AAP Australia's Foreign Minister Bob Carr has taken his wife Helena with him on almost every overseas trip. Documents obtained under freedom of information legislation show the cost of Mrs Carr's travel is more than $120,000.


andrew-drummond.com A SHOTGUN-TOTING father whose model daughter was raped while on holiday in Krabi has posted an angry song on the internet calling for her attacker to be jailed, not bailed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRErWjo809g/


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

bangkokpost.com Thailand's six major airports expect double-digit percentage growth in passenger throughput during the coming high season as international carriers ramp up capacity to cash in on surging demand. Phuket airport will see the second-largest passenger increase, up by 23.9 percent to 31,000 a day, while daily flights will rise to 178 from 163.

nationmultimedia.com Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Director general Rerngchai Prayoonwej told 800 forest rangers they will use the ''boldest law enforcement and operational readiness available'' in a coming sweep on Phuket. There's likely encroachment on 372 more plots totalling 3673 rai at Phuket's Sirinath National Park, Rerngchai said.

afp Thailand's status as the world's top rice exporter is under threat from a controversial scheme to boost farmer incomes that has resulted in a growing mountain of unsold stocks, experts warn.

bangkokpost.com Thailand's rice exports have now slipped to third place, behind Vietnam and India, but officials insist they are confident in the country's ability to retain its role as the world's biggest rice seller.

thejakartapost.com Associations dealing with tourism must immediately adopt the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism set by the UN World Tourism Organisation to create sustainable and responsible tourism practices. I Gede Ardika, a member of UNWTO's commission for ethics, said that at present, each policy contradicts another. Tourism should not destroy nature and the environment, he added.

bbc.co.uk Authorities in Burma have imposed a night-time curfew in at least two towns in western Rakhine state as inter-communal violence continues to spread. At least four people have been killed and more than 1000 houses burned down since the clashes began on Sunday.

afp Singapore Airlines and its budget subsidiary Scoot announced $7.5 billion orders for 45 Airbus and Boeing aircraft in a multi-billion-dollar expansion that defies a global aviation slowdown.

cbsnews.com The world's longest commercial flight, Singapore to Newark, NJ, is being cancelled. Singapore Airlines announced that it will end its nonstop flight, a distance of about 9500 miles. The route was flown on gas-guzzling Airbus A340-500s.

huffingtonpost.com The new titles for longest flights will go to a Qantas route between Sydney and Dallas, which at about 8500 miles is the longest route, and a Delta flight between Johannesburg and Atlanta, which at 17 hours will hold the title of longest duration.

AP The Paris appeals court has ordered former Societe Generale trader Jerome Kerviel to spend three years in prison and pay back a staggering $6.25 billion in damages for one of the biggest trading frauds in history.

crikey.com.au Fans of two once essential reading Australian newspapers, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, will draw little comfort from CEO Greg Hywood's pronouncement that a digital-only future without the printed versions could be only three years away.

telegraph.co.uk A North Korean army minister was reportedly ''obliterated'' with a mortar round for drinking and carousing during the official mourning period after the death of Kim Jong-il.

huffingtonpost.com Former reality tv contestant Tonya Cooley and MTV have reached a settlement in the Phuket ''toothbrush rape'' lawsuit. Cooley sued alleging that the she had been sexually assaulted with a toothbrush by male participants, and that the show's producers neglected to stop the assault. Cooley was sent home from the 2009 competition on Phuket the next day after slapping a female contestant.

thejakartapost.com After around four decades of turtle conservation in Indonesia, the work to save some of the endangered species has shown significant results with around 50 percent of the population in the 10 largest hatching sites in Indonesia being saved from various threats.

travel.msn.co.nz Conventional wisdom, and the Top 10 Phuket travel guide suggests tourists would be mad to visit this island during the wet months of May, September and October. But Jenna Powell discovers the tropical paradise has a lot to offer even when rain and thunder are plentiful.



Agencies Manchester City's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League last 16 are looking grim after losing 3-1 at Ajax's Amsterdam ArenA in Group D.

bangkokpost.com Solomon Islands stunned Thailand 4-3 in a warm-up match for next month's Futsal World Cup. Thailand are in Group A with Ukraine, Paraguay and Costa Rica.

nst.com.my Tiger Woods is in the field for The CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur from tomorrow to Sunday. The elite field of 48 players will compete for a prize purse of US$ 6.1 million, with US$1.3 million going to the winner.

foxsports.com Asked about the doping scandal involving Lance Armstrong, Woods said golf couldn't be compared with cycling, not only because it was more individual but also because of its ingrained code of honor.



November 25 Laguna Phuket Triathlon

November 28 Loy Kratong Day

November 30 AustCham Phuket sundowners social and business networking

December 1 World AIDs Day

December 1-8 King's Cup Regatta

December 5 HM The King's Birthday

December 10 Constitution Day

December 15-20 Patong Carnival

December 16-18 Asia Superyacht Rendezvous, Bang Tao beach

December 25 Christmas Day



October 5-13 Phuket Vegetarian Festival



November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket