UPDATE
monstersandcritics.com Police blamed a pet cobra for the death of a Norwegian pensioner whose body was discovered in his condominium in Pattaya. Per Christian Lindgaard, 60, was found in the New Nordic Condominium in Pattaya after a maid complained of a bad smell coming from the room, with his pet one-metre cobra curled nearby.
Phuketwan MediaWATCH
A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media.
afp Russia and the Gulf state of Qatar were awarded the 2018 and 2022 World Cups after an acrimonious bidding war marred by allegations of corruption and illegal deal-making.
australiantimes.co.uk England, Netherlands and Belgium, Spain and Portugal, and Russia all submitted bids for the right to stage the 2018 finals, which went to Russia. Australia, Korea Republic, Japan and US also submitted bids for the highly-sought after hosting rights for the 2022 finals.
guardian.co.uk England's 2018 World Cup bid ended in crushing failure, as a team led by David Cameron, David Beckham and Prince William crashed out in the first round of voting in Zurich after securing just two votes from Fifa's delegates.
nytimes.com Soccer is, after all, the world's game. It belongs to the 203 nations that play the sport, from Spain all the way to Papua New Guinea, neither of which will be hosting the 2018 or the 2022 World Cup.
Phuket Update A new soccer 7s tournament is planned for February with the third Phuket Spicy Soccer 'The Hottest Thing on February in Phuket' with women's categories, too. More than 100 teams played in the Phuket Soccer 7s last weekend with French team Olympique Saigon the winner and Perth Select runner-up. In the Masters, Team Bondi from Australia defeated Footy Japan. More than 100 games were played by 37 teams from 18 countries.
property-report.com Oversupply fears will slow the Thai property market for a couple of months before positive sentiment will resume next year, according to local developers.
Phuket Update Phuket's 91.5 FM is planning on broadcasting the Laguna Phuket Ironman 70.3 LIVE on Sunday from 9am through to lunch, not only to Phuket but via the internet. Organisers expect to attract listeners from Australia, NZ, and the US.
southalltravel.co.uk Malaysia Airlines plans to expand the operations of its budget Firefly, adding larger craft to compete with AirAsia. Firefly's director Eddy Leong explained the airline will be offering new services to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia as well as expanding flights to Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia.
businesstraveller.com AirAsia will launch direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand next year. Four-times weekly flights will commence on April 1, using new Airbus A330 aircraft configured with the carrier's lie-flat beds in business.
nytimes.com Qantas announced that it had taken initial legal steps against Rolls-Royce over the grounding of its A380 superjumbos after Australian regulators recommended further safety checks on the aircraft using the Trent 900 engine.
xinhuanet.com Popular social networking site Facebook has become a tool for trans-border syndicates to recruit fresh drug mules from Malaysia. Malaysian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Richard Riot Jaem said that more varsity-age Malaysian girls using Facebook were being lured by drug syndicates' promises of significant rewards to ferry drugs.
mirror.co.uk So he was rude and swore. That's Fergie's fault for taking him on all those freebies to Phuket. Prince Andrew is a joke. A jet-propelled golf-trolley who's leapt on every royal perk going.
whitsundaytimes.com.au Three Airlie Beach sailors are leaving the Whitsundays for the 2010 Phuket Kings Cup Regatta. Alan Taylor, Kieran Smith and Peter ''Blue'' Taylor are all ecstatic at the thought of racing in Thailand from Monday, December 6. They will join owner of Storm 2 Don Algie and the sloop crew vying to take out the Phuket Kings Cup Premier Class.
nypost.com Them deal mongers over at TravelZoo dug up / manufactured proof why Thailand's shaping up to be A+, number one vacation spot in the new year, however quad-fig the airfare is: For stays through the end of March (save for a handful of holiday blackouts), it's only 3002 baht a night at the Renaissance Phuket Resort and Spa. That amounts to savings of over 50 percent.
Phuket Coming Events
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 6 Long weekend public holiday
December 15-20 Patong Carnival
December 16-18 2010 Asia Superyacht Rendezvous
December 17-19 Phuket Street Show Festival, Old Phuket Town
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
