President Barack Obama announced plans to run for a second term in 2012 and is aiming to raise a massive $1billion election war chest.


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

PHUKET'S dawn was bright this morning with blue skies. Tourists returned to the beaches on Monday in large numbers.

bangkokpost.com Thailand will nominate the old capital of Ayutthaya as the site for World Expo 2020. Cabinet approved a proposal to nominate the central province as the World Expo site, reasoning that the ancient city has stronger potential than Chon Buri, Chanthaburi, Phetchaburi, Chiang Mai and Phuket.

cnn.com The death toll from the flash floods that swept through southern Thailand has risen to 51, the Public Health ministry said.

nationmultimedia.com Cabinet approved a 6.1-billion baht relief fund for payments to flood victims and affected farmers, which will begin after next week's Songkran holiday break.

upi.com A new round of global climate negotiations under the UN opened in Bangkok amid Japan's nuclear crisis, climbing oil prices and host-country Thailand's worst flooding in 50 years.

nationmultimedia.com Six Burmese workers were killed and 62 others were injured when a ten-wheel truck collided with a six-wheel truck transporting them in Samut Sakhon's Muang district at 7am. It led to another crash, which killed one man. The ten-wheel truck driver fled.

afp Japan started to dump more than 9000 tonnes of low-level radioactive water into the Pacific as part of emergency operations to stabilise its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

bangkokpost.com Thai Airways International has cut one daily flight between Bangkok and Tokyo following a slump in demand in the aftermath of Japan's earthquake and tsunami.

nationmultimedia.com Tawan Cruises has been awarded the contract to manage Phuket's ever-growing fleet of Sunseeker yachts, distributed exclusively by Max Marine Asia. Tony Henthorne of Tawan Cruises said the partnership added credibility to the marine market and Phuket was a solid base for keeping a boat.

guardian.co.uk Fighter jets were scrambled to escort a British passenger plane to Athens airport following a security alert. The Thomson Airways Boeing 757, with more than 200 passengers on board, landed safely at Athens having taken off from Bristol bound for the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

smh.com.au A United Airlines jet was forced to make an emergency landing in New Orleans after it lost all electrical power and the cockpit filled with smoke, the US Federal Aviation Administration said. The plane veered off the left side of the 2.1 kilometre runway, about 600 metres from the end.

bloomberg.com Singapore, Incheon-Seoul in South Korea and Hong Kong occupy the three top spots among airports in a passenger survey by ACI Airport Service Quality in the second quarter of 2010.

afp Salvage workers will soon start pulling up from the ocean floor the bodies of passengers and wreckage found almost two years after an Air France jet plunged into the Atlantic, officials said.

aap Australian publisher Ross Dunkley, who has now been formally charged over the assault of a Burmese woman and breaches of Burma's immigration laws, says he is confident the charges will be dropped.

thefirstpost.co.uk An American missionary's son who became a top CIA Vietnam War-era hit-man in the jungles of Burma, Laos and Thailand has been found dead in his Chiang Mai home, a bullet in his head, a revolver in one hand and a crucifix in the other. "Bill Young died as he once lived - violently," said a friend.

stickmanweekly.com The jet ski scam has received such exposure, particularly through the 'Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand' documentary series which followed such widespread condemnation that the Phuket governor got involved. He pledged to introduce compulsory insurance for jet skis but reports that the scam continues today - with the same scammers involved - suggests that this didn't happen. Is the only solution banning jet ski hire entirely?

afp Amnuaiporn Maneewan, 42, imparts the wisdom of her more than 15 years working as a private detective in Thailand: "The only man you can trust is a dead one. If they're still alive, still breathing, then you can't trust them."

smh.com.au The launch of domestic and international services from Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth by a full-service independent means Strategic Airlines is tackling regional international holiday destinations such as Phuket and Bali at fares competitive with low-cost airlines, while offering while offering free meals and entertainment.



BIKE WEEK from April 8-11 is expected to draw thousands of visitors to Patong with highlights including a tree planting campaign, a tattoo contest, island rides and Miss Phuket Bike Week.

JAPAN and flood relief concerts April 9-10 in Queen Sirikit Park and a walking street fair in Thalang Road Phuket City hope to raise six million baht for quake and tsunami victims in Japan and flood victims in Thailand. From 5pm.

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 8 IBAP with Michael Ma at Indochine
April 9-10 Phuket 'mini concert' to aid Japan
April 8-10 Phuket Bike Week, Patong
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 27 Laguna Phuket Triathlon
December 4 Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship, Laguna


March 18-28 National Youth Games, Phuket

Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket