msn.com A magnitude-7.1 aftershock rattled Japan on Monday, the one-month anniversary of the massive earthquake that spawned a deadly tsunami.

FC PHUKET defeated 0-1 by PTT Rayong on Sunday night, second defeat on the road in a row. Expect more calls for the coach's sacking.


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

PHUKET police are keen to talk to Kanuengnit Tianmura, 24, who rented a car for a day last week on Phuket at 1200 baht but failed to return it on time. When Khun Kanuengnit eventually told Sompong Choothip of Kata Pong Car Rent where the car was parked, the saloon had a bullet hole through the back window.

reuters Thousands of red-shirted anti-government protesters gathered on Sunday in Bangkok's old quarter to mark the one-year anniversary of a violent confrontation with the military in which 26 people were killed and more than 800 wounded.

nationmultimedia.com The division in the country appeared stark as the red shirts and relatives of soldiers killed in the April 10 clash last year held separate ceremonies to mark the first anniversary of the bloody crackdown. Each had their views on the violence.

dailymail.co.uk A leading British banker has died after a dramatic plunge from the rooftop bar of a luxury Singapore hotel. William Hart, head of sales at the Bank of China International in Singapore, fell from the seventh-floor bar of the Fullerton Bay Hotel after witnesses said he had climbed over a metal railing and glass barrier.

reuters.com Cambodian authorities began an investigation into the mass fainting of about 800 workers at two factories that produce footwear for German sporting goods group Puma. Workers suddenly fell sick at Universal Apparel (Cambodia) Co Ltd and Huey Chuen (Cambodia) Corp Ltd, which labor officials and workers identified as suppliers to Puma.

nytimes.com Chinese police detained dozens of members of an underground Protestant church after the congregation tried to pray in a public plaza in the north of the capital. The police corralled scores of parishioners into buses and blocked church leaders from leaving their homes.

afp US prosecutors compiling evidence against the five men accused of having organised the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US say one of the suspects prepared for the day by travelling between Bangkok and Hong Kong with a knife in his pocket.

businessweek.com The Southwest Airlines jetliner whose roof ripped open over Arizona last week is one of hundreds of older-model Boeing 737s around the world that are prone to similar mishaps. The jets have a wide range of owners: carriers in Indonesia, Russia, Norway, China and beyond; the crown prince of Thailand; and the Chinese Air Force.

afp Dozens of anti-regime demonstrators were shot in clashes with security forces, sparking charges of "massacre," as Yemen's worried Gulf neighbors gathered in Riyadh to work out a transition plan.

cnn.com Japan's National Police Agency reported that the death toll from the March 11 disaster had risen to 13,013, with another 14,608 still missing.

aap Australian resident James Glen has been jailed for three years by a London court for his costly bomb hoax on an international flight that saw an innocent man interrogated by police. Military fighter jets were called to escort the January 24 Etihad Airways flight after Glen told crew that fellow passenger Ghazanfar Ali was armed with a bomb, carrying a gun and demanded cash.

dailymail.co.uk Prince Andrew enjoyed a sensual massage from a pretty young Indonesian woman in his 1200-pounds-a-night hotel suite during his official trade trip last week. The Prince relaxed under the hands of petite masseuse Ria at the five-star Shangri-La Hotel in Jakarta, where his presidential suite boasted butler service and a built-in sauna.

holidayhypermarket.co.uk Budget airline Ryanair won a prime ministerial publicity coup this week when passengers spotted British premier David Cameron using the carrier to take his wife on a flight to Spain for her 40th birthday. The couple have not had a foreign holiday since Mr Cameron became PM. Plans to enjoy a five-star Thailand holiday were put on hold over Christmas for fear of looking insensitive amid high unemployment figures.

straitstimes.com Thousands of Malay-language bibles impounded over their use of the word 'Allah' are to be stamped 'Christian Publication' in a bid to end a row with Muslims, the government said. More than 35,000 bibles have been confiscated in the past two years after objections from Islamic leaders that Allah should not be used by non-Muslims.

theaustralian.com.au Countering the public-relations spin, the US State Department last year placed Thailand, to Bangkok's fury, on the high alert "Tier Two watch list" for only making "limited progress" on combating and prosecuting human trafficking, including child prostitution.



SARASIN Songkran. A first-time three-day fair and concerts from April 11-13 sees Phuket joining with neighboring Phang Nga to celebrate Thai new year on the obsolete Sarasin Bridge that links the provinces.

April 11-13 Sarasin Songkran on the bridge between Phuket and Phang Nga
April 12-17 Phuket International Cricket Sixes
April 13-15 Songkran Festival, Phuket City, Patong celebrations
May New PPAO Hospital to open, Phuket City
June 12 Laguna Phuket International Marathon
June 23-26 Phuket Fun Fly paragliding, Nai Harn
July 3 Phuket Navy League US Independence Day fair at Headstart International School
July 20-24 Six Senses Phuket Raceweek
October Vegetarian Festival, Phuket
November 26-27 9th Phuket International Soccer 7s
November 27 Laguna Phuket Triathlon
December 3-4 6th Andaman International Soccer 7s
December 4 Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship, Laguna


March 18-28 National Youth Games, Phuket

Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket