Updating All Day, Every Day
bangkokpost.com Quick and decisive legal action that makes people afraid to cheat is the only solution to Thailand's corruption problem, Privy Council chairman Prem Tinsulanonda said. Speaking at the closing ceremony of a corruption-prevention workshop, Gen Prem said the country now has two major problems: poverty and corruption.http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/450893/prem-urges-harsh-action-on-graft
theage.com.au Eight children have been stabbed to death and another woman is in hospital with injuries in Cairns, Queensland. The children are aged between 18 months and 15 years old, police have confirmed.
PhuketWATCH Daily Media Wrap
PHUKET: The daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media. Beware of inconsistent imitations.
Today's Top News Items
press association The UK's oil industry is ''close to collapse'' but the falling oil price could have a net benefit to the UK economy, according to experts.
bangkokpost.com Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha dropped his denial about the CIA safe house and waterboarding facility, and now says that no one asked and US authorities never said what went on at Detention Site Green.
bbc.com The BBC's Panorama show has aired a documentary about Apple that claims work inside its Chinese iPhone factories is so gruelling that workers fall asleep on the factory line. It also claims that Apple sources the tin for its iPhones from mud pits in Indonesia where children work, risking frequent mudslides that frequently claim lives.
bangkokpost.com Thailand is the drug-dealing centre of Southeast Asia, admits Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya, as 7.6 tonnes of seized dope are incinerated in Ayutthaya.
Latest on the Ebola Outbreak
reuters Sierra Leone's leading doctor died of Ebola hours after the arrival in the country of an experimental drug that could have been used to treat him, the government's chief medical officer said.
The Murders on Koh Tao
itv.com The Burmese government say witnesses who may be able to prove the innocence of two men accused of murdering a Jerseyman are too afraid to come forward. 24-year-old David Miller and fellow traveller Hannah Witheridge were killed on a beach in Thailand in September.
Phuket World of People
voanews.com Russia's plunging currency is creating serious concerns for Thailand's multi-billion dollar tourism industry, already suffering for the past year because of political upheaval that culminated in the May 22 bloodless military coup. That cutback is being felt in places like the beach resort city of Pattaya.
nzherald.co.nz Sternly warning the West it cannot defang the metaphorical Russian bear, a confident-looking President Vladimir Putin promised to shore up the plummeting ruble and revive the economy within two years.
aap Jason Beavan found a baby grand piano and a tuk-tuk floating where his desk had been at a hotel in Patong, the beach were several Australian tourists died in the tsunami on December 26, 2004. He was working for a timeshare company but is now general manager of a media group that includes Phuket's leading English-language newspaper.
hellomagazine.com Elton John and David Furnish will tie the knot at the weekend, following the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Britain. A spokesperson for the couple, who have been together for more than two decades and are parents to sons Zachary and Elijah, confirmed that they would marry in a private ceremony.
nationmultimedia.com The Krabi tourism and hotel association was overjoyed that Ao Nang, was named among the top 10 Destinations on the Rise by TripAdvisor's Travellers' Choice Awards. Association board member Ekkawit Pinyothamnothai said |Krabi's New Year holidays had already seen 60-70 percent of accommodations booked.
ap A Canadian man will travel to Thailand and the rest of the world with Elizabeth Gallagher. Just not the same Elizabeth Gallagher he used to date.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/450646/canadian-picks-stranger-with-ex-girlfriend-name-for-trip-to-thailand
dailymail.co.uk A brawl involving three women erupted on a Chinese flight from Chongqing to Hong Kong when two of them complained to a mum that her baby was making too much noise. The women, all believed to be Chinese, were warned that the pilot would be forced to turn back and make an emergency landing if they didn't stop fighting.
reuters Suspected Boko Haram gunmen kidnapped 172 women and children and killed 35 other people during a raid on the northeast Nigerian village of Gumsuri, residents said.
bloomberg A Boston man who works as an Uber Technologies Inc driver was charged with taking a woman to a secluded area and raping her, as questions about the company's driver-screening process prompted it to begin an assessment of its safety programs.
telegraph.co.uk Scotland Yard is investigating the alleged murder of three young boys linked to a Westminster paedophile ring active in the late seventies and early eighties. Detectives have appealed for abuse victims and potential witnesses to come forward.
Around the Asean Region
theguardian.com A New Zealand bar manager and two Burmese men pleaded not guilty to charges they insulted religion by posting an advertisement with an image of a pink Buddha wearing headphones.
nytimes.com After years of neglect, the Indonesian government said that it would take a hard line against thousands of illegal foreign fishing vessels that it says rob the local industry of as much as $25 billion a year in lost catches.
straitstimes.com The United States and Singapore navies re-affirmed relations, as the commander of the US Pacific Fleet called on Singapore's Defence Minister.
Phuket World of Sport
business-standard.com German football club Borussia Dortmund's winger Marco Reus has been fined more than half a million euros for repeatedly driving without a licence.
bbc.com Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli has been given a one-match ban by the Football Association as punishment for his Super Mario post on social media which appeared to contain anti-Semitic references.
Coming Events on Phuket 2014
December 25 Christmas Day
December 26 10th Anniversary, 2004 Tsunami
December 31 New Year's Eve
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
February 12-15 Phuket Yacht Show
Uber overall is about commercialized share-drive with all problems associated with it: of course, there is close to zero screening of drivers , and, yes, there is a major conflict with the industry - where drivers in places like NYC , London and many more , have to pass local orientation exam, and in most countries commercial passenger transport is heavily regulated.
As a marketing and order/payment processing platform Uber is fine.
But if they think to overhaul taximeter business with share-drive, I am highly skeptical: the former is highly regulated - and for a reason, Uber unregulated services , as far as they form small % of the total is fun, but otherwise would bring eventually those problems which regulation is aiming to resolve.
Posted by Sue on December 19, 2014 07:54