nytimes.com Thousands of demonstrators poured out in cities across the US in a show of outrage over a grand jury's decision not to indict a white New York City police officer whose chokehold caused an unarmed black man's death.

bangkokpost.com The two Myanmar suspects in the murders of two British tourists on Koh Tao in September are due to enter their pleas in court on Monday.

theguardian.com Australia now regards itself as free from the bonds of the Refugees Convention - a treaty Australia helped write, and willingly signed up to, more than half a century ago. All references to it have been removed from Australian law.


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 Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) posted a 25.3 percent drop in net profit for fiscal 2014 due mainly to lower foreign exchange gains, inflated impairment of assets and a slowdown in air traffic. Tourism is on the rise again, and this is expected translate into increased air travel demand.

bangkokpost.com Thousands of public forums are being organised for all citizens to give their opinions on national reforms for inclusion in the new constitution.

bangkokpost.com Like many Thai school girls, the nine-year-old native of Surat Thani featured in a viral YouTube video goes to school by car. The only difference is that she drives the car herself. (Not anymore apparently.) Her longest drive was to Phuket. The father now faces two criminal charges.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro4f7_W98_M



shanghaidaily.com Human trafficking cases involving job-seeking migrants in Thailand are feared to remain unresolved in spite of harsher legal penalties, noted an academic. Though the government decided to amend the law on human trafficking to the extent that those convicted are subject to more severe penalties, the problem would remain if the authorities simply fail to bring the wrongdoers to justice, Lae Dilokwittayarat, an economist and Professor Emeritus at Chulalongkorn University, told Xinhua.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=256664



scmp.com Protests erupted across New York and in cities from Georgia to California after a white police officer was cleared in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man.

washingtonpost.com In an article originally published in early 2012 and titled ''Word power,'' renowned Burma (Myanmar) human rights advocate, politician and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi wrote: ''To curb and shackle freedom of speech and expression is to cripple the basic right to realise our full potential as human beings.'' Yet in Burma, one word remains largely off-limits, even to Daw Suu: ''Rohingya.''

smh.com.au Bangkok-based Fairfax Media South-east Asia correspondent Lindsay Murdoch's report on the abandoned Down Syndrome baby, Gammy, took out the international journalism category at the Walkley Awards ceremony in Sydney.

theaustralian.com.au The most poignant moment during the ceremony came with recognition for Australian journalist Peter Greste, detained by Egyptian authorities since December. Greste was awarded the Walkley for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism for his reporting for Qatar-owned news channel Al Jazeera and his personal fight for a free press and open democracy.

nationmultimedia.com Charamporn Jotikasthira, who took over as president of Thai Airways International, pledged to restructure the national airline amid the tough global environment and disease outbreaks and restore its rightful membership in the league of leading carriers of the world.

b>independent.co.uk Boris Johnson has claimed that xenophobia is ''part of human nature'' but that it does not make people innately ''bad''. Speaking to the London Evening Standard, Mr Johnson said there was a ''certain amount of xenophobia'' in the UK debate around immigration, adding: ''All human beings are prey to that feeling. It's part of human nature. It doesn't mean people are bad, OK?''

news.com.au Low-cost airline AirAsia X will cease direct flights to Adelaide following financial pressures caused by Malaysia Airlines now offering reduced prices on its flights. AirAsia X has two to three direct flights to and from Kuala Lumpur each week.

nationmultimedia.com The mining company Thung Kham signed a memorandum of understanding at the Loei provincial hall agreeing to drop eight civil lawsuits it had filed against members of the Khon Rak Ban Kerd Group. The MoU states that the company will officially withdraw the lawsuit at Loei Provincial Court on Monday, while the case at Phuket Provincial Court will be dropped on December 20.

themandarin.com.au The budget of Australia's DFAT has barely risen. Staff numbers at the department rose 6 percent between 1997 and 2013, compared to 60 percent for the public service as a whole. DFAT's resources ''have stagnated, and its budget is looking increasingly anaemic,'' says Alex Oliver, director of polling at the Lowy Institute. ''We have one of the smallest diplomatic networks (or 'footprint,' as the minister calls it) of all developed nations, and the smallest in the G20. We often don't have representation in very important places, such as Phuket, which is one of Australia's most popular travel destinations.''

bloomberg Club Mediterranee SA (CU) Chief Executive Officer Henri Giscard d'Estaing, part of Shanghai-based Fosun International Ltd. (656)'s offer for the French company, said he sees China providing a third of future clients if the deal succeeds. Fosun will do most to preserve the Paris-based company's upscale focus while opening up new markets as European economies stutter, the CEO said.

nytimes.com Uber, the on-demand ride-hailing service, closed a $1.2 billion round of financing, valuing the company at an eye-popping $40 billion just five years after its debut.



b>thediplomat.com There are no shortage of government critics in Cambodia. But what has made it perhaps the best place to live on mainland Southeast Asia, particularly for foreigners, has been largely driven by Prime Minister Hun Sen's understandable desire for respect at the international level.

cnn.com A powerful storm, Super Typhoon Hagupit, is approaching the Philippines from the same part of the western Pacific Ocean as Haiyan did 13 months ago.



bbc.com Violinist Vanessa-Mae has appealed against a four-year skiing ban. The International Ski Federation [FIS] imposed the punishment after ruling she helped to ''manipulate'' results to ensure her place at the Sochi Olympics for Thailand.

espn.com The expectations should not have been as great as the anticipation forTiger Woods' first official round of golf in four months, but it was nonetheless shocking to see some of the struggles in a 77 recorded at the Hero World Challenge.

ttrweekly.com The Ministry of Tourism and Sports plans to revive Thailand's bid to host a Formula 1 race. Tourism and Sports Minister, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, said Thailand has potential to host a Grand Prix, which could be held in Pattaya.



Until December 6 King's Cup Regatta

December 5 King's Birthday

December 10 Constitution Day

December 25 Christmas Day

December 26 10th Anniversary, 2004 Tsunami

December 31 New Year's Eve



February 13-15 Phuket Yacht Show