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


PHUKET moves from party time to parlay time this week, with the sale of several large resorts coming up. Brokers are in the final stages on deals that will see changes in ownership. Some of the transfers involve landmark resorts.
It's an encouraging sign that despite the massive discounting in 2009, at the top end ''brand Phuket'' still attracts the right kind of people. We know this is true thanks to luxurytravel.com which told us about the holiday party thrown by Gulu Lalvani of Royal Phuket Marina.
Glamourous model jet-setters Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell were there, along with singer celebrity Paula Abdul and actor Kevin Spacey.
Modernist painter Damien Hirst was among 200 guests. So too was Phuket-Hong Kong entrepreneur Allan Zeeman with his wife Marisa and daughter Mellisa.
Less well-known but just as notable were Richard Ellman, Chairman of the Noble Group, who was just named Businessman of the Year by Forbes magazine; (which almost rates as highly as a Phuketwan Best of Phuket award), and Horst Pudwill, Chairman of Techtronics.
Plus, not to be overlooked, Shanghai Tang founder Sir David Tang wife Lucy, and Japanese designer Kenzo.

wsj.com As Singapore recovers from recession, its residents are questioning the country's long-standing openness to foreigners. Singapore has thrown open its doors to bankers and expatriates in recent years. It also welcomed low-skilled laborers from Bangladesh and other developing countries to man construction sites and factories. The goal was to offset Singapore's low birth rate. But the push has also fueled discontent, turning immigration into a hot issue in a country where dissent is still tightly controlled by the government.

straitstimes.com The fourth Vietnam-Singapore industrial township was launched with the prime ministers of both countries marking the occasion. Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony in Hai Phong, 90km east of Hanoi, Vietnamese PM Nguyen Tan Dung said he hoped that the Hai Phong Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park would ''serve as a growth engine'' and ''make active contributions to ensuring social stability''.

ft.com Like Banquo's ghost, Thaksin Shinawatra still hovers at Thailand's dinner tables, boardrooms and cabinet meetings. Few discussions about the social and political direction of the once-miracle economy are complete without a heated debate over the ousted prime minister's influence - past, present and, quite conceivably, future.the discarded leader, whose appeal to millions of marginalised rural voters uncorked the genie of social aspiration, has hardly vanished from the scene.

thestar.com.my Malaysia's Immigration Department will begin a nationwide crackdown from February 15 on thousands of employers believed to be harboring or employing illegal workers. There are about 1.8 million approved foreign workers in the country, and the department be-lieves there are at least an equal number of illegal ones.

telegraph.co.uk A spot-check on a women's prison in Jakarta revealed five star treatment for those who can afford it while poorer inmates have to pay bribes to avoid beatings in the latest scandal to hit the government. Artalyta Suryani, a businesswoman who is serving a five-year prison sentence for bribing prosecutors, was not in her 690 square-foot ''cell'' when the inspection team arrived because she was having laser beauty treatment in a nearby room. Suryani's cell reportedly features a double bed, flat screen television, separate bathroom, fully fitted kitchen and a play area for her child and full-time nanny.

correctionsone.com News that business tycoon Artalyta Suryani had bought comfort behind bars using the same tactics for which she was punished has enraged ordinary Indonesians and embarrassed authorities in a country already known as one of the world's most corrupt. Details of the luxury living conditions of Suryani and other rich prisoners have been splashed across the front pages of national newspapers and dominated television coverage this week, the result of a surprise visit to Jakarta Pondok Bambu women's penitentiary by a team set up by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to eradicate the so-called ''Judicial Mafia.''

chosun.com People across Africa and Asia will have the chance to see a nearly total eclipse of the sun on Friday. Sections of East Africa, the Indian Ocean and China will witness an annular eclipse, in which the moon passes directly in front of the sun but leaves a ring of sunlight flaring around its edge. [On Phuket, a partial eclipse should begin at 1.51pm on Friday. Do not view the sun with the naked eye.]

businessweek.com Google's threat to pull out of China because of hacking and censorship may further the Communist government's resolve to shape the Internet to its political advantage rather than accept the ''unrestricted'' Web advocated by President Barack Obama. Google says it is willing to stop doing business in the world's most populous country unless China drops restrictions.

scmp.com Tanks in Tiananmen? Check. Uncensored news of the Dalai Lama and Falun Gong? Check. Google.cn put on a new face in China, but it's one that even Google admits could disappear soon if, as expected, Beijing shows no stomach for unfiltered information on the internet.

channelnewsasia.com 2009 may have been a turbulent year for the aviation industry with airlines reeling from the effects of the global economic crisis. But the number of scheduled flights operating out of Changi Airport's four terminals has increased by five per cent last year, compared to 2008. ''This has helped Changi maintain its position as a premier air hub in the world, attested by the 339 accolades that it has garnered to date,'' an official said.

wsj.com One-third of American adults are obese, according to new US government figures, but the rate of increase seen in recent decades has slowed. Figures from the National Center for Health Statistics showed 34 percent of American adults age 20 and older were obese in 2007-08 while 68 percent were considered overweight or obese. In children ages two to 19, 17 percent were considered obese while 32 percent were considered overweight.

smh.com.au The movie 'Suing the Devil' has left authorities asking just how its big-name star, Malcolm McDowell, got into Australia last month to film his role of Satan in Sydney. The entry of two US actors and the British star, who made his name as a violent delinquent in 'A Clockwork Orange', should have raised a red flag and points to a gaping hole in the immigration system, according to the actors union.

bangkokpost.com The software park concept has been expanded into the regional areas, operated by both government agencies and the private sector and has been established in major provinces including Chiang Mai, Phuket, Nakhon Ratchasima and Khon Kaen. According to Software Park director Suwipa Wanasathop, regional parks can encourage the growth of the industry.Three vertical sectors - tourism, healthcare and food - will be the first that the park will attempt to make ''smart'' by IT utilisation.

nytimes.com For all our self-recrimination, we may have yet to face one of the most remarkable effects of American-led globalisation. We have for many years been busily engaged in a grand project of Americanising the world's understanding of mental health and illness. We may indeed be far along in homogenising the way the world goes mad. There is now good evidence to suggest that in the process of teaching the rest of the world to think like us, we've been exporting our Western ''symptom repertoire'' as well.

bymnews.com Seventy exhibitors offered a range of marine-focused product and lifestyle brands in the hall at the Pimex Phuket International Boat Show while the marina was chock full of luxury yachts, with 35 brought in specifically for the show. Director Andy Dowden said: ''We will build on this and make the show even more successful next year. It looks like the global economic woes of 2009 have not affected the marine industry here in Phuket and the future looks bright.''



January 24 A new kind of raw gourmet food is gaining popularity for its unrivaled health benefits including weight loss and anti-aging. Mom Tri's Villa Royale is holding the first raw food workshop on Phuket. The half-day workshop will feature celebrity raw food chef and author Ani Phyo, demonstrating six recipes adapted for Thailand. The 1pm-5pm workshop is 800 baht in advance or 1000 baht on the day. Call 076 333 569 for Sylvie or e: pr@villaroyalephuket.com

February 7 Wichit Municipality mini-marathon over 4.5 kilometres and 10.5 kilometres. For more information call 076-525100 or 080-6481363.

February 26-27 Phuket International Blues Rock Festival 2010 at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa, Karon.

April 9-13 Phuket Bike Week, including tattoo competitions, island rides and the Miss Phuket Bike Week contest.