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

guardian.co.uk An investigation into accusations of child molestation by one of the world's leading classical musicians, Mikhail Pletnev, has been formally dropped without charges being pressed, the Russian National Orchestra has confirmed. The RNO is on a European tour and Pletnev conducts the orchestra on Wednesday in its home town of Moscow.

ruvr.ru The Russian embassy in Thailand has so far not been officially notified of the termination of Russian musician Mikhail Pletnev's case. Thai media circulated reports that the Pattaya City Court had closed the criminal case of the Russian for molesting a minor.

Phuket Update Burglars who pulled the fourth raid in two months on the premises of a Phuket concrete company made off early Saturday with security cameras worth 35,000 baht that were about to be installed. The audacious thieves paused to smoke cigarettes on the inside, but police did not dust for fingerprints. ''From what I know and hear, burglaries are rife on Phuket,'' said the concrete firm's frustrated expat chief.

bangkokpost.com Sombat Boonngamanong, the leader of the red shirt Red Sunday group, has postponed his controversial mobile political talk show until Monday.

bleacherreport.com Roger Burden, the acting FA chairman, has quit and England have formally called off their friendly against Thailand as the fall-out from the Fifa World Cup voting scandal continues.

dailymail.co.uk And so Fifa, a virtual mafia organisation, has handed the 2018 World Cup to Russia, a virtual mafia state. Why did anybody think it would turn out any differently? This is how mafias operate. There are secret rituals, complicated rules and tangled webs of family loyalty, but nobody talks and in the end it is always, always, about the money.

thephuketinsider.com International chain Wyndham are set to open a 234 key beach resort in Khao Lak, north of Phuket, next August. The group which includes brands Ramada and Days Inn are close to announcing three new properties on Phuket.

telegraph.co.uk The Spanish government declared a State of Alert following a walkout by air traffic controllers, which left at least 20,000 Britons stranded. Hundreds of thousands of other passengers were also left stranded by the walkout, which came during one of Spain's busiest weekends for travel.

news.sky.com Workers returned to their shifts after being threatened with jail terms but officials say it could take up to 48 hours before flights return to normal.

bangkokpost.com PTT, Thailand's largest oil and gas conglomerate, urged the government to use some of the country's large international reserves to buy foreign oil to bolster Thailand's energy security.

scmp.com Pilots should be drafted in to help an investigation into why a Finnair passenger jet with 260 passengers on board tried to take off from a taxiway instead of a runway at Hong Kong International Airport, a pilots' professional body urged.

afp At least 60 people have died across Europe during the current cold snap, and serious flooding has prompted mass evacuations in the Balkans. London's Gatwick airport reopened on Friday after a two-day shutdown due to snow, but others including London Heathrow and Glasgow Airport warned of more cancellations and delays.

smh.com.au As the net closes around WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the notorious whistleblower has accused Prime Minister Julia Gillard of betraying him as an Australian citizen in her eagerness to help the US attack him: ''Are we all to be treated like [former Guantanamo prisoner] David Hicks at the first possible opportunity merely so that Australian politicians and diplomats can be invited to the best US embassy cocktail parties?''

cnn.com A court in Pakistan rejected a citizen's petition seeking a ban on the WikiLeaks website, a Pakistani government official told CNN. "Information should not be hidden, especially in the 21st century," the judge said. "One should bear the truth, no matter how harmful it is."

bombaynews.net Goa is no longer a favored tourist destination for Germans because it is ''expensive and dirty,'' the Indo-German Friendship Society Goa said. At a press conference to announce a week-long celebration to mark the arrival of the first German hippies to Goa 60 years ago, society president Aurobindo Xavier said: ''A lot of German tourists, who have come to Goa in the past, say that it is now time to bid Goa goodbye.'' Goa has not dealt well with waste disposal.

indiablooms.com Heaps of garbage, vociferous ambiance, sex and drugs in Goa are becoming a major concern among German visitors, Mr Xavier said. The IGFS website, which is entirely in German language, has its motto as ''good-bye Goa'' for the very reason that the internationally acclaimed tourist destination is covered with several unwanted happenings.

property-report.com Phuket is a boy band. A few years ago it was top of the charts for property sales and holidays but then an assortment of events meant that Phuket fell off the charts. Almost like Robbie leaving Take That, Phuket since 2009 has not quite been the same.

bbc.co.uk The UN envoy to Burma has said it is clear that political change is taking place in the country, despite UN criticism of last month's election. Vijay Nambiar told the BBC that parliamentary by-elections could now open up "opportunities" for broadening the political spectrum.

channelnewsasia.com Collecting 200 donated bras in Singapore on Saturday, Nicole Yee, Founder of CozyCot, said: "There are many disadvantaged teens from countries like Bali and Cambodia, they live in very poor conditions and are badly in need of basic necessities which we, in Singapore, often take for granted. Giving a bra costs us nothing, but means a world of difference to another woman."

nytimes.com While smartphone sales in the US continue to skyrocket, unit sales of point-and-shoot cameras fell nearly 16 percent from 2008, according to the market research firm NPD Group. Even some professionals are advocates of picture-taking with smartphones.

thestar.com Christianity is arguably the most persecuted religion in the world. given Christianity's well-documented history of brutality, modern-day elites are more conditioned to think of Christian believers as the persecutors, not the victims, says Michael Horowitz, a US Jewish activist.

wsj.com Egged on by the popularity of South Korean singers and actors in recent years, Asian broadcasters are more comfortable using their neighbors' TV dramas or music instead of American fare. Some analysts figure the success of the Asian programs is the latest sign of Asia's rising confidence.



sail-world.com A last minute drama for Storm 2's Don Algie has put the pressure on his team to be ready in time for King's Cup racing on Monday. ''There wasn't anyone on board the boat. Accidentally an electric winch went off and it broke the front of the boom. It's been in the carbon shop for the last three or four days,'' Algie said. All going well, the boom should be fixed in time.

Until December 11 Phuket King's Cup Regatta
December 5-6 Long weekend King's Birthday holiday
December 5 Laguna Ironman 70.3 title
Until December 5 North Phuket Culinary Arts Festival, Mai Khao resorts
December 15-20 Patong Carnival
December 16-18 2010 Asia Superyacht Rendezvous
December 17-19 Phuket Street Show Festival, Old Phuket Town
December 17 US Consular outreach service on Phuket
December 30-January 9 Phuket Red Cross fair, Saphan Hin park, Phuket City
2011
January 6-9 PIMEX boat show, Royal Phuket Marina
January 22 QSI International fun run day at Bang Wad Dam, Kathu
January 23 The Great Phuket Rubber Duck Race Day, Laguna Phuket
February 9-13 The Bay Regatta - Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi