guardian.co.uk General Norman Schwarzkopf, who commanded allied forces in the first Gulf war, has died at the age of 78 in Tampa, Florida.

ft.com Former TV star and alleged pedophile Jimmy Savile was a frequent visitor to and correspondent with Margaret Thatcher during her time as Prime Minister, files released under the 30-year rule show.

AUSTRALIA won the series 2-0 over Sri Lanka when the Lankans could only manage a second innings 7/103, the end because players were absent, hurt.


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

bangkokpost.com Tourist arrivals are expected to see double-digit growth next year should the government effectively implement tourism promotion and development plans, says the Tourism Council of Thailand. The number of arrivals from China is expected to top 2.5 million by year-end, up by 50 percent.

bangkokpost.com Police arrested a 42-year-old man on charges of raping a German tourist in his liquor shop in Klaeng district of Rayong on Christmas night. According to witnesses the suspect had a habit of inviting foreign woman tourists to visit local attractions on his motorcycle sidecar. He then invited them to drink lao khao with him at his shop.

bbc.co.uk Leaders of Thailand's ''yellow-shirt'' protest group have been charged with offences allegedly committed during a 2008 anti-government rally. They could face up to 12 years in jail if convicted of invading a government building and blocking parliament.

nationmultimedia.com Loosely formed in 2010, the Anti-Corruption Network this year has become a key organisation that has shed unprecedented light on corruption in the country. The network has been successful in sparking hope, and its real and daring actions earn all the members our vote as ''Person of the Year''.

theage.com.au Phil Asker, the managing director of The Captain's Choice Tour, said Burma was the destination of the moment.

theage.com.au Lonely Planet's popular online travel forum, Thorn Tree, has been temporarily shut down by owner BBC, reportedly after the discovery of pedophilia-related posts. The founder of Lonely Planet, Tony Wheeler, who no longer owns the publisher but contributes to it, was amazed the forum was still offline four days after the shutdown and criticised the BBC for not offering a more detailed explanation. source said other posts the BBC executives found objectionable were related to child prostitution in Thailand.

dailyrecord.co.uk Australian advertising executive Anna Bartsch, 31, and her boyfriend Stuart Benson, 32, were among the 71 people on board the Air Bagan flight from Yangon via Mandalay to Heho airport that crashed, killing two, on Christmas Day: ''We didn't know anything was wrong until the first impact. We felt the first bump, then a few big bumps and then started sliding very fast. When we stopped we thought we were very, very lucky.''

news.yahoo.com Indonesia has announced plans to resume executing convicted criminals next year. This year 133 people have been sentenced to death in Indonesia, but delays meant none were executed.

pattayapeople.com A meeting took place at Pattaya City Hall to discuss problems and complaints about illegal taxis operating in the city. Problems have escalated with many complaints.

dailymail.co.uk Reports of crimes involving Facebook and Twitter - such as posting abusive messages, grooming and complaints of stalking - have increased eight-fold in Britain in four years.

scmp.com Doctors in Singapore battled to save the life of an Indian student who sustained horrific injuries in a gang-rape after she was airlifted from New Delhi.

AP Flooding sparked by heavy seasonal rains has killed two people and forced nearly 16,000 to flee their homes on Malaysia's east coast.

property-report.com Despite a global financial crisis four years ago that postponed many property development projects, CBRE Thailand has reported that the real estate market in Phuket is once again ready for another phase of positive development.

cjr.org The 309 employees of 'Financial Times Deutschland' have joined what may well be an unprecedented number of journalists who have been laid off in Europe this year. The implosion of the newspaper industry, long a dreaded topic in the US, has finally hit Europe.



smh.com.au Sydney to Hobart race history was written on Friday morning when the Mark Richards-skippered Wild Oats XI crossed the finish line in record time to claim her sixth win. The crew shaved about 18 minutes off the yacht's 2005 record.

thesun.co.uk Cristiano Ronaldo has waited 11 months for Real Madrid to give him a new deal - now he can force his way out in the summer. The winger has never felt the club support his quest to be crowned FIFA???s Player of the Year.



INSPIRED by the success and appeal of electronic music festivals globally, TAT with the Department of Intellectual Properties (Ministry of Commerce), and Karon Municipality have once again arranged the Phuket Electronic Music and Dance festival 2012. This exciting event will take place in conjunction with the Karon Beach New Year 2013 Countdown on December 30 and December 31.

Until January 5 Red Cross Fair, Saphan Hin park, Phuket City

December 30-31 New Year parties all over Phuket



January 12 Childrens Day, marked around Phuket

October 5-13 Phuket Vegetarian Festival



November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket