Stretch Phuket, Says PM; Drugs Shootout; Ronaldo Back at Work; Phuket Events

nationmultimedia.com Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra ordered agencies to expedite measures to alleviate the congestion at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Thailand should look beyond inbound and outbound tourists and focus on attracting visitors to its airports at major tourist destinations such as Phuket, which is already over-stretched, she added.

wsj.com Microsoft gave a preview of its new Office software that embraces cloud computing and mobile devices in an effort to revitalise the company's core software offering for global business.

upi Eight alleged drug traffickers are dead following a shootout with soldiers in Thailand near the border with Burma (Myanmar), military officials said. A team of more than 50 soldiers and police patrolled the forests in Wiang Phang Kham in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district.

nationmultimedia.com Sun-tanned Christiano Ronaldo delivered sweet lines for Thai fans after renewing a multimillion-baht contract to represent Toyota Hilux Vigo Champ as its brand ambassador. Over 300 journalists descended on the Plaza Athinee Hotel with hopes of talking to the Real Madrid striker, who has been holidaying off Phuket with Russian model and girlfriend Irina Shayk.

ronaldo7.net On a curious note, the holiday off Phuket was actually the first time Christiano Ronamdo has posted photos on any social network where he and irina Shayk appear together.

wsj.com The price of Nokia's flagship Lumia 900 Windows phone has been cut in half in the critical US market a little more than three months after the launch of the smartphone.The Lumia 900's launch has been viewed by analysts as being lackluster.

smh.com.au They're calling it the Asian century and that's where the money is when it comes to air travel. All but one carrier rated in the top 10 in Skytrax's World Airline Awards come from the region that stretches from the Persian Gulf to Japan and the only exception, Turkish Airlines, lives a couple of kilometres from the Asian border.

nationmultimedia.com Eva Kusuma Sundari: As president of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Burma (Myanmar) Caucus, I express my deep regret for the failure of the world to react appropriately to the killing and persecution of Muslim ethnic Rohingya in Rakhine State. It is also regrettable that the recent visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Southeast Asia occupied the attention of most international media while neglecting and thus tolerating grave crimes against humanity in Burma.

bangkokpost.com Low-cost, value-based accommodations with a comfortable bed, great location and WiFi have taken precedence over the frills long associated with traditional hospitality, spawning a boom in hotels that value function over form. Seeking a greater slice of the budget-hotel pie, Red Planet Hotels, an investment company, has purchased a significant stake in Tune Hotels, a subsidiary of the low-cost carrier AirAsia.

japantimes.co.jp There is a strong emotional and moral connotation to the name Burma. It should continue to be called so until effective democracy returns to the country and a mechanism is chosen to make a decision on what to call the country. If this enrages the military, it will still be a small price they have to pay for the brutality they have unleashed on the country for decades.

ap Sea piracy fell 54 percent worldwide in the first half of 2012, led by a dramatic drop in Somali piracy, an international maritime watchdog said. The International Maritime Bureau attributed the sharp drop to anti-piracy operations by international navies patrolling in seas off Somalia as well as increased vigilance by ships, including the hiring of private armed guards on board.

thejakartaglobe.com Garuda Indonesia said it was reviewing its policy on transporting animals after more than 1400 people signed petition to boycott the carrier for allegedly mistreating dolphins.

nationmultimedia.com Travelmob.com was different because it allowed travellers to stay within local communities at prices ranging from a $20 room in Hanoi to an 8000-baht-a-night villa in Phuket. Since Phuket is still one of the |most popular destinations in the region, Turochas Fuad flew to the resort island to present his business concept to the local media.

Phuket World Sports Wrap

telegraph.co.uk Certainly, it is no secret that there will be alcohol on campus: the American team alone has two sponsored beer halls, a Budweiser House and a Heineken House. And where there is alcohol and young, fit, libidinous men and women, there is invariably sex.

telegraph.co.uk Members of the Australian team told how their bus journey from Heathrow Airport to the Olympic Village turned into a 3??-hour marathon, accidentally taking them past a series of central-London landmarks before getting lost in West Ham.

telegraph.co.uk Bradley Wiggins admitted that it would be much more difficult to win the Tour de France if Team Sky colleague Chris Froome was riding for another team.

Sourced: phuketwan