sail-world.com It was nothing short of great racing in the final day of the 24th Phuket King's Cup as the breeze did all that was predicted and more. The stars of the series were Evolution Racing, Ichi Ban Team Sea Bees, Baby Tonga, Sarawadee, Dondang Sayang, Aida, Souay 1, Voodoo and Miss Saigon.


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

NETHERLANDS Ambassador Tjaco van den Hout, who opened the Dutch Consulate on Phuket and hosted a celebration at a new five-star Phuket resort earlier this month, has resigned amid a scandal over fraud involving passport applications and naturalisation requests.

Radio Netherlands said that a Dutch Foreign Ministry investigation into a whistelblower's report revealed that part of the report was incorrect, but a spokesperson said that "unacceptable incidents did occur," prompting the ministry to take "appropriate action." Earlier this year, the embassy became involved in a scandal when Dutch daily De Telegraaf revealed that a Thai accountant had embezzled 300,000 euros of Dutch government funds. The foreign ministry report says the ambassador should have taken action immediately but failed to do so. An embassy official was found to have passed on information to Thai criminals. Mr Van den Hout is blamed for failing to take timely action against the official.

bangkokpost.com Thailand's Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation has agreed to recommend to Cabinet that it lift the emergency decree in Bangkok and three surrounding provinces. The CRES now believes the political situation has returned to normal.

reuters.com Thailand's Constitutional Court dismissed a second charge of illegal funding against the ruling Democrat Party, removing the threat that PM Abhisit Vejjajiva might have to step down. Thailand's oldest party was let off the hook because the Election Commission president did not follow correct procedures in filing the case, stemming from allegations the party received an illegal donation ahead of a 2005 election.

bloomberg.com Prince Charles's car was attacked in central London amid student protests after PM David Cameron's government won a parliamentary vote to allow universities to triple tuition fees. The heir to the British throne and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, who were both in the car, were unharmed.

bangkokpost.com After a turbulent two years with losses totalling a billion baht, Bangkok Airways will see a turnaround on this year's balance sheet with an expected net profit of 700 million baht. With tourism rebounding on the domestic and global economic recovery, Thailand's oldest private airline forecasts revenue will rise by 16.2 percent this year to 8.27 billion baht, up from 7.12 billion baht last year.

news.com.au A global investigation has uncovered three more faulty Rolls-Royce engines on A380 super jumbos - one of them on a brand new jet that has yet to be delivered to Qantas. The second was reportedly on a new plane used by German carrier Lufthansa and the third is believed to have been on a Singapore Airlines jet.

scmp.com Police rounded up more than 100 women believed to be working as prostitutes at the Venetian Macau resort hotel in a raid that coincided with a visit to the city by its American billionaire owner Sheldon Adelson.

guardian.co.uk China, in spite of its closeness to the Burmese dictatorship, shares the same concerns as the US about the country's instability and is keen to work with Washington in promoting change, according to American diplomats. The Chinese stance on Burma echoes that towards North Korea revealed in other WikiLeaks cables: publicly supportive while privately despairing.

Los Angeles Times An adult film performer who tested HIV-positive has called for mandatory condom use in pornography productions, improved testing for sexually transmitted disease and follow-up care for performers. Speaking publicly for the first time since his test sent a wave of fear over California's adult film industry, Derrick Burts, 24, warned of the risks of working in it. He said that in the months before he tested positive for HIV, he had also contracted chlamydia, gonorrhea and herpes.

aviationrecord.com Air travellers are the winners from an initiative by the United Arab Emirates, Dubai and Emirates Airline to secure more than 60 open or highly liberal aviation agreements with other countries. The 60th and 61st agreements - with Brazil and Panama - are the latest negotiations in 2010 that allow carriers of each partner country to offer largely open services between each market.

ft.com Safe and secure, with one of the lowest crime rates in the world, Singapore also boasts the second highest living standards in Asia, with gross domestic product per head of $38,972 in 2008 - just behind Britain - according to the International Monetary Fund.



Until December 11 Phuket King's Cup Regatta
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


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