reuters The strongest typhoon in the world this year and possibly the most powerful ever to hit land battered the Philippines' central islands on Friday, forcing millions of people to flee to safer ground or take refuge in storm shelters.

smh.com.au A mid-ocean stand-off between Australian and Indonesia over a boat load of asylum seekers continues as Indonesian authorities confirm they are unwilling to accept the 56 refugees back.


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

nationmultimedia.com The embattled Pheu Thai government yielded to spreading public outrage over the bill for blanket amnesty by withdrawing all draft amnesty bills except the one to be debated by the Senate today. A source from a group of 40 senators said that they would not attend the meeting to deprive it of a quorum.

bangkokpost.com Thaksin needs to accept that his insistence on amnesty and his ego are destroying the country and he can never return, says columnist Voranai.

bloomberg Like many loving siblings, Yingluck looks out for her kin. Recently she tried to ram a get-out-of-jail-free card for Thaksin and other politicians through the parliament - as big a political blunder as Asia has seen in years. But anyone who thinks that's the end of Thailand's Thaksin nightmare is wrong.

nationmultimedia.com Spurred by Thailand's bright tourism outlook, Montara Hospitality Group, the operator of the Trisara luxury resort chain, plans to spend about 2.4 billion baht to construct four new properties over the next three years. The firm owns and manages the Trisara Resort and the Boathouse on Phuket.

aap More than 50 massage parlors on Australia's Gold Coast have been raided as part of the crackdown on criminal bikie gangs. It's unclear if a particular bikie group, if any, is controlling the parlors but police believe the Bandidos could be capitalising on their strong links to Thailand and Asia.

Phuket Update Thieves escaped with about 1.6 million baht after using a blowtorch on a Siam Commercial Bank ATM at the entrance to the Boat Lagoon in Phuket City. The heist was not discovered until 11am, although a bank security camera ceased operating about 2am.

bbc.co.uk Shares in the micro-blogging site Twitter closed at $44.90, up more than 73 percent from their initial price of $26 each. That means after its first day as a public company, Twitter is now valued at a little over $31 billion.

bangkokpost.com After using ATMs on Witthayu Road in Bangkok, 43 people complained that money had been siphoned from their bank accounts, and police investigations revealed the stolen money had been withdrawn from machines in the Ukraine.

bbc.co.uk Authorities in the Philippines are bracing for the arrival of Typhoon Haiyan, which is expected to strike on Friday.

ttrweekly.com PM Yingluck Shinawatra visited six injured people being treated at Pattaya Memorial Hospital following the sinking of a ferry that killed two Poles, a Russian, a man from Hong Kong and three Thais. Two Chinese tourists were killed on August 28 when a speedboat they were travelling in crashed into an anchored long-tail boat at the Bali Hai Pier.

watoday.com.au A mid-ocean stand-off between Australia and Indonesia appeared to be developing as a customs vessel tried to return a boatload of rescued asylum seekers to a reluctant Indonesia. Up to 56 asylum seekers were rescued from their wooden boat in Indonesia's search and rescue zone by an Australian ship on Thursday and, rather than taking them to Christmas Island, it is seeking to return them to Indonesia.

prweb.com AirAsia will increase flights between Bangkok and Krabi to eight daily with effect from November 25. Operating times at Krabi Airport have been extended to 24 hours in the hope that this will ease congestion at Phuket Airport.

InternationalLiving.com recommends Phuket.''Nothing quite prepares you for the beauty of Phuket, especially when approaching the region by air . . . the sparkling, turquoise waters and jungle-topped mountains, the rocky outcrops and white-sand beaches,'' writes Heather Van Deest.



telegraph.co.uk The 21-year-old Argentinian Erik Lamela had his best night yet in a Tottenham shirt, scoring one goal and creating another as Tottenham surged into the last-32 of Europe's most protracted club competition with a 2-1 victory over Sheriff Tiraspol.

telegraph.co.uk No milestone in the safer sports of football, cricket, tennis or golf could exceed the splendor of Tony McCoy's 4000 winners over jumps. Uninsurable, the great AP is also unsurpassable.



On November 24 the Camillian Social Center in Phang Nga, north of Phuket, will be holding a 30-kilometre charity bicycle ride. Team, family and individual entries are invited. The centre, supported by the Sarojin Khao Lak Community Fund, provides day care, education, food and physiotherapy for disabled children in the region. Start: 8.15am. Contact Khun Somchai at somchaismilelove@gmail.com

On November 22 the American Chamber of Commerce Thailand will hold a real estate seminar at the Angsana Laguna Phuket. Topics include the trend in leasehold ownership, regulating real estate agencies and current island property trends.
The event is public and ideal for for professionals, those working in real estate related businesses and anyone thinking of investing in real estate in Thailand. From 4.30pm to 6.30pm. Admission is 100 baht which includes one free drink.

November 8-9 Islamic New year celebrations, opposite Phuket Provincial Hall

November 8 IBAP networking, Urban Food, Central Festival

November 8-9 BIS schools football tournament

November 17 Loy Kratong Day

November 22 Amcham real estate seminar, 4.30pm Angsana Resort

November 24 Camillian day care 30k charity bicycle ride, Phang Nga. 8.15am.

November 24-December 1 Challenge Laguna Phuket Tri-Fest. Laguna Phuket

November 26 Phuket's honorary consuls meet with officials

November 28 French Fair, Jungceylon

December 5 HM The King's birthday

December 26 Commemoration of 2004 Asian Tsunami



January 9-12 Phuket International Boat Show, Royal Phuket Marina

September 24-October 2 Vegetarian Festival, Phuket

November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket