belfasttelegraph.co.uk Travel chaos caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland looks set to continue into the weekend, creating fresh agony for holiday makers left stranded.

news.sky.com The ash clouds from a volcanic eruption in Iceland are heading further into the continent through the night, forecasts show. The drift south and east is expanding across northern Europe and heading towards central and eastern Europe.


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

afp/aap European countries imposed the biggest airspace closure since the September 11, 2001 attacks as thousands of flights were cancelled after airport chiefs decided it was too dangerous for aircraft to fly through clouds of ash hovering over Europe. In an unprecedented move, airports across Britain ground to a halt as authorities declared the countrys airspace completely closed. Airports in France, Belgium, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark followed. Tens of thousands of passengers have been stranded.

onlinetoday.com Several flights departing Changi Airport last night were affected by the volcanic activity in Iceland and ash cloud moving over Northern Europe and Britain. At least three flights to London were cancelled. Three other flights bound for northern Europe were also delayed.

guardian.co.uk A phonecall in the dead of night was the first inkling the people living on the Thorvaldseyri farm had that Iceland's glacier-covered Eyjafjallajokull volcano was about to erupt. Hanna Lara Andrews, who lives at the foot of the mountain which exploded with ferocious power, picked up the phone at 2am to be told by a civil protection official that she had only 20 minutes to evacuate her family, including her one-year-old son. Mercifully, the wind, blowing east, carried the plume of ash away from Reyjkavik, the capital, but across farmland, where it turned day into night as it fell and blotted out the sun.

nytimes.com The volcano transformed swathes of western Europe and Scandinavia into an unprecedented no-fly zone. A thick layer of gray to black ash - which residents described as fine, like flour or sugar - covered thousands of hectares of land. Diagrams showed the plume doubling again and again in size as it stretched to cover an area close to the size of Western Europe.

theaustralian.com.au ''If you find yourself flying into a cloud of ash, turn away and get out of there as soon as you can.'' This was the advice of a British pilot whose 1982 brush with disaster taught the aviation world the perils of volcano ash. Eric Moody was in command of a Boeing 747 over Indonesia when volcanic ash put all four engines out of action. After 14 minutes of silent flight and aiming to ditch in the ocean, Mr Moody and his two fellow officers managed to relight the engines and land in Jakarta.

busisnessweek.com The 1815 eruption of Tambora in Indonesia is often called the biggest eruption in recorded history. The following year was called ''the year without summer,'' with sporadic snowfall and killing frosts in June through August in New England and Europe. Crops failed and soup kitchens opened to feed the hungry.

independent.co.uk Three bombs exploded at a water festival in the former Burmese capital Rangoon, killing eight people and wounding 94, state television said, blaming ''destructive elements'' for the attacks. The ruling junta has in the past blamed bombings on anti-government dissident groups and ethnic minority rebels seeking autonomy in Burma, which has been under military rule since 1962.

bangkokpost.com Bomb attacks at three high voltage electricity pylons in Ayuthaya's Bang Pa-in district have been intended to plunge parts of Bangkok into darkness, officials say. Ayutthaya's governor described the bomb attacks as acts of terrorism. A third high-powered electricity pylon was found damaged by a powerful C4 bomb one kilometre from two other pylons which were found damaged in a similar manner on Sunday.

todayonline.com The Thai government urged Red Shirt protesters to return to the negotiating table after deadly weekend clashes in Bangkok's historic district. The army cleared hulks of abandoned armored personnel carriers splashed with anti-government slogans from the streets, while cleaners hosed off blood stains. Red shirts hunkered down in Bangkok's commercial heart, preparing for a final showdown.

abs-cbnnews.com If one were a concerned citizen, which side should one be on - the Red or the Yellow? Both camps claim to be fighting for democracy. But it is very difficult to tell which side democracy is on.

channelnewsasia.com Malaysia's state oil company has suspended gasoline supplies to Iran, PM Najib Razak said, calling on Tehran to review its controversial nuclear program. The suspension by Petronas came after Najib held talks with US President Barack Obama, who called for the world to move ''boldly and quickly'' on new Iran sanctions on the sidelines of a 47-nation nuclear security summit this week.

wsj.com Google Inc.'s first-quarter earnings jumped 37 percent as the Internet search giant's revenue rose 23 percent, highlighting how the online-ad market continues to rebound. An improving economy and a return of large advertisers enabled Google to get off to a ''very positive'' start of the year, Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette said.

pcmag.com So Twitter intends to make some money, does it? Changes that the site announced this week at its Chirp conference shouldn't drastically affect users. It does remain to be seen, however, what impact Twitter's new ''promoted tweets'' will have, and what effects interacting with those ads will have on users.



On 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. The evening will assist children with scholarships. Tickets at 500 baht include a photo exhibition of old Phuket and a drink and food. More information: Adrienne, 081 477 0342.

Until April 15 Songkran Festival in Old Phuket Town
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.
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