bbc.com Five people have died and 110 are still awaiting rescue after a blaze on an Italian ferry off the Greek island of Corfu, Greek officials say.

bangkokpost.com The Indonesian navy sank two Thai fishing boats found to have encroached its territorial waters.

abcnews.go.com A massive search and rescue operation has resumed for an AirAsia Indonesia jet that lost contact with air traffic control over the Java Sea during a flight to Singapore shortly after the pilots requested a change of flight plan because of weather.

afp The AirAsia plane is likely at the bottom of the sea - ''that's the preliminary suspicion'' - Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency chief said Monday.

nytimes.com Italian, Greek and Albanian vessels battled gale-force winds and rough seas as they tried to rescue hundreds of passengers stranded on a ferry that caught fire off the northwestern coast of Greece en route to Italy.


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



nationmultimedia.com December looms as a tragedy as hotel operators in Pattaya have reported that Russian guests are down 50 percent from last year. Two years ago, Russian visitors began to flock to Phuket as their new destination, but the famous island is experiencing a similar slump this year.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Russian-economic-crisis-hits-Pattaya-Phuket-30250841.html

nbcnews.com The worst flooding in Malaysia in more than a decade has killed 10 people and forced nearly 160,000 from their homes and more rain is expected, authorities said. Over the border in southern Thailand, 14 people have been killed in the floods that began in mid-December.



washingtonpost.com A string of thunderstorms and clouds over the Java Sea led one of the pilots of the now-missing AirAsia commercial jet carrying 162 people to ask to fly at a higher altitude. But his request could not be approved because of air traffic and a flight above his, an Indonesian Transport Ministry official told Kompas, the premier newspaper in Indonesia.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/air-search-for-missing-airasia-jet-suspended/2014/12/28/a903067e-8e8c-11e4-a900-9960214d4cd7_story.html

AP The plane was in the safest part of flight - just 10 percent of fatal crashes from 2004 through 2013 occurred while a plane was at cruise elevation, according to a safety study published by Boeing in August.
http://bangkokpost.com/news/general/452716/airasia-what-might-have-happened

smh.com.au They missed their holiday plane, QZ8501, by just minutes. Christianawati's husband had not checked the emails or received the phone calls from AirAsia informing him the flight would be leaving two hours earlier than the scheduled departure of 7.20am.

AP An astonishingly tragic year for air travel in Southeast Asia turned worse when an AirAsia plane carrying 162 people disappeared over stormy Indonesian waters.

skift.com The disappearance of an AirAsia jet en route from Indonesia to Singapore is the latest of many recent air incidents for Indonesia. The sprawling archipelago nation of 250 million people is one of Asia's most rapidly expanding airline markets, but is struggling to provide enough qualified pilots, mechanics, air traffic controllers and updated airport technology to ensure safety.

bbc.com AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes says he is ''devastated'' that a plane carrying 162 people from Indonesia to Singapore has gone missing.

The West Australian In the past year, the missing Airbus has made 38 return trips between Perth and Bali as part of the airline's five daily return flights to Australia's favorite holiday destination.

dw.de Asia's vastness, its many overwater flights and less than 100 percent radar coverage make aviation there difficult, Heinrich Grossbongardt tells DW. He is certain wreckage from AirAsia flight QZ8501 will be found soon.



nationmultimedia.com Two foreign tourists have been charged with stealing more than a million baht in various currencies from guests' safe deposit boxes at three hotels on this resort island. Receptionists at the Baan Luktan Resort said the men gave them spiked drinks that made them fall asleep, so the pair could break into the safes.

bangkokpost.com The Bank of Thailand has again lowered its economic growth forecasts to a mere 0.8 percent this year and four percent next year due to slow government spending, lukewarm private consumption and weak export.

theguardian.com Freak snowfalls and ice stranded more than 15,000 vehicles in the French Alps, where two people died in the extreme weather and crowds of skiers, including many British holidaymakers, bedded down at Chambery airport.

reuters Sweden's three-month-old minority centre-left government has announced a deal with the opposition to sideline the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, who hold the balance of power in parliament, and avert a fresh election.

travel.mthai.com The Naithon Beach Road on Phuket, Thailand, comes in at No.13 on a list of the top 25 road journeys of the world.

stickmanbangkok.com That which attracted some of us to Bangkok in the first place - the exotic and that which set the country apart from our homelands - is fast disappearing. Local markets, historic buildings, period cinemas and hotels that hold memories not just for generations of older Thais but some long-term foreigners are fast disappearing and are being replaced by the same sorts of buildings and all the same brand names we already have at home.

cctv-america.com Tourists have returned to the beaches of Phuket which have been freshly cleaned by the military government. After years of political instability, the government wants to reassure tourists Thailand is safe, hence the campaign.

alarabiya.net A recently discovered letter showed famed British wartime leader Winston Churchill not only desired to be an Ottoman-style pasha, but was fascinated by Islamic culture, prompting one of his relatives to be concerned and begged him not to convert to Islam, The Independent reported.

smh.com.au Australia's Attorney-General George Brandis racked up a $1100 dinner bill on taxpayers during a visit to London this year, just a month before his government called on the poor to accept budget cuts and new taxes to help pay off the deficit.

theage.com.au December 29 is a terrible anniversary for three Jazeera journalists, 365 days since Egyptian security officials raided the upscale Marriott Hotel from which they were operating and where Australian Peter Greste was staying and dragged the men away.

nst.com.my Silat exponents were left without a major competition this year after the World Championships, scheduled to be held in Palembang, Indonesia this month, was postponed to January and will be held in Phuket, Thailand instead.



kyodo news Indonesian police have detained seven people for suspected links to the Islamic State extremist group fighting in Syria and Iraq, a senior police officer said. Six of the seven were detained when they were about to board a Qatar Airways flight to Syria via Doha, Herry Heriyawan, subdirector for crimes and violence at the Jakarta Police Headquarters, told reporters.

dvb.no New Zealander Phil Blackwood told a Rangoon court on Friday that he posted an image of the Buddha on his nightclub's Facebook page as a promotional item for his business and that he had no intention of insulting the Buddhist religion.



afp Chelsea drew 1-1 at Southampton, which presented Manchester City with a chance to close to within a point of the summit, but the champions fluffed their lines by blowing a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at home to second-bottom Burnley.

news.com.au Manchester United was repeatedly thwarted by Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in a scrappy 0-0 draw at White Hart Lane.

smh.com.au Australia were kicking themselves for letting Indian century-makers Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli off the hook during a sloppy fielding performance on day three of the Boxing Day Test.



The third annual Thailand Stand Up Paddlers Invitational on February 22 at Bliss Beach Club is supporting building Phuket's first community skatepark project.

The ''Colorful Countdown Phuket 2015'' will usher in the New Year with light shows and live concerts at Sanam Chai Park, across the road from Phuket Provincial Hall, from December 29-31.

Phuket International Boat Show returns to southern Thailand's beach destination from January 8 to 11.

December 29-31 Colorful Countdown Phuket 2015 to New Year's Eve



January 6-11 Phuket International Boat Show

January 21 Australian embassy outreach to Phuket Call 02-3446300, e: consular.bangkok@dfat.gov.au

February 12-15 Phuket Yacht Show