nationmultimedia.com More than 600 of Thailand's Thammasat University lecturers, officials and students have officially declared their opposition to the amnesty bill and called on the Senate to reject it.


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

Phuket Update Governor Maitree Intrusud indulged in the new Phuket activity of crocodile spotting yesterday on the coast around Mai Khao but a croc, spotted the previous day, remained out of sight.

nationmultimedia.com Opposition to the controversial amnesty bill spread across Thailand as a diverse group of people and organisations joined a nationwide campaign against a bill that would absolve all law violators involved in political conflicts since 2004. That would include politicians convicted of corruption and serious criminal offences.

bloomberg Thailand's top-performing equity fund manager has reduced holdings of domestic shares on expectations that protests against the government's amnesty bill will spur prolonged political conflict and curb economic growth.

nytimes.com The Thai government is facing growing anger among its own supporters as well as protests by an emboldened opposition over a far-reaching amnesty bill that could allow former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to return home by wiping clean corruption cases against him. The bill appears to have damaged Thaksin's still formidable political machinery. Nuttawut Saikua, a Red Shirt leader and a member of parliament from Thaksin's party, said sentiment among Thaksin supporters was ''cracking into pieces.''

bangkokpost.comYutthachai Charanachitt, president of Italthai Group, which owns the Onyx hospitality chain, said the political crisis in Thailand will affect high-end tourists the most because they are sensitive. Japanese and Chinese tourists usually visit at this time.

nationmultimedia.com With tears in her eyes, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra called on all sides in the political conflicts to forgive and forget and have compassion toward one another: ''The first thing to be done is to forgive one another so we can move forward,'' As a sign of concern on political protests, the Stock Exchange of Thailand witnessed a 2.85-percent plunge.

bangkokpost.com The failure of three private-sector business organisations to reach a consensus on whether to protest against the amnesty bill took the Anti-corruption Organisation of Thailand by surprise. The Senate is likely to reject the controversial blanket amnesty bill when it reaches the Upper House next week.

nationmultimedia.com Many business organisations, as well as groups of academics, university students, social workers, medical professionals and lawyers expressed their opposition by issuing separate statements against the proposed law for blanket amnesty.

cnn.com Six people died after the tourist ferry they were traveling on capsized near a Thai beach resort, authorities said.

scmp.com The captain of a ferry that capsized about 1.5 kilometres from the tourist resort of Pattaya on Sunday evening has turned himself in, telling police he was high on drugs while on duty. Six people died, including one from Hong Kong.

bbc.co.uk A man wielding a knife hijacked a bus in western Norway and killed three people on board, police say. The suspect, in his 50s and of foreign origin, has been arrested, police told the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.

smh.com.au Former News International CEO Rebekah Brooks led a conspiracy involving her husband and code words to hide notebooks and computers from police. Brooks, her husband Charlie, her former PA Cheryl Carter and News International security chief Mark Hanna are charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

abc.net.au More than 150 Australian websites have been hacked in protest of Australia's reported involvement in spying on Indonesia.

AP Several thousand Russian nationalists rallied in Moscow, venting against the migrants they accuse of pushing up the crime rate and taking their jobs. The protest took place on Unity Day, a national holiday established in 2005 to replace commemorations of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Long-haul low-cost flying into and out of will start to gear up early next year when AirAsia X, which currently serves the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur twice daily from Melbourne and 12 times a week from Sydney, starts flying non-stop to Bangkok, Thailand. That could set up a fascinating battle for hearts and minds. Until now, Jetstar and AirAsia X have avoided direct competition with each other like the plague.

dailymail.co.uk Money, work, illness and children - the list of things that can cause stress is endless. Now research shows one in ten Britons are so stressed they are close to breaking point. The study, 10,000 people, found that 44 percent are stressed - and that 27 per cent of these people believe they are often close to breaking point.



afp Kenyans Geoffrey Mutai and Priscah Jeptoo won New York Marathon titles on Sunday as elite runners returned to the Big Apple a year after Hurricane Sandy forced the cancellation of the race and seven months after the Boston Marathon bombings. Mutai, who also won the 2011 New York crown, won the men's race in an official time of 2hrs 8mins, 24secs, 52 seconds.



THE BIS Phuket International 7-1-side Football Tournament kicks off November 8-9. The tournament attracts huge interest from international schools around Asia - this year, the 12th year the event has run, yet again will be the biggest ever tournament with approximately 1000 children participating.
Each team will have accompanying coaches, teachers and parent supporters. Last year saw 88 football teams registered, representing 25 premium international schools from Bangkok, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Korea. The tournament has an exciting and vibrant fair-like atmosphere.

November 5 Melbourne Cup Day

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 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