A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective and reports from national and international media.

afp Somali pirates have hijacked a small sailing yacht with two foreigners on board, most likely a British couple reported missing since leaving the Seychelles last week. The hijacked yacht was heading back to the pirate lair of Harardhere in central Somalia, but the pirates from there could not formally identify the two hostages.

scmp.com Some 40 countries, including China, have sent warships to an international armada patrolling vital sea lanes around the Horn of Africa and into the Gulf of Aden - waters that link Asia to Europe and carry much of the oil used by China and Japan. Yet figures show pirate incidents have risen steadily from 35 in 2007 and 111 in 2008 to 178 so far this year.

scmp.com Secret negotiations have begun on freeing the 25 mainland crew hijacked aboard a Chinese bulk carrier off Somalia last week amid promises from the pirates that the hostages and the ship would be kept safe. Roger Middleton, a specialist in Somali piracy at the independent London think tank Chatham House, said negotiations typically started at about $10 million for the safe release of a crew and ship, but the settlement reached was more likely to be between $1 million and $2 million.

cnn.com The US Federal Aviation Administration has revoked the licenses of the two Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot a Minnesota airport during a 78-minute period of radio silence last week. ''The pilots were out of contact with air traffic controllers for an extended period of time and told federal investigators that they were distracted by a conversation,'' the FAA said.

Associated Press Nissan, Japan's third-largest automaker, plans to launch a new small car platform, dubbed 'V' for versatility, beginning in Thailand in March, then in India and China. Massive global sales and cheap, globally integrated manufacturing are crucial to profitability.The factory outside Bangkok will export cars across Asia, including Japan.

afp An Indonesian provincial governor has refused to allow an Australian customs vessel to unload 78 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers, saying Indonesia is not a ''dumping ground'' for refugees. Indonesia agreed to take the Sri Lankans on humanitarian grounds after their boat ran into trouble off Sumatra island last week en route to Australia.

abc.net.au An Australian film-maker Jessie Taylor who visited several Indonesian detention centres has told ABC's Lateline program that conditions in some of these centres are akin to ''third world jails''. Ms Taylor visited 11 camps and says she saw people with rampant skin diseases and infections caused by poor conditions.

The Nation PM Abhisit Vejjajiva has cautiously acknowledged the suggestion by his Malaysian counterpart, Najib Raza, that the Malay-speaking region in the deep South be granted some form of autonomy as part of a strategy to bring an end to the ongoing violence.Khun Abhisit said the policy of the Thai government was more or less in line with the need to acknowledge the special needs of the Malay-speaking region, where nearly 4000 people have been killed since January 2004.

straitstimes.com In a sure sign that the economic storm is abating, visitor arrivals in Singapore hit 799,000 in September, representing a 7.1 percent increase over the corresponding month last year. This is the first growth since visitor arrivals began to dip 15 months ago. Two-thirds of Singapore's leading 15 visitor-generating markets saw growth.

smh.com.au A Sydney man is suing British Airways for up to A$600,000 after he was forced to endure a long-haul flight from London to Shanghai in a broken seat, a court has heard. Richard John Pattison, 64, sustained an injury to his neck after he had to remain upright for the entire 12-hour flight when his seat would not recline past its ''take-off'' position.

jpost.com (jerusalem post) Agricultural workers are the most exploited employees in Israel, according to a report by the Kav LaOved-Worker's Hotline. Paychecks are withheld for months at a time. Most of the 30,000 agricultural foreign workers come from Thailand and had to pay brokers in Israel and Thailand between $8000 and $10,000 for visas.

Associated Press A new footbridge across a Malaysian river collapsed while schoolchildren jumped on it during a camping trip, killing one girl and leaving two missing and feared drowned in the currents below. At least 20 students were walking on the 50-meter bridge when it collapsed, but most managed to cling to it or were pulled to safety by their teachers.

etravelblackboard.com All eyes were on the youth and student travel market at ITB-Asia last week, as governments throughout the region unveiled new campaigns to attract this niche sector. In Thailand, a coming Government campaign will promote Thailand as a regional hub for international education by focusing on attracting foreign students.

easier.com Thailand, the go-to destination for gap-year travellers, is predicted to see a boom in popularity as a family holiday hot-spot. With food and drink prices considerably lower than Europe, warm weather and a number of family friendly resorts, Thailand is expected to be a real hit as the UK winter draws in.

world-first.co.uk According to a recent survey by Flight Centre, Dubai is the top destination for winter sun, followed by Thailand, Egypt, Antigua and Australia.

afp The European Commission told British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia that they may have to give up take-off and landing slots to press ahead with a trans-Atlantic tie-up, the Financial Times reported. The EC said an agreement between the three groups was "''ikely to result in appreciable competitive harm'' on seven Europe-US trans-Atlantic routes.

nytimes.com Most of Indonesia still lives up to its reputation for a moderate, easygoing brand of Islam, and Islamist parties suffered heavy losses in this year's national elections. But how the province of Aceh went from basic Islamic law to endorsing stoning in a few short years shows how a small, radical minority has successfully pushed its agenda, locally and nationally, by cowing political and religious moderates. Though extreme, Aceh is not an isolated case.

washingtonpost.com U.S. newspaper circulation has hit its lowest level in seven decades as papers across the country lost 10.6 percent of their paying readers from April through September. Only 13 percent of Americans, or about 39 million, now buy a daily newspaper, down from 31 percent in 1940.

theatlantic.com Megan McArdle writes: I think we're witnessing the end of the newspaper business, full stop, not the end of the newspaper business as we know it. There just aren't enough customers who are willing to pay for their product what it costs to produce it.

reuters.com Airports of Thailand , the country's main airport operator, says investments over the next five years should cost less than a projected 80 billion baht because of a decline in construction costs. AOT planned to spend 5.8 billion baht to expand capacity at Phuket airport to serve up to 12 million passengers a year versus six million now. Another six billion baht would be spent to expand Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport to serve 65 million passengers a year, up from 45 million.

afp There are about 50,000 to 60,000 orangutans left in the wild, 80 percent of them in Indonesia and the rest in Malaysia's Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak. But the UN Environment Program warned the charismatic red-haired apes will be virtually eliminated in the wild within two decades if current deforestation trends continue. Stung by criticism, Malaysian palm oil industry officials pledged at a recent conference to fund the establishment of wildlife corridors.

abcnews.go.com Police have arrested six people, mostly teens, on suspicion of breaking into the homes of Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, Lindsay Lohan and other Hollywood figures to satisfy a celebrity obsession and steal from them. ''They were rabid consumers of everything celebrity,'' Los Angeles police officer Brett Goodkin told Reuters.

asia.cnet.com Attesting to how social media can be effectively tapped for the tourism industry, the Ultimate Thailand Explorers competition sees Internet-savvy travelers vying for the chance to explore five top destinations: Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, and Samui. Making it to the semifinals for Samui are Filipino newlyweds Michael Paul and Jennifer of Zamboanga City, Philippines. You can vote for Michael Paul and Jennifer after registering at the Ultimate Thailand Explorers site.

latimes GeoCities will probably go down with a whimper. Time is up for Yahoo's scheduled closing of perhaps the most significant virtual museum in recent history. Years ago a central meeting place for a massive chunk of American Web surfers, GeoCities will lock its doors and take millions of pages offline. It was perhaps the first mainstream example of an open, participatory and personal Internet.

Phuket Update Laguna Phuket has announced a Kids Splash 'n' Dash for children aged between 8 and 17 years on Saturday, December 5. The race will be held in a swim and run format with a swim in the lagoon and a run in the Elephant Park and through Canal Village. The finish line will be the same as used in the Laguna Triathlon the following day.