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

bangkokpost.com Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that effective from January 1, the government would raise the minimum wage, depending on each province's cost of living. The minimum wage currently exceeds 200 baht only in Bangkok and six other highly developed provinces, and is 151 to 184 baht elsewhere. [If Phuket's minimum wage application of 214 baht has been accepted, the island rate will be higher than Bangkok.]

nationmultimedia.com Central Retail Corporation announced a 500 million baht facelift of Central Festival Phuket, its first in six years. About 150 million baht will be spent by 300 retail tenants to renovate their stores in the shopping complex. A spokesperson said Phuket alone attracted more than seven million foreign tourists a year, which is half the total number of foreign visitors to Thailand. [The real figure for expat visitors to Phuket by air is less than three million. Figures for tourism numbers on Phuket are wildly exaggerated.]

abc.net.au China has been working to keep tensions between North and South Korea from escalating following an artillery attack on the South on Tuesday. China's foreign minister Yang Jiechi has met North Korea's ambassador and spoken on the phone to his US and South Korean counterparts.

cnn.com "Running dogs," "imperialist lackeys," "criminal gangs" and "brigandish moves" - that sort of propaganda language died with the Cold War, except in the offices of the Korean Central News Agency. The official mouthpiece of the North Korean government, KCNA is rarely at a loss for words. And it has never heeded the advice of Mark Twain: ''When you catch an adjective, kill it."

bbc.co.uk The first global study into the effects of passive smoking has found it causes 600,000 deaths every year. One-third of those killed are children, often exposed to smoke at home, the World Health Organisation found.

guardian.co.uk An estimated 86,500 people are living with HIV in Britain, according to new figures, but around a quarter do not know they are infected.

cnet.com In another blow to online file-sharing, a Swedish appeals court upheld the copyright convictions of three of the four founders of The Pirate Bay - perhaps the world's best-known and notorious file-sharing Web site.

openpr.comThe 12 finalists in the TAT's medical tourism blog competition came from the US, Britain, Sweden, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia. Their profiles can be viewed at www.MedBlogContest.com website.

theglobeandmail.com Singapore sling swimwear: When was the last time the sport of water polo got this much attention? Aficionados of the game must be cheering. And since a country's colors cannot be changed during the Games, watch for folk-hero status for the players as they continue to wear the suits. We expect to see knock-offs for the masses pronto.

bloomberg.com AirAsia's Indonesia business may pass Malaysia in the ''not-too- distant future,'' Chief Executive Tony Fernandes said in a Bloomberg TV interview in Kuala Lumpur, without elaboration. ''We're really in the best playground for growth.''

smh.com.au In the past 10 years, the performance of Australia's tourism industry has been poor: tourism as a percentage of total exports has fallen from about 13 percent to 8 percent; tourism has the second-slowest growth of any industry in Australia; the number of Australian tourists travelling overseas has increased by 80 percent, and the number of domestic visitor nights has decreased by 10 percent.

nationmultimedia.com Phuket's newest places to stay have gravitated to the south end for seclusion and natural beauty, spots like Rawai and Kata beaches, but the Renaissance Phuket Hotel Resort and Spa has a pristine national park to top that, way up on northern Mai Khao Beach. The five-star Marriott hotel has only been open for two months, but what a location, location, location!



THE Phuket International Soccer 7s kick off on November 27 at the FIFA Phuket Tsunami Football Center with 40 teams, including the famous Footy Japan and Team Bondi from Australia that won the finals in last year's tournament. An Awards Party wil be held at Taipan as usual (free buffet food), then After Tournament Parties at Seduction Beach Club with DJ Nakadia on November 27.

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 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