bangkokpost.com Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) chief Pongpat Chayaphan and seven other people including officers have been arrested on a number of serious charges, a police spokesman confirmed on Sunday.
http://bangkokpost.com/news/general/444970/cib-chief-and-7-others-arrested-charged

zeenews.india.com A Kieran Gibbs own goal and a Wayne Rooney strike saw Manchester United return to the Premier League's top four with a bruising 2-1 victory at Arsenal.

bbc.com Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao retained his WBO welterweight title in Macau by overwhelming American challenger Chris Algieri. Pacquiao knocked down his 30-year-old opponent six times during the 12-round contest to hand Algieri a first defeat.


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 Russia, Japan and South Korea sent observers to the Phuket Beach Games and aim to host the World Beach Games at Thailand's expense. Phuket guaranteed safety but ahead of the beach volleyball competition, a Tajikistan coach was hit by a van while crossing the beach road and needed 10 stitches. Many athletes and officials also complained about ''unfair'' and ''expensive'' transportation.

bangkokpost.com The junta marks its six-month milestone and here's an update on what the regime has done, politically, economically and socially.
http://bangkokpost.com/news/politics/444777/six-month-milestone-how-far-along-are-we-on-the-road-to-reform

nationmultimedia.com Another dead pink dolphin was found washed up on a beach in Nakhon Si Thammarat's Pak Phanang district. Villagers say a hunting group targetting dolphins alive could could gain up to 100,000 baht for a creature sold to an aquarium.



bangkokpost.com Prisoners who have served most of their terms or are close to being released will be allowed to work on fishing boats to ease crowded jails and human trafficking. The voluntary program will ease Thailand trafficking since there are no middlemen to take advantage of laborers.



bangkokpost.com The Burmese (Myanmar) nationals accused of killing two British backpackers have appealed directly to the victims' families and British authorities for help in clearing their names. The men confessed but later retracted, saying they had been tortured and threatened with death.



Karon Cluster Beach Volleyball 1pm-4pm
Patong Cluster Beach kebaddi 9.30am-4pm; Beach Sepaktakraw 9.30am-10.30am
Saphan Hin cluster Closing ceremony 7pm-on



Phuket Update ''There is no current evidence that anybody in the government sector here really is taking this [jet-skis] issue as seriously as many people want them to take it,'' British honorary consul Martin Carpenter reportedly told an Amcham/Ibap meeting on Phuket about marine tourism.

nationmultimedia.com Three thousand electronic-monitoring (EM) bracelets for convicts on probation to use - such as drunk drivers or illegal taxi drivers - will be sent to Phuket and 26 other provinces next year. A total of 74 million has been spent to rent the 3000 bracelets.

nationmultimedia.com Letter: I can't speak for Phuket, but recently I had to go to Pattaya to visit two friends who were on holiday from Australia. Outside their hotel we got into a taxi and gave directions for our stop two kilometres down the road.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Taxi-scams-alive-and-well-in-Pattaya-30248358.html

smh.com.au Australia's freedom-hungry school leavers, known as ''schoolies,'' are increasingly heading abroad to new hot spots such as Bali, where the booze is cheap and the restrictions are scant. [Some can also be expected on Phuket.]

heraldsun.com.au There have been schoolies and toolies [adults who pursue schoolies], now there are the poolies - parents lounging poolside at popular overseas party resorts while their children enjoy their end-of-school celebrations nearby.

theage.com.au In absolute terms, Australia ranks 48th in the world for humanitarian intake of refugees. On a per capita basis it is 62nd.

dw.de The UN General Assembly's human rights committee welcomed the political and economic reforms in Burma (Myanmar) but expressed ''serious concern'' over the plight of Rohingya in Rakhine state. A resolution adopted on Friday urged Naypyidaw to allow ''equal access to full citizenship for the Rohingya minority'' and ensure their equal access to all services.

scmp.com When US President Barack Obama unveiled his immigration plan and Republican rivals howled their disapproval, the drama signalled not just a clash of political positions: it kicked off the 2016 presidential campaign.

cnn.com Armed men board a bus in Kenya and ask passengers to recite passages from the Quran before shooting 28 non-Muslims dead, officials say.

karennews.org An artillery attack against the Kachin Independence Army's Military Academy that left at least 23 officer cadets dead and a further 20 injured, was unprovoked and endangers the push for a nationwide peace agreement, a Kachin advocacy organisation has asserted.

scmp.com The US has urged Beijing to stop its reclamation projects in the South China Sea. A report provided more details on a massive island being built in the disputed waters.

pattayapeople.com Pattaya police station received a visit from a delegation of officers from the Macau Interpol organisation.

skynews.com.au A new pro-independence daily newspaper entitled The National is to be launched in Scotland. It will be on sale for a pilot period of five days to see if there is sufficient demand.

Phuket Update Both weekly English-language tabloids on Phuket are now priced at 20 baht. One had previously been priced at 25 baht.

journalism.co.uk The Financial Times is planning ''big changes'' in the newsroom for 2015 as its journalists ''increasingly think in digital terms rather than putting a print product first,'' said editor Lionel Barber.



nationmultimedia.com Thailand are set to launch their campaign to reclaim the Asean Championship title when they take on title-holders and four-time champions Singapore in a Group B clash today amid concerns about match-fixing and gambling that is predicted to hit over 200 million baht during the tournament.

asiaone.com Indonesia's new President Joko Widodo caused a stir this weekend by opting to fly economy class to watch his son's high school graduation in Singapore.

thediplomat.com Malaysia will preside over Asean during a critical the year in which it is expected to form an Asean Community (AC) by December 31, 2015.



afp Lionel Messi became the all-time top goalscorer in La Liga history with a hat-trick as Barcelona swept aside Sevilla 5-1 to remain two points adrift of league leaders Real Madrid.

nationmultimedia.com A clean sweep of three gold medals in beach athletics and the in-form Muay Thai fighters helped Thailand maintain their stranglehold on the medal stakes on the penultimate day of the 4th Asian Beach Games. Thailand's fourth gold came from the women's handball team, which downed Taiwan 17-12 13-12 in the final showdown.

bangkokpost.com Thailand were dominant in air sports on Friday winning six of eight gold medals on offer at the fourth Asian Beach Games.

xinhua The Iranian beach soccer team defeated Japan 4-3 and won the gold medal in the 4th Asian Beach Games, Tehran Times daily reported.

afp Roger Federer can win the Davis Cup for Switzerland for the first time on Sunday when he plays in the first of the reverse singles against French number one Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.



dnaindia.com If you happen to be in Phuket, Thailand between November 30 and December 6 2014, make your way to Kata Beach for Phuket's famous yatching event The King's Cup Regatta. Launched in 1987 to celebrate His Majesty the King's birthday on December 5, it is held annually in the first week of December.

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