usatoday.com Brit Hume turned evangelist on Fox New Sunday, in a segment with panelists predicting the future for Tiger Woods after Woods' notable ''transgressions.'' Hume forecasts Woods will recover as a golfer but ...Whether he can recover as a person depends on ''his faith. He's said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redeption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.'''


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

bangkokpost.com The Kata Group is planning to open new hotels in Phuket and Khao Lak, says president Pamuke Achariyachai. The group is negotiating for a 21-rai plot on Kata Beach. If the deal is successful, Kata would start investment by the end of 2010, planning a five-star hotel operated by an international chain.The group has a few plots for development of hotels and resorts. One of the prime plots is a 58.5-rai site adjacent to Le Meridien Khao Lak Hotel.

perthnow.com.au Jetstar and AirAsia are planning a ''loose knit'' partnership to cut operating costs and extract better deals from aircraft manufacturers. AirAsia's Tony Fernandes and Jetstar's Bruce Buchanan will explain at a meeting in Sydney on Wednesday how both parties intended to work ''innovatively together'' so as to drive greater cost efficiencies. Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce will also attend.

marketwatch.com World's tallest building, the Burj Dubai, is set to open on Monday. Burj Dubai is said to stand more than 800 metres. The building has more than 160 floors, but the developer has not yet given the structure's precise height. The opening coincides with the fourth anniversary of Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, 60, coming to power in Dubai.

online-casinos.com The Prime Minister of Thailand Abhisit Vejjajiva says he is deeply concerned about the effects of proposed online lottery in the country. He is worried that the social impact of the online lottery will e very negative. This concern has moved him to form a committee to dismantle the online gambling initiatives.

msnbc.msn.com All travelers flying into the US from 14 nations considered high risk will be patted down and have carry-on luggage searched under new security procedures starting Monday, the Transportation Security Administration said. All international passengers will also see enhanced random screening, which may include pat-downs, explosive detection testing (swabbing of luggage) or body scans, the TSA said.

telegraph.co.uk The job billed as the best in the world, 'resident caretaker of an idyllic Great Barrier Reef island, became a gruelling seven-day-a-week grind of promotional events and official gladhanding, says the man vacating the post. Ben Southall, who won the ''Best Job in the World'' contest last year and moved to Hamilton Island from Britain, said he worked 19-hour days throughout his stay on the island. Tourism Queensland have offered him a new 18-month, six-figure contract to promote their state worldwide.

chritianpost.com Malaysia's government will appeal against a ruling by the Supreme Court that a ban on the use of the word ''Allah'' by non-Muslims was unconstitutional. PM Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told reporters: ''The issue is very sensitive and touches on the feelings of Muslims, we need to be calm now and let the matter be resolved through the courts.''

wsj.com 2009 confirmed that Asia, led by China with its large government reserves and broadly solvent banking system, avoided the leverage problems that ignited the crisis in the West and is in a better position to take advantage of the global rebound. Should demand pick up in the West faster than expected, Asia could enter a period of supercharged growth. But that also would raise fears of inflation and put pressure on policy makers to hit the brakes.

thestar.com.my Tony Fernandes, AirAsiaCEO/team principal of Malaysia Team Lotus F1: I wish that Asean leaders will really move from a political institution to a more economic and cultural institution because Asean is a huge economic force. It has mostly focused on politics but a shift is needed to turn its attention to the business side.

washingtonpost.com Already, The Associated Press found, resistance to malaria has spread faster and wider than previously documented. Virtually every case of malaria in western Cambodia is now resistant to drugs. And in the Pailin area, patients given artemisinin take twice as long as those elsewhere to be clear of the parasite - 84 hours instead of the typical 48, and sometimes even 96. Mosquitoes spread this resistant malaria quickly from shack to shack, village to village - and eventually, country to country.

newsoftheworld.co.uk if you really want to treat yourself to a relaxing week away that won't break the bank, head no further than Khao Lak, on Thailand's palm tree dotted south-western coastline. New hotels pop up all the time, but the brand new five-star JW Marriott is in a league of its own with the biggest lagoon-shaped pool in South East Asia. Even staff who survived the horror tidal wave that took their friends and family have stayed on despite its new ownership to restore holidaymakers' faith.

smh.com.au Hotel life is taking on new meaning as operators convert unused rooms into apartments and use the hotel brand to entice permanent residents. Hilton on the Gold Coast has a dual hotel/apartment complex under development that will follow the format operating at the Westin in Melbourne and Quay West in Sydney. Strata-style apartments improve occupancy and attract guests who like the brand, say operators.

afp Hunters shot dead 20 wolves in Sweden on the first day of the country's first authorised wolf hunt in 45 years. The Swedish environment authority had issued permits for 27 of the animals to be killed between January 2 and February 15 in five central and south-western regions: 10 per cent of the Sweden's entire wolf population. Parliament decided to limit the wolf population to a maximum of 210, spread out into 20 packs, for the next five years.

irishtimes.com Although the days of the $2 shack have passed and Thailand has also become a favorite with more flush visitors, there is a growing choice of spa and lifestyle resorts that, despite their decadent luxury, are still very competitively priced. While beach resorts such as Phuket or Koh Samui are on the verge of becoming oversaturated, coconut-lined crescents of white sand can still be ''discovered'' on a bunch of islands, such as Ko Rok, Ko Phra Tong and Ko Chang.

smh.com.au India has a ballooning road toll to match its booming car market. Experts predict that more than 150,000 Indians will die in traffic accidents this year, the highest road toll in the world. Another three million are expected to be hospitalised as a result of crashes.

usmagazine.com When the clock struck midnight on January 1, Elin Woods wasn't just greeting the new, hopefully better year: she was celebrating her 30th birthday. For the post-Christmas week and beyond, the wife of embattled golfer Tiger Woods has surrounded herself with family and friends for a super-luxe $12,500-a-week chalet ski getaway in France's Chamonix Valley.

smh.com.au In a brief ceremony the groom, surrounded by friends from his unit in Afghanistan, and the bride, in a small study at her US home, tied the knot in an online wedding with help of Skype, the video conferencing program. Air Force Captain Matt Howard and Ms Lanessa Lawrence have yet to meet. Both are twice divorced, with children. They'll tell you they aren't worried. One reason, they say, is that they've been honest with each other.

cnn.com An Irish atheist group has published a series of quotations on religion in an attempt to challenge a blasphemy law that went into effect on New Year's Day. The 25 ''blasphemous'' quotations include the words of Jesus, Mohammed, Mark Twain, Salman Rushdie and Bjork. Atheist Ireland published the list online and says it aims to challenge the law, which makes blasphemy a crime punishable by a $35,800 fine.

ok.co.uk Kate Moss has finally revealed how she manages to stay so fresh faced despite enjoying a few parties. The supermodel, 35, who eventually made it to Phuket after cancelling the first lot of flights, bounces back from a night out with an old home remedy. Kate told the Daily Express: ''Fill the sink, get some ice, put some cucumber in and stick your head in it. It feels amazing, it rocks. If you'e tired it really wakes you up.''


Until January 9 Red Cross is reckoning on a lot of people wanting to win a house on Phuket in probably the island's biggest lottery draw ever. Losers? There won't be any. The Red Cross Fair at Phuket City's Saphan Hin park runs until January 9.

January 24 A new kind of raw gourmet food is gaining popularity for its unrivaled health benefits including weight loss and anti-aging. Mom Tri's Villa Royale is holding the first raw food workshop on Phuket. The half-day workshop will feature celebrity raw food chef and author Ani Phyo, demonstrating six recipes adapted for Thailand. The 1pm-5pm workshop is 800 baht in advance or 1000 baht on the day. Call 076 333 569 for Sylvie or e: pr@villaroyalephuket.com