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

AIRASIA has announced discounts on key routes from Phuket as it moves to make the island its second air hub in Thailand. The fares are: one way to Hong Kong 1499 baht, one way to Bangkok 599 baht and one way to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, 999 baht. (Fares are inclusive).
AirAsia is opening Phuket-Hong Kong and Phuket-Jakarta routes on November 15, followed by flights from Phuket to Chiang Mai, Medan in Indonesia and Ho Chi Minh City in December.
Flight discounts are part of the 'AirAsia Loves Phuket' Fair at Jungceylon which runs until Friday, and which yesterday attracted Phuket Governor Wichai Praisa-nob and other VIPs to its launch. Other direct Phuket links to Bali, China and the Philippines are expected to follow.

bloomberg.com A tsunami warning system set up in the wake of the Indian Ocean disaster in 2004 that left more than 220,000 people dead will be tested today by 18 countries taking part in a UN-backed drill. The exercise will try to simulate conditions almost five years ago when a magnitude-9.1 earthquake off northern Sumatra generated waves that hit countries including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand, Unesco said. The death toll from last month's earthquake is a ''wake-up call to refresh our understanding that we must be prepared,'' one expert said. [5400 people died in Phuket and along the Andaman coast in 2004.]

theaustralian.news.com.au More than 260 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers were threatening to blow up their boat if the Indonesian navy forced them to disembark at the port in Merak after the large cargo boat they were piloting towards Australia broke down. ''We have gas canisters and we have told the navy we will blow up the boat and jump into the ocean if they try to force us off the boat,'' said a spokesman for the asylum-seekers, who would only give his name as Alex. Alex said the Sri Lankans had each paid $US15,000 to board the wooden craft in Malaysia 13 days ago.

AAP An x-ray machine which takes ''naked'' images of airline passengers is undergoing trials in England as part of a new high-tech security system. Manchester Airport has begun using the full-body scan machine which can instantly detect any hidden weapons or explosives without passengers having to remove clothing. However, some passengers fear the machine reveals a little too much, including breast enlargements, the outline of genitals and body piercings.

fastcompany.com It's 2023. Climate change, oil shortages, and population growth have become pressing issues. Will there even be a tourism industry? In the ''Boom and Burst'' scenario, economies prosper, advances in air travel make vacations cheap and easy, and fuel efficiency has allowed the industry to stay on target with carbon emissions regulations. But there's a catch - the massive increase in tourism leads to overcrowding in many destinations and the degradation of wilderness areas.

wtop.com Viktor Bout, the most notorious global weapons dealer of modern times, is about to be released from a Thai jail. When it happens, former Drug Enforcement Agency Chief of Operations Mike Braun thinks the US will be in his crosshairs. ''If you think he wasn't a threat to the US before, what do you think is going to happen now?''

asiaone.com Companies in Singapore are increasingly using free 'cloud computing' Internet-based applications such as word processing programs and photo-editing suites to cut costs and manpower. Cloud computing applications are free, open source software, which are accessed via the Internet. Companies which turn to these alternatives say the free software can reduce their IT costs by as much as 65 percent.

smh.com.au Rob Dunlop reports: I'm in the Mediterranean, sailing the maiden voyage of Europe's newest gleaming cruise ship, MSC Splendida. Not only am I sailing the most beautiful sea in the world but also the most beautiful ship in the world. While I'm happy to luxuriate in the outdoor areas - five swimming pools and 12 whirlpool baths - I also see no harm in checking out the 18 bars and lounges and a disco which might later host my first Michael Jackson tribute dance.

nytimes.com For more than half a century heroin has been carried over the jungle-shrouded hills in Doi Chang Moob, the first leg of a journey that delivers the drugs to cities as far as Sydney and Tokyo. But officials are rubbing their eyes at the spectacle they are now witnessing: a flood of heroin and methamphetamine is spilling out of Burma as traffickers slash their inventories in a panicked sell-off.

Associated Press One judge noted with surprise that President Barack Obama ''didn't look particularly happy'' at being named the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Another marveled at how critics could be so patronising. In a rare public defense of a process normally shrouded in secrecy, four of the Nobel jury's five judges have spoken out about a selection they said was both merited and unanimous.

cnn.com A new law to fatally stone adulterers is unlikely to survive government review in Indonesia, but it highlights the latest push toward stricter Islamic law in the semi-autonomous Aceh province. The law was unanimously rushed through the provincial parliament last month by outgoing lawmakers, who are part of the hardline Prosperous Justice Party. In addition to the death sentence for adultery, it calls for the public flogging of homosexuals. The law also dismisses a rape victim's claims unless she can provide four male witnesses to the assault.

dailytimes.com.pk The global police organisation Interpol began issuing special passports Tuesday to its senior investigators, aimed at allowing them to enter any of the group's 188 member countries without visas. Pakistan and Ukraine have become the first countries to accept the new documents and three more will follow soon, Interpol Secretary-General Ronald K Noble said during the organisation's general assembly in Singapore.

honoluluadvertiser.com The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan will arrive tomorrow at Pearl Harbor for a brief port visit, the Navy said. Its aircraft flew missions into Afghanistan. The strike group conducted counter-piracy operations off of Somalia and the Horn of Africa and ''maritime security operations'' protecting Iraqi infrastructure in the North Arabian Gulf. The Reagan, whose sailors are 21 years old on average, the Chancellorsville and the Gridley anchored near Phuket, Thailand, on September 22.

eturbonews.com In a National Marine Park on the Andaman Sea is where you find a little paradise island, Koh Lipe. The marine park houses about 70 islands, and Koh Lipe (about 70 km from the mainland) is the only one that has been allowed private development. Getting there these days can't be easier, as there are now boats from all directions, allowing visitors access both directly from Thailand's west coast and its internal airport, Had Yai, or from the north from Phuket, Phi Phi, Lanta, and Trang. There are also daily boats crossing from Malaysia and its famous island destination, Langkwai.