Asean EC Delayed; Tourism 'Race to Bottom'; Barack on Track; World Sports Wrap; Phuket Events

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

bangkokpost.com Asean leaders have decided to delay the launch of the Asean Economic Community for 12 months from January 1 to December 31, 2015 to prepare the necessary regulations.

bangkokpost.com The tourism sector must halt its seeming "race to the bottom" and try to retain those tourists willing to spend money but not at the expense of society or the environment, say experts. ''The tourism industry changes quickly, and if you don't keep up with the changes, then you risk losing the market,'' said Eike Otto, a German tourism and regional development consultant.

nationmultimedia.com One of Thailand's most violent train attacks erupted in Narathiwat's Rusoh district, with a bomb killing three security volunteers and injuring 14 other victims. Rail services in the deep South are now suspended.

ft.com President Barack Obama notched up the first diplomatic success of his southeast Asian tour when Thai leader Yingluck Shinawatra announced her country's intention to join a US-led regional trade pact and upgrade its military relationship with the US.

nationmultimedia.com Touring Wat Pho, a monk told Obama that if the US allowed him to be re-elected for a third term, he would win the election because he has paid homage to the reclining Buddha. Obama said he did not want to be re-elected for a third term as he wanted to raise his children and pointed to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and said she would be the next president. All burst out in laughter.

washingtonpost.com President Obama defended his trip to Burma, insisting the visit Monday is ''not an endorsement'' of the nation's long-repressive leadership, but an acknowledgment that the country is making progress toward reform.

independent.co.uk Rights activists have warned that unless Barack Obama presses the government to complete the journey to genuine democracy, his visit will be an ''undeserved seal of approval'' for the military's continued domination.

nytimes.com The president's Kenyan grandfather, Hussein Onyango Obama, spent part of World War II in what was then called Burma as a cook for a British Army captain. Although details are sometimes debated, the elder Mr Obama's Asian experience proved as formative as his grandson's time growing up in Indonesia did decades later.

bangkokpost.com The Bangladesh government rejected comments by Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi suggesting that stateless Muslim Rohingyas may be illegal Bangladeshi migrants.

bangkokpost.com Heads of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations hailed their declaration on human rights as a landmark agreement that would help protect the region's 600 million people. But critics said it allowed too many loopholes.

wsj.com Obama's visit to Thailand was Sunday's news in Bangkok, but another top leader is making his way to the Southeast Asian country in the next few days: China's Premier Wen Jiabao.

afp The Israeli government has admitted it has become the victim of a mass cyber-warfare campaign, with millions of attempts to hack state websites since the start of its Gaza offensive four days ago.

reuters The best may be over for Singapore's booming hotel market as tightening corporate budgets and bank job cuts leave more luxury rooms empty, crimping profits. If Singapore's demand stays lukewarm next year, as many hotel operators expect, room rates and profits will slip.

nationmultimedia.com Developers remain confident that the property market in 2013 will grow by 5-10 percent based on strong growth in gross domestic product, anticipated at 4-5 percent. Buoyed by this confidence, they plan to launch new residential projects worth more than 200 billion baht next year both in Greater Bangkok Chon Buri, Pattaya, Hua Hin, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Khon Kaen.

Phuket World Sports Wrap


afp Holders Brazil claimed their fifth Futsal World Cup title with a nerve shredding 3-2 extra-time final win in Bangkok to break Spanish hearts for a second successive tournament. In a pulsating end to three weeks of competition, Neto was the night's hero, scoring the winner - his second goal of the game.

nationmultimedia.com Fifa boss Joseph Blatter initiated the 'Football for Hope' project, which he believes would bring people, especially in Thailand's trouble-wracked southernmost provinces, together.

news.sky.com Lewis Hamilton won the US Grand Prix to mean Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso will face a title-deciding final race of the season. Hamilton drove brilliantly from second on the grid to overtake Vettel on lap 42 and seal a win that takes the title race between the Red Bull driver and Alonso to the last Grand Prix of the season in Brazil.

guardian.co.uk It is hardly a surprise that the air turned blue in the Chelsea dressing room. This was a fourth successive Premier League match without a win and prompted fresh questions, as well as a few choice words, about the reasons for Chelsea's annual collapse. West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Chelsea.

bbc.co.uk England batting coach Graham Gooch said captain Alastair Cook ''is one of the best players in the world'' following his unbeaten 168 against India. Cook, 27, has now batted through all four sessions of the second innings to take the first Test into the final day.

AP Adam Scott shot a 5-under 67 to win the Australian Masters in his native country for his first victory of the year.

reuters Miguel Angel Jimenez fired a final round five-under 65 to become the oldest player to record a European Tour victory with a one-stroke triumph at the Hong Kong Open.

Sourced: phuketwan