crikey.com.au Singapore Airlines controlled Tiger Airways is under immense pressure in its Australian operations even after it says it has satisfied safety concerns raised by CASA in a ''show cause'' letter on March 23.

theage.com.au Easter holiday plans of hundreds of travellers have been thrown into chaos after Tiger Airways cancelled two interstate flights from Melbourne - and said alternative services were not available until Saturday - amid safety concerns.


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

bangkokpost.com Puea Thai de facto leader Thaksin Shinawatra is facing a rebellion by the party's northeastern MPs, who say his close ties to the red shirts is alienating voters. About 40 Puea Thai MPs have banded together to ask the former prime minister to stay out of the party's election campaign, a party source said.

news.com.au Budget airline Tiger Airways is at risk of being grounded by the Australian aviation regulator following a spate of safety and maintenance breaches. In a blow for the struggling airline industry, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has issued Tiger with a "show cause" notice.

bangkokpost.com Garuda Indonesia will increase frequencies on its Bangkok-Jakarta route to twice daily from June 17 to respond to stronger travel demand.

smh.com.au Shortly after 7am, the Australian dollar had reached $US1.0717 before settling back to $US1.701. [Phuket should be better value for Aussies as their dollar rises.]

irrawaddy.org More than 60 Burmese migrant workers who were kept prisoner and forced to work in a Bangkok garment factory were discovered by anti-human trafficking police. Burmese workers were paid a pittance and not allowed to leave the building, but one escaped and contacted the Burma Association Thailand for help.


smh.com.au A power failure at Sydney Airport triggered the rescreening of the entire terminal, including many of those already on board aircraft waiting to take off. With 29 flights cancelled, one airline, Jetstar, said 2000 of its passengers were stranded overnight.

themoscowtimes.com Suspected arms smuggler Viktor Bout said US agents warned that he could face hunger, disease and rape in Thailand jails if he did not talk to them. Bout made the claim in a court document as his lawyers asked that charges against him be dropped.

smh.com.au Around 100 detainees have set fire and destroyed at least nine buildings at Sydney's Villawood Detention Centre. A medical centre, laundry and computer centre have been destroyed with the damage bill to run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

cnn.com An education department in one Malaysian state is sending effeminate boys to a boot camp to change their behavior, a move that's drawn fire from educators and activists.The move smacks of homophobia to many.

guardian.co.uk Security researchers have discovered that Apple's iPhone keeps track of where you go - and saves every detail to a secret file on the device which is copied to the owner's computer when synchronised.

reuters Apple's quarterly results again smashed Wall Street's expectations, fueled by record iPhone and Mac sales, offsetting lower-than-expected sales of its iPad tablet computer.

nytimes.com Longevity researcher Howard Friedman says the most important unanswered question is about work and retirement. "We know it's not good to retire and go to the beach," he says.



April 24 Ao Chalong Yacht Club Open Day
April 24 Easter Family Day, Friendship Beach, Rawai
April 25 Anzac night for Aussies, Lady Pie, Cherng Talay
April 28 Pierre-Yves Cousteau dinner at IndoChine
May New PPAO Hospital to open, Phuket City
May 1 National Labor Day public holiday
May 5 Coronation Day public holiday
May 13 Royal Ploughing Day public holiday
May 17 Visakha Bucha Day public holiday
June 12 Laguna Phuket International Marathon
June 23-26 Phuket Fun Fly paragliding, Nai Harn
July 3 Phuket Navy League US Independence Day fair at Headstart International School
July 15 Asarnha Bucha Day public holiday
July 20-24 Six Senses Phuket Raceweek
August 12 HM The Queen's Birthday public holiday
October Vegetarian Festival, Phuket
November 26-27 9th Phuket International Soccer 7s
November 27 Laguna Phuket Triathlon
December 3-4 6th Andaman International Soccer 7s
December 4 Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship, Laguna


March 18-28 National Youth Games, Phuket

Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket