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

AT LEAST one of Phuket's magnificent old mansions is being preserved. If the Blue Elephant experience is a model, conversion to restaurants could save more of the island's handful of significant but crumbling mansions. The Tantawanitj family, descendants of a tin-mining magnate, have leased the Phra Pitak Chinpracha Mansion for 30 years to Blue Elephant, which is spending about 40 million baht to renovate its 20 rooms. The restaurant, part of a chain already popular across Europe, is likely to be followed by a cooking school. Will it be open on schedule, before year's end? We hope so. The mansion is at the intersection of Krabi Road and Satun Road.

navytimes.comMore than 5000 US sailors and marines have returned home to San Diego as the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan completed a five-month deployment. Jets with Carrier Air Wing 14 flew more than 1600 combat missions over Afghanistan, Navy officials said. Ships also conducted counterpiracy missions and other maritime security operations in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and Indian Ocean, and sailors joined in community projects during port visits, including Phuket.

prlog.org Asean is promoting 2010 as the year of 'Youth Travel' with global branding and promotional efforts focusing on attracting young travellers from all over the world. In Thailand, a coming Government campaign will promote Thailand as a regional hub for international education by focusing on attracting foreign students. The education sector in Thailand is projected to grow at least 10 percent a year because of the implementation of the government's new 'Strong Thailand' campaign.

Bangkok Post Passenger traffic through key Thai airports gained a robust 18.1 percent in September while combined flight movements increased by 8 percent from a year earlier. Analysts said the September figures suggested the world economic recession had eased and travellers were resuming their traditional travel patterns. January-September international passenger traffic was still down 13.9 percent with domestic volumes off 3.5 percent.

stuff.co.nz A New Zealand couple is in the running to take out a worldwide competition to be Thailand's ''Ultimate Explorers''. Gemma Cocker, 25, and Chris Sharp, 28, are among the finalists in the competition run by Thailand's TAT. The promotion sees five couples each assigned to a resort destination, Phuket among them. Gemma and Chris have been given the island getaway of Kho Samui to promo.

asiatraveltips.com With a strong Phuket representation, Singapore's three-day ITB Asia 2009 features 679 exhibitor organisations from 60 countries. The exhibitors will engage with 553 vetted quality buyers from 50 countries. Nearly 18,000 buyer-seller appointments have been scheduled. Soft economies in Europe and North America have made ITB Asia more of an Asian show this year. Other trends are apparent. There are 54 national tourism offices, a 10 percent increase. The show this year includes exhibitors from every sector of the industry, including destinations, airlines and airports, hotels and resorts, theme parks and attractions, inbound tour operators, inbound DMCs, cruise lines, spas, venues, other meeting facilities and travel technology companies. Nearly 43 percent of exhibitors are accommodation related. Tour operators and travel agencies make up 31. Visitors can download a free guide to the show on their mobile phones.

channelnewsasia.com The Singapore Tourism Board says it is on track to meeting its target of nine to 9.5 million visitors to the city this year. Despite the economic downturn, 6.2 million tourists visited Singapore in the first eight months. STB's strategy ahead is to woo more high net worth individuals. Singapore can no longer compete on price, with operating costs is higher compared to neighbors. What it can offer is more value and activities for visitors, on top of high profile events like the Youth Olympic Games, the F1 race and F1 Rocks concerts in 2010.

AFP Indonesia has arrested 10 Iranians, including eight women, for allegedly smuggling more than $10 million of the drug methamphetamine into the country. The Iranians were arrested after arriving by plane at Jakarta, customs chief Anton Mawardi told AFP.

Associated Press The drugs, wrapped in plastic food containers and cleaning fluid bottles, were packed into hand luggage. But the oddly-shaped packages were picked out by officers operating scanners. ''We believe they are part of an international syndicate.'' By wearing conservative Islamic clothing the women tried to ''fool officers in a country like Indonesia, where women in black veils are generally considered to be good women.''

AFP The UN has urged Asian nations to make their new regional human rights body ''credible'' as Asean prepares for Friday's official launch. Asean's reputation has suffered over repeated alleged human rights abuses, particularly by military-ruled Burma. Earlier this year Thailand also came under the spotlight for reported mistreatment by the armed forces of ethnic Rohingya immigrants who washed up on its shores after escaping Burma.

abc.net.au Australia is considering a plan to pay Indonesia for the cost of intercepting boats of asylum seekers on their way to Australia. The plan, which has already been dubbed ''the Indonesian Solution,'' comes in response to a growing number of people smugglers attempting to transport asylum seekers to Australia.

theaustralian.news.com.au Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith has rejected suggestions Australia pays Indonesia bounty-like payments for intercepting and housing asylum seekers. Mr Smith said Australia was making a ''considerable contribution''' to the Indonesian Government and international agencies to assist with the cost of detention, processing and settlement of refugees, he said.

smh.com.au Online travel company Expedia.com.au and foreign exchange specialists have updated their annual currency index to take into account the Australian dollar's recent surge. Always a bargain destination, Thailand is now even better value, with the $A gaining 16.18 percent. Popular shopping destination Singapore also offers good value, with the $A rising almost 15 percent, while Bali has become even cheaper with the dollar rising 11 percent against the rupiah. Even the strong Euro has fallen by almost 10 percent.

mcknights.com A new nursing home in Lampang province, Thailand, is opening on November 21. Thirty of the new resident elephants already have moved in. The Pang-La Nursing Home for Aged Elephants,also grows its own food for the pachyderms, including pineapple and banana trees, tall grass and special herbs that promote the animals' health. The area is already home to two dedicated elephant hospitals.

dailytimes.com.pk Companies in Asia are set to offer bigger pay rises next year as the region continues to rebound from global recession, notably in India where base salary levels are poised to jump nearly 10 percent, a survey shows. Salaries in Indonesia and China will also surge, by 8.7 percent and 6.7 percent respectively, whereas workers in Japan can expect a paltry 2.1 percent pay rise, according to Hewitt Associates.