Associated Press David Carradine's widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a French company handling the actor's last film, 'Stretch,' claiming it failed to provide proper services to protect him. Carradine, 72, was found hanging dead last June in a Bangkok hotel room.

telegraph.co.uk Aeroflot has banned the sale of alcohol on some long-distance flights to violence and debauchery. Aeroflot's ban affects Russia's Far East, China, Cuba and Thailand, and is likely to anger Russian male passengers who love to binge on flights.


A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media. PLUS World Cup Watch, every day.

xinhua Nineteen Hong Kong travel agents operating Thailand package tours met, saying package tours bound for Bangkok will be resumed as from June 9. Agents said they made the decision given that the protesters in Bangkok have dispersed, order has been restored, and the Outbound Travel Alert change from Black to Red. If any places originally planned for the tours are affected, the travel agents will adjust the itineraries to avoid visiting those places, they said. Hong Kong lowered the alert for Bangkok to Red on Wednesday.

mainichi.jp JTB Corp. removed its self-imposed ban on package tours to Bangkok in view of improved security and the Japanese Foreign Ministry's decision to downgrade its travel advisory. Kinki Nippon Tourist Co. and Nippon Travel Agency Co., Japan's other major agencies, will also resume tours to Bangkok, starting next Wednesday and on June 12.

ttglive.com Bargain deals are expected to help sales to Thailand pick up after the Foreign Office eased its advice on Bangkok travel. The FCO this week changed its advice not to travel to the Thai capital, as well as Chiang Mai. Operators said they were confident Thailand would recover quickly and could be back to pre-crisis arrival levels by the start of next year.
Debbie Goffin at Premier Holidays said: ''Thailand is great value for money, even compared with other destinations in the region such as Bali and Malaysia.'' Agent Howard Edgington added: ''People's memories are short and the British public are resilient, so sales will be back to normal later in the year unless there is a recurrence of the problem.''

bbc.co.uk North Korea says that war could erupt at any time on the Korean peninsula, because of deepening tension with South Korea following the sinking of a warship in March. The latest warning comes from a North Korean diplomat - and it comes on the eve of a security summit in Singapore, where the worsening relations between North and South will head the agenda.

thesun.co.uk Derrick Bird, who used to get fellow cabbies to join him on regular sex holidays to Thailand's fleshpots, was said to have been seething at jokes about him falling for one of the hookers. The friend of the mass murderer, who killed himself in a wood after an orgy of bloodshed, revealed: ''It turned out he had become smitten with this woman. He started sending her large sums of cash - thousands of pounds. Then she stopped returning his calls.
''They've been ribbing him about it for quite a while.'' The chum said things ''came to a head'' the night before Bird took his revenge - when he told his smirking fellow cabbies: ''There's going to be a rampage tomorrow.''

timeslive.co.za Golf prodigy Pinsawat Pariwat, aged 13, who shot 67 in the opening round on Wednesday, continued his inspired form by shooting a 68 on the par-70 Laguna Phuket Golf Club layout. Other talented Thai golfers also flourished at the Mercedes-Benz Masters Thailand with Pattaraphol Khanthacha taking the halfway lead. The 20-year-old shot his second successive five-under-par 65 for a total of 10-under-par 130. He leads by one stroke from Filipino Juvic Pagunsan.

timesonline.uk Nearly 400,000 people abandoned British Airways last month as strikes by cabin crew forced the airline to cancel hundreds of flights. BA said passenger numbers fell by 14.2 percent to 2.3 million during May after industrial action disrupted services in the last two weeks of the month. Cabin crew prepare for another five-day strike starting tomorrow.

ft.com Jim Webb, a high-profile US senator who has been calling for American re-engagement with Asia, has cancelled a trip to Burma citing fresh concerns that the generals who run the country are trying to develop nuclear capability.

csmonitor.com The hit parade of the world's worst human rights violators is out, and it reads like a rap sheet of the usual suspects. The ''worst of the worst,'' as Washington-based human rights watchdog Freedom House calls them, is comprised of nine countries and one territory: Burma, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tibet (under Chinese jurisdiction).

bloomberg The global temperature this year reached its warmest on record based on a 12-month rolling average, said James Hansen, the top climate change scientist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The mean surface temperature in the year to April was about 0.66 degrees warmer than the 1951 to 1980 mean, according to NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. That makes it a fraction warmer than the previous peak in 2005.

smh.com.au June 4 anniversary: In May 1989 the talented commander of the legendary 38th Army, Lieutenant General Xu Qinxian, defied an order from the paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, to lead his troops to Beijing. General Xu took no part in the subsequent killing of hundreds of protesters around Tiananmen Square, which is now quietly referred to in China simply as ''June 4'' and remains the worst incident of direct military violence against Chinese people in the People's Republic's 60-year history. The bloodshed split the People's Liberation Army as it did the Communist Party, and the country.

expressindia.com Australias second largest airline Virgin Blue has sacked up to 20 of its staff after they were found viewing pornography on work computers. The sacking came after an extensive investigation by the airline's head office in Brisbane. While Virgin Blue would not confirm who the staff were, it is believed they were members of the airline's pit crew, who are involved in refuelling and minor maintenance.

smh.com.au Apparently it's OK for airlines to make jokes about terrorism ... at least if that airline is British Airways. The beleaguered British carrier is in damage control tas it tries to explain how a photograph of a fake boarding pass made out in the name of Osama bin Laden came to be published in one of its magazines.

telegraph.co.uk Traditional university degree grades have been rendered meaningless by the mass expansion of higher education, say researchers. A sharp rise in the number of people admitted to university since the mid-80s makes it impossible to compare degrees awarded by different institutions in different subjects, it was claimed. Researchers said the 200-year-old system of first, second and third-class degrees is also threatened by increased competition between universities - with lecturers under pressure to mark up work to justify higher fees.

dna You have to be a total braveheart to venture into the glitzy nightclubs in Phuket that have mindboggling cabaret shows. Though several of my Indian friends cautioned me it wouldn't be safe, it is fine as long as you watch what you are drinking. Phuket is probably one of the best places in the world to lay your hands on a delectable coconut martini. I did and it was my best friend on the beach while I watched the sun go down in the evenings.



todayonline.com Brazil will win the World Cup, say Singapore fans, who will likely follow closest the matches involving the five-time world champion and England. In a survey of 200 Singaporeans by media firm MEC Singapore, nearly three-quarters said they are either fanatics or fans of the tournament.

independent.co.uk North Korea's cunning plan to include a extra striker in their World Cup squad by concealing him as a goalkeeper has failed. Manager Kim-Yong Hun only named two regular goalkeepers in his 23, opting to name Kim Myong-Won, usually a centre forward, as third goalkeeper. However, Fifa have scuppered the plan: ''The three players listed as goalkeepers can only play as goalkeepers during the Fifa World Cup and cannot play outfield.''

timesonline.com Supporting England at a World Cup is an age-old battle between hope and cynicism. In the red corner we put flags on the car, buy Panini stickers and say Wayne Rooney is the best player in the world. In the blue corner everyone is, well, blue. What most analysis of England's World Cup prospects ignores is that it will probably come down to good or bad luck.

guardian.co.uk Life on the Highveld may still be alien, with bodies and minds weary after their overnight flight from Heathrow, but England already feel welcome in South Africa. Scrawled in marker pen on a magnetic tactics board in the dressing room they will occupy for their opening World Cup fixture is the word ''winners''. The locals already seem smitten.

cnn.com Back in 1977, Pele predicted that an African team would win the World Cup by the year 2000. Ten years on and his forecast is still unlikely to reach fruition, but the Ivory Coast could surpass the continent's previous record-setters Senegal, who made it to the quarterfinals in 2002.


World Cup at Duke's in Kata! We're a small sports bar with the right attitude..... www.dukesbigboard.com

I will be watching the World Cup at Solution bar in Kata, ice cold beers, happy hour specials, 2 big tvs with HD, only one place for me!!!



Until June 5 Eight-nation football tournament for players over 38 at Surakul Stadium in Phuket City. Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Taiwan, Iran, Armenia competing. Games start at 6pm Friday, Saturday.
June 4-13 Phuket International Film Festival, Coliseum Cineplex, Phuket City.
June 4-13 Prison Products Fair, each evening at Saphan Hin park, Phuket City. On-stage entertainment, food stalls, refreshments, furniture for purchase.
June 13 Laguna Phuket International Marathon. Fun runs, too.
June 25 to 27 Second Kathu Culture Road Fair, recalling the region's history
July 21-25 Phuket Six Senses Race Week, Evason, Rawai
July 4 US Phuket Navy League Independence Day free family picnic at the Headstart International Learning Center directly across from Makro (near Central Festival) in Phuket City from 10am-7pm.
October 1-3 Asian Hospitality and Travel Show, Central Festival Phuket Convention and Exhibition Center, Phuket City
December 4-11 Phuket King's Cup Regatta