TUESDAY MORNING BRIEFING – All your local news in 3 minutes

Welcome to your Tuesday in Phuket. Another excellent day on the way with only a 10% chance of rain later on. The forecast says ‘Mostly sunny’. Back to work and school following your day off (if you were lucky enough to have a long weekend). Here’s today’s main headlines…

Change.org calls for General Prawit to step down

An online campaign has been launched with the objective of pressuring Deputy PM and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwon to step down over his offhand comments about the death of a cadet that has seized national headlines. The campaign on Change.org says “Prawit should resign to take responsibility for what he said about the death of cadet Phakhapong Tanyakan.”.

More than 1,400 people having signed their names in support of the petition so far. Phakhapong, an 18-year-old student at the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School (AFAPS), died in suspicious circumstances at the academy on October 17.

Australian plunges to his death in Pattaya

An Australian man has fallen to his death from his room at a Pattaya hotel.

The body of 63 year old Cook Philip James was found on the ground next to the hotel’s swimming pool. Staff said he had been living alone in a seventh-floor room for many days. A Thai woman had visited him occasionally but she had not been seen for a while. The body has been sent for an autopsy at the Police Hospital in Bangkok.

EU resuming politics contacts with Thailand

The EU say they’re ready to resume political contacts “at all levels” with Thailand, more than three years after suspending them in protest at the military coup in May 2014.

The EU bloc says developments in Thailand this year, including the adoption of a new constitution and a pledge by junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha to hold elections in November 2018, meant it was “appropriate” to resume ties.But the European Union repeated its call for the restoration of full democracy and says it was still concerned about harassment of human rights activists and the curtailing of free speech in Thailand.

Seizure of 610 kilograms of ‘Premium Gold’ marijuana

The Royal Thai Navy’s Mekong patrol unit has seized 610 kilograms of “premium gold” quality marijuana in Nakhon Phanom, as smugglers tried to cross the Mekong River.

Undercover officers staked out at a spot on the Mekong River by disguising themselves as fishermen. The officers saw a large boat crossing from Laos and, after identifying themselves, ordered it to stop. The boat’s skipper instead drove the boat to a pier and then fled on foot into the darkness. 15 bags were found on the boat with 610 bars of dried, compressed marijuana in gold foil wrappers.

Police say the shipment was heading to the South to be smuggled to a destination in Europe, where it would have fetched 100,000 baht per kilogram.

Toon comes down with a cold

Charity hero Artiwara “Toon” Kongmalai has been forced to take some time off after going down with a cold.

Toon had already taken Sunday off as a scheduled rest day after reaching Nan but was due to resume his run yesterday.

The musician’s charity run has been going for 41 days, 32 days he’s actually been pounding the pavement, covering 1,510 km. The event has so far raised 719 million baht.

Phuket Land Transport launch new bus App

The Phuket Land Transport Office is launching a new application called “Bus Beam” connecting people with public transportations, gathering all the schedules for bus services around Phuket. There are 6 bus operators who have joined the application so far.

After a ceremony at Provincial Hall, an MOU was signed between Phuket Land Transport Office and the 6 operators who will be the first to provide bus schedules available on the app. The App is expected to be available in English and Chinese by the end of January.

“Phuket Land Transport Office aims to accommodate people by making it more convenient to check where the bus is along with its schedule so we created a portable App available on everyone’s smartphone, both iOS and Android. This will also generate income for bus operators making it easier for locals and tourists to access the services,” said Phuket Land Transport Office Chief.

World and local news & weather updates every 30 minutes on The Thaiger, Phuket’s 102.75 FM.