bangkokpost.com The parent company of the Line mobile-chat application denied press reports that government is monitoring messages sent through the service in Thailand.

afp Hong Kong property tycoon Thomas Kwok was jailed for five years over payments made to a senior government official in a blockbuster case that has shocked the city.

gul-daily-news.com A Bahraini convict who escaped from the Dry Dock Detention Centre has been arrested in Thailand and extradited to Bahrain. The convict had been sentenced to life imprisonment for attempting to murder four on-duty policemen.

nationmultimedia.com Many of the 8000 local administrative bodies nationwide are hotbeds of graft and corruption, the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission said. Chief Prayong Preeyajit spoke of demands for bribes of 100,000 baht for a staff position.


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 A Norwegian woman tourist was killed after her head was struck by the propeller of a boat in the sea off Tao Thong beach. Silji Macdison, 22, was scuba diving near Tao Thong island when she was struck by the propeller of a trawler modified as a commercial tour boat owned by Phura Villa.

bangkokpost.com Two Russian cave divers are dead after entering the Chiao Lan reservoir in Surat Thani province. The victims and two others rented a boat Sunday from the Chiao Lan Municipal Pier then dove to an underwater cave. Autopsies are being performed.

bbc.com More than 50 people convicted of terrorist offences in Pakistan are facing imminent execution after President Mamnoon Hussain rejected their mercy petitions, officials say. Pakistan plans to execute about 500 militants in the wake of a school massacre.



huffingtonpost.com After his second arrest, Rafique Ahmad worried that the next time the police came for him at his home in Nyaung Chaung Village in Rakhine State Burma, he would be sent to prison. His crime? Talking too much. His eldest son remains captive in a Thai camp.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-andrews/50-days-on-a-boat-what-it_b_6357240.html

nationmultimedialcom Ten Rohingya people escaped from detention at the Phang Nga immigration office early Monday. The immigrants climbed through the ceiling of a toilet room and used a rope made from blankets to hoist themselves to the ground. 165 illegal immigrants were being detained there.

mcot Eighteen apparently illegally trafficked ethnic Rohingya migrants, including three children, were injured when their pickup truck overturned in the southern province of Phattalung, police said.



ttrweekly.com The government plans to upgrade Krabi airport as an ''alternative airport'' to Phuket in case Phuket is unable to handle more flights.

aap Aussies making world news in 2014: April 17: Australian journalist Alan Morison, 66, editor of online news website Phuketwan, faces court in Phuket on charges of defaming Thailand's navy in an online news report which alleged security forces were involved in people smuggling.

forbes.com The Beach Clearance refers specifically to ever-popular Phuket, and the fact that various interests, a mafia of sorts, had been asserting a call on sandy plots where they installed umbrellas and chairs for themselves or their paying customers. By Thai law, however, the beaches are public domain. So the post-junta cabinet has cleared the pay-per-loungers out. It's powerful symbolism with very real effect on the holiday crowd.

bbc.com Six people have been killed and eight others injured after an out-of-control bin lorry crashed into pedestrians in central Glasgow.

reuters A man ploughed a van into a crowded Christmas market in Nantes in western France, injuring at least 10 people in the country's third violent attack in as many days. The driver, who authorities said stabbed himself after the crash, and four people were badly injured, with one of the victims in critical condition, local officials said.

theguardian.com Joe Cocker, whose career spanned 40 years, has died after a long battle with lung cancer aged 70. Cocker, known for his rasping voice, rose to fame with his cover of the Beatles song With a Little Help from My Friends, which went to No 1 in 1968.

ft.com Half a world away from snowy Moscow, Russia's deepening economic crisis is reverberating upon the palm-fringed beaches and castaway islands of Thailand. The droves of holidaymakers from Russian cities visiting Thai resorts are dwindling, deterred not so much by the southeast Asian nation's military coup earlier this year as by the rout of the rouble.

9news.com.au One of the Perth brothers accused of glassing a Bali restaurateur and urinating behind a nearby temple has changed his story since leaving custody in Indonesia and claimed his supposed victim was the aggressor.
http://www.9news.com.au/world/2014/12/23/05/02/wa-brothers-in-bali-glassing-drama-insist-accuser-lied

bangkokpost.com Holiday gifts for all. Correction: Almost all. There is not one for Yingluck Shinawatra, who was so naughty over the rice pledging scheme that an emergency Christmas Day meeting aims to put a lot of coal in her stocking.

AP An orangutan that has lived 20 years at the Buenos Aires zoo is entitled to some legal rights enjoyed by humans, an Argentine court has ruled, a decision the ape's attorney called unprecedented and a ticket to greater freedom.

nationmultimedia.com The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Ministry is keeping its eye on LINE message exchanges - particularly those related to the monarchy and national security.

reuters Taiwan's transport ministry said Uber Technologies Inc is operating a taxi-hailing service ''in violation of the law,'' and that it is investigating the possibility of blocking access to the US company's website and mobile app.

traveller.com.au If you know someone who just can't get enough of sitting on a plane, and you've got a spare $6600, All Nippon Airways will sell you what it calls a ''premium'' seat from a decommissioned Boeing 747.

reuters The United States and other Western members of the UN security council slammed North Korea's human rights record after voting to over-rule China's objections and add the hermit state to the council's agenda.

independent.co.uk Reading books on an iPad and similar e-readers in the evening may disturb sleep patterns because of the type of light the device emits, scientists said.



reuters As the 10th anniversary of the disaster approaches, experts and officials say weaknesses remain across the region in a system designed to warn people and get them to safety: "If a tsunami happened today, would we be prepared? No, we would not. On an official level there has been, in the past, corruption and cut-price equipment bought that does not meet international standards.''
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/451527/10-years-on-tsunami-warning-stumbles-at-the-last-mile

nst.com.my In Thailand, where it struck popular resort cities like Phuket, revellers from as far away as Sweden fell victim to the ferocious waves - 543 Swedes died.

channelnewsasia.com ''When the train reached Peraliya, it was hit by the tsunami,'' Mr Karunathilake told Channel News Asia. ''The first wave didn't harm any passengers. Only one carriage was damaged. It was the second wave that got the train off the railway and killed a lot of people.''

AP It looked like Khao Lak beach had been carpet-bombed. As I walked around taking pictures, I would find body parts, pieces of clothes and luggage in trees - and silence. The silence is something I'll never forget.



theage.com.au The five Indonesian janitors accused of raping three pre-school children at the Jakarta Intercultural School have been found guilty and sentenced to seven- and eight-year prison sentences. The findings will shock and frighten supporters of two teachers, Neil Bantleman and Ferdinant Tjiong, who are accused in a separate but related case of raping the same three children at the school.

theborneopost.com Malaysia is expected to attract 1.4 million Chinese tourist arrivals next year in conjunction with the Malaysia Year of Festival 2015.



independent.co.uk Jose Mourinho paid tribute to his team's battling qualities in their 2-0 victory over Stoke City, praising Eden Hazard in particular who was the subject of the game's worst foul from full-back Phil Bardsley.

squawka.com Arsenal became the first Premier League side to reach five million followers on Twitter, after announcing the milestone on their official page.



The ''Colorful Countdown Phuket 2015'' will usher in the New Year with light shows and live concerts at Sanam Chai Park, across the road from Phuket Provincial Hall, from December 29-31.

December 25 Christmas Day

December 26 10th Anniversary, 2004 Tsunami

December 29-31 Colorful Countdown Phuket 2015 to New Year's Eve



January 21 Australian embassy outreach to Phuket Call 02-3446300, e: consular.bangkok@dfat.gov.au

February 12-15 Phuket Yacht Show