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

smh.com.au Europeans stuck in Asian airports are being told it could be two weeks before they can fly home. Volcanic ash continues to spew from the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland and now covers much of Europe. At Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok yesterday, thousands of stranded passengers were anxiously trying to rebook on the first available flight to Europe.
Granville and Angela Harris, of Birmingham, were told the first Thai Airways flight to Britain they could take was on May 4, 15 days away. ''I passed out, just fainted, from the sheer shock,'' Mrs Harris said. ''It's more than two weeks away. This has become a nightmare." Her husband was left without insulin medication and was forced to rush to Bangkok Hospital to buy more.

reuters Europe's skies were open for business on Wednesday, but with so many planes having been grounded by the pall of volcanic ash spreading from Iceland it could take days, or weeks, to clear the backlog.

cnn.com A British Airways flight from Vancouver, British Columbia, landed at London's Heathrow airport late Tuesday, the first commercial airliner to do so in five days after ash from a volcano in Iceland disrupted air travel across Europe. Passengers aboard British Airways Flight 084 broke out in applause as the plane landed shortly before 10pm.

bloomberg.com The financial cost to Asian airlines from the Icelandic volcanic eruption will be ''minor'' compared with the impact on their European counterparts, Macquarie Group Ltd. analysts said. Europe's carriers are likelier to have business-class bookings canceled.

bangkokpost.com South China of Hong Kong stunned Thai Premier League champions Muang Thong United 1-0 in the AFC Cup at Surakul stadium in Phuket last night. Substitute Wong Chin Hung scored in the final minute in an ill-tempered match which saw both sides reduced to 10 men. The match was transferred to Phuket because of the unrest in Bangkok.

Phuketwan Update Two deaths were recorded on Phuket in Thailand's New Year 'Seven Days' of Danger' on the roads, making the Songkran Festival one of the safest periods of the year to be on Phuket's roads. The island averages 15 deaths each month. Four died last year.

Associated Press Thailand's bloody political crisis has been scaring away tourists for weeks but took a new turn Tuesday when some of the capital's finest hotels sent guests packing for fear of violence at their doorsteps. The Grand Hyatt and InterContinental hotels in Bangkok told guests they would have to leave, while The Four Seasons remained open but closed all four of its restaurants and saw its cavernous lobby empty except for a few wilted orchids.

cnn.com Anti-government protesters called off a rally they had planned for Tuesday because of an immense military presence on the streets of Bangkok. ''We are not going to mobilise to anywhere because there are too many soldiers on the street,'' said Nattawut Saikua, a leader with the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship.

abc. net.au Thailand has toughened its stance against anti-government protesters, warning security forces would use live ammunition and tear gas in any fresh clashes. Ten days after 25 people were killed and 800 wounded in a failed attempt to dislodge red shirt demonstrators, the government said it was determined to end four weeks of rallies but would not give a date for the crackdown.

theglobeandmail.com The presence of ''watermelon soldiers'' - wearing green on the outside, but red in their hearts - in the ranks of the Thai military is unsurprising, given that many of the rank-and-file are drawn from poorer, rural areas of the country, the same villages that are the heartland of the red shirt movement. An estimated 40 percent of the army's 190,000 troops are conscripts.

huffingtonpost.com Somali pirates hijacked three Thai fishing vessels with 77 crew aboard more than 1930 kilometers off the Somali coast, the farthest-off-shore attack to date, the EU Naval Force said. Pirates have expanded their range south and east in response to an increase in patrols by European and US warships off the Somali shore.

reuters Kaptan, a minority Turkish farmer, died trying to defend his home against 100 armed attackers on the outskirts of Kyrgyzstan's capital as ethnic violence erupted in the Central Asian state. His body was left lying on the doorsteps of his two-storey house after hundreds of Kyrgyz men stormed through the village of Mayevka, looting and torching dozens of houses and barns. Four others were killed. ''Everyone ran away but he put up resistance. So they stabbed him to death with knives and hayforks,'' said a relative.

Associated Press A ruling party lawmaker and his second wife pleaded guilty Tuesday to entering into a polygamous marriage without official consent amid a debate in Malaysia over Islamic morality among politicians. Lawmaker Bung Mokhtar Radin and actress Zizie Ezette A. Samad pleaded guilty in a lower Islamic Shariah court in central Selangor state to getting married without the consent of a registrar, said a court official, who declined to be named due to protocol.




April 22 Researcher Robert X Fogarty reflects on the Phuket Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, Room No.1205, Building One (Faculty of Technology/Environment) Prince of Songkla University, 10 am.
April 22 Phuket's Clean Beach campaign returns with monthly volunteer efforts designed to keep Phuket sparkling
April 23 Mom Tri's Kitchen Dinner Theatre at the Villa Royale hosts the Andaman Players 'Love is a 4 Letter Word' plus three-course dinner. Bookings 076 333568.
April 23 A 1001 Arabian Nights @ Sienna Rocks evening of fashion, entertainment and food is being held at the Cape Sienna Resort, from 6pm. The evening aims to raise money for 25 scholarships for underprivileged Thai students through the Phuket Asia Foundation. Tickets 500 baht, first two drinks free. Details: 076-337300. E: siennanews@capesienna.com
April 28 GreenLOVE festival to raise awareness about local and international environmental issues and solutions, British International School 8am-3pm.
April 30 Lions Club Of Phuket Pearl is holding a jazz concert and dance night, performed by children from the Phuket Academy of Dance, at the Royal Phuket Marina. Details: 081 477 0342.
May 1 The Phuket Has Been Good To Us foundation, first fund-raising ball, Sheraton Grande Laguna Resort, 6.30pm-Midnight.
May 31-June 5 Eight-nation football tournament for players over 55 at Surakul Stadium in Phuket City. Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Taiwan, Iran, Armenia competing.
May Annual Phuket seafood festival.
May Date to be finalised for Muay Thai kickboxing competition at Laguna Phuket.
May 21-23 Paragliding on Phuket.
June 4-13 Phuket International Film Festival, Coliseum Cineplex, Phuket City.
June 13 Laguna Phuket International Marathon. Fun runs, too.
December 4-11 Phuket King's Cup Regatta