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

dailymail.co.uk Half-a-million Christmas travellers had their holiday plans ruined as heavy snowfalls caused massive disruption across Britain. Major airports were shut and motorways left at a standstill. Families heading for the sun queued for hours at check-ins in a desperate bid to re-book flights as Gatwick and Heathrow were closed for much of the day.

miamiherald.com London's Gatwick airport closed its runway due to snow, while British Airways suspended all flights from London's Heathrow airport. At Gatwick, 47 snow plows and 150 staff were deployed in an effort to clear the airport's runway. Heathrow said more snow was expected and that staff were "planning for the worst." Airports in Germany, France, the Netherlands and Denmark also reported cancellations or delays.

telegraph.co.uk The chaos at Heathrow started when staff emerged at Terminal Five, armed with loud hailers, ordering travellers to leave the airport and go home or else to a hotel. Emotions ran high with some people, desperate to be home for Christmas, leaving the terminal in tears. The pilots' union blamed airport owners for failing to invest in the equipment that would keep runways open.

metro.co.uk Meteorologists have forecast heavy showers across eastern Scotland and the north-east of England, with as much as 20cm of fresh snow expected in some areas by the end of tomorrow.

bangkokpost.com Thai Airways International has conservatively projected a 10 percent increase in revenue but flat growth in seat occupancy next year, in line with expected volatile fuel prices and possible fallout from Europe's economic difficulties.

wsj.com Few devices know more personal details about people than the smartphones in their pockets: phone numbers, current location, often the owner's real name - even a unique ID number that can never be changed or turned off. These phones don't keep secrets. They are sharing this personal data widely and regularly, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.

bernama.com Thailand plans to import workers from countries which do not share their border, namely Vietnam, Nepal and Bangladesh, to solve the problem of unskilled labor shortages in local industries. According to Thailand News Agency, Labor Minister Chalermchai Sri-on said that he has ordered parties concerned to study the labor import plan.

aljazeera.net South Korea has vowed to go ahead with artillery drills on a border island shelled by North Korea last month despite Pyongyang's threat to retaliate again. A South Korea official said that the military is ready to respond to any possible provocation. He also said the drills were not expected over the weekend because of bad weather but would be conducted by Tuesday.

xinhuanet.com Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun said China is deeply worried about the situation on the Korean Peninsula, which is extremely precarious, highly complicated and sensitive.

independent.co.uk The free-wheeling dope days may soon be over for British visitors if the Netherlands' new centre-right coalition government has its way. Following growing complaints over rising crime in the country's border towns - and a string of recent drug-related shootings in the south - the Dutch government has signaled its intention to ban foreigners from buying cannabis altogether.

nytimes.com The boom and bust of Spain's property sector is astonishing. Over a decade, land prices rose about 500 percent and developers built hundreds of thousands of units - about 800,000 in 2007 alone. At its peak, the construction sector accounted for 12 percent of Spain's gross domestic product, double the level in Britain or France. But almost overnight, the market disappeared.

abc.net.au Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo's most feared supporter, Charles Ble Goude, has urged his followers to get ready for battle against the rival government of Alassane Ouattara. He summoned followers to a rally where he declared that "play time is over". "I urge all Ivorians to make themselves ready for this combat. We are going to totally liberate our country."

people.com Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and their globetrotting family won't be staying put for Christmas. "We're going to travel with the kids and go to a random part of the world," Jolie told a radio show. "We're going to travel and have an adventure because that's what we love to do."



FC PHUKET plays a vital match at 4pm Sunday against promotion rivals Rayong FC. The home game at Surakul Stadium in Phuket City could be a definiting moment for the winner. The loser will almost certainly miss the chance for a place in Thailand's division one. Only two games remain in the division two playoffs.

ARCHERS and spectators are invited to an outdoor competition at Saphan Hin public park in Phuket City from 12.30 on Sunday. The opportunity to try bow and arrow is the first public event highlighting the opening of Phuket's first permanent archery site earlier in 2010. The arrows will fly just opposite the Chinese Shrine, at the end of the Saphan Hin park.

Until December 20 Patong Carnival
Until December 19 Phuket Street Show Festival, Old Phuket Town
December 22-24 Disaster warning drills
December 26 Tsunami sixth anniversary
December 30-January 9 Phuket Red Cross Fair, Saphan Hin park, Phuket City


January 6-9 PIMEX boat show, Royal Phuket Marina
January 22 QSI International fun run day at Bang Wad Dam, Kathu
January 23 The Great Phuket Rubber Duck Race Day, Laguna Phuket
February 9-13 The Bay Regatta - Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi


Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket