Bangkok Update Swiss man Hato Mussi, 40, was detained by immigration police in Ayutthaya today. Police believe he was the person last seen with a brutally murdered sex worker from the Nana area whose body was later found in a suitcase.

bangkokpost.com Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) sees a strong rebound in passenger traffic through its airports in the year to September 2015, due mainly to the improved tourism outlook.

news.com.au The Australian dollar has plummeted to fresh four-and-a-half-year lows after the head of the Reserve Bank said he wanted the currency to fall to 75 US cents. [Aussies can afford Phuket when the $A is riding high.]


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 There were no secret CIA jails in Thailand for the torture of suspected terrorists, Prime Minister's Office Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana said.

afp A New Zealand man was detained by police in Burma after accusations he insulted religion by using an image of the Buddha wearing headphones in a promotion for his nightspot.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11372969



nationmultimedia.com Thai fishing operators associations asked the US to remove Thailand from its worst human trafficking watch list. Somsak Thanomworasin, chair of the Employers' Confederation of Thai Trade and Industry, said it was unfair for the US to include Thailand in its Tier 3 human-trafficking watch list because most employers did not treat their workers as the US accused.

AP An international human rights group urged Thailand's government to cancel a plan to encourage freed prisoners to work on fishing vessels, saying the industry abuses its workers.



nationmultimediacom Two Myanmar men charged with murdering two British tourists in Thailand have written to Nobel Peace laureate and Myanmar opposition leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi pleading for help, protesting their innocence and claiming to have been ''scapegoated'' by police.



smh.com.au 'After the Wave' documentary producer Amanda Blue contends that the tsunami has become an overlooked tragedy that, unlike 9/11, hasn't been honored. '''If you're going to talk about Westerners and disguise the fact that there are earthquakes in Pakistan and Haiti, it hasn't (been honored) considering the impact it had, the number of lives that were lost and then doubling that because of the people affected by the losses. I think that's why I feel the passion for documenting it.''

forward.com A senior Thai cabinet minister met Israel's ambassador to Thailand after the diplomat said he was ''saddened'' by a government propaganda film that includes an image of a Thai school child painting a portrait of Adolf Hitler.

csmonitor.com Hong Kong police dismantled tents and protest encampments in the city's downtown, a move that marks the end of more than two months of pro-democracy demonstrations that failed to force the hand of China's rulers in Beijing.

scmp.com The police ended the main sit-in of the Occupy movement in Admiralty with the arrest of 247 people, including politicians, student leaders and a pop star. Traffic through the area resumed.

cnn.com The US Navy says it can now use a laser weapons system that performed flawlessly during tests, shooting down helicopters and drones and sinking small boats.

washingtonpost.com Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff gave a speech at a ceremony marking the release of a report by Brazil's National Truth Commission that examined the human rights abuses that occurred during Brazil's 1964-1985 military rule. During Ms Rousseff's speech, she briefly broke down in tears and received a standing ovation from the crowd. In 1970, she was arrested and held prisoner for three years.

reuters Google said it plans to close its news-linking service in Spain in response to legislation under which publishers will soon be able to force internet sites to pay for re-publishing headlines or snippets of news.



straitstimes.com Singapore appears to be alone in its ban on shisha, the sweet-smelling tobacco product that is smoked socially in several parts of the world.



nst.com.my Malaysia are through to the AFF Cup final after beating Vietnam 4-2 in the semi-final, second leg in Hanoi. Malaysia won 5-4 on aggregate.

bbc.com An unbeaten 104 from Joe Root guided England to a five-wicket victory in the fifth one-day international against Sri Lanka in Pallekele.



December 25 Christmas Day

December 26 10th Anniversary, 2004 Tsunami

December 31 New Year's Eve



February 13-15 Phuket Yacht Show