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

PHUKET'S long awaited talisman for good times, the Hard Rock Cafe, opens this weekend with Elvis Presley's white boots and Madonna's black vinyl jacket among the memorabilia.
Bali has had a HRC for more than a decade, so the fact that doors finally open on Sunday represents a milestone for a holiday island in need of hope. It's time for a dose of Springsteen, Bon Jovi and GunsN'Roses.
Media previews come at two sessions on Saturday and at 11am on Sunday, the Hard Rock Cafe gains the Phuket public after months of people gazing on as the giant g string out front pointed upwards at grey skies.That's one huge air guitar.
While it's yet another of those same-same global franchises and the fare is distinctly American, the opening is an encouraging strum that better is to come.
We're told the cafe's full-time band is pretty good. For those who haven't seen the big guitar, the HRC and the souvenir shop front Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Road at one end of the grand white Courtyard by Marriott, opposite the Holiday Inn, in southern Patong.
Phuket's Hard Rock opens from 11am to 2am, with live music from 8.30pm when entry is free to anyone over 21.

Phuketwan Update The other big weekend event on Phuket (along with the start of the King's Cup at Kata) is the Andaman Travel Trade Fair in the exhibition space at Central Festival, beginning on Friday for the industry then opening to the public on Saturday and Sunday. Buyers and agents from 28 countries will be there, with a total of 386 reps flying in for the three days. On display will be exhibit stalls from Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga, so get along and see what the Andaman region has to offer.

independent.co.uk The HIV pandemic that started 28 years ago is officially in decline, two of the world's leading health organisations say. The number of new HIV infections peaked in the mid 1990s and has since declined by almost a third, according to the annual update on the pandemic for 2009, published by UNAids and the World Health Organisation.

fornews.com Troops have found 11 more bodies at the site of a gruesome election-related massacre in the Philippines, taking the death toll to 57. Not all the victims have been identified, but 22 of them were believed to be journalists, making Monday's attack the deadliest ever on the media anywhere in the world, Sky News reported. Twenty-four victims were women, two of them pregnant.

nationmultimedia.com Advance bookings for high season are reported to be lower because of global economics and domestic politics, the Thai Hotels Association says. THA president Prakit Chinamourphong said Bangkok had 50-60 percent of capacity for next month, lower than the average of nearly 70 percent last year. ''Surprising is Phuket, where advance bookings during the high season were only 50 percent, much lower than the 70 per cent experienced in the last high season,'' Prakit said.

themoscowtimes.com According to HSBC's expat experience report, Russia ranks two points from the bottom in terms of quality of life among the 26 countries surveyed, but it places fourth in terms of making new friends, especially among locals. The survey rated 26 countries on 25 day-to-day factors, such as accommodation, food, social life, the ease of organising finances and accommodation. Canada, Australia and Thailand placed among the top three globally, while India and Qatar trailed the rest.

ktuu.com Nearly $16 million in illegal drugs landed in Anchorage this week and now the feds are trying to figure out who was expecting them. Someone in Thailand stuffed the drugs into a shipment of wooden cat figurines and tried to ship them to Wassau, Wisconsin. The FedEx plane flight stopped off in Alaska where a routine X-ray turned up 40 kilograms of opium.

smh.com.au Film director Roman Polanski, 76, is to be released from prison after Switzerland's top criminal court made a decision to allow him freedom, but under house arrest. The court overturned two previous decisions after Mr Polanski's lawyers offered that he wear an electronic tracking device as well as putting up $4.9 million in surety.

Associated Press A year on, Pakistan charged seven men over last year's Mumbai terror attacks, its first indictment in a case being monitored by India and the US to see if Islamabad makes good on promises to bring those responsible to justice. Analysts say Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistani militant group blamed for the three-day assault hat killed 166 people, remains largely untouched by authorities.

theage.com.au He died almost 30 years ago, but Bob Marley is still the centre of a global industry. Pirated merchandise using the reggae star's image, including music and clothes, was estimated this year to be worth more than $600 million. Marley inspired cafes and bars can be found around the world, from Phuket to Amsterdam to Lima, and the Bahamas has a Marley Resort and Spa.

bangkokpost.com 'Orphans of Burma's Cyclone' took out the best feature section at the Rory Peck awards, given annually to freelance cameramen and documentary makers who run the sorts of risks the mainstream media is often unwilling to undertake. Neither of the winners, identified only as T and Z, was on hand to accept the award. T is in custody facing 10 years in prison for his courageous journalism, while Z is in hiding in Thailand.

guardian.co.uk A flurry of activity, both domestically and internationally, has aroused hopes that things might be starting to move in a positive direction in Burma. But the optimism is offset by fears that this might be a repeat of the window dressing, so often seen before, that is designed to obscure the reality of a regime conducting business as usual.

prnewswire.com The Zagat Airline Survey, covering 16 US and 73 international airlines, incorporates the opinions of 5895 frequent fliers and travel professionals (e.g. travel agents) who collectively took 97,600 flights in the past year. Not unexpectedly, the 2009 survey shows a decline in flying following the economic downturn. Fully 33 percent of the respondents reported flying less often while only 7 percent said more.

Associated Press National carrier Malaysia Airlines said it suffered a net loss of $88.9 million in the third quarter, mainly because of wrongway bets on fuel prices.

Phuketwan Update The Royal Thai Navy has helped locals to put out for the first time warning buoys to guard against damage to local reefs. With local fishermen reporting record hauls close to the beach, it's a great idea. Nine buoys have been tied, just in time for Phuket's King's Cup Regatta.

sail-world.com The Kings Cup originally started with dinghies and it will be getting back to its roots with a weekend of dinghy racing before the yacht racing regatta. Racing will take place on Saturday and Sunday with the prizegiving at the opening party on the Sunday night. There will be nine Lasers, six Tasar and four Topper Topazes with a total of 29 sailors racing in the waters off Kata.

hospitalitybizindia.com Six Senses Destination Spa in Phuket recently launched a series of marketing initiatives for the Indian market, including a Corporate Wellness Week in India in January. Six Senses held a similar wellness week in Hong Kong this year.