independent.ie Jordan has hanged 11 people convicted of murder, the first executions to take place in the country in eight years.

Phuket Update The Phuket Navy League and the Expat Hotel in Patong are tonight entertaining crew from two US Navy vessels anchored off Phuket, the destroyer USS Michael Murphy and the cargo ship USNS Amelia Earhart.

bangkokpost.com The 12 surrogate birth mothers of a Japanese man have applied for custody of ''their'' babies - who have been at an orphanage since August.

Phuket Update Nine motorcycles were stolen from the holding yard at Phuket City Police Station overnight. Officers are holding a media conference at noon.


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 Police claim they have broken the 100 million baht football gambling and bribery mafia, naming the man at the top as former CIB chief Pongpat Chayapan, already the most-accused ex-police officer ever.

news.com.au My full moon party nightmare: Travellers should keep in mind that they could end up with extortionate bills, sometimes running into the tens of thousands of dollars, if they get into trouble after drinking or taking drugs at these parties.
http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/my-full-moon-party-nightmare/story-fnndib5x-1227163913039

bangkokpost.com The Tourism and Sports Ministry plans to zone tourism on Koh Phangan and upgrade the island's image from that of the notorious full moon party destination.

bangkokpost.com The military said the five soldiers and five civilians who allegedly abducted a Ukrainian man and his wife in Phuket were not an extortion gang but were in fact acting as a go-between to negotiate a debt settlement.



nnt Two special committees will be set up to compile data on the improvement of the government's performance in relation to its efforts in eradicating human trafficking problems, which will be reported to the US next month, says Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan.



nottinghampost.com More than 20,000 pounds has been raised in less than two weeks to help a Nottingham family bring home their seriously-injured brother. Max Grainger was in collision while riding his bike in Hua Hin on July 24. Doctors in Thailand have warned that his brain will never recover, but his family want to bring him back to ''say their goodbyes''.
http://www.nottinghampost.com/Nottingham-family-raise-20-000-bring-seriously/story-25747547-detail/story.html

theguardian.com A death in Yangon: the day my fiance died. After that, the Australian doctor drew me aside. ''We need to know what your wishes are. Repatriation can be expensive. And it can take time. Here in Yangon, well . . . I don't know that you would want to leave Angus's body in the mortuary for too long.''
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/dec/21/death-in-yangon-day-my-fiance-died

karennews.org A report by the Harvard Law School's International Human Rights Clinic, has found the Burma Army guilty of 'war crimes' constituting 'crimes against humanity' in Karen State.

andrew-drummond.com A police complaint was lodged by the Russian owner of a property business in the Thai resort of Pattaya against an emotional Scotsman who arrived at the business shouting ''I am going to kill you both'' at the Russian and his Thai manager.

Phuket Update Post office headquarters in Phuket City has launched a new drive-through service. Customers no longer need to leave their cars to pay bills or send mail. The Drive-Thru Post window is open on working days, from 7:30am to 3pm.

cnn.com The US has asked China for help battling North Korean hacking of American information systems, a senior administration official tells CNN.

smh.com.au One of China's richest and most influential billionaires is opening up rival Chinese-themed attractions in direct competition against the Disneyland theme parks in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

muslimvillage.com An estimated 5000 delegates are expected to meet between December 28-30 for the first Thailand Halal Assembly 2014 to be held at the Bangkok Convention Centre, Centara Grand Hotel at CentralWorld. The event is designed to help upgrade the standards of halal products and services being made in Thailand. Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-Ocha will deliver the opening speech.

stickmanbangkok.com I really do think we have seen the end of the stopping of foreigners by police in and around the Asoke intersection and the subsequent search of their person and requests to provide a urine sample roadside. The outcry by Westerners resident in Bangkok as well as some visitors was eventually picked up by local and international media which brought the spotlight on it. This carry on has done nothing for Thailand's reputation at a time when the tourism industry desperately needs good news stories.



AP A 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of eastern Indonesia on Sunday evening, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, and authorities said there was no threat of a tsunami.

au.news.yahoo As soon as children learn to walk here, they are taught how to run. When the sun rises on Aceh this Friday, it will be a decade since the biggest natural disaster in living memory levelled the region and changed it for ever.

huffingtonpost.co.uk The island of Koh Phi Phi, had taken a large hit by the tsunami and the town had taken the brunt of it. We finally found him on New Year's Eve - his body having been taken to a make-shift morgue at the Chinese Temple in Krabi.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/luke-simon/boxing-day-tsunami_b_6354908.html

afp An estimated 2000 migrants from neighboring Myanmar (Burma) are thought to have perished, deaths that went almost unnoticed as the television cameras focused on foreign tourists and Thai victims. Among them in Nam Khem were Mi Htay's eight-day-old baby - too young even to have been given a name - two of her other children, both toddlers, as well as her mother and a nephew.

dailymail.co.uk More than 3000 bodies were identified and returned to families across the world by Thai and international experts in the years after the tsunami using dental records, DNA or fingerprints. But Mi Htay's three missing children were not among them.

bangkokpost.com Pol Col Yutaphong Intaraphong, who is in charge of tsunami victims data at the Missing Persons Management Centre, said the unidentified remains were all interred at Phang Nga's Bang Ma Ruan cemetery. He said police had collected data from 3708 bodies in the wake of the tsunami, but only 3339 victims have been formally identified.

sbs.com.au The extent of the losses are staggering. Those who died in the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004 outnumber the total populations of Hobart and Darwin (in 2013).



9news.com.au Two Australian brothers have been released from a Bali jail after being accused of bashing a local shop keeper and urinating on a shrine while on a drunken night out. Tim and Scott O'Hehir, from Perth, came to an arrangement with the alleged victim.

channelnewsasia.com Motorists with foreign-registered vehicles entering Johor Bahru from Singapore will have to pay a Vehicle Entry Permit fee of RM20 (S$7.55) from the middle of next year, reported The New Straits Times.

latimes.com Myanmar's democratic reforms have been slow in coming, and human rights groups condemn what they say is ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya Muslim minority.



bangkokpost.com The Thai national football team arrived back in Bangkok to the cheers of about 1000 ecstatic fans who had waited for hours at Don Muang airport to hail the Suzuki Cup victors.

bbc.com Arsenal's midfield was overrun at times in their 2-2 draw with Liverpool but you cannot blame any of the Gunners players for that - credit has to go to Reds manager Brendan Rodgers for the way he set his side up.

smh.com.au Queensland batsman Joe Burns is has been picked to make his Test debut in Boxing Day after being called in to replace Mitchell Marsh. Selectors have opted against a like-for-like replacement for all-rounder Marsh, who injured his hamstring during the second Test.



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.

December 25 Christmas Day

December 26 10th Anniversary, 2004 Tsunami

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



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

February 12-15 Phuket Yacht Show