Associated Press Iceland closed its main international airport after the country's most active volcano, Grimsvotn, sent ash and smoke 20 kilometres into the air. Ash was expected to spread over Iceland over several hours, shutting Keflavik and other airports on the island.

reuters With no sign of Judgment Day arriving on Saturday as forecast by an 89 year-old California evangelical broadcaster, followers were faced with trying to make sense of his failed pronouncement.


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

Football Sportsflash: Chantaburi FC v FC Phuket 1-1.

smh.com.au Billabong surfwear boss Matthew Perrin is penniless, his marriage is over and his wife is fighting a court battle to stop a bank repossessing her family home. She claims her husband forged her signature without her knowledge to borrow $A13.5 million against the house.

bangkokpost.com WHO experts suspect that a ''pest control chemical'' is a cause of mysterious deaths at and near a Chiang Mai hotel, but that it is not chlorpyrifos, the bug killer named by a New Zealand television show. The deaths of Sarah Carter and six others earlier this year remain unexplained.

bangkokpost.com The Phuket residential property market for local residents is seen as having ample growth potential as more Thais move to Phuket to join the 50,000 who already work in Phuket's hospitality industry and will be seeking accommodation either to rent or buy.


afp Pheu Thai party leader Yingluck Shinawatra told several thousand supporters in Chiang Mai that her brother, ousted in a 2006 military coup, was the key: "Thaksin helped to map out our party policy and I, Yingluck, will implement it."


TOURIST POLICE in Phuket City continue to help a succession of travellers in need of emergency accommodation with their two basic rooms. A woman tourist who had a row with her husband had nowhere to sleep - and was fortunately reunited the next day.

Associated Press A little boy's birthday party went tragically wrong when a double-decker tour boat capsized during a storm in southern Vietnam, killing 15 people - including the three-year-old being honored and four other children.

guardian.co.uk At least five children have been killed in Malaysia after a landslide buried their orphanage. Rescuers have been digging by hand to reach the 20 boys and four adults trapped when the landslide struck the orphanage in a rural village in central Selangor state.

mysinchew.com Almost 3000 local fishermen and boat owners staged a picket in Tanjung Api in protest at poaching by foreign fishermen in Malaysian waters. The protest was primary aimed at irresponsible people who had leased deep-sea boats to Thais and Vietnamese to fish Malaysian waters.

thestar.com.my AirAsia's 'Big Sale' begins at noon on Monday until 11.59pm on May 29 for the travel period between February 6 and June 20 next year. The budget airline is removing the fuel surcharge for all domestic and selected international destinations including Mumbai, Tokyo, Jakarta, Medan and Phuket for its 10th anniversary this year.

southalltravel.co.uk Research shows that short-haul flights are 75 percent more expensive per mile than long-haul journeys, such as flights to Thailand. Thrifty travellers should consider the cost of living in their destination. Thailand can be much more affordable than some popular parts of Europe.

eturbonews.com New brand Thai Wings for Thai Airways could become the equivalent of Silk Air for Singapore Airlines, which has been positioned over the years as a full-service carrier with a simplified product. A Tiger Airways spokesperson declared that the airline was already aware of Thai Airways decision to create a lower-cost subsidiary and that they do not feel threatened.

ft.com A Made in China tropical paradise to rival Bali or Phuket may seem wildly improbable - but that is not going to stop Beijing from trying to create one. The government's plan for Hainan ''international tourism island'' forecasts 77 million visitors a year by 2020, up from 25 million (overwhelmingly domestic) tourists today.

businessweek.com Indonesia has banned cutting down peatland and primary forests for two years Friday in a financial deal with Norway that officials say will protect half of the remaining forests in the tropical archipelago.

thanhiennews.com Vietnamese police said they busted a human trafficking gang that sent Vietnamese women to Singapore and forced them into prostitution. The two pimps confessed the gang had successfully sent 50 women to Singapore.

asiatraveltips.com According to the April 2011 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report, the hotel development pipeline in Asia Pacific comprises 1167 hotels totalling 291,946 rooms. "Two mega cities in India, the capitals of the Philippines and Thailand, and Bali, the holiday island, are currently scheduled to see the largest expected hotel room growth compared to their existing supply of key Asian markets," said Elizabeth Randall, managing director of STR Global.

rollingstone.com Mick Jagger is part of a new band: Super Heavy - featuring Dave Stewart, Joss Stone, Damian Marley and Indian film composer A.R. Rahman. The band has quietly been recording together over the past 18 months, with their debut album planned for sometime around September.



May 24 Charity boxing at Saphan Hin in aid of southern flood victims
May 27-29 Phuket International Rugby Tens
June 1 New PPAO Hospital to open, Phuket City
June 1-25 Kalim Kinetic Art Fair, Brush, Kalim
June 6-11 Phuket Snooker Championships, Patong
June 10-11 Traditional Baba wedding festival, Phuket City
June 12 Laguna Phuket International Marathon
June 17 Phuket Property Dot Com Pro Am Invitational, Laguna
June 23-26 Phuket Fun Fly paragliding, Nai Harn
July 3 Phuket Navy League US Independence Day fair at Headstart International School
July 15 Asarnha Bucha Day public holiday
July 20-24 Six Senses Phuket Raceweek
August 12 HM The Queen's Birthday public holiday
October Vegetarian Festival, Phuket
November 1-6 Women's Beach Volleyball Series at Karon on 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

November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket