bangkokpost.com The government will launch a ''surprise'' economic stimulus package next year, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha says: ''It will be a New Year's gift for the people.''

scmp.com At least 80 protesters were detained amid clashes with police during the first round of court-ordered clearance operations in a Hong Kong protest zone.


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



nationmultimedia.com The beach at Ao Nang in Krabi is being inspected following a complaint by tourists that operators had constructed buildings and put beach beds on the public beach zone. Similar complaints have also arisen in the seaside province of Trang, south of Phuket.

nationmultimedia.com In a series of raids, police discovered secret underground vaults at the home of former crimebuster Pongpat Chayaphan containing assets worth more than two billion baht.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Hidden-treasures-found-30248573.html

bangkokpost.com After months of reports suggesting he is on course to buy Britain's giant hypermarket Tesco Lotus, Dhanin Chearavanont, Thailand's richest man, has broken the silence to confirm he is keen on buying.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/445238/dhanin-breaks-silence-on-deals

smh.com.au The Australian dollar slumped to a low of US85.14 in New York trading overnight, its lowest mark since June 2010. [A low Aussie dollar means fewer Australians can afford to travel to Phuket.]

nationmultimedia.com Human Rights Watch said in a statement marking six months since the May 22 coup that the Thai military junta has shown ''no genuine signs of restoring democratic civilian rule'' and is ''severely repressing fundamental rights and freedom''.



theguardian.com Bodies of Ebola victims have been dumped outside a hospital in Sierra Leone by burial workers, who are protesting at the failure of authorities to pay them bonuses for their hazardous work, residents have said.



afp The Islamic State group stoned two men to death in Syria after claiming they were gay, a monitor said, in the jihadist organisation's first executions for alleged homosexuality.

bangkokpost.com A woman died after her car hit a barrier on the third floor of The Mall Bangkapi's parking structure and plunged to the ground, slamming into the pavement upside down.

nationmultimedia.com Owners of resorts operating illegally in national parks will face the seizure of their assets, Royal Forest Department chief Theerapat Prayunrasiddhi announced: ''You will see concrete results of our intensified operations against forest encroachers within the next three to six months.''

bangkokpost.com Jetstar Pacific, the Vietnamese member of the Jetstar budget airline group, will launch daily service between Bangkok and Hanoi starting next March 29.

hospitalitynet.org Bali's hotels are seeing increased demand despite broader concerns about what seems to be an endless stream of new rooms. In a new report released by Horwath HTL and C9 Hotelworks figures show the overseas arrivals though August surged 14 percent year-on-year. By the end of 2014 international air passenger arrivals are expected to eclipse a record 3.8 million.

theguardian.com The interim government headed by the former army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha has prioritised fighting corruption, but critics say its real goal is to cripple Thaksin Shinawatra???s political machine, which has won every national election since 2001.

nytimes.com Aiming to head off another night of looting and arson, Gov. Jay Nixon called in reinforcements to quell violence that gripped the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson after a grand jury declined to indict Darren Wilson, a white police officer, in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager.

aljazeera.com The UN marks International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women with a call to end to what it calls a ''global pandemic'' of aggression against women and girls.

thephuketnews.com Following the publication of an investigation into underage prostitution among Rawai's Sea Gypsies, Rawai Mayor Arun Soros has leapt into action.

theguardian.com The Burmese army systematically uses sexual violence against women - including gang rape by soldiers - to ''demoralise and destroy the fabric of ethnic [minority] communities'' and establish control over resource-rich areas, according to a women's rights group.

bangkokpost.com A caucasian male was found dead in a 7-Eleven store in Pattaya. Rescue workers tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate him.

reuters What's better for limiting the spread of bacteria in washrooms: paper towels, or air dryers? New research funded by a trade organisation of paper towel manufacturers suggests that towels spread less bacteria.



bangkokpost.com The European Union announced it will pledge the equivalent of 10.4 billion baht a year to Burma (Myanmar) to fund rural development, political reform, peace initiatives and other issues for the next three years.

wsj.com Disagreements among investigators over where to look for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 are complicating an already difficult effort to recover the missing jetliner. Searchers may only be able to scour around 80 percent of the probable crash sites before government funding runs out.



smh.com.au Former Test batsman Phil Hughes remains in a critical condition in hospital after a short-pitched delivery struck his head during a Sheffield Shield match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

afp Lionel Messi became the all time leading goalscorer in the Champions League with his 72nd goal in the competition against APOEL Nicosia, just four days after achieving the same feat in La Liga.

telegraph.co.uk Facing deep embarrassment to the 10 men of Bayern Munich, who were giving the champions of England a master-class in the possession game, Manchester City recovered from 2-1 down with six minutes remaining to win. Thanks to Sergio Aguero's hat-trick.

reuters Zlatan Ibrahimovic inspired Paris St Germain to a 3-1 home win against Ajax Amsterdam that leaves them needing a point from their final Champions League game at Barcelona to top Group F.

independent.co.uk Chelsea, who had taken the lead after 86 seconds through John Terry, settled for five goals. Schalke 0-5 Chelsea.

Thailand Update Tottenham Hotspur Football Club has launched dedicated Thai-language social media channels in recognition of its growing Thai fan base. The Premier League club has an estimated global following of over 180 million, with over 100 Official Supporters Clubs in 40 countries across the world, with over 90 per cent of 5.6 million page likes on Facebook coming from international fans.



November 29-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