Obama, Romney Sprint; Thai Resorts Tops; New Drugs Fears; Elephant 'Can Talk'; Phuket Events

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

bbc.co.uk US Presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have embarked on a final frenzy of campaigning to take advantage of the last weekend before the general election. Four days from voting day, polls showed the rivals locked in a dead heat.

news.sky.com Sunday's New York City Marathon has been cancelled due to a public backlash against the road race in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. An estimated 40,000 runners from around the world had been expected to take part in the 42.6 kilometre event.

foxnews.com The number of deaths from Hurricane Sandy in New York has risen to 41, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, warning that more victims might yet be found.

ttrweekly.com Thailand's hotels and B&Bs are the cleanest in the region and business has fully recovered after the 2011 floods that inundated the central plains for six weeks, according to a TripAdvisor report. Accommodation in Thailand topped the cleanliness category with a rating of 4.24, beating Australia (4.16), Indonesia (4.22), Malaysia (3.95) and India (4.09).

nationmultimedia.com The Tourism Authority of Thailand plans to organise the first official eco-tourism consumer fair in the third quarter next year to cash in on a growing trend. Vilaiwan Twichasri, TAT's deputy governor for tourism products and business, said the fair would feature ecological and green tourism products, soft adventure and One Tambon One Product items, focusing on domestic tourists.

bangkokpost.com Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has decided to take charge of national security policies herself, electing not to assign any deputy prime ministers to the role.

nationmultimedia.com Nissan Motor confirmed the plan to invest 11 billion baht in Thailand to erect a second assembly plant which is scheduled to start production in August 2014. The new plant will create 2000 jobs.

afp A strong 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the southern Philippine island of Mindanao early Saturday, US seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

arabnews.com Singapore Airlines, one of the world's largest carriers by market capitalisation, posted a 54 percent drop in quarterly net profit and said the outlook remained challenging, made worse by high and volatile jet fuel prices.

smh.com.au So-called ''bath salts,'' a legal synthetic drug that mimics the effects of cocaine, has quietly reached Australia after sparking widespread concern overseas. Manufacturers tweak the composition of substances so they circumvent illegal drug classifications yet still trigger many of the same effects of amphetamines. They were not detected in urine tests.

nst.com.my Malaysian police are working with their Thai authorities to bring back more than 100 cars, stolen and smuggled across the border. Federal police went to the Thai Customs yard in Golok earlier this week to take down the chassis numbers of cars which were held by Thai authorities. The cars, 110 of them worth several million ringgit, have been at the yard for months.

nationmultimedia.com Thailand and Burma (Myanmar) have declared a goal of tripling bilateral trade by 2015 from US$6.1 billion at present under the Asean Economic Community and closer cooperation through the Joint Trade Commission.

bangkokpost.com Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will meet Burma President Thein Sein on Thursday when he visits Nay Pyi Taw as a part of a three-day trip to the country, according to a close aide.

thediplomat.com The violence in Rakhine state and Thein Sein's rejection of outside mediation is getting beyond the pale. Perhaps this violence should be referred to the International Criminal Court and the possible removal of long standing sanctions on Burma made conditional upon its findings.

bbc.co.uk The World Bank has approved an $80m grant and pledged lending for Burma for the first time in 25 years.

afp Crammed into squalid camps, thousands of people who fled communal violence in Burma face a deepening humanitarian crisis with critical shortages of food, water and medicine, aid workers say.

smh.com.au Virgin's bold but risky move to take control of Tiger Australia and regional airline Skywest will reshape Australian aviation. it will be Qantas, Jetstar and their regional partners slugging it out against Virgin, Tiger and Skywest.

AP Scientists say an elephant in a South Korean zoo is using his trunk to imitate human speech. An international team of researchers says Koshik can reproduce five Korean words by tucking his trunk inside his mouth and modulating the sound coming from his throat.

nationmultimedia.com Thais consume up to 20-25 teaspoons of sugar a day, according to a 2011 report - two teaspoons above the previous year and about quadruple the recommendation of six teaspoons.

easier.com Older visitors looking for a quiet destination in Thailand should look around the the surrounding areas of Phuket and in particular Cape Panwa. Have a look at the amazing 360 degree views of Southern Phuket from Cape Panwa viewpoint, and perhaps enjoy a meal in one of the restaurants there.

eturbonews.com Centara Hotels and Resorts will be opening its fourth property in Pattaya in March, the five-star Centara Grand Resort & Spa Pattaya east of the city.

Sourced: phuketwan