THE ineffectiveness of the present travel alert system has been highlighted by the revision of the British warning on Thursday. Are Britons now safer than everybody else? What a pathetic system. Please give us something that works for us all.

Associated Press Thailand's PM says he will dissolve Parliament in September, meeting a key demand of anti-government protesters, but only if they end their crippling occupation of Bangkok's commercial district.


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

traveldaily.co.uk Efforts by the Royal Thai Embassy and the UK branch of the Tourism Authority of Thailand to downgrade the Foreign Office travel advice to Thailand have paid dividends. The FO revised its travel advice to the following: ''This advice has been reviewed and reissued with amendments to the Summary and the Terrorism and Security section. The overall level of the advice has changed; we no longer advise against all but essential travel to the whole country. We advise against all travel to specific parts of Thailand. We advise against all but essential travel to other specific parts of Thailand, including Bangkok.''

afp Britain and Ireland have grounded flights again after a fresh cloud of ash swept in from the Icelandic volcano which sparked unprecedented air travel chaos in Europe last month. In a second day of renewed airspace disruption, thousands of passengers in Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland were forced to cancel travel plans.

gulf-times.com Thailand's revered king left hospital briefly for the first time since February, travelling to the Grand Palace for celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of his coronation. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest reigning monarch, left Siriraj Hospital in a wheelchair, wearing the customary white royal uniform, television footage showed.

smh.com.au Australia has earned the dubious honor of being in the top 10 countries with the worst environmental impact on the planet, according to a major international study of more than 200 nations. On a per capita basis, Singapore was classified as the world's worst offender. Brazil tops the list, followed by US, China, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, India, Russia, Australia and Peru.

radioaustralianews.net.au The party of Burma's detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, held a final gathering at its headquarters before its forced dissolution. The National League for Democracy declined to re-register as a party this year, as required under new election laws, for an election the junta says will be held sometime later this year.

businessweek.com There's only one good bet in Britain's razor-edge election: It's likely to reshape the country's politics in historic ways. Should Gordon Brown cling to power, his Labour Party will have pulled off one of the most unlikely political comebacks in modern times. Victory for the Conservatives' David Cameron would return his once-discredited party to office after 13 years. More likely there will be no clear winner, and a good showing for Liberal Democrat upstart Nick Clegg.

ntdtv.com The Philippines Commission on Elections said it would do everything to ensure national elections are held as planned on May 10. Faulty vote-counting machines prompted some calls for a delay.

ottowacitizen.com A Canadian man pleaded guilty in a US federal court in New Jersey to conspiring to engage in sex tourism, along with producing and distributing child pornography. Prosecutors alleged John Wrenshall, 63, invited sex tourists to his home in Thailand to engage in sexual acts with Thai boys as young as four years old. Wrenshall, a former scout leader, was previously convicted in Canada of sexually assaulting choir boys. He moved to Thailand from Calgary approximately 10 years ago.

reliefweb.int The Department of Water Resource has accelerated the restoration of small sized water sources in 6552 sites to solve repeated drought in Thailand. DWR Director-General Kasemsan Chinnawaso stated that the DWR had accelerated the improvement of small water resources outside the irrigation areas on the three-year operation timeframe.

washingtonpost.com Google's search results should look a little different today. The company is rolling out a redesign of its search pages that includes a freshly scrubbed version of its logo. The most obvious change is a new column of search options that changes to reflect what sort of search you've typed. You've seen this concept in action if you clicked the ''Show options...'' link on most Google search-results pages - or used Microsoft's surprisingly good Bing.

traveldaily.co.uk Thailand's Minister of Tourism and Sports has reassured the travel trade that the country is a safe place to visit despite ongoing political unrest that has plagued the country. ''Thailand has encountered problems before, and has bounced back, and will do so again,'' said HE Chumpol Silapa-archa on day one of Arabian Travel Market in Dubai

scmp.com Twelve Hong Kong hotels and restaurants are offering shark-free banquet menus as part of a World Wildlife Fund initiative to help save shark stocks from being decimated.

todayonline.com SilkAir's Holidays Roadshow until next Wednesday has three-day, two-night packages starting from S$298 for Kuching and Phuket; S$328 for Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi; S$358 for Siem Reap and Solo; and S$438 for Chiang Mai and Kota Kinabalu. Meanwhile, at Club Med resorts in Bali, Bintan, Cherating Beach and Phuket, children eat, play and stay for free until June 30. The minimum stay is four nights.

bloomberg.com In a suite with its own pool table on the seventh floor of Las Vegas Sands' new casino resort in Singapore, architect Moshe Safdie has a one-word answer when asked what he has learned from designing the $5.5 billion project. ''Scale.'' Scale is right. The complex - a 2560-room hotel, convention center, theaters, museum, shopping mall, casino and 4000-car garage - boasts a list of impressive statistics, from the 300 meter- hotel atrium to the 15-ton Antony Gormley sculpture suspended over the lobby, to a cantilevered rooftop park that's longer than the height of the Eiffel Tower and 55 stories above the ground.



May 7 Two welcoming events by Phuket Navy League for crews on US warships.
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 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.
July 21-25 Phuket Six Senses Race Week, Evason, Rawai
December 4-11 Phuket King's Cup Regatta

2011
February 9-13 The Bay Regatta - Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi