dailymail.co.uk Bribery and corruption at ''breathtaking levels'' cost Europe's economy 100 billion pounds a year, a major report revealed. Three-quarters of people across the continent felt corruption was widespread in their own country, according to research by the European Commission.


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

bangkokpost.com Phuket airport's auxiliary passenger terminal will start operations tomorrow to relieve overcrowding at Thailand's third-busiest airport. Terminal X was built under an expedited program to offer much-needed extra capacity to cope with rising traffic demand before Phuket's main expansion is completed in May next year.

ctvnews.ca Anti-government protesters in Thailand vowed Monday to stage larger rallies in central Bangkok and push ahead with efforts to nullify an election they disrupted, preventing millions of people from voting. Election results will not be announced until all areas have successfully voted.

dailymail.co.uk Thailand's general election was disrupted by further violent protests in Bangkok over the weekend but the Tourism Authority of Thailand has insisted that the city is still safe for tourists.

cnn.com The troubled election Sunday, which was boycotted by the main opposition party, appears unlikely to resolve Thailand's protracted political crisis, which has fueled bouts of deadly unrest in the Southeast Asian country. The outlook for Thailand appears to be more uncertainty and unrest.

voanews.com Electoral officials in Thailand say they cannot schedule further voting in the nation's tense national election until protests that hampered the polling ends. Unofficial figures indicate about 45 percent of eligible voters participated in Sunday's vote, down from 75 percent in 2011.

businessweek.com Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was under pressure on two fronts just days after the nation's general election, as the main opposition party planned to petition a court to annul the vote and protesters vowed to expand demonstrations to pressure her to quit.

wsj.com If the main opposition party boycotts an election, should this invalidate the result? The answer to this question is critical to Thailand's stability after the Democrat Party refused to participate in Sunday's poll. A judicial coup would reward the Democrats for their misbehavior.

traveldailynews.asia Anti-protesters continue to prohibit public servants to come into their working places. Most of the public servants relocated in temporary offices but work is very slow. Getting a passport, getting a working permit, getting approval for a project are going extremely slow. One question is on all minds . . . For how long?

bangkokpost.com Rice growers blocked highways in Ratchaburi and Phichit provinces to protest against long delays in government payments for their rice. The caretaker government has tried to find ways to pay the debts owed to the farmers as it cannot afford to lose their votes. Rice pledging has raked up a bill of 728 billion baht.

nationmultimedia.com A group of fast-moving protest teams would be dispatched today to lay siege to caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's residence as well as state agencies that remain in operation. People's Democratic Reform Committee secretary general Suthep Thaugsuban said: ''From today, we believe that the government will resort to violence.''

bangkokpost.com Unofficial results show the Pheu Thai Party secured fewer votes than in the last poll. A Pheu Thai source based in the Northeast said what was more worrying was that the votes gained by winning candidates were only slightly higher than the number of ''no'' votes in some provinces.

nationmultimedia.comBangkok had a turnout of only 26.1 percent, compared to 71.6 percent in the previous poll. EC Commissioner Somchai Srisuthiyarkorn said: ''The election cannot be considered a success and voting in more than 10,000 election units, which is more than 10 percent, could not take place.''



hospitality.net Montara Hospitality Group has appointed of veteran hotelier William (Bill) Black as the group's president. Bill Black will be supported by yet another well respected hotel veteran - Anthony Lark, the Group's Vice President for Business Development. An hotelier since a young age in his native Australia, Anthony joined the group in 2000; and co-developed and opened the luxurious Trisara. Trisara will mark its 10th anniversary, and Boathouse on Kata Beach its 25th, with on-site events and activities throughout 2014.

theaustralian.com.au Preliminary investigations are believed to have found that Royal Australian Navy ships have breached Indonesian territorial waters on five occasions because of navigation errors and miscommunication involving both Border Protection Command headquarters in Canberra and the vessels at sea.

telegraph.co.uk The Boston-based engineering firm Spike Aerospace has unveiled plans to develop Spike S-512, a 12-18 seater supersonic private jet designed for commercial use and supposedly capable of flying from New York to London in under four hours - that's about half the time taken by current commercial flights.

theage.com.au AirAsia X's multi-hub strategy is now advancing at such speed that the possibility of head-to-head competition between Jetstar and AirAsiaX is now a certainty - but this time in Bali, which AirAsia X announced last week would become its latest hub by the end of 2014.

nbcchicago.com A castaway who washed up on the Marshall Islands in the Pacific told police that he drifted 6000 miles in a 24-foot boat and survived on fish, birds, turtle and urine for more than a year.



independent.co.uk Chelsea shut out the side who are on course to be the most prolific goalscorers in Premier League history, the first time Manchester City have failed to score in the league since November 2010. In doing so they have posed a question of Manuel Pellegrini's team that has opened a new front in the title race.

dailystar.co.uk Manchester United outcast Anderson has warned of a summer exodus from Old Trafford after claiming several of his team-mates ''want out'' of the troubled club.



Until February 5 Wat Chalong Fair

February 9 Phuket FC v Songkhla Utd, 4pm

February 12-14 Bay Regatta

February 14 Valentines Day

February 14 Makha Bucha Day

February 17 Phuket FC v Surat Thani FC, 4pm

April 11-19 Phuket Bike Week

April 13-16 Songkran New Year Water Festival

March BMW Golf Cup International World Finals 2013 at Blue Canyon Country Club

August 12 Queen's Birthday

September 24-October 2 Vegetarian Festival, Phuket

November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket

December 5 King's Birthday