Obama Leads; Phuket Dreams Dreamliner; Tourists Held for Killing; Kimi's GP; Phuket Events

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

news.sky.com The tourist boom enjoyed by London in the wake of the Olympics could be wiped out by next year's increase in airport departure tax, tourism officials have warned. Around 84 percent of those questioned in a survey said tourism to the capital would be damaged if the planned rise in Air Passenger Duty goes ahead next April.

bangkokpost.com One year from today, Thailand will be served for the first time by the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, with the global leisure travel group TUI Travel Plc flying the ''toxicologically revolutionary'' jetliner non-stop to Phuket. the group will also become the only UK holiday company to fly directly to Phuket.

guardian.co.uk Barack Obama has edged ahead of Mitt Romney in the final days of the presidential campaign, helped by his handling of superstorm Sandy, according to a new poll. Pew Research Center, one of the more reliable pollsters, showed Obama leading Romney 48 percent to 45 percent among likely voters.

reason.com The world will be watching tomorrow's US presidential election carefully. Unlike Americans, who are roughly equally split on who to vote for, the rest of the world seems to prefer President Obama even though his administration continued the foreign policy of one of the most hated American presidents in history.

nationmultimedia.com Asean leaders want Obama to return as president so he can take part in the upcoming East Asia Summit, which will be held two weeks later in Phnom Penh. Asean will be very low on the list for Mitt Romney.

tehrantimes.com Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to participate in the Bali Democracy Forum in Indonesia, which will be held on November 8 and 9.

theage.com.au Australian PM Julia Gillard has begun six days of diplomatic meetings promoting her government's blueprint for enhancing ties with Asia. In Laos now, on Wednesday Ms Gillard will fly to Bali to co-chair a forum to encourage Asian countries to embrace democratic reforms.

nationmultimedia.com Pheu Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit said he was less concerned about a parliamentary censure debate than a campaign to whip up rancor against the government in southern provinces, including Chumphon, Krabi, Surat Thani, Phuket and Ranong.

english.ruvr.ru A bus with tourists has been involved in a road accident near the island of Phuket in Thailand. According to Tez Tour Thailand, there were no Russians on board. The bus was one belonging to the local so-called ''street'' companies.

guardian.co.uk Three British tourists have been arrested in Cyprus after a teenage soldier based on the island was stabbed to death following a reported fight at a nightclub in Ayia Napa, popular with younger tourists. Its pub and nightclub scene has a reputation for chaos, excessive drinking, drug use and intermittent violence.

thephuketinsider.com Villa Market, popular with expats, will be opening a store next April at the Boat Avenue development in Cherng Talay, which is on the road leading into destination resort Laguna Phuket.

scmp.com China's Communist Party leadership has launched a probe into the alleged family wealth of Wen Jiabao at the premier's request, according to sources.

cnn.com Officials say as many as 40,000 New Yorkers left without heat after Superstorm Sandy hit may need to leave their homes as temperatures plummet, but it's not clear where they'll go.

stickmanweekly.com Earlier in the week banners were hung at Soi Cowboy in Bangkok proclaiming the lane as a safety zone. And it should come as no surprise that Nana Plaza is set to take on the designation of "safety zone". Just as they paid a visit to Cowboy this week, senior police are due to visit the freshly renovated Nana Plaza this coming Thursday. More cameras will be installed in Nana Plaza, just as they have been at Soi Cowboy.

telegraph.co.uk A new study has found that at various times the British have invaded almost 90 percent of the countries around the globe. The analysis of the histories of the almost 200 countries in the world found only 22 that have never experienced an invasion by the British.

dailytimes.com.pk Mangroves for the Future is a unique partner-led initiative to promote investment in coastal ecosystem conservation. In December 2006 President Bill Clinton planted the first mangrove tree to launch the MFF initiative at a fishing village on Phuket Island, Thailand.

fifa.com Brazil are guaranteed a spot in the Round of 16 at the Fifa Futsal World Cup Thailand 2012, now certain to make the next round with six points at the top of Group C. Results: Paraguay 3-6 Costa Rica; Thailand 3-5 Ukraine; Portugal 5-5 Japan; Brazil 13-0 Libya.

telegraph.co.uk A dramatic, breathless Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was eventually won by Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen, who delighted fans with his first victory in three years. Asked if he would be going out to drink Abu Dhabi dry - he has a legendary fondness for alcohol - he mumbled that as long as he made it to Austin next week his team would probably be happy.[Raikkonen once promoted a Phuket property.]

telegraph.co.uk Luis Suarez's 67th-minute equaliser secured Liverpool a point against Newcastle United, the Uruguayan grabbing the limelight for the right reasons after showing exceptional close control and skill to strike his tenth goal of the season in all competitions.

bbc.co.uk Ian Poulter secured his first win of the year with a closing round of 65 at the WGC Champions in Shenzhen. The Englishman, 36, who won his four games in Europe's Ryder Cup win in September, produced eight birdies in his first 15 holes to take control.

Phuket Coming Events 2012

THE Indian ambassador to Thailand, Anil Wadhwa, is inviting Thais and other Asean nationals to join the Asean-India car rally 2012, which takes place from November 25 to December 20. The rally reaches Phuket on November 30.

Sourced: phuketwan