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

nypost.com A Manhattan judge dismissed the charges against a real estate broker accused of serving alcohol to a US ambassador's underage daughter who fell to her death at his party in August. Nicole John, 17, had been drinking prior to the party at Ilan Nassimi's Herald Square apartment, prosecutors explained in asking that the misdemeanor charges of serving alcohol to minors be tossed. A lengthy investigation into the death of John - daughter of then-US ambassador to Thailand Eric John - yielded no solid proof that Nassimi served booze to minors at his party, assistant district attorney Molly Brottmiller explained.

nydailynews.com Nicole John [who sometimes visited Phuket] tumbled out of a window at the party - falling 22 stories to her death. Cops said John had a pair of fake IDs, including a Brazilian driver's license. One said she was 23 and the other said she was 24.

nzherald.co.nz Friends have spoken of their grief after the death of Sarah Carter, the 23-year-old New Zealander who died from food poisoning in Thailand at the weekend, on a Facebook tribute page. Her friends Amanda Eliason and Emma Langlands, both 23, also suffered food poisoning and were last night still in Chiang Mai Ram Hospital. Richard Langlands said his daughter and Sarah were due to fly back for a wedding this weekend.

thejakartaglobe.com Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika warned district heads against issuing building permits for hotels in sacred areas. The call comes a day after the provincial administration issued a moratorium on new hotel developments in the island's three main tourist areas of Denpasar, Badung and Gianyar in a bid to encourage tourism development in the island's west and north.

cnn.com The chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations pushed for talks between Thailand and Cambodia to end deadly clashes that have erupted over a temple along the border.

bangkokpost.com Police are threatening to use force to reopen roads blocked by the People's Alliance for Democracy if talks break down. The Cabinet endorsed the Internal Security Act, which gives police extra powers to handle protests. The Act will remain in force until February 23.

nationmultimedia.com The Central Group of Companies announced a 20 billion baht investment budget for this year, with 80 percent geared for retail. Centara Hotels and Resorts, the group's hotel unit, will also invest in continuing its expansion of Centara Grand Beach Resort on Phuket.

bangkokpost.com Attorneys for an accused cold-blooded killer claim sleep deprivation and Red Bull energy drinks caused a psychotic episode that ended when he smothered his 83-year-old father with a pillow a year ago. Stephen Coffen was supposed to be watching his father in the elderly man's home in Florida when the death occurred. Even Tom Coffeen, his brother, scoffed at the Krating Daeng defence.

southalltravel.co.uk A Thai company is set to open eight new hotels in Dubai as part of its expansion into the Middle East. Zinc InVision is planning to eventually open 28 establishments in the region, in a move that could appeal to those taking flights to Dubai in the future.

openpr.com The Tourism Authority of Thailand is predicting that the revenue from tourism over the festive period will beat last year's total of eight billion baht. Over the last few days, hotels across Phuket have been reporting occupancy levels at around 90 percent.

theage.com.au No less than an hour after she touched down in Melbourne tonight, Liz Hurley was at the door of her new love interest Shane Warne's pad. The British actress and model refused to say whether she would be spending time with the Australian cricketer when she landed at Melbourne airport just after 8pm. But by 9pm she was knocking on the door of the house Warne once shared with his ex-wife Simone Callahan.

voanews.com A hardline Muslim mob clashed with police and burned two churches in Indonesia to protest what they considered a too-lenient sentence given a Christian for blaspheming against Islam. The US ambassador in Jakarta expressed concern about the burnings and also deplored an earlier mob attack on a minority Muslim sect in which three people were stabbed and beaten to death.

afp Like other Muslims they read the Koran and face Mecca to pray, but the Shiite community in Malaysia is considered a "deviant sect" and faces harassment in this multicultural country. In a country where non-Muslims are constitutionally free to practice their faith, the crackdown on an Islamic sect which forms the majority in other countries, including Iran and Iraq, has raised concerns.

cnn.com Prosecutors in Germany have begun proceedings against a company that makes a card game featuring Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, among others. The Hitler card features a photo of the dictator and a partially obscured swastika, the Nazi party symbol - the display of which is illegal in Germany.

afp Malaysian police said they were investigating the disappearance of more than 700,000 ultrathin condoms which went missing in transit between Malaysia and Japan. Sagami Rubber Industries, Japan's first condom maker, said last week that the shipment was loaded into a container at its factory in northern Malaysia, but that it was empty with the locks replaced when it arrived in Tokyo.



Pink Floyd tribute band the New Machine will be playing at Zantika in Khao Lak from 9pm on February 20 for free to raise funds for the Khao Lak Community Appeal, a post tsunami charity aimed at helping to improve health care and education facilities in the area (www.khaolakappeal.com).

February 8-10 Old Phuket Town Festival, food and walking street fest
February 9-13 The Bay Regatta - Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi
February 11 IBAP for Michael Doyle, US attorney and co-author of 'Doyle's Practical Guide to Business Law in Emerging Countries in Asia.'
February 18 Makha Bucha public holiday
February 23-26 Phuket Gay Pride Festival, Patong
February 25-26 Phuket International Blues and Rock Festival 2011
February 26-27 Phuket Spicy Soccer 7s, Phuket International Academy
March4-6 Pool Asia Expo and Conference, Hilton, Phuket
March 14-19 ADFEST 2011 at Movenpick Resort, Phuket
March 27 Earth Hour commemoration on Phuket
April 13-15 Songkran Festival
May New PPAO Hospital to open, Phuket City


Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket