747 aircraft belonging to the national air carrier.

wsj.com Nearly a month after the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, forensic experts have identified the remains of fewer than half of the 298 people who died, underscoring the challenges investigators face.

AP Indonesian police charged an American couple with murder after the body of the woman's 62-year-old mother was found stuffed in a suitcase on the resort island of Bali. Heather Mack, 19, and her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer, 21, are both from Chicago.

hollywoodlife.com The American teenager accused of murdering her own mother in Bali is now claiming she must return to America because she is pregnant and needs medical treatment. The slain mother was found stuffed into a bloody suitcase before they were set to return home.

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nationmultimedia.com Determined Thailand thrilled home fans with a gutsy performance and excellent teamwork to pull off a hard-fought four-set 25-17 25-23 20-25 25-23 victory against in-form Dominican Republic in their opening FIVB World Grand Prix Pool G clash at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium.

usatoday.com Notre Dame has removed four likely starters from its football team in the midst of an investigation into academic fraud, the school confirmed.

nationmultimedia.com National football team coach Kiatisak Senamuang has drafted in Suriya Singhmui and Krirkrit Taweekarn as replacements for two Buriram United players who withdrew from Thailand's Asian Games squad. The team starts their two-week training camp in Phuket today,

news.com.au India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni stood alone as the tourists suffered yet another batting collapse to hand England the advantage on the first day of the fifth and final Test at The Oval. England were 62 without loss in reply to India's meagre 148 all out.



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