nytimes.com Typhoon Hagupit began battering the Philippines late Saturday, with strong winds and rain expected to pummel a central belt of the island nation for days as the storm churns westward.

euronews.com French President Francois Hollande has met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in an unscheduled visit in Moscow. Hollande was travelling from Kazakhstan to France on Saturday when he decided to make the brief stopover to talk about Ukraine.

bangkokpost.com While Phuket continues to attract its fair share of extremely wealthy tourists and property investors, the number of foreigners willing to splash out 100 million baht or more for a luxury villa has been dwindling.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/special-reports/447878/phuket-villas-are-still-selling-but-in-the-more-modest-price-range



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 Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has urged all Thais to wear yellow throughout December and to help turn the country into a ''crouching tiger,'' ready to leap when its time comes.

nationmultimedia.com Police suspect a Swedish man found hanging from a beam on the 43rd floor of an abandoned building in downtown Bangkok committed suicide. Stig Johann Christian Hammerstein, 30, was identified by his driver's licence. Police suspect he had been dead for up to five days.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Swede-likely-killed-himself-in-Ghost-Tower-30249282.html

foxnews.com An American freelance photographer kidnapped by Al Qaeda militants in Yemen in 2013 was 'murdered' during a US special operations rescue mission inside the country after it was learned that his life was in imminent danger, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said. Luke Somers was still alive, but badly injured when the team reached him, a Yemeni national security official told Fox News.

theguardian.com A South African teacher being held with him, Pierre Korki, was also killed in the raid. ''On behalf of the American people, I offer my deepest condolences to Luke's family and to his loved ones,'' Obama said in a statement.



bangkokpost.com The families of two British backpackers murdered on Koh Tao say evidence against two Myanmar migrants accused of the crime is ''convincing''

nationmultimedia.com In statements released through Britain's Foreign Office, the victims' families said they had seen strong evidence against the suspects and expressed confidence in the case: ''There is a great deal of detail and vast areas of investigative work which has been shared with us.''



nationmultimedia.com Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's daughter Pinthongta Kunakornwong has given birth to twin baby girls, much to the grandfather's delight, a source close to the family said.

theguardian.com Nathalie Archer's sister was in Thailand when the tsunami struck on Boxing Day 2004. Even after Sam's body was retrieved and she'd seen photographs, she refused to accept the truth.
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/dec/06/tragedy-in-thailand-my-sister-died-in-the-tsunami

bangkokpost.com The number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand is expected to be dented by Britain's move to relax its tough visa rules for Chinese travellers. But Srisuda Wanapinyosak, executive director for East Asia at the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said any effect would be slight from more high-income Chinese tourists travelling to Britain for shopping.

abc.net.au At least two people have been killed after Typhoon Hagupit made landfall in east of the Philippines, authorities in the country say. The category three storm, which is tracking north-west across the central Philippines, brought intense rain and strong winds, threatening to wreak more destruction in areas still bearing the scars of 2013's Super Typhoon Haiyan.

smh.com.au ''Robert Sigfrid'' also appeared to share the same dreams as Tracee Douglas, particularly her ambition to open an orphanage in Thailand or Indonesia. ''He was Googling the orphanages I was talking about, and appearing to really fall in love with them,'' she explains. When she asked where he lived, he sent a link to his American address on Google Earth.
http://www.smh.com.au/good-weekend/love-me-dont-the-west-african-online-scam-using-us-soldiers-20141205-11szid.html

news.com.au The world's fattest man has died from pneumonia following a lengthy battle with his weight. Brit Keith Martin who weighed an astonishing 445 kilos at his heaviest was aged just 44.

scmp.com Learning Putonghua can leave even the most gifted linguist tongue-tied. So it's little wonder British tourism chiefs have called on native Chinese speakers to help out in naming some of the UK's iconic landmarks and celebrities.

theguardian.com Police have opened an investigation into a woman's claims that Bill Cosby molested her when she was 15 years old. The investigation was opened after Judy Huth, who is suing Cosby for sexual battery, met with Los Angeles police detectives for 90 minutes.

huffingtonpost.co.uk Top Seven Hotels to Coninue Your Jungle Fever: 2. Located on the edge of Thailand's Krabi Marine National Park, Rayavadee Hotel is edged by three stunning beaches: Railay, Nam Mao and Phra Nang.



thestar.com.my Four Malaysians, all working as cleaners, were killed in a fire at a workers hostel in Geylang, Singapore early Saturday.

indiatimes.com Malaysians are too ''stupid'' to manage aviation, the country's former premier Mahathir Mohamad has reportedly said following news that a German is set to head the country's troubled national carrier MAS from next year.

nytimes.com As the Philippine military attacked a rebel camp in the south, a Swiss bird-watcher being held by the rebels used the distraction to assault one of his captors and escape, a military spokesman said. The Swiss national, Lorenzo Vinciguerra, had been held for more than two years by the Abu Sayyaf rebel group.



reuters Manchester City's already slim hopes of remaining in the Champions League beyond next week suffered a devastating blow when a tearful Sergio Aguero joined their lengthening injury list.

afp Chelsea lost their unbeaten record after losing 2-1 at Newcastle United and defending champions Manchester City took advantage by beating Everton thanks to Yaya Toure's first-half penalty.

rappler.com The Philippine national football team were held to a nil-nil draw with Thailand in the first leg of their AFF Suzuki Cup semi-final clash.



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