euronews.com Thailand's new prime minister is the country's coup leader, army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha. The 60-year-old was the only candidate for the post and was appointed on Thursday by a military-dominated national assembly.

bangkokpost.com Eight Australian families and 14 children born from Thai surrogate mothers are in Bangkok waiting for legal procedures to be completed before they can leave the country, a senior diplomatic source told the Bangkok Post.

nytimes.com At least 36 people were killed and seven missing in the Japanese city of Hiroshima after heavy rain caused flash floods and landslides that buried victims alive as they slept in their homes.


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 A German national who owns a bar on Samui was stabbed to death with a broken beer bottle after an argument with three local teenagers. The incident occurred in front of GB Lodge and Bar on Chaweng Beach Road at about 6am after Volker Schwartges, 46, and his Thai girlfriend Jariya Konkote, 39, left the bar and walked to their motorcycle.

forbes.com Our Forbes Travel Guide editors recently ventured to Thailand and found that the reality is far less grim than one might expect for tourists: The nationwide curfew has been lifted and the English-speaking tourist police have about 500 offices throughout the country near major attractions. Despite what you've heard, there's a case to be made for visiting Thailand right now.

Why You Should Visit Thailand Right Now
ASIDE from being less crowded than Phuket, Krabi is a more peaceful spot, thanks to laws that prohibit jet-skis.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestravelguide/2014/08/20/why-you-should-visit-thailand-right-now/

bangkokpost.com A 1400km march for energy reform ended almost before it began when military authorities, citing martial law, halted the trek and detained its 12 core organisers. Worrapon Worrapan, chief-of-staff of the military circle, told the activists instead to convey their position to policymakers on the soon-to-be-established National Reform Council.

dw.de Three months after toppling the civilian government in a coup, Thailand's military junta is attempting to re-shape the country and unite the polarised society. But experts remain skeptical about its success. Junta chief Prayuth is the most promising candidate for the office of prime minister and is expected to be appointed on August 21.

wsj.com Industrial sentiment in Thailand rose for a third straight month in July as the military government's economic plans became more clear.



mmtimes.com A Myanmar man has been admitted to hospital in Yangon for Ebola testing after arriving home from Africa via Bangkok.



bangkokpost.com A Thai Lion Air flight was forced to return to Hat Yai airport for an emergency landing after a 47-year-old Dutch co-pilot lost consciousness 20 minutes after take-off and later died.

washingtonpost.com Editorial: Thailand's despicable trafficking record. Thailand has insisted that it is working hard to curb human trafficking. But the [Trafficking in Persons] report declares that Thailand is not making enough progress toward the minimum standards.

bangkokpost.com The National Police Policy Commission has selected Pol Gen Somyot Pumpunmuang as the new national police chief, impressed by his determination in leading the crackdown on illegal possession of war weapons.

afp A DNA test of the sample sent by a Japanese man embroiled in a surrogacy scandal in Thailand matches the 15 babies reportedly sired by him, police said. But his motives remained a mystery two weeks after the discovery of nine babies in a Bangkok apartment triggered a human trafficking probe.

AP The US launched a new barrage of airstrikes against Islamic State extremists and weighed sending more troops to Iraq as President Barack Obama vowed to be relentless in pursuit of the terrorist group that beheaded an American journalist and is holding other US citizens hostage.

afp The armed wing of Hamas warned foreign airlines against flying into Tel Aviv and declared truce talks in Cairo over as a six-week war with Israel spirals into further bloodshed.

smh.com.au The New York Post has provoked outrage in the US by publishing a graphic front page image of American journalist James Foley about to be executed. The Post, edited by Australian journalist Col Allan, published an image of Foley with a knife held flush against his throat, above the headline 'SAVAGES'.

channelnewsasia.com Thailand's military government is pushing a nationwide crackdown on street vendors in an effort to clean up the country's streets and image. Authorities claim the long standing roadside markets are a threat to public safety but vendors are concerned they will be out of a livelihood.

afp A Ukrainian warplane was blown out of the sky over rebel-held territory as fierce clashes between government troops and pro-Russian insurgents left dozens of civilians dead.

nationmultimedia.com Tourism business in Pattaya is expected to decline this year, with the number of visitors likely to fall by 300,000 to 8.8 million and income predicted to come in at Bt90 billion, down 10 percent.

cnn.com Landslides triggered by heavy rains killed at least 27 people in the western Japanese city of Hiroshima, authorities said.

chroniclelive.co.uk Returning to the UK for a record-breaking 16th season, the Lady Boys of Bangkok have become the country's favorite touring cabaret show bringing their truly unique style of entertainment to eager audiences the length and breadth of Britain.

bangkokpost.com Bangkok office rents reached a new high in the first half of 2014 despite a slowdown in demand, according to JLL, a professional services firm specialising in real estate.

anna.aero Lucky Air has begun thrice-weekly flights on the 1748-kilometre route between Kunming (KMG) and Koh Samui (USM) in Thailand.



itar-tass Malaysia's government has declared a national day of mourning on Friday, August 22, when the first 20 identified bodies from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, downed over Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, will be airlifted from The Netherlands.

cnn.com There are no immediate links between the 19 people arrested on suspicion of planning terror attacks on Malaysia's administrative capital, Putrajaya, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), police said.

straitstimes.com Sleepless in Singapore? Apparently so, according to a study released recently. Singapore is among the cities in the world with the least hours of sleep, clocking an average of 6 hours and 32 minutes a day. Who sleeps the most? People in Melbourne, with an average of 7 hours and 5 minutes per night.



afp Manchester United completed the 20 million euro signing of Argentina World Cup defender Marcos Rojo from Sporting Lisbon with Old Trafford boss Louis van Gaal hailing the 24-year-old as a ''gifted'' player.



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