pattayadailynews.com A French ATM fraudster has been arrested in Phuket following a joint operation between the Police Bureau, the Tourist Police and the Pattaya Police. Belkacem Batache, 35, had allegedly been stealing money from ATM machines using fake cards in several Thai tourist centres, including Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai.


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

travelbizmonitor.com Thai Airways is exploring the potential to connect Mumbai to Phuket. The airline aims to add the new route in 2011. Chris Chantalitanon of Thai said: ''We are receiving lot of demand from Indian travellers exploring destinations like Phuket, Krabi and Chiang Mai. Our aim is to connect them directly to Phuket.''

bloomberg.com The aircraft carrier USS George Washington and four smaller warships today begin exercises with South Korean vessels in a show of force that North Korea warned will take the peninsula to the ''brink of war''. The drills follow North Korea's attack on a South Korean fishing community and military base that killed four people, including two civilians.

mcot.net Immigration police apprehended a South Korean national at the Thai-Cambodian border on charges of using fake visa in entering the country and are preparing to extradite him to face further charges of fraud. Kim Dong Su, 52, was arrested while applying for permission to enter Cambodia.

Phuket Update A group of doctors from Australia yesterday completed their 600-kilometre bicycle ride from Bangkok Hospital Hua Hin to Bangkok Hospital Phuket in aid of Thai Medical Aid.

mirror.co.uk British PM's wife Samantha Cameron threw a temper tantrum when told she had to cancel a luxury Christmas break in Thailand, it was claimed. She was said to have thrown "her toys out of the pram" at the decision to axe her family's five-star break. [The Camerons were believed to be bound for Phuket.]

wired.co.uk The Twitter account a disaster management adviser to the Indonesian president has been hacked and used to send tweets warning of a tsunami. A series of fake tweets were sent from Andi Arief's account including one reading "Besok Jakarta tsunami," which means "Jakarta tsunami tomorrow".

thejakartaglobe.com A chain text message warning of an impending earthquake and tsunami caused panic in South Sulawesi on Thursday and Friday, sending thousands of residents scrambling for higher ground. [Phuket hold a tsunami drill in late December.]

consumeraffairs.com A survey compares tourists in Phi Phi and Gili Trawangan, Indonesia, both with insufficient fresh water, expensive generator-produced electricity, excessive waste and beach degradation. "Eco-taxes have been successfully introduced elsewhere in the world, and one was introduced in Gili several years ago to support new projects,'' says one of the survey report's authors. ''Eco-taxes work when the process is transparent and there's accountability in the system."

sbc.net.au The first Qantas A380 airbus to take off since an engine explosion last month has left Sydney Airport. Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce joined the first leg of flight QF31 to London via Singapore.

news.com.au The long-running opposition to tourism to Burma has softened sufficiently to allow me to finally commit to a visit. I have to concur with the garrulous German-born manager of The Strand when she remarks: "Burma deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence as Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos."

voanews.com Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi met with a top United Nations official and later praised the talks with Vijay Nambiar, chief of staff for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Associated Press Freedom of speech for MPs in military controlled Burma will be restricted under laws that dictate the functioning of the newly elected government. The curbs announced in an official gazette set a two-year prison term for any protest staged within the parliament compound.

hollywoodreporter.com Country music legend Willie Nelson was charged with marijuana possession in Texas after police confiscated six ounces of cannabis from his tour bus. The bust happened at the Sierra Blanca checkpoint after the singer-songwriter's bus pulled in and an officer smelled pot wafting from the vehicle's open door.

afp Indonesia's Mount Bromo volcano in eastern Java belched hot ash into the air in a low-level eruption. Mount Bromo, a popular tourist attraction, began rumbling earlier this month and the government issued an alert over heightened danger levels.

bangkokpost.com Bangkok Citismart Co, brokerage subsidiary of Asian Property Development, opened its first office outside Bangkok to cash in on Pattaya's booming market. Pattaya's property market is expected to reach a new peak within three years.



Until November 28 Phuket Honda Racing Fest at Saphan Hin, Phuket City
November 28 Laguna Phuket triathlon
December 1 World Aids Day
December 4-11 Phuket King's Cup Regatta
December 5 Laguna Ironman 70.3 title
December 3-5 North Phuket Culinary Arts Festival, Mai Khao resorts
December 15-20 Patong Carnival
December 16-18 2010 Asia Superyacht Rendezvous
December 17 US Consular outreach service on Phuket
December 24 Phuket tsunami disaster drill
December 26 Sixth anniversary of the Indian ocean tsunami
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