Updating All Day, Every Day
theguardian.com Thomas Duncan, the first person to die of Ebola in the US, was released from hospital with a 103F fever on his first visit, despite telling a nurse he had recently travelled from Africa and exhibiting key symptoms of the deadly virus, it was revealed.
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
thediplomat.com Tourist operators worry that Thailand's ongoing political problems, the recent military coup, a perceived rise of violence against foreigners and the alleged unwillingness of authorities to conduct transparent investigations will affect tourism in Thailand, one of the economic cornerstones that accounts for more than 10 percent of the GDP.
nationmultimedia.com The Department of Tourism believes arrivals are picking up in time for the high season, judging by the influx from mainland China during its National Day holiday period. The number of Chinese visitors via chartered flights to Don Muang International Airport has risen by 42 percent, 91 percent at Chiang Mai Airport, 3 percent at Suvarnabhumi Airport and 6 percent at Phuket Airport.
voanews.com Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has made his first visit to a foreign country since taking control. But his first official visit to Myanmar, also known as Burma, is overshadowed by a murder case that appears to be complicating bilateral relations.
Tourists' Murder on Koh Tao
independent.co.uk A white horse-drawn hearse with a mounted police escort took Hannah Witheridge's body from her family home in Hemsby, Norfolk, to the village's St Mary The Virgin church. Scores of people, many in tears, arrived for the funeral service, billed as ''Hannah's Party.''
news.sky.com Hannah's parents were determined that it would be a ''party'' to celebrate her life and songs were performed including Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Little Things by One Direction and She's So Lovely by Scouting For Girls.
theguardian.com Thailand's prime minister has defended the police investigation into the murder of two British tourists last month, saying the UK and other nations should ''understand'' that the correct culprits had been caught.
time.com ''The two victims and their families deserve justice, which will only be possible if there is a fair and transparent process,'' says Kingsley Abbott, Bangkok-based adviser for the International Commission of Jurists. Above all, he adds, ''the burden of proof rests on the prosecution,'' as the ''two men must be presumed innocent until proven guilty.''
Latest on the Ebola Outbreak
dailymail.co.uk Fears are growing that the deadly Ebola virus has hit a new continent as a man in Brazil undergoes tests for the infection. If the Brazilian case is confirmed, it would mean the disease has spread to South America for the first time.
Phuket World of People
bangkokpost.com Samui's mayor and tourism operators are welcoming moves by the government to press ahead with a bill that will give the Surat Thani island ''special town'' status, similar to Pattaya. Mayor Ramnet Jaikwang said he backed efforts to give the island special local administration status, which he said would help locals.
turkishweekly.net Dozens of men from Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority have been arrested and tortured because of alleged ties to a militant Islamic 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.
nationmultimedia.com The Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) may seize the assets of two private companies involved in the construction of futsal fields at 101 schools in the Northeast, Central and Northern regions of Thailand that show premature degradation.
reuters Thousands of people ''will most likely be massacred'' if Kobane falls to Islamic State fighters, a UN envoy said, as militants fought deeper into the besieged Syrian Kurdish town in full view of Turkish tanks that have done nothing to intervene.
bangkokpost.com Airlines have gained altitude in terms of profitability, with post-tax earnings more than doubling in the second quarter. A total of 66 carriers surveyed by the International Air Transport Association showed a 137 percent surge in net profit to US$5.29 billion from $2.23 billion in the same period last year.
bbc.comPakistani child education activist Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian child rights campaigner, have jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize. At the age of just 17, Malala is the youngest ever recipient of the prize.
voanews.com Hong Kong's two-week-old democracy protests swelled after the government called off talks with protest leaders and thousands joined what had been a dwindling occupation of a central city district.
scmp.com Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou issued a rare direct call to Beijing to introduce democracy, saying the prosperity on the mainland made it the right time for it to do so.
standard.co.uk The Queen has honored Angelina Jolie with an honorary damehood for her work campaigning against sexual violence. The Hollywood star visited Buckingham Palace to receive the title after she was recognised in the Diplomatic Service and Overseas Birthday 2014 Honors list for services to UK foreign policy and the campaign to end war-zone sexual violence.
Around the Asean Region
nytimes.com A senior Dutch government official's disclosure that one victim of the Malaysia Airlines plane crash in eastern Ukraine had been found wearing an oxygen mask led to dismay among investigators and outrage among victims' relatives.
news.com.au Several Australian couples have been left thousands out of pocket after a company offering destination weddings to Bali went bust.
inquisitr.com in Indonesia, residents have been battling the volcano eruption there since October 5. The Mount Sinabung volcano eruption has been spewing ash and molten lava. The volcano eruption has forced several residents to flee their homes as hundreds of thousands of people take shelter in a near by evacuation center.
Phuket World of Sport
stuff.co.nz The All Whites will make their third trip to Asia this year with matches confirmed against China and Thailand for the upcoming November FIFA international window.
bloomberg A soccer match between Belarus and Ukraine turned into a display of solidarity against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Fans sang an obscene song against Putin and shouted ''forever together'' at a Euro 2016 qualification match in Borisov, Belarus, attended by 11,000 people.
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
