independent.co.uk For many it's a name synonymous with mobile phones, but Microsoft is now axing the Nokia brand in favor of its Lumia range of Windows smartphones.

afp Switzerland will stop issuing special work permits for foreign strippers, who hail from countries such as Thailand, Russia and the Dominican Republic. The government said that permits would no longer be granted after the end of 2015, on the grounds that they had stoked sexual exploitation in the Alpine country.

reuters The man behind the Ottawa shootings is a Canadian convert to Islam whose passport had been seized by authorities, federal sources say. The main suspect is Michael Zehaf-Bibeau.

straittimes.com Mired in distrust and seemingly irreconcilable differences, Burma's volatile Rakhine state risks deteriorating into radicalism and organised violence unless minimal rights are granted to its persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority, the International Crisis Group (ICG) has warned.


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



reuters A gunman attacked Canada's parliament, with gunfire erupting near a room where Prime Minister Stephen Harper was speaking, and a soldier was fatally shot at a nearby war memorial, jolting the Canadian capital. The gunman in the parliament building was shot dead, and Harper was safely removed.

nationmultimedia.com Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul has announced a one-year plan to reform the tourism sector. The ultimate goal of the reform was to transform Thailand's image from one of being a sex-trade destination into a country offering culture and beautiful natural resources. The tourism industry this year would contract by about 6 percent, she said.

voanews.com Visitor arrivals in Thailand's multi-billion dollar tourism industry have fallen by 19 percent this year. That's a significant drop for an industry that outside groups estimate accounts for more than a fifth of the country's economic output.

afp Thailand is the third-favorite destination in Asia among the world's expats and the seventh-best globally, a poll on quality of life for bank HSBC found. More frugal expats - most of them older - named the kingdom as the best place for affordable, quality living.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/438961/thailand-3rd-favorite-asian-destination-for-expats



reuters Testimonies from Bangladeshi and Rohingya survivors provide evidence of a shift in tactics in one of Asia's busiest human-trafficking routes. In the past, evidence showed most people boarded smuggling boats voluntarily. Now people are being abducted or tricked and then taken to larger ships anchored in international waters just outside Bangladesh's maritime boundary. Evidence indicates that many of the boats appear to be from Thailand.
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/features/article/traffickers-use-abductions-prison-ships-to-feed-asian-slave-trade

themalaymailonline.com In June, six people were killed and dozens injured when a mutiny broke out in Bangladeshi waters on what the Bangladesh Coast Guard described as a ''Thai trawler'' trafficking hundreds of men to Thailand.



bbc.com The World Health Organisation's emergency committee is holding talks to discuss the Ebola epidemic. The meeting in Geneva will examine screening measures at borders and consider whether stricter travel regulations should be put in place.



abc.net.au Thai authorities strongly denied they used the pair as scapegoats, and insisted the case was built on solid evidence with the DNA of the accused matching samples taken from Hannah Witheridge's body.

voanews.com A survey by global consulting firm Envirosell found that a third of European travellers say the murders affected the image of Thailand as a tourist destination. More than 90 percent of British tourists said they were aware of the killings.

bangkokpost.com The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will speed up plans to restore confidence among European travellers after a survey found they still ''like'' Thailand despite the murder of two British tourists.

nationmultimedia.com A specific plan to restore safety in Koh Tao is under way, including increasing the number of local security volunteers from 10 to 50 and the installation of closed-circuit television cameras.



bangkokpost.com A Kuwaiti army officer was seriously injured when assaulted by bouncers outside a go-go bar in Pattaya beach after venting his frustration that there were no sexy shows as he had been promised by a tout.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/438958/kuwaiti-major-assaulted-in-pattaya

nationmultimedia.com Thailand respects the decision of UN members who voted to fill vacant seats in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) after it failed to gain enough votes to win a seat.

bangkokpost.com Police plan to charge a Samut Prakan province couple with the premeditated murder of a 79-year-old Japanese man missing since September 21.

gaystarnews.com Thai Police detained more than 80 people on Sunday night in a raid on an unlicensed gay bar in Bangkok. Ecstasy and ketamine were allegedly found in the bar and a celebrity singer allegedly tested positive for narcotics as did 32 other patrons.

gulf-times.com Qatar Airways has announced that it will introduce its A380 service to Bangkok (QR836/QR833) from January 5.

Media Relase BEST WESTERN International has opened a brand new hotel in Phuket: the stylish BEST WESTERN Patong Beach. Located close to the heart of Phuket's main tourist area, less than 1km from the famous white sands of Patong Beach, Junceylon shopping center, and a multitude of bars, restaurants and entertainment venues, this new contemporary hotel offers a range of modern facilities that make the most of its stunning tropical setting.



news.com.au Two Indonesian Sukhoi fighter jets have intercepted an Australian civilian plane and forced it to land for flying through Indonesian airspace. A civilian Beechcraft plane, in the air defence area of Manado, North Sulawesi, was crewed by two Australian pilots.

news.sky.com Malaysia's defence minister has told Sky News he is ''99.9 percent sure'' the sonar technology being used in the hunt for missing flight MH370 will find the doomed jet.

bbc.com The Indonesian wife of Briton Robert Ellis, 60, found with his throat cut on the island of Bali has admitted arranging his murder, police there have told the BBC.



theguardian.com Real Madrid did it devastatingly and clinically, with three first-half goals and so much refinement in their attacking that, when Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted in the second half, a Liverpool crowd that once regarded him as a sworn enemy applauded him off the pitch.



October 23 Chulalongkorn Memorial Day

November 1-3 Patong Carnival

November 6 Loy Kratong

November 14-23 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket

November 29-December 6 Phuket 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