Updating All Day, Every Day
bangkokpost.com The numbers have been down since the murders of a British couple on nearby Koh Tao, but nothing can stop the Full Moon from rising
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/special-reports/437180/on-koh-phangan-the-party-continues
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
nationmultimedia.com Red shirts gathered in huge numbers at a heavily secured Suvarnabhumi Airport to receive the body of Apiwan Wiriyachai, who died while receiving medical treatment in the Philippines.
reuters Thailand's military government plans to spend about 78 billion baht on developing the country's waterways infrastructure over the next 10 years, the transport minister said.
afp Thai authorities arrested 53 Rohingya migrants and two suspected Thai traffickers en route to neighboring Malaysia, an official said. The migrants were found on a rubber plantation in Takuapa district i[north of Phuket] in Phang Nga, district chief Manit Phianthong said, adding that one of the arrested traffickers confessed he was part of a bigger gang.
bangkokpost.com Rights groups say the stateless migrants often fall into the hands of unscrupulous people traffickers. They have also criticised Thailand in the past for pushing boats of Rohingya entering Thai waters back out to sea and holding migrants in overcrowded facilities.
Tourists' Murder on Koh Tao
theguardian.com Police in Thailand insist they have ''concrete'' evidence linking two Burmese men to the murders of British tourists Hannah Witheridge and David Miller, as they denied reports that the suspects have withdrawn their confessions.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/11/thailand-murders-hannah-witheridge-david-miller-police-say-concrete-evidence-links-burmese-suspects
bangkokpost.com Police have been given until Thursday to submit additional information to prosecutors who will decide whether to indict two suspects from Burma (Myanmar) for the murders of two British tourists.
newsletter.co.uk How safe are our young trevellers? Whatever the facts may turn out to be, we already know one thing: the deaths of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller have sent alarm bells clamoring in the ears of every parent of every other young traveller. ''When it comes to general safety, the rule is to blend in and look confident.''
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/life/travel/how-safe-are-our-young-travellers-1-6350443
nationmultimedia.com The Burmese lawyers of the two men charged with the Koh Tao murders of two British tourists have asked Thailand's National Human Rights Commission and the Myanmar Embassy to push for British police to conduct independent DNA tests in the case, as they believe their clients are innocent.
Latest on the Ebola Outbreak
bbc.com Ebola has killed more than 4000 people worldwide, and a UN expert has said the world will live with it "forever" unless global action stops the virus. Passenger screening is to be introduced at key UK airports and rail terminals.
independent.co.uk The US will award $1 million in funding to whoever can design the best hazmat suit, as the Ebola crisis has driven demand for the protective gear to record highs.
Phuket World of People
nationmultimedia.com ''The changing behavior of Chinese travellers is the result of the previous 10 years of travel experience,'' says the UN World Travel Organisation's Asia-Pacific director Xu Jing. Many took their first international trips in Southeast Asia and now seek something new, Xu says. ''Now, [Chinese] are going to Europe and North America.''
wsj.com The Thai junta is on a morality drive and police in Pattaya are trying to help out by arresting and fining the beach resort???s transgender sex workers. Pattaya has plenty of other problems.
washingtonpost.com A series of car bomb attacks in Iraq's capital killed 38 people in Shiite areas, authorities said, after Islamic militants killed a journalist working for a local television network in a Sunni province.
afp Kurdish fighters have halted a thrust by Islamic State jihadists towards the heart of the Syrian border town of Kobane after the UN warned thousands of civilians risked massacre if it falls.
forbes.com The real mystery surrounding the disappearance of North Korea's ''Supreme Leader'' Kim Jong-un is why we know so little about what's become of him and the machinations that have to be going on wherever he may be recuperating from whatever ails him.
afp US fugitive Edward Snowden, who was granted asylum by Moscow after revealing the extent of US global surveillance, has been reunited with his girlfriend in Russia, his lawyer said.
traveller.com.au Travel to a Muslim country. Travel there now. Make it Malaysia, or Indonesia, or somewhere in the Middle East. Go to northern India, or Morocco. It doesn't really matter which one you choose - just get to a Muslim country and experience the culture for yourself. Because Australia seems to have a problem.
Around the Asean Region
smh.com.au Indonesia has, in the past three years, eclipsed Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia to become the number one destination for Australian sex tourists. The latest figures, previously undisclosed to the public, show that 18 per cent of all sex offenders who appear on a state-based register come to Indonesia.
worldbulletin.net Dozens of men from Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority have been arrested and tortured because of alleged ties to a militant organisation, according to a rights group. The Arakan Project, a Thailand-based group that documents abuses against the Rohingya, says one man has been tortured to death in Myanmar's far north-west, near the border with Bangladesh.
straitstimes.com Air quality in Singapore hit unhealthy levels again on Saturday night, with the three-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) inching up to 102 at 11pm from 99 at 10pm. It was in the moderate range for most of the evening.
Phuket World of Sport
afp It may have taken 19 attempts over 71 years but Poland finally made history with a stunning first ever defeat of world champions Germany in a Euro 2016 qualifier in Warsaw.
goal.com Germany coach Joachim Low believes the world champions had wasteful finishing to blame for being beaten by Poland.
Coming Events on Phuket 2014
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
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
February 13-15 Phuket Yacht Show
I noticed some former beach vendors employed by some not so bad hotels like pool boys or waiters.
Overall they provide really good service , try very hard for a tip, are much faster and more forthcoming than the rest of the staff , and speak much better English .
Posted by Sue on October 12, 2014 12:41
Editor Comment:
That's good. Happy to name resorts that are doing the right thing.