158 people feared dead after an Air India Express flight crashed near Mangalore airport on India's west coast at 6.30am local time, Reuters reported. The Boeing 737 flight, carrying 160 passengers and six crew, overshot the runway on its final approach. There were eight survivors.

nationmultimedia.com A large amount of weapons found after the army dispersed red-shirt protesters from their protest in central Bangkok were shown at a media conference by the Centre for Resolution of the Emergency Situation for envoys from 30 countries and journalists.


BANGKOK subway to reopen tomorrow and resume full services from Monday.


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

reuters.com With an overnight curfew in force for at least two more nights and mopping-up operations continuing under a state of emergency, officials may have their work cut out trying to reassure foreign investors and tourists Thailand is safe. The military crackdown on the nine-week anti-government protest in Bangkok began before dawn on Wednesday, killing at least 15 people and wounding nearly 100. Erawan Emergency Medical Center said 52 people had died and 408 were wounded in the latest flare-up since May 14.

4hoteliers.com Yeoh Siew Hoon writes: I am off to Phuket this evening to attend an event. Don't worry, my Thai friends say. ''Phuket is OK as no red shirts - only Democrats (yellow),'' one told me.

bangkokpost.com Thailand is preparing a tourism revival promotion campaign, focusing first on China, Hong Kong, Japan and Asean as it tries to restore confidence. Four more countries - Switzerland, Brazil, the UK and Australia - raised their travel advisories on Thursday to the highest level. Similar alerts were issued earlier by 14 other countries including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Spain, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, Germany, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Israel, Belgium and New Zealand. [Taiwan, with a four-category system, says that Phuket is safe. The others should adopt this system: Ed. ]


Bangkok hell riots peace plea - mirror.co.uk

guardian.co.uk Today security forces swept 10 high rises including two luxury hotels for explosives and weapons. Soldiers also led a search of the elevated Skytrain tracks as the service remained closed for the seventh day.

wsj.com The violence leading up to the burning of central Bangkok on Wednesday is the worst moment in Thailand's modern history. This terrible week will further harden the already brittle divisions in Thai society.

timesonline.co.uk For two-and-a-half hours I was detained in my room as their commander, who refused to identify himself, examined the photographs on my pocket camera. While the men with the M16s sat outside my door I telephoned a Thai lawyer friend and asked him, rather naively, whether the soldiers had a right to go through my things. ''They can shoot people on the streets,'' he pointed out. ''They can certainly search your hotel room.''

telegraph.co.uk British holidaymakers are unlikely to receive a refund if they cancel holidays to Thailand due to the escalation of violence, it emerged this week. Tour operators maintain that holidays to Thailand, with the exception of those involving stays in Bangkok or Chiang Mai, will continue despite a strengthening of Foreign Office advice. The Pacific Asia Travel Association has been trying to assure tourists that it is still safe to travel to Thailand. ''The major part of Bangkok remains open for tourists and business travellers, with hotels, shops and tourist sites open for business,'' said Greg Duffell, PATA chief executive. ''The popular tourist resorts such as Phuket, Samui, Krabi and Pattaya are unaffected.''

Associated Press Tiananmen was a clear battle between dictatorship and democracy, but what's happening in Thailand today is more nuanced and less radical, said William Callahan, professor of international politics at the University of Manchester in England and an expert on Asian politics. ''Their stated goals are within the system,'' he said. ''So, they are working within the system but they don't see the system as working very well.''

holdthefrontpage.co.uk British journalist Andrew Buncombe, of The Independent, had been filing reports on the disturbances in Bangkok when he was hit in the leg by a series of shotgun pellets. In a series of Tweets, Andrew revealed that the pellets has ''buried themselves deep - perhaps three inches - into the flesh.'' He took shelter in a temple before being conveyed to hospital.

usatoday Asiana Airlines has been voted the world's top airline for 2010 in the annual survey conducted by Britain aviation consultancy SkyTrax. With that, the South Korean carrier edged out perennial heavyweight Singapore Airlines, which came in at No. 2. The rest of the rankings: No. 3 Qatar Airways, No. 4 Cathay Pacific, No. 5 Air New Zealand, No. 6 Etihad Airways, No. 7 Qantas, No. 8 Emirates, No. 9 Thai Airways and No. 10 Malaysia Airlines.

businessweek.com Singapore Air posted a second straight quarter of profit and averted its first annual loss in at least two decades, as the economic recovery brought passengers back. The revival in demand has prompted airlines such as Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific to forecast ''strong'' results this year and Air France-KLM Group, Europe's largest carrier, to aim to break even.

upi An Indonesian filmmaker said he has begun filming 'Little Obama the Movie,' a film based on a fictionalised version of the US president's childhood. Writer and co-director Damien Dematra said the film, which follows a young Barack Obama while living with his parents in Jakarta, will wrap shooting June 3 and be ready for release June 17, which is expected to fall during a visit to the country by President Barack Obama

Phuketwan Update After receiving the Thailand's Best Restaurant in 2007, La Trattoria, the Italian restaurant at Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket, has been acknowledged as one of the Thailand's Best Restaurants 2010 by the readers of Thailand Tatler magazine. Blending new Italian sensations and tastes, highlighted menus include, 'Insalata di rucola con timballo di gorgonzola e noci, sciroppo al Balsamico' which is a fresh starter composed of rocket salad with a timbale of Gorgonzola cheese and walnuts, while the balsamic syrup is the final touch for this special dish.

thestar.com.my Jacqueline Pereira writes: ''Yapp, yapp, punng, yapp, light ebow, lef ebow. Taweest. Ooooo-weeiii.'' The first thing you need to master at a Muay Thai training camp is the language - a combination of lilting Thai accent and constrained consonants. However, that was the least of my concerns when I arrived at the Rawai Muay Thai camp on the first day of a self-imposed boot camp, the result of a get-fit-and-lose-weight discussion at a drink-fuelled, year-end night out.

channelnewsasia.com Singapore will be home to Asia's first river-themed park, River Safari, in less than two years. It will be the third nature-themed attraction in Mandai - after the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari. Together, they are set to become a ''must-see'' nature-based destination in Asia.



Tonight Phuket Live Vol.1 Jazz on the Beach with Tuk Viyada, Koh Mr.Saxman, E.T.C, Kel Dela And Indy Jazz Band takes place from 5pm tonight at Nong Haan Beach (near the Karon Roundabout). The jazz starts at 5 pm. Tickets: 1500 baht.
Until May 23 Paragliding on Phuket.
May 23 Tourism Authority of Thailand bicycle ride around Old Phuket Town. A guided tour, with meals and a t-shirt, for just 100 baht. Bookings from May 10. Details: 076 217138 or 076 211036.
May 26 Boy George plays at Seduction, Phuket.
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.
June 4-13 Phuket International Film Festival, Coliseum Cineplex, Phuket City.
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 Planned US Phuket Navy League Independence Day party on Patong shorefront at Loma Park
December 4-11 Phuket King's Cup Regatta

2011
January 6-9 PIMEX boat show, Royal Phuket Marina
February 9-13 The Bay Regatta - Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi