bbc.co.uk A road tunnel has collapsed in Japan, trapping a number of vehicles, Japanese media reports say. There appeared to be a fire inside. Five people were feared trapped in the tunnel, later reports said.

South Africa is 3/320 and building a match-winning lead in the Test against Australia to determine world's top cricketing nation.


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

bangkokpost.com The string of incidents that have left behind an alarming number of dead and seriously injured visitors to Thailand can only be countered by strict reform of local law enforcement agencies. Thousands of posters have added their own tales of woe and extortion at the hands of Thai police - from Krabi and Phuket to Koh Samui to Bangkok and the far North - or the lack of justice in cases where crimes were committed against them.

asiasentinel.com A Thai member of Cathay Pacific's cabin crew has stirred social media in Thailand when she revealed her extreme dislike of one important Business Class passenger - the daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. She ended upon the front page of several Thai-language newspapers. Comment: Clearly this person is unbalanced and should not be working in a customer contact position.

nationmultimedia.com Police identified as a Hungarian a man whose body was found in a plastic bag at an isolated rubber plantation on Patong Mountain in Phuket. He ran a property business on Samui.

bbc.co.uk A Birmingham kickboxer has been extradited to Thailand where he is wanted by police in connection with a murder in the country two years ago. Thai police named Lee Aldhouse, 29, as the main suspect in the murder of 23-year-old American Dashawn Longfellow.

news.sky.com He was originally detained by officers after flying back to London's Heathrow Airport four days later on a warrant for his recall to prison in Britain.

belfasttelegraph.co.uk Aldhouse, who is trained in Thai kickboxing, is alleged to have attacked Mr Longfellow after a fight in a bar on Phuket.

itv.com The plane landed in Phuket this evening, marking the end of a long legal fight. Aldhouse, from Birmingham, was originally arrested at Heathrow Airport in 2010 after flying out from Thailand shortly after Longfellow was stabbed to death at his Phuket apartment.

cnn.com Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang warned of the grave situation of HIV/AIDS in China, calling it ''not only a medical issue but also a social challenge.''

scmp.com Singapore will deport 29 bus drivers to China and prosecute five others for taking part in the city state's first strike since the 1980s. The order came from the Ministry of Manpower.

aap A 12-year-old boy is feared dead after he was attacked by a crocodile while swimming in Australia's Northern Territory. It is believed the adults who were with the boy tried to save him by spearing the crocodile but it dragged him out to deeper water.

afp North Korea announced it will launch a rocket later this month, triggering condemnation from the US and racking up tensions with South Korea which is just days from a presidential election.

afp Indonesian police in restive Papua detained a Ukrainian tourist attending a prayer session to commemorate the 51st anniversary of the region's movement for independence. Shapirenko, wearing a Bob Marley T-shirt, held his fist in the air and yelled ''Free Papua'' in Indonesian as police officers ushered him into their vehicle.



bbc.co.uk Sometimes, after a sporting result as remarkable as England's 38-21 destruction of world champions New Zealand, you have to fall back on cold, emotionless statistics to make sense of it all. Only once in 498 Tests have New Zealand been beaten by a bigger margin. 498! Running out onto the south-west London turf, the All Blacks were unbeaten in 20 matches stretching back to August 2011.

nzherald.co.nz The All Blacks have taken their 38-21 defeat on the chin, accepting that their 20-game unbeaten streak was brought to an end by an England side that deserved their win.

smh.com.au A late attacking spark, pulled from goodness-knows-where, sent five-eighth Kurtley Beale over the white line with 20 seconds left on the clock, condemning Wales to a dramatic 14-12 defeat to Australia.

guardian.co.uk After the storm came the drought. This was a contest that featured a seven-goal avalanche inside 34 minutes but then fell barren, yet was still unmissable and had Sir Alex Ferguson branding the experience ''agony''. Reading 3-4 Manchester United.

dpa American football linebacker Jovan Belcher of the Kansas City Chiefs committed suicide at the team's facilities after allegedly killing his girlfriend at the couple's home, local media reported.

smh.com.au Formula One driver Mark Webber's adventure marathon has blown up a wildlife storm in Tasmania, where an event helicopter rotor-blasted a nesting colony of threatened fairy terns.

bangkokpost.com Thailand meet defending champions Malaysia and Singapore take on the Philippines in the AFF Suzuki Cup semi-finals. Group A winners Thailand will travel to Group B runners-up in the first leg on December 9 with the return leg at Supachalasai stadium scheduled for December 13.

sail-world.com The annual Phuket King's Cup Regatta runs from December 1-8 in Phuket and once again has attracted one of the most diverse international fleets in the world. One often sees sports events claiming International status beyond reality but now in its 26th year the Phuket King's Cup organisers take so much for granted, the amazing nationality mix of skippers and sailors in the fleet, that it hardly rates a mention.



Until December 8 King's Cup Regatta

December 2 Laguna Phuket Ironman 70.3

December 5 HM The King's Birthday

December 10 Constitution Day

December 15-20 Patong Carnival

December 16-18 Asia Superyacht Rendezvous, Bang Tao beach

December 25 Christmas Day



October 5-13 Phuket Vegetarian Festival



November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket