UPDATING All Day, Every Day
'It is death valley. Up to 70 percent are dead.'
Mount Sinjar stinks of death. The few Yazidis who have managed to escape its clutches can tell you why.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/11024037/Iraq-crisis-It-is-death-valley.-Up-to-70-per-cent-of-them-are-dead.html
reuters Islamic State militants have killed at least 500 members of Iraq's Yazidi minority in northern Iraq, burying some victims alive and kidnapping hundreds of women, a Baghdad government minister said.
Agencies An aircraft crashed at Tehran's Mehrabad airport on Sunday morning, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported, citing a spokesman for the Iranian Red Crescent Society. It gave no further details.
AP NASCAR driver Tony Stewart struck and killed a sprint car driver who had climbed from his car and was on the track trying to confront Stewart during a race in upstate New York.
AP A tour bus on a highway in Tibet fell off a 10-meter cliff after crashing into an SUV and a pickup, killing 44 people and injuring 11 others, China's state media reported.
tampabay.com Rory McIlroy played the kind of golf Saturday that typically would put him in control at a major championship. Staked to a one-shot lead in the PGA Championship, he made three birdies over his last four holes for 4-under 67.
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.
Today's Top News Items
Phuket Update The season's third coach failed to save Phuket FC from a 0-1 defeat to Chiang Mai FC in Phuket City last night. Now in 13th place with some tough games ahead, the island team lies just a couple of spots above the Division One relegation trapdoor.
bangkokpost.com Other top brass in the NCPO back Gen Prayuth to lead a new government to be formed once the National Legislative Assembly selects a prime minister. Several public opinion polls also put him ahead of other choices.
nationmultimedia.com Many Participants at the Road to Thailand Reform event agreed it was time to reform the country and are optimistic the efforts would finally end the political crisis. They also expressed confidence in the leadership of the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).
bangkokpost.com Arrest warrants on weapons charges have been issued for three people including red-shirt activist Kritsuda Khunasen, who claimed she was tortured during her detention by the military and has since fled Thailand for Europe. NCPO chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha denied the ''torture'' accusations.
The Ebola Outbreak
dpa The risk that Ebola would start spreading in the European Union is ''extremely low,'' the bloc's health commissioner says after the outbreak of the disease in West Africa was declared an international health emergency.
Phuket World of People
nationmultimedia.com Australia asked for relaxation of Thai law enforcement on surrogacy during transition period of mothers and babies for humanitarian reasons, Foreign Ministry's Permanent Secretary Sihasak Phuangketkeow said.
news.com.au Up to 150 Australian couples are thought to have surrogacy under way in Thailand. ''My concern at this point is to ensure that any legislation that the Thai authorities are considering takes into account those Australians who already have arrangements in place,'' said Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
scmp.com Japan and China are making final arrangements to hold foreign ministerial talks - possibly today - in Myanmar's capital, Naypyidaw, sources familiar with bilateral relations said.
smh.com.au Island-hopping around Krabi you are never very far from reminders of the Boxing Day tsunami, the day in 2004 when a 9.0 earthquake off Sumatra sent a series of destructive waves across the region. These subtle reminders are woven into the fabric of the place now, from signs advertising the new tsunami early-warning systems on Koh Phi Phi to impromptu-cum-permanent shrines to the victims erected near the beaches.
scmp.com Japan's weather agency issued its highest alert as Typhoon Halong barrelled towards the southwest of the country, warning of heavy rain and strong winds from a storm that has grounded more than 470 flights.
bangkokpost.com The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has denied reports that former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra had asked it to postpone her return from overseas from Sunday to August 31.
ibtimes.co.in Phuket, at first glance, kind of feels like Goa - small city, catering to the tourists, with the weather pretty much the same. Carry plenty of cash with you, as not all the ATMs work with your Indian debit cards.
Around the Asean Region
channelnews.asia The Malaysian government will study whether it is necessary to block Facebook following a case of abuse involving the social website, said Communication and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek.
straitstimes.com Singaporeans desperate to start a family have gone to countries such as Malaysia, India, the US and Thailand and paid six-figure sums for a stranger to carry their baby.
reuters US Secretary of State John Kerry pressed Myanmar's political leaders on Washington's human rights concerns and urged its President Thein Sein to step up constitutional reforms to ensure elections next year are fully credible.
washingtonpost.com Burma (Myanmar), a country of roughly 60 million people, remains one of the poorest in the world. Although the military leadership's decision to distance itself from China three years ago opened the door to reform, Chinese investment far outpaces that of the US - about $14 billion compared with about $243 million.
Phuket World of Sport
afp Moeen Ali starred in a dramatic England victory for the second time in as many matches as they crushed India by an innings and 54 runs to win the fourth Test with more than two days to spare.
Coming Events on Phuket 2014
August 11 Special holiday for Queen's Birthday
August 12 Queen's Birthday
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
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
February 13-15 Phuket Yacht Show
"The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has denied reports that former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra had asked it to postpone her return from overseas from Sunday to August 31. " Having seen her mountain of luggage, which she has flown out, I would bet she is not coming back soon. ;-)
Posted by Alfred on August 10, 2014 13:09