bernama Thailand has given US$200,000 in aid to Myanmar to deal with communal violence in western Rakhine state, Thai News Agency (TNA) reported. The fund will be used to improve the public health system, develop agriculture and lift standard of living in Rakhine.


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 Lacia Sherlock, Ikea Bangna store manager, said the company would open its first Ikea pickup point concept store in Phuket in July next year to cash in on the high purchasing power of customers on the island.

California Couple Shares Surrogate Story in Wake of Thailand Controversy
https://www.yahoo.com/health/california-couple-shares-surrogate-story-in-wake-of-95207128652.html

reuters Thailand's military-dominated legislature will nominate a prime minister this week, members of the national assembly said, a move that looks set to consolidate the army's hold on power almost 100 days since it wrested control of the country.

nasdaq.com 25 fund managers (we at DMS Funds are not among them) have made an appeal to the ruling junta as foreign investment sentiment is now turning sharply against the country, and there is the real threat of foreign capital inflows diminishing substantially.

nytimes.com An emotionally disturbed 23-year-old black man was shot and killed by St. Louis police officers, the authorities said, threatening to further inflame a community still reeling after another shooting by an officer in a suburb less than two weeks ago.



bangkokpost.com Thai Airways International is responding to Africa's Ebola epidemic with the same thoroughness it did during the 2003 SARS and bird flu outbreaks in 2003 and 2004. Aircraft are being frequently disinfected, with cabin ''deep cleaning'' carried out and 36 more contact spots added to the cleaning routine.



smh.com.au Comedian Tim Vine cleaned up at this year's Edinburgh Fringe when his one-liner was voted the funniest wisecrack. He won with the one-liner: ''I decided to sell my Hoover . . . well it was just collecting dust.'' He also triumphed in 2010 with: ''I've just been on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday. I'll tell you what, never again.''

bangkokpost.com A 500-strong task force kicked off an operation to end forest encroachment in Krabi's Mu Koh Phi Phi-Nopparathara National Park, felling more than 20,000 rubber trees on 329-rai of land.

ttrweekly.com The road to recovery for most over developed resorts in Thailand would involve a long, costly journey that could take up to a decade to bring tangible results. But there are plenty of examples of resorts around the world that did achieve a remarkable recovery from commercial abuse.

4hoteliers.com Scot Toon has been appointed pre-opening General Manager at Kata Rocks on Phuket. He was most recently overseeing Paresa, also on Phuket. He had previously served in various roles with Per AQUMM Resorts for six years.

reuters Islamic State insurgents who control territory in Iraq and Syria released a video purportedly showing the beheading of US journalist James Foley, who had gone missing in Syria nearly two years ago.

cnn.com The armed wing of Hamas claims it fired 29 rockets into Israel in just 20 minutes as both sides return to a war footing and peace teams are ordered home.

bangkokpost.com Tourists can apply online for a Myanmar (Burma) visa next month as part of a drive to spur the tourism sector. The eVisa system, now on a test run, will be officially launched on September 1.

theage.com.au Melbourne has retained its status as the world's most liveable city for a fourth consecutive year, outscoring three other Australian cities in the top 10. The award comes after Melbourne was ranked by Conde Nast Traveller magazine as the world's friendliest city.

dpa Bangkok ranked 103rd out of 140 cities in the survey, down two places from 2013 and 2012. Three other Australian cities, Adelaide, Sydney and Perth, were among the top 10 cities in the world.

theage.com.au Australia's Defence department has moved to ban topless barmaids from a government recreation club in Western Australia as photos emerged of elite special forces soldiers fraternising with semi-naked women.



irrawaddy.org Burma's first nationwide census in three decades was conducted successfully and in line with international standards across the country, with the exception of Arakan [Rakhine] State, according to a team of independent observers. In a last minute change of policy, the government announced that Rohingya, the name many in the Muslim minority use to refer to themselves, be excluded from the UN-backed census.

mmtimes.com The Myanmar Census Observation Team has warned that the omission of the Rohingya in the count could leave significant holes in data on the marginalised group. The census cost over US$70 million, with funding from British, Norwegian, Australian and Swiss governments.

reuters Indonesian rescuers expanded their search for two Spanish men still missing after a tourist boat sank at the weekend, forcing survivors to swim hours to dry land and drink their own urine.

theguardian.com ''It wasn't rough [seas], it was dark,'' Gaylene Wilkinson, 53, told New Zealand's 3 News. ''There was no chart, no navigation equipment, no GPS, no depth sounder, so we hit a reef.''

reuters A spokesman for the Sultan of Brunei dismissed a report by the Wall Street Journal online that he had made a bid for New York's Plaza Hotel, Dream Hotel and London's Grosvenor House hotel.



afp Barcelona striker Luis Suarez said he has received professional help after receiving a four-month ban for biting an opponent for the third time in his career when he clashed with Italy's Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup.

afp India's cricket chiefs effectively sidelined head coach Duncan Fletcher for the one-day series against England following their 3-1 defeat in the Tests, placing former all-rounder Ravi Shastri in charge.



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