reuters.com Thailand's military vowed to punish anti-government protesters if they marched on Bangkok's central business district, heightening fears of more violence after bloody clashes left 24 people dead a week ago.

channelnewsasia.com Thailand's pro-establishment yellow shirt movement gathered on Sunday to discuss their response to month-long red anti-government protests. As the yellows met at a Bangkok university, the reds were also meeting to discuss their next move, eights days on from deadly clashes with security forces.

time.com Over the past week, Thailand's gentle smile has become a grimace, and its welcome mat is stained with blood. Hotel occupancy in Bangkok had dropped by at least 30 percent for this time of year. For hotels near the protest sites, however, the occupancy rate is zero.


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

guardian.co.uk The crisis is clearly far from over, and yet there is little tourists can do other than try and get back to their holiday. Last Sunday afternoon, one journalist surveying the damage tweeted that 50 metres from where people were killed, tourists were watching the Blackburn v Manchester United match.
It would be unfair to ask tourists to think too hard about Thailand's problems; they are, after all, on holiday. Yet, whether they realise it or not, tourists are not just spectators to the political turmoil.
All sides in this conflict use tourism as a weapon to achieve their aims.
The decision of the Yellow Shirts to close the airport in 2008 was an audacious move, designed for maximum impact. As of yet, the Reds have not targeted tourism so explicitly, but that might well be changing.

scotsman.com ''There has been more talk of crackdown and possible attempts to take us in, so we have to make sure we are not infiltrated,'' protest leader Nattawut Saikua said, adding that the Red Shirts had no plans to march. The Red Shirt leaders would make new sleeping arrangements at undisclosed locations, Nattawut said, as leaders recruited protesters to become ''guards''. The political crisis in Thailand has hit tourism hard and caused a sell-off in the stock market.

thepeninsulaqatar.com Leaders of Thailand's red shirt protesters say they will surrender to police next month, but refuse to end their rally in Bangkok's commercial heartland. ''On May 15, 24 of us will surrender. All of the leaders,'' said one of the top red shirts, Nattawut Saikuar. ''For now the 24 of us will keep rallying to show sincerely that we won't run away,'' he said.

eonline.com According to reports, Monty Python legend John Cleese has paid a $5000 taxi fare. With his flight grounded after a Norwegian talk-show appearance by Iceland's volcanic eruption, the 'Fish Called Wanda' funnyman hailed a cab to Brussels and caught a train from there back to London.

thedailybeast.com With thousands of flights canceled until Monday, businessmen and diplomats are stranded around the world. (When German Chancellor Angela Merkel left the US, she had to fly to Lisbon, then Rome, overnighted in northern Italy, and planned to take a bus home.) Airlines are losing about $200 million a day; next week could see $1 billion in losses, a huge blow as the industry was just beginning to recover from the global financial crisis.

examiner.com President Barack Obama had planned to fly to Poland Saturday to attend the funeral of Poland's president, however fallout from the volcano has created hazardous flying conditions.

afp Winds blowing a massive volcanic ash cloud from Iceland to Europe will continue in the same direction for at least two days and could go on until the middle of next week, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said. ''For the winds of high altitude, we expect more or less the same. The ash will continue to be directed towards Britain and Scandinavia," Teitur Arason, a meteorologist, told AFP.

scotsman.co.uk The longer UK airspace is closed, the greater the damage will be - not just to British businesses but also for farmers in the developing countries who rely on exporting their produce to Europe. ''Their livelihoods are in serious jeopardy,'' one importer said. For fresh produce and pharmaceuticals reliant on air freight, the impact could be widespread.

smh.com.au Eating seafood these days comes with a catch. With three-quarters of the world's oceans overfished or fished right up to their limits and 18 out of the 98 fish stocks assessed by the Australian government considered as ''overfished'' or ''subject to overfishing'', buying is becoming harder for those concerned with sustainability.

xinhuanet.com Thai and Cambodian troops on Saturday clashed at a border area with injuries reported, local media said. The clashes occurred at the border area near Kap Choeng district in northeast province of Surin, when a group of Thai scouts encountered Cambodian border troops. The two sides exchanged fire twice around 7:30am and 9:30am with injuries reported on both sides.

nationmultimedia.com Despite claims to the contrary in CNN's Ireport section, we would like to reaffirm to all our readers and interested parties that all photos published in The Nation newspaper and The Nation's website as well as all other media outlets of Nation Multimedia Group are genuine.

voanews.com A series of bomb blasts at the site of a controversial dam project in a remote part of Burma has destroyed cars and buildings and wounded one man. Officials said the explosions took place in the early hours of Saturday at four locations where the Myitsone Dam is under construction in the country's northernmost Kachin State.

pattayadailynews.com An emergency consignment of fruit has been organised by the Thailand Tourism Authority Eastern-Seaboard in cooperation with the Pattaya administration to be sent out to Koh Ling (Koh Ped, Monkey Island). The decision was made to prepare the supply after reports that the thousands of monkeys on Koh Ling were beginning to suffer frrom lack of food.

smh.com.au Travellers seem willing to go everywhere this year, however notorious the leaders. A fly-in Zimbabwe safari was launched successfully in February, helped by returning consumer confidence in the destination. Even Burma is flourishing, says the Yangon manager of the Asian Trails touring company, Thomas Carnevale. ''We could call it a boom regarding the number of tourists,'' Carnevale says.

asiatraveltips.com Tiger Airways Singapore has launched a Thailand promotion with special fares for travel from Singapore to Phuket, Krabi, Hat Yai and Bangkok. On sale until April 21, tickets to Phuket and Krabi are from S$50 including taxes, while Had Yai tickets are from S$60 including taxes. It costs only from S$65 including taxes to fly to Bangkok International Airport.

timesonline.co.uk Donald Trump is betting he can do for hotels what he has done for skyscrapers, casinos, reality TV and the wedding industry. He wants his family to be the new first family of inn-keeping. In 10 years, if the Trumps get their way, there will be a giant ''T'' atop a stylish, modern Trump hotel in every big city. Toronto, Panama City, Mumbai, Delhi, Dubai, Thailand, Istanbul and on Australia's Gold Coast.



Until April 18 Phuket Cricket Sixes, Karon Sports Stadium.
April 22 Phuket's Clean Beach campaign returns with monthly volunteer efforts designed to keep Phuket sparkling
April 28GreenLOVE 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 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