smh.com.au Up to 10 Australians are among 160 people missing after a powerful undersea earthquake struck a popular surfing area in west Sumatra. The 7.7-magnitude undersea quake hit the Mentawai Islands, off the west coast of Indonesia, at 9.42pm yesterday.

heraldsun.com.au "There is one boat that we haven't been able to make contact with, the Southern Cross," Yuli, a staff member of Sumatran Surfari, said. "Among the passengers there are nine Australian citizens."

many-daily.com.au The wife of missing former Pittwater mayor and state MP Alex McTaggart is confident that he and other peninsula surfers missing since a tsunami hit Indonesia have the necessary experience to survive. No contact has been made with the missing men, of whom at least eight are believed to be from Sydney's northern beaches.

prweb.com Last year's best value destination, Thailand, fell to fifth position this year. The strength of the Thai baht resulted in higher costs in Phuket. Post Office Travel Money's Long Haul Holiday Report 2010 has revealed that Sri Lanka, Mexico and Kenya offer the best value for money to UK holidaymakers.


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

live-pr.com Mai-BS (Thailand) signed an agreement with Yangrangsi Company Limited, based in Phuket, for the development of a new resort at south Patong beach. The hotel, yet to be named and scheduled to open year-end 2012, will consist of 100 pool villas and 250 rooms. Most of the hotel rooms on 100 rai will overlook Patong beach and town. Other facilities of the resort will include three themed concept restaurants, a freshwater lake covering seven rai and a medium sized meeting room. The spa will be 14-16 treatment rooms between huge natural rocks and trees. A natural waterfall will flow right through the centre of the spa facilities.

thephuketinsider.com Six Senses Resorts and Spas has acquired full ownership of the Evason Resort in Rawai and rebranded it the Evason Phuket & Bon Island. The resort is set for a 100 million baht renovation.

bangkokpost.com Pan Pacific Hotels Group remains confident in the Thai market and the country's underlying strengths and plans a substantial expansion after ending its management of the Pan Pacific Hotel in Bangkok at the end of this year. It is targeting Bangkok and Phuket for the management of both the Pan Pacific and Parkroyal brands.


telegraph.co.uk Kwikchex, which describes itself as an online reputation-management company, says that next month it will publish a list of "thousands" of online reviewers it suspects of posting fraudulent and defamatory comments. Last month, Kwikchex, which is acting on behalf of more than 800 hotels and restaurants, announced plans to bring a group legal action against user-generated review websites such as TripAdvisor.
The editors of the UK's Good Hotel Guide this week accused TripAdvisor of being "brazen and shameless" in printing malicious reviews without checking their authenticity. They said they had been inundated with complaints from hoteliers about "fraudulent" reviews.

msnbc.msn.com KwikChex said it has presented TripAdvisor with multiple cases of what it claims are ''false and malicious'' reviews posted on TripAdvisor.com. They include wrongful accusations of ''criminal or seriously negligent behavior'' at some hotels. One example: A TripAdvisor user wrote last month that during his stay at a British cottage, ''the owner ... stared at our children for extended periods.''

businessweek.com Thailand is ''keeping an eye'' on speculative capital inflows as increasing foreign purchases of the country's bonds lead to currency gains, said Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij.

travelio.net Whilst Thailand tops the charts as the country that most men want to visit, for women the South East Asian country only ranks fifth. And while India is number five in the men's charts, the sub-continent does not even feature in the women's top 10. Likewise, Austria charts at number seven for the ladies, but does not appear in the guy's favorites.

heraldsun.com.au A strong earthquake hit off the western coast of Indonesia's Sumatra. Charter boat operator Rick Hallett said he and other charter boat guests jumped for their lives as a three-metre tsunami wave hit. Mr Hallett said several people were carried 200 metres inland, while others scrambled up trees, but amazingly no one was lost.

voanews.com Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood reunites with his 'Invictus' star Matt Damon for a new drama that explores the ages-old mystery of what happens after death, 'Hereafter'. The international cast features French screen star Cecile De France as tsunami survivor Marie.

abc.net.au Dozens of people have been killed and a number of villages have been destroyed by a cyclone that hit Western Burma. Twenty-nine people were killed when Cyclone Giri hit Rakhine state. The death toll may go as high as 100.

bbc.co.uk At least 12 people are thought to have been killed and up to 80 have been injured after oil leaking from a pipeline in Burma caught fire. Some reports say the fire started as local people tried to collect oil from the leaking pipeline near the town of Pakokku, in the central Magway region.

telegraph.co.uk Reiki for animals, beds for dogs and a chaperone for a group of sex addicts were among the strangest requests made by hotel guests this year. The bizarre list of demands, revealed by the hotel chain Best Western, also included a private meeting room for a group of men who all wanted to wear baby grows, and a party of travellers who insisted on a menu consisting entirely of blue food.

todayonline.com Even as it awaits regulatory approval, the proposed merger between the Singapore and Australian bourses has already been met with disquiet Down Under. The Australian Shareholders Association believes the Singapore Exchange's US$8.2 billion offer will throw up significant concerns; in particular, the issue of independence on the board of the SGX.

southalltravel.co.uk The Times of India reports that many India-based billionaires are looking for the ultimate getaway holiday home as they take flights to Thailand to check out potential purchases. Chris Krolow, chief executive officer of Private Island Inc, said: ''We have done five deals over the last eight to 12 months.'' It is understood that Rangyai Island in Thailand recently sold for $160 million.

Associated Press Indonesia says its most volatile volcano could erupt at any time and it has started to evacuate some of the thousands of villagers living on the mountain's slope. Mount Merapi has seen increased volcanic activity over the past week.

telegraph.co.uk The thousands of Pompeii citizens who perished when Mount Vesuvius erupted nearly 2000 years ago died from intense heat rather than suffocation, a new study says. The Roman city's inhabitants were caught in a firestorm in which they were exposed to temperatures of up to 600 degrees, Italian scientists believe.



November 1 Yellow Submarine Divers on Phuket will launch the Donate As You Dive campaign
November 2-7 Phuket womens' beach volleyball, Karon beach
November 5 Phuket Charity Pro Am Golf, Blue Canyon
November 6 Charity golf at Tab Lamu, near Khao Lak: Call Sam on 089 875 1995 E: sam@khaolakappeal.com
November 6 Thailand Property Awards, Bangkok
November 12 IBAP meets at Thai Naan restaurant to hear Woody Leonard on what's best for internet access on Phuket.
November 19 AustCham at the new Westin Hotel at Koh Sireh from 3pm. E: harry@ladypie.com Tel: 081 2731740
November 21 Loy Kratong Festival
November 28 Laguna Phuket triathlon
December 4-11 Phuket King's Cup Regatta
December 5 Laguna Ironman title
December 15-20 Patong Carnival
2011
January 6-9 PIMEX boat show, Royal Phuket Marina
January 23 The Great Phuket Rubber Duck Race Day, Laguna Phuket
February 9-13 The Bay Regatta - Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi