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

PHUKET police arrested four men in Patong's Soi Tan district early yesterday and accused them of possession of ya bah methamphetamines. A fifth man was similarly charged after he allegedly tried to run off with 20,000 baht in cash during a police ''sting.'' Soi Tan is a well-known ladyboy area.

bangkokpost.com PM Abhisit's silence at this crucial time only assists the junta's efforts to legitimise ongoing military rule under a new ''civilian'' guise. In its silence, Thailand is joined by China, India, and other members of Asean who regardless of election-day ballot-stuffing, see these elections as a golden opportunity to justify increased trade and investment with their resource-rich neighbor.

dvb.no A group of defectors from the pro-junta Democratic Karen Buddhist Army have taken control of a major border crossing and military and police posts in eastern Burma. The head of the faction, Brig-Gen Na Kham Mwe, told DVB that the group had seized the Thai-Burma Friendship Bridge entrance in Karen state's Myawaddy, as well as police, army and intelligence offices.

mizzima.com Mizzima has disproved reports that Myawaddy, on the Burmese side of the border with Thailand, had been overrun by a breakaway faction of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army this evening. All [local sources] interviewed stated that the Myawaddy had not been taken by the DKBA splinter group.

smh.com.au Qantas engineers have found oil "where oil should not be" in engines on the airline's A380 fleet, leading to three engines being removed from aircraft, Qantas boss Alan Joyce revealed today. A jet on a flight from Singapore to Sydney ''blew'' and engine last week.

nationmultimedia.com A source in the tourism industry said many hotel owners in all the major cities and tourist destinations - " Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Pattaya" - have been putting their properties on the market after seeing poor performance since the political turmoil began three years ago.

Associated Press One by one the bodies of dozens killed by Indonesia's most volatile volcano - some too charred to ever be identified - were placed into a mass grave, as people terrified that another eruption was coming fled a city at the foot of Mount Merapi.

channelnewsasia.com Most airlines have resumed flights from Singapore to Jakarta after several were cancelled on Saturday due to a volcanic ash cloud.

bbc.co.uk Malaysia has moved to airlift hundreds of its nationals from Indonesia as Mount Merapi volcano continues its massive eruption. It sent three C-130 transport aircraft to Solo airport to collect 664 stranded Malaysians, many of them students.

theboholstandard.com A determined and passionate terrorist can sow mayhem anywhere in the world where there are Americans and Jews, be it in a train in Singapore, in a tower in Kuala Lumpur, or in a temple in Bangkok, or in a apple farm in California. If your government warns you against traveling to the Philippines, you are free to defy that stupid warning.

ftnnews.com Sir Nick Faldo was in Cambodia recently to visit the Vattanac Golf Resort to create two 18-hole championship-standard golf courses that will sit at the heart of the luxury resort, 15 kilometres from the centre of Cambodia's capital.



November 12 IBAP meets at Thai Naan restaurant to hear Woody Leonard on what's best for Internet access on Phuket.
November 19 AustCham at the new Westin Hotel at Koh Sireh from 3pm. E: harry@ladypie.com Tel: 081 2731740
November 21 Loy Kratong Festival
November 28 Laguna Phuket triathlon
December 4-11 Phuket King's Cup Regatta
December 5 Laguna Ironman title
December 15-20 Patong Carnival
December 30-January 9 Phuket Red Cross fair, Saphan Hin park, Phuket City
2011
January 6-9 PIMEX boat show, Royal Phuket Marina
January 22 QSI International fun run day at Bang Wad Dam, Kathu
January 23 The Great Phuket Rubber Duck Race Day, Laguna Phuket
February 9-13 The Bay Regatta - Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi