nasdaq.com Aerospace and defense giant Boeing Co said its new mid-size passenger airplane, the 787 Dreamliner, reached Bangkok as part of its Dream Tour.

guardian.co.uk A court in the Maldives has issued an arrest warrant against Mohamed Nasheed, the country's former president, raising fears of renewed street violence.

smh.com.au Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed the death of a young Australian in a hotel room in Laos with his Netherlands girlfriend but would not reveal the cause. Three Australians have died in Laos since January 10.


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

bangkokpost.com Despite looming negative signs both locally and globally, the Central Group of Companies will proceed with more than 30 billion baht in planned investment this year. A major focus will be further expansion in Asia.

nationmultimedia.com Police are asking for parental cooperation in not letting those under the age of 18 wander outside after 10pm on Valentine's Day. Police will be dispatched to patrol public parks, theatres, karaoke bars, night venues, dormitories, apartments and hotels to prevent inappropriate behavior.

bangkokpost.com Red shirt co-leader Jatuporn Prompan has claimed there could be a coup in April making it necessary for the red shirts to renew their mass protests to pre-empt any such attempt. The group will stage a concert on February 25 and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will speak to his supporters via a video call from abroad.

bbc.co.uk Fabio Capello has resigned as England manager, the Football Association has confirmed. On Monday, the Italian, 65, publicly challenged the FA's decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy over alleged on-field racism.
Capello told Italy's state broadcaster RAI he did not believe someone should be punished by sporting authorities before a court had reached a verdict.

reuters Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp was cleared by a London court of tax evasion after a long investigation into allegations of financial corruption in British football. Redknapp is tipped to be the next England manager.

wsj.com Police and supporters of deposed Maldives' President Mohamed Nasheed clashed violently, leading to the deaths of at least two people who were protesting Mr Nasheed's removal from power a day earlier in a coup involving military and police.

independent.co.uk The ousted president of the Maldives claimed he was deposed at gunpoint as he vowed to fight to regain his position. Mohamed Nasheed accused Vice-President Mohammed Waheed Hassan, who was sworn in to replace him, of helping to plot this week's coup.

chinadaily.com.cn Over 80 percent of employers in China expect to increase the salaries of their employees by more than six percent this year, standing out from the employers in the region, according to a new survey.

nationmultimedia.com As part of an ongoing crackdown on drug trafficking within prisons, all prison guards will have to undergo periodic polygraph tests and urine tests, while DNA tests will be conducted on seized mobile phones in order to identify corrupt officials, the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission said. [Phuket Prison came up clean during a surprise sunrise raid this week.]

nytimes.com Last year, 125,000 Arab patients came to Bumrungrad International Hospital in Thailand to seek medical treatment. Yet just a few years ago the sight of a woman wearing a burqa was such a rarity that it would scare the nurses at night.

dailymail.co.uk Britain will be blanketed in up to four inches of snow in the coming days as the latest band of wintry showers sweep across the country.

ibtimes.com In 2011 with the strong Aussie dollar, Australian travel to Thailand grew by 23 percent, to the Philippines by 20 percent and to the US almost 17 percent. Other destinations that are becoming Aussie favorites are Vietnam, India and France.

smh.com.au We love talking about our freedom over here - heck, we go to war in its name - but when real freedom presents itself, it's suddenly way too scary. The truth is, you can do some fun things in South-East Asia that you can't do at home. You can also do some dangerous things that maybe aren't so advisable.

afp Singapore urged the US to be careful in comments on China, warning that suggestions of a strategy to contain the rising power could cause strife in Asia.

asiatraveltips.com Tune Hotels will open the doors of the 192-room Tune Hotel Pattaya on February 17. To celebrate, Tune Hotels is offering guests rates that start from just 199 baht per night.

thephuketinsider.com A knock on effect from the delay in the upgrade of Phuket International Airport may see private jets shift to Chiang Mai.

nationmultimedia.com Honda is to open Big Wing big bike stores in tourist destinations starting with Phuket, Pattaya and Chiang Mai.

thejakartaglobe.com After years of recovering from terrorists attacks, Bali is now dealing with rising crime that threatens to sully the image of the tourist-dependent resort island, Governor Made Mangku Pastika said.

thejakartaglobe.com Police in Bali arrested seven members of a local teenage female motorcycle gang who were captured on a video that circulated on YouTube while beating up another member.

indiatimes.com As part of their expanding bilateral strategic ties, India and Indonesia are all set to launch their first-ever joint combat exercise later in February after holding their first army-to-army staff talks in last April. Crack troops from the two armies will hold a counter-terror exercise.

prurgent.com Fresh from the release of a French language version less than two months ago, Phuket.Net Real Estate have announced the launch of a Russian section of their website.



afp Two-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador said he "totally disagreed" with his two-year doping ban and vowed to pursue his career at the highest level.

tsn.ca Two-time champion Vera Zvonareva and fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko were second-round winners at the $220,000 Pattaya Open tennis tournament.



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