bangkokpost.com Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat have been put on alert to expect heavy rain that will blanket the entire southern region from Saturday. Workers on oil platforms in the gulf have been evacuated to mainland Songkhla province.


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 Business optimism in Thailand has risen substantially from the second to the third quarter, to the highest level in Asean, according to Grant Thornton's International Business Report (IBR) for the third quarter.

pataayamail.com Months of street protests and the subsequent military coup have cost Pattaya more than 10 billion baht in tourism-related revenue, the Pattaya Business & Tourism Association said. The coming high season will be disappointing, with bookings down 10-70 percent, depending on market.

nationmultimedia.com Thais should be aware that energy sources including natural gas are constantly declining and that the country's economic foundation is not strong enough to survive an energy crisis, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said.



theguardian.com Burma's state security forces are profiting directly from the trafficking of stateless Rohingya Muslims, earning up to $7000 per boatload in exchange for passage to sea, a human rights group has found. ''They're trying to slowly kill us all,'' said one Rohingya man, aged 27.



nationmultimedia.com Thawatchai Siangjaew, deputy director general of Regional Public Prosecution 8, announced that prosecutors should be able to indict two Myanmar men charged with the murder of two Britons on Koh Tao by the end of this month.



channelnewsasia.com Thailand's army chief has warned under-pressure troops deployed in Thailand's insurgency-stricken south need to be better supported, an army spokesman said, after a conscript shot dead four officers before turning the gun on himself.

ft.com From the Thai authorities' perspective, clamping down on vendors tackles the problem only on a superficial level. Raids are more effective when carried out on the elusive suppliers and manufacturers of counterfeits.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/877ec30e-0e5c-11e4-a1ae-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3IQK3IOFI

afp Suspected gang members in Mexico confessed to killing more than 40 missing students and incinerating their remains in a case that shocked the country, the attorney general said.

reuters Ukraine's military have accused Russia of sending a column of 32 tanks and truckloads of troops into the country's east to support pro-Russian separatists fighting government forces.

AP Robin Williams' autopsy found no alcohol or illegal drugs were in his body when he took his own life at his Northern California home in August, sheriff's officials said.

afp A young American naturalist, filmmaker and adventurer in the Amazon set off an internet stir after he claimed he offered himself for dinner to a giant snake. ''I'm Paul Rosolie and I'm about to be the first person to be eaten alive by an anaconda,'' he said in a 30-second video on Twitter promoting a new show, 'Eaten Alive,' to be telecast on the Discovery Channel on December 7.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rrM3zl4J_g

smh.com.au If passed, The Migration and Maritime Powers Legislation Amendment (Resolving the Asylum Legacy Caseload) Bill would effectively enshrine in law the mistreatment of asylum seekers and refugees who flee to Australia to escape persecution, torture and death. The legislation is the perverse creation of a Government prepared to tear up the rule of law for its own political ends.

incentivetravel.co.uk W Beijing - Chang'an is the latest addition to Starwood's growing portfolio of nearly 140 operating hotels in Greater China, with a strong pipeline of more than 130 hotels to come. China continues to fuel the growth of W Hotels in Asia Pacific, which will soon see W Hotels opening in Brisbane, Australia; Jakarta, Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Gurgaon, Noida, India and Phuket, Thailand.



abc.net.au Three Malaysian transgender women have won their landmark bid to overturn an Islamic anti cross-dressing law in the conservative Muslim-majority nation. A three-judge appeals court panel ruled that a provision of southern Negeri Sembilan state that bars Muslim men from dressing as women was unconstitutional, saying it ''deprives the appellants of the right to live with dignity''.

asiancorrespondent.com Despite promises of reform, Burma's progress on key issues such as human rights, sectarian violence and political reform appears to to have come to a grinding halt. Journalists and activists and are being jailed, civilians are being killed, and next year's elections appear to be little more than a sham exercise.

time.com Leading generals in Burma's powerful military should be charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to researchers who claim to have accumulated enough evidence to mount a successful prosecution under international law. The abuses are described as ''too grave to be ignored.''

pbs.org The 2004 quake and tsunami reshaped life in the Aceh region of Indonesia - in some ways for the better. The outpouring of international aid helped residents rebuild their community stronger than before the disaster.



xinhua Vietnam will send 138 athletes to compete in the fourth Asian Beach Games 2014 (ABG 2014) to be held in Thailand from Nov. 14 to 23, according to the National Sports Administration. Themed ''Celebrate Charming Sunshine,'' ABG 2014 will attract 2 645 players from 42 countries and regions in Asia.

dailytimes.com.pk The Pakistan Handball Federation (PHF) has finalised a 10-member squad for the upcoming 4th Asian Beach Games 2014 scheduled to take place from November 14 to 23 in Phuket, Thailand.

telegraph.co.uk Andre Agassi was so enraged after Brooke Shields, his former girlfriend, licked Matt Le Blanc's fingers in an episode of 'Friends' that he drove home and smashed his Wimbledon trophy and all his other tennis awards. The actress claims in a book on her life that Agassi watched from the wings as she recorded the scene.



bangkokpost.com Entrance fees to all 147 national parks will be waived on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day as part of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's ''happiness'' campaign.

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