bangkokpost.com Relations between Bangkok and Teheran had been hurt by ''baseless allegations'' of Hezbollah and Iranian elements preparing terrorist activities in Thailand, Iran ambassador Majid Bizmark said. This resulted in many foreign governments issuing travel advisories about Thailand.
PHUKET: A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media.
bangkokpost.com The Phuket residential market is surging as wealthy Asians and a growing Asian travel market flock to the resort island, says real estate consulting firm Knight Frank Thailand. Nattha Kahapana, director of Knight Frank Phuket, believes Phuket is gaining popularity with South Koreans, Chinese, Singaporeans and Indians.
nationmultimedia.com Letter: In an average month during the "high season", roughly 600 tourists have their Thai vacations ruined on the beaches of Pattaya and Phuket, and the extortionists steal between three million baht and five milion baht from their victims during that time. I am, of course, referring to jet-ski operators.
bbc.co.uk At least 15 people have died after a 6.7 magnitude quake struck the central Philippines, according to government officials. One local report put the number of dead at 43.
liverpoolstudentmedia.com Sun, Sea, Sex and Sangsom: An Honest Account of Thailand: I couldn't help but feel that the natural beauty and history of Thailand is made so hard to see beneath the nonstop party facade it tries so desperately to keep up. Our first stop, Bangkok, is most definitely not for the faint hearted traveller. Phuket was undoubtedly a low point of the trip and a holiday destination I would not recommend to anyone.
city-of-hotels.com Movenpick [reportedly selling its Phuket resort] plans to open a new hotel on the south of Bali near Jimbaran Bay in 2014, the first resort of the network in Indonesia.
nationmultimedia.com The Yingluck Shinawatra government is not fully in charge of Thailand as the Army has a "veto" power over some key issues - including who will be the Army Chief or what is to be done with the lese majeste laws, said red-shirt movement lawyer Robert Amsterdam
afp A strike by French aviation workers was set to intensify with Air France saying it might fly only half of its long-haul flights.
ruters China barred its airlines from a European scheme to reduce carbon emissions, hardening its stance a week before a summit at which the European Union will seek Chinese help to ease its debt crisis.
mcot Thailand's deputy national police chief will visit Burma today to discuss cross-border narcotics concerns with the neighboring country's national police chief. About 70 percent of drugs entering Thailand are claimed to come from there.
zimbabwemetro.com Now that Burma has opened up its economy, naturally it is coming down to reward Singapore for everything it did in the past. Singapore has agreed to send advisers to Burma to train their counterparts across a range of areas. The pact also calls on Singapore to share its best practices in trade, tourism and urban planning. Singaporean firms have been rubbing their hands in anticipation.
radioaustralia.net.au An Indonesian aviation group says they're concerned about widespread drug abuse after a Lion Air pilot was arrested for alleged drug use in the second such case in two months. In a separate incident, a female motorist, allegedly under the influence of ecstasy, killed nine people when the car she was driving ploughed into a group of pedestrians.
smh.com.au Indonesian pilots flying a little too high for comfort.
bangkokpost.com International travel is the main factor stimulating economies and breaking down cultural barriers, according to a study by Penn Schoen Berland on behalf of Marriott International. It found that 96 percent of respondents believed that travel and tourism could stimulate the economy, and 70 percent also agreed that the tourism industry is one of the most important factors that can help a country's economic growth including creating more jobs, as well as generating income.
bangkokpost.com More luxury villa projects are expected in Phuket this year. Laguna will launch The Odyssey, a mixed-used retail, villa and condominium project.
property-report.com As Pattaya is on the forefront of gentrification, developers are not wasting any time to metamorphose this caterpillar of a city into a beautiful butterfly.
smh.com.au Spain's Alberto Contador is to be handed a two-year ban for drugs that will cost him the 2010 Tour de France title, but with a retrospective element that takes into account time already served. It means the Spaniard will be back racing on August 6.
dailymail.co.uk Liverpool 0-0 Tottenham. The draw did little to help Liverpool's bid for a finish in the top four, or Tottenham's title chase, but having failed to produce their familiar brand of attacking football the visitors would maybe consider that a point gained.
abc.net.au A-League champions Brisbane Roar have become the first Australian club with Asian owners after the Indonesia-based Bakrie Group acquired full ownership.
reuters Eighteen youth players were banned for two to five years, while a coach was booted out of the game for life at the weekend following a probe into football match-fixing ring.
February 23-26 10th Thai International Travel Fair, Bangkok
February 24-25 Phuket Blues Festival, Laguna Phuket
March 29-April 1 Phuket International Boat Show, Royal Phuket Marina
April Opening of Gardens by the Bay, Singapore, three waterfront gardens that will dwarf Kew in London and provide ''green lungs'' for the city.
May 5 Krabi celebrates the province's 140th anniversary
May 26-June 5 National Youth Games, Phuket
November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket
