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

PASSENGERS bound for icy Europe from Australia have been forced down in Bangkok and Singapore to await the arrival of better weather. Some Phuket bound flights are likely to have been delayed or cancelled.

telegraph.co.uk One million passengers were due to pass through London's Heathrow alone this week and with warnings of further bad weather in the next few days, some travellers whose flights have been cancelled were told they faced waits of up to five days. As passengers were forced to sleep in terminal buildings for a third night, there was mounting criticism of the airport operator

straitstimes.com All flights from London due to arrive in Singapore on Sunday were cancelled or rescheduled after blizzards and freezing temperatures shut down runways, train tracks and highways across Europe. Changi Airport Group said flights from London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam have so far been affected.

smh.com.au About 3000 Qantas passengers are stranded in London and Asia as severe weather continues to cripple European airports.

thewolf.co.uk Pam Guilfoyle, Pitsea: My son and his girl going to Thailand on Saturday morning but still at airport more than 15hrs no food no hotel just foil blankets information is wrong at Gatwick. They need help all in a desperate situation please, please get them food and drink I'm so worried. The girl has just got over cancer please have a heart and help they can't even use their credit cards all decline please, please help desperate.

voanews.com The UN Security Council is holding emergency talks to try to defuse tensions on the Korean peninsula, where South Korea is vowing to proceed with a live-fire military exercise, despite threats of retaliation from the North.

afp Thousands of Thailand's red shirts gathered in Bangkok Sunday to mark seven months since a deadly military crackdown on their anti-government protest. Demonstrators chanted "There were dead people here!" and released red balloons in the latest rally to commemorate those killed during unrest in April and May.

bbc.co.uk The US Senate has approved landmark legislation allowing openly gay people to serve in the military. The Senate and House of Representatives both approved the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" law, which bars gay people in the military from revealing their sexual orientation. Opponents argue that the change will damage troop morale at a time of war.

xinhua Thailand's Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation declared winter disaster zone in 20 northern and northeastern provinces. The temperature in those 20 provinces has been lower than eight degree Celsius.

afp The United Nations offered Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe a retirement package and safe haven overseas if he agreed to stand down, according to a US diplomatic cable revealed by WikiLeaks.

mcot.net Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport's Airport Link will open and operate its check-in service for the first time on January 4, while passenger fares will be raised as it rises to full service after a four-month introductory operation period, according to Permanent Secretary for Transport Supoj Saplom.

guardian.co.uk Filming in Oxford is almost complete on an Anglo-French big screen version of the remarkable life of Aung San Suu Kyi with Michelle Yeoh as the Burmese opposition leader and David Thewlis as her university academic husband. The Guardian today publishes the first stills from the Luc Besson-directed movie which will be called 'The Lady,' the name by which she is known by a Burmese population banned from saying her real name.

time.com 'The Lady's' Thailand scenes have to be shot discreetly, mainly, it seems, to mollify the Thai government, which is forging closer relations with Burma's generals. To avoid offending the authorities, who would possibly order the shoot shut down, scripts carry a deliberately insipid working title (Dans la Lumiere) that gives no clue to their content. Cast and crew have signed confidentiality agreements.

guardian.co.uk Michelle Yeoh told the Guardian [after meeting Aung San Suu Kyi]: "The first thing we did is hug and I thought you are really skinny, man. She is so proud of her culture and the best way to show it is with dignity and elegance. She has a glow and an aura about her."

afp A luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi which unveiled a Christmas tree decorated with jewels valued at $US11 million has decided to put the record straight against criticism of having gone over the top. The Emirates Palace bills itself as seven-star and has a package for a week-long stay priced at $US1 million.

jerusalempost.com More than half of the Israeli public feels that foreign workers pose a threat to the Jewish character of the country. The survey also found that 56 percent of Israelis want the government to toughen entry restrictions on foreign workers. The largest group of foreign workers were from Thailand, at 5600 or 21 percentof all 2009 entries.

afp WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has denounced "business McCarthyism" in the US after the Bank of America halted all transactions to the website. The Australian vowed the whistle-blowing website will carry on releasing controversial leaked documents as he insisted his life is under threat.

stickmanweekly.com Russians, Indians, Middle Easterners and Eastern Europeans are visiting in ever increasing numbers and they are flocking to areas traditionally the domain of the white man. Nowhere was it more obvious than Pattaya's Walking Street where these so-called minorities far outnumbered the traditional visitor, the white male from the likes of the US and the UK.

thisisnottingham.co.uk A man's surprise early return to the UK after being critically injured in a road accident in Thailand has been delayed by severe weather. Antony Giles was diverted to Copenhagen. He was a passenger on his friend's moped when it was in collision with a car on November 25. Costs for his treatment have been estimated at 150,000 pounds.

abcnews.go.com Two superstars - one a world-famous actress and one a world-renowned scientist - have teamed up to bring aid to vulnerable children around the world. Oscar winner Angelina Jolie and Harvard researcher Dr Anne Goldfeld of the Global Health Committee met while flying to Cambodia in 2004, where Jolie was filming the 'Tomb Raider' sequel.



Until December 20 Patong Carnival
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