Updating All Day, Every Day
bbc.com Former British radio DJ Ray Teret, 73, has been jailed for 25 years for a series of rapes and indecent assaults on girls as young as 12.
ft.com It appeared to end not with a bang but a whimper. Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests that seized headlines at home and overseas were dismantled in an orderly manner with the last remaining demonstrators being arrested - quietly.
PhuketWATCH Daily Media Wrap
PHUKET: The daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media. Beware of inconsistent imitations.
Today's Top News Items
smh.com.au Global airlines are forecast to drop average return ticket prices by 5.1 percent next year thanks to the lower oil price.
nationmultimediacom A group of 201 academics from universities across the country called on the Council of University Presidents of Thailand (CUPT) to ensure and protect intellectual freedom that they said was being threatened under Thailand's military administration.
bangkokpost.com Thailand cruised past the Philippines 3-0 at Rajamangala National Stadium on Wednesday night to take them to the final of the AFF Suzuki Cup.
bbc.com A French air force jet has crashed into a home for disabled people in central France, reportedly killing one person and injuring six others.
siliconangle.com Uber Inc., has decided to play with fire in Thailand by simply ignoring a ruling that it is no longer allowed to operate . . . while the country is under martial law.
Human Trafficking in Thailand
theguardian.com Two facts emerge as the UNHCR meets in Geneva to look at protection for refugees at sea: more people than ever are fleeing their country by boat, and deterrence doesn't stop them. Around 21,000 people including Rohingya have departed from the Bangladesh-Burmese maritime border in the two months of October and November 2014.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/11/scott-morrison-may-gloat-but-asylum-seekers-take-more-boats-than-ever
Latest on the Ebola Outbreak
afp Time magazine has named the medics who have treated patients struck with the killer Ebola virus as its ''person of the year 2014,'' paying tribute to their courage and mercy.
The Murders on Koh Tao
bangkokpost.comAttorneys for two Myanmar men charged with killing two British backpackers on Koh Tao are scrambling to prepare their defence after a court moved up the first hearing date by two months to December 26.
Phuket World of People
bangkokpost.com Tourism operators believe the separation of tourism and sports activities from the Tourism and Sports Ministry will help enhance tourism's competitiveness in the long run. Marketing should be the TAT's responsibility and the ministry should focus on tourism sites and product development as well as handling tourists' security.
theguardian.com The short propaganda film commissioned by Thailand's military rulers was supposed to promote the 12 ''core values'' every Thai student must learn. But there was one scene the junta has had trouble explaining: a grinning schoolboy painting an image of Adolf Hitler while his smiling classmate applauds.The video has been met with ridicule on social media and condemned by the Israeli embassy in Bangkok.
bangkokpost.com Bangkok is sixth among the world's major cities for having the most affordable hotel prices - with New York the most expensive and Albania the cheapest place to stay, according to a GoEuro survey.
cnn.com To thunderous and sustained applause, Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai and India's Kailash Satyarthi received the Nobel Peace Prize.
bangkokpost.com Samui airport has been granted permission to raise its flight frequencies after authorities were convinced the increase would not harm the environment.
bloomberg Airbus Group, which has failed to find a new airline buyer for its A380 superjumbo this year, is at a crossroads that leaves it with two directions: spend heavily to improve the plane - or let it go.
independent.co.uk Oscar Pistorius could have his conviction upgraded from culpable homicide to murder and face a possible 15-year prison sentence, after an appeal application made by state prosecutors was granted.
bloomberg Tesco Plc's year of misery continued as new Chief Executive Officer Dave Lewis said earnings at the UK grocery leader will be about half an August forecast, amplifying a crisis that has weighed on the stock for months.
NNT The Phuket Bike for the King took place yesterday with about 1000 participating cyclists. The Deputy Minister of Public Health Somsak Chunharas officiated at the Phuket Bike for the King cycling event and oversaw government officials and participants all set to cycle in the event around Phuket City to promote a healthier lifestyle.
independent.co.uk British Home Secretary Theresa May has said that doctors who carry out ''designer vagina'' cosmetic surgery could be committing a criminal offence, unless there is a physical or mental health justification.
eturbonews.com On Thailand's largest island of Phuket, Anantara Phuket Villas is set on powdery white sand and backed by the lush vegetation of Sirinath National Park. From adventurous treks through dense jungle on elephants, through to relaxing in the Villa's luxury surrounds, the best of Thailand can be enjoyed at this eco-friendly property.
the west australian Phuket is a magnificent holiday island. The sunshine, the beaches, the food, the history, the culture and the gentle people - we enjoyed everything.
scmp.com A 23-year-old drunkard in Banan district phoned police after he couldn't find his pants, Chinanews.com reports. They were found in the dog kennel of the house he stumbled into the night before.
Around the Asean Region
channelnewsasia.com A one-month trial of having a separate queue for premium taxis at Changi Airport's Terminal 1 ''to ensure efficient despatch of taxis'' has been halted abruptly after just one day following strong unhappiness expressed by cabbies.
worldbulletin.net Malaysia is to deport 70,000 illegal Indonesian workers, a Jakarta-based newspaper has claimed. The English-language Jakarta Globe quoted an anonymous official from the Indonesian Ministry of Labor as saying a meeting would be held to discuss removing workers without permission to be in the country.
aap Indonesian President Joko Widodo has ruled out issuing pardons for any drug convicts on death row, including two Australians being held in Bali. Bali Nine inmates, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, have had a clemency request before the president for more than two years.
theguardian.com British woman Lindsay Sandiford, on death row in Indonesia for drug smuggling, will not be reprieved according to the country's new president.
scmp.com Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group are suspected of carrying out a bus bombing that claimed 10 lives
Phuket World of Sport
sports.yahoo.com Bubba Watson, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Victor Dubuisson and Martin Kaymer flew into Thailand this week to play in the Asian Tour's Thailand Golf Championship. They donned traditional Thai clothes and posed for a picture with Thongchai Jaidee, Thai golf legend.
telegraph.co.uk The champions of England played with style and resilience, powering into the last 16 of the Champions League with goals from Samir Nasri and Pablo Zabaleta. Roma 0-2 Manchester City.
theage.com.au Michael Clarke and Steve Smith, captain courageous and his heir apparent, have found a way through the myriad challenges of the past fortnight to flatten India with 7/517 on the second day of the Test against India.
Coming Events on Phuket 2014
December 25 Christmas Day
December 26 10th Anniversary, 2004 Tsunami
December 31 New Year's Eve
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
February 13-15 Phuket Yacht Show
Moving a court date so that defendants are apparently given no sufficient time for preparation of defence - especially, giving that potential verdict can come with a capital punishment , is clearly against the very minimum of rights set in ICCPR Art.14 para.3 subpara.(b):
"(b) To have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence and to communicate with counsel of his own choosing; "
UN HRC General comment Nr.32 on the article elaborates further
"Subparagraph 3 (b) provides that accused persons must have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of their defence and to communicate with counsel of their own choosing. This provision is an important element of the guarantee of a fair trial and an application of the principle of equality of arms. 64 In cases of an indigent defendant, communication with counsel might only be assured if a free interpreter is provided during the pre-trial and trial phase.65 What counts as ???adequate time????? depends on the circumstances of each case. If counsel reasonably feel that the time for the preparation of the defence is insufficient, it is incumbent on them to request the adjournment of the trial. 66
... There is an obligation to grant reasonable requests for adjournment, in particular, when the accused is charged with a serious criminal offence and additional time for preparation of the defence is needed. 68"
Also General comments Nr.13:
"9. ... the facilities must include access to documents and other evidence which the accused requires to prepare his case, as well as the opportunity to engage and communicate with counsel.
...
11. ... The accused or his lawyer must have the right to act diligently and fearlessly in pursuing all available defences and the right to challenge the conduct of the case if they believe it to be unfair. ..."
"Adequate time" in this case would be at least few months - giving a volume of documents and looming capital punishment.
UN CHR is the only instance of complain where the state Thailand can be referred, as there is no international court on human rights like in Europe or Africa, and it is good that UN CHR admit also individual complaints and deal with them in a relatively expedite manner.
Posted by Sue on December 11, 2014 07:30