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

bangkokpost.com Bangkok Air Catering has set its sights on opening a second major facility at Phuket Airport to cash in on growing demand from carriers. The flight catering unit of Bangkok Airways is in talks with Airports of Thailand about setting up a flight kitchen that could produce up to 8000 meals a day.

Phuket Update Fifteen-year-old Phuket singer Silvy is in the No. 3 position among eight contenders as the popular tv show 'The Star' comes closer to a showdown. She's the youngest performer on the Modern Eye TV Saturday-Sunday special and Phuket people are turning on their sets to see how she goes. Silvy's Italian father died when she was 10.

reuters Britain said it had frozen Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's assets and lifted his diplomatic immunity, putting pressure on him to step down after his government's bloody crackdown on a revolt against his rule. London moved quickly to implement United Nations' sanctions freezing the assets of Gaddafi, his daughter and four sons.

ft.com Tunisia's interim prime minister, Mohammed Ghannouchi, resigned on Sunday after five people died in unrest over the weekend.

covers.com Bahrain is still predominantly Muslim, but there is a Western presence there, and in one recent poll it was ranked the 8th-most decadent community in the world. [The others in the Top 10 were, in order, Pattaya in Thailand, Tijuana, Amsterdam, Las Vegas, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, New Orleans, Macau off the coast of China, and Berlin.]

bangkokpost.com A source close to the panel looking into the death of a Japanese cameraman killed during anti-government protests in April last year says there is no certainty about the finding that he was shot with an AK-47 rifle. The report by the Department of Special Investigation stating that Hiroyuki Muramoto, a Reuters News Agency cameraman, was killed with an AK-47 has cast doubt on claims that government troops were responsible for his death.

cnn.com The death toll from the 6.3-magnitude earthquake that demolished parts of Christchurch, New Zealand, last week has climbed to 147, authorities said.

radioaustralianews.net.au Thai and Vietnamese officials will meet today to decide the fate of a group of Vietnamese women rescued from an illegal baby ring in Bangkok. The women are among a group - some of them pregnant - who were freed last week from an operation using them as surrogates for wealthy couples overseas.

dailymail.co.uk Britain is to stop giving aid to 16 countries after a major review found they were no longer in poverty. Countries such as Russia, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Moldova and Serbia will be stripped of millions of pounds a year, following an inquiry.

bangkokpost.com Las Vegas Sands Corp, the US-based property developer, is looking to expand property projects in Asia, possibly in Japan or India, says the company's chairman and chief executive, Sheldon G Adelson. "The demand that this property [Singapore's Marina Bay Sands] has created for Mice is rapidly taking us to the point where we'll even have to ration space," said Mr Adelson, adding that the company was willing to reclaim some land from the ocean in order to make expansion possible.

smh.com.au My Balinese driver, a hotel manager named Agus, speaks wistfully of how the island was two decades ago. ''We used to share things, be collective, but now we are all individuals and everyone wants to go to McDonald's,'' he says.



Phuket Update John ''Caveman'' Gray, owner of John Gray Sea Canoe, is one of the most colorful iconic people on Phuket Island. John's leadership and stewardship awards trail behind him through provinces, countries and continents. From guano to emergency rooms, and board rooms to estuaries John is a treasure. This will be a great evening. IBAP, March 11.

February 26-27 Phuket Spicy Soccer 7s, Phuket International Academy
March 4-6 Pool Asia Expo and Conference, Hilton, Phuket
March 6 Phuket Grumpy Old Men's Society car rally around Phuket
March 11 John Gray speaks at IBAP
March 13 Heroine's Monument Festival
March 14-19 ADFEST 2011 at Movenpick Resort, Phuket
March 26 St Patrick's Day Ball, Movenpick Resort and Spa, Karon. Details 081 3979809 or 086 9469232
March 27 Earth Hour commemoration on Phuket
April 13-15 Songkran Festival
May New PPAO Hospital to open, Phuket City
June 23-26 Phuket Fun Fly paragliding, Nai Harn