bangkokpost.com Police and military units have stepped up patrols in a bid to ensure jittery tourists that it's safe to visit Thailand.

bbc.com A Thai television station has apologised for re-enacting the Bangkok blast at the Erawan shrine with a staff member dressed as the main suspect. The re-enactment on Thursday evening sparked outrage among Thais at the shrine and online.

bloomberg North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un put his front-line troops on a war footing, as tensions between his nation and South Korea soar following an exchange of artillery fire.

stuff.co.nz Graeme Kendall, delivering a new catamaran from Phuket to the Pacific, tells of a strange encounter that made him think piracy may not yet be a thing of the past.The incident raises the question of whether to carry arms.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/boating/71343232/masked-men-at-sea

usatoday.com Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, faced with a revolt in his party over his acceptance of unpopular bailout measures, resigned Thursday and called early elections for September.


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



bangkokpost.com The prime minister has given his top deputy premier two weeks to fix the problems with airline safety and satisfy all world standards.

reuters Thai police said that two men thought to have aided the prime suspect in the central Bangkok bombing this week were no longer under investigation. The two men were suspected of shielding the suspected bomber while he planted the device.

scmp.com China has slammed ''hugely irresponsible'' Thai media reports that Uygur separatists carried out Monday's deadly bomb attack in Bangkok.

bangkokpost.com The military junta said it remained confident the attack has no link to international terror networks. Regional security analysts think otherwise.



bloomberg A woman sues one of America's biggest superstore chains for selling farmed shrimp from Thailand using slave labor - and lying to consumers about it.

afp US-based rights group the Carter Centre has urged Myanmar to prevent the exclusion of hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya from voting in crucial November elections after the minority were stripped of their identity cards earlier this year.



Phuket Update The insurance company of a woman driver who crashed into and demolished a set of traffic lights at the Central Festival Phuket intersection is negotiating a 100,000 baht replacement price with authorities.

bloomberg The North Korean ruling party's central military commission held an emergency meeting after North and South Korea exchanged fire across the demilitarised zone in one of the worst incidents between the two since 2010.

nationmultimedia.com Appointing veteran former diplomat Don Pramudwinai as foreign minister will help improve the country's standing in the international arena, diplomacy specialists have said.

afp Hackers released what was purported to be a second batch of data from the affair-seeker website Ashley Madison, a report said. US television personality Josh Duggar, known as a family values activist, acknowledged he had used Ashley Madison after being outed by the news website Gawker.

Krabi Update Richard Langonne is the new General Manager of Sofitel Krabi Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort, Krabi. Richard was the Hotel Manager at the prestigious 408-room hotel, Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16.

bangkokpost.com Editorial: Don't Punish At-risk Girls. This coercive legislation is out of touch with modern reality and the complex problems of teen pregnancy. It is a gross violations of basic rights. It must be dropped.

thetimes.co.uk Thirty-one skydivers saved themselves by jumping from two aircraft that collided over the border between the Czech Republic and Slovakia on Thursday morning. Seven people died in the crash at 5000 feet.

nationmultimedia.com Thai Beverage (ThaiBev) has consolidated all its beers under the Chang Classic brand in line with its vision to become a "sustainable leader" in the beer and non-alcoholic beverages market in Asean by 2020.

skynews.com.au On-demand taxi service Uber often trumpets its driver-vetting system as market leading, but it has been claimed that a murderer slipped through the net in the US. A complaint filed by the San Francisco district attorney's office says 25 drivers with criminal records were allowed to drive for the ride-hailing service.

reuters Two-and-a-half years after the completion of a new $17m terminal building, the airport in Jaisalmer, a small and remote desert city in India's western Rajasthan state, stands empty.



reuters Malaysian police said they had arrested and were investigating 10 Malaysians suspected of links to Islamic State, among them six members of the country's security forces.



smh.com.au Australia digs in on day one of the fifth Ashes Test, with Steve Smith and Adam Voges leading Australia to a commanding 3/287.



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