rappler.com ''I'm not concerned by the three-finger protest,'' Prayuth told reporters Friday. But Thailand's prime minister also suggested those detained for using the salute could face further problems

telegraph.co.uk A 10cm parasitic tapeworm lived in the brain of British man for four years before doctors realised it was there, it has emerged. Once diagnosed the man was treated easily with drugs to kill the worm and has now completely recovered.

voanews.com In an exclusive interview with VOA's Burmese Service, Myanmar President Thein Sein called allegations that minority Muslim Rohingya are fleeing alleged torture in Rakhine state ''a media fabrication.''
http://www.voanews.com/content/voa-exclusive-interview-myanmar-president-thein-sein/2527766.html


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 Academics say by turning his back on every symbolic demonstration, the prime minister and his military only increase opposition to reform and reconciliation, while General Prayuth again defends martial law and suggests the media should stop reporting on the issue.

nationmultimedia.com Thailand were given a scare when their grip on the Asian Beach Games crown in Phuket was loosened by a strong surge from reigning champions China, who scooped nine golds to leapfrog into second.

bangkokpost.com The Navy on Wednesday night rescued nine tourists after the boat they hired to go fishing broke down about 10 nautical miles off Koh Lanta, Krabi, leaving them stranded on the Andaman Sea for about 10 hours.



reuters The smuggling of Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Burma (Myanmar) is so lucrative that Thai fishermen are converting their boats to carry humans, say police and officials. Many locals see nothing wrong with transporting boat people, says Manit Pianthong, chief of Takuapa district in Phang Nga province, north of Phuket. Thailand is one of the worst centers for human-trafficking, according to the US State Department, which in June downgraded Thailand to its lowest ranking for ''not making significant efforts.''
http://www.irrawaddy.org/asia/thai-fishermen-convert-boats-cash-rohingya-smuggling.html



bangkokpost.com The Koh Samui Provincial Court approved a fifth period of detention for the Koh Tao murder suspects as prosecutors said they were waiting for more evidence plus the findings of an assault claim during police interrogation.



Chaofa Cluster Paragliding, power paragliding 7am-on
Karon Cluster Beach water polo 10am-on; Beach Handball 3pm-5pm; Beach Volleyball 9am-3pm;
Body building 5pm-7.30pm
Patong Cluster Beach kebaddi 2pm-5.20pm; Beach Sepaktakraw 8.30am-5pm; Muay Thai 5pm-on
Bang Neaw Dam Cluster Wakeski, wakeboard 8am-5pm
Saphan Hin Cluster Beach Soccer 11am-3pm
Nai Yang Cluster Beach athletics 2pm-on; Beach modern pentathlon 10am-on



smh.com.au ''Do Africans know it's Christmas? Could you be more condescending?'' the reader wrote.
http://www.watoday.com.au/entertainment/music/stop-already-sir-bob-geldofs-band-aid-30-song-unpopular-among-africans-20141120-11qe5h.html

aljazeera.com According to some estimates, the Christian population in Nigeria alone is almost three times the number of Christians in England and Wales. How couldn't they know it's Christmas? Bishop Arinze from Nigeria was at one point in the running to be the next Pope.



wsj.com Mongolia sent 34 athletes to Phuket for the fourth edition of the Asian Beach Games, which involve more than 40 other countries. This is despite the fact that it is a landlocked country of rolling pasture lands and yurts. Half of the squad has never even seen the ocean before.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/landlocked-mongolia-hits-the-asian-beach-games-1416525783?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj

abc.net.au The baby boy with Down syndrome at the centre of a surrogacy scandal in Thailand is in the process of becoming an Australian citizen. Gammy's Thai surrogate mother has lodged papers at the Australian embassy and said he could be entitled to Australian welfare.

techinasia.com Travel search engine JetRadar's founder Konstantin Kalinov uprooted himself and five other employees from St. Petersburg - the second largest city in Russia - and relocated to the beach paradise of Phuket, Thailand.
https://www.techinasia.com/jetradar-russian-startup-paradise-phuket/

traveldailynews.asia Phuket hotels are running at about 80 percent occupancy island-wide, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket Office. The healthy occupancy is attributed to the Games and the high season period, which kicked off from November 1.

bangkokpost.com Budget carrier AirAsia said it will launch a regional air pass from January 15 to increase revenue and boost tourism in Southeast Asia, taking competition in low-cost air travel to a more intense level.

nytimes.com The head of the company whose ferry sank in April, killing more than 300 people in one of South Korea's worst disasters in decades, was convicted of accidental homicide and embezzlement and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

independent.co.uk Boys born in parts of the south of England are expected to live up to eight years longer than those born in the northwest, official figures suggest.

bbc.com The worldwide cost of obesity is about the same as smoking or armed conflict and greater than both alcoholism and climate change, research has suggested.

reuters A Swedish appeals court rejected an appeal by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to revoke a detention order issued by prosecutors in 2010 over allegations of sexual assault.

independent.co.uk Yahoo has struck a deal to become the default search engine on the Firefox internet browser in the US, replacing Google and its 10 year partnership with the company. Yahoo holds around 10 percent of the market share for US desktop computers, followed by 20 percent for Microsoft and 67 percent for Google.

independent.co.uk Mike Nichols, the director of 1967 classic 'The Graduate,' has died suddenly after suffering a heart attack. He was 83 years old.

sunshinecoastdaily.com.au A 13-year-old girl who turned down an offer from Kim Kardashian West to adopt her has no regrets. The teenager, who is known as Pink, admitted she was ''so excited'' when she found out the reality TV star wanted to adopt her following her visit to the youngster's children's home in Thailand's Phang Nga province in April, but she couldn't leave her friends and family.



smh.com.au Budget airline AirAsia X will drop some of its flights to Australia from its Kuala Lumpur hub next year after losses from its Australian operations quadrupled to 121.4 million ringgit ($42 million) in the September quarter.

news.asiaone.com What was supposed to be a day to celebrate his 90th birthday has now turned into a day of his funeral. Mr Tan Cheng Hau was killed when an SMRT bus hit him on Jurong East Avenue 1 towards Toh Guan Road on Monday at about noon.



independent.co.uk Fernando Alonso will leave Ferrari at the end of the season ahead of an expected move to McLaren, the Italian manufacturer has confirmed, and will be replaced in the team by four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.

theguardian.com Michael Schumacher is paralysed and has memory and speech problems from the brain injuries he sustained in a skiing accident, according to Philippe Streiff, a friend and ex-Formula One driver who was himself left in a wheelchair by a crash.

thenational.ae The UAE went down to Iran 3-1 in a penalty shootout after a 4-4 deadlock in the beach soccer semi-finals in the fourth Asian Beach Games in Phuket, Thailand,



November 14-23 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket

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