smh.com.au Thailand's deputy prime minister, Chalerm Yubamrung, plans to introduce a contentious amnesty bill into parliament on Thursday that will stoke new political tensions three years after bloody street protests and a military crackdown exposed Thailand's deep divisions.

telegraph.co.uk Two US holidaymakers found themselves a long way from their intended destination after an airline confused two airport codes. Sandy Valdiviseo and her husband Triet Vo were intending to fly from Los Angeles to Dakar in Senegal with Turkish Airlines. However, instead they ended up about 11,000km away in Dhaka, Bangladesh, after the airport codes were mixed up.

4-traders.com Jetstar's first 787 is due to arrive in Australia at the end of September 2013 with a further two aircraft joining the fleet by the end of the year: ''The Dreamliners will operate to destinations like Honolulu, Phuket and Tokyo which are currently serviced by our A330 aircraft, and will deliver a quieter cabin, better air quality and larger windows.''

bangkokpostc.om Thailand's growth was slower than economists estimated in the first quarter as exports cooled, boosting the case for the central bank to cut interest rates.

bbc.co.uk At least one person is reported dead and several others injured by a series of tornadoes that have torn through the US state of Oklahoma.


PHUKET: The daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media. Beware of inconsistent imitations.

Phuket Update Heavy rain that fell on Phuket yesterday is expected to ease today and tomorrow but officials at the Phuket-based Southern Meteorological Centre (West Coast) predict storms on Wednesday and Thursday that will be worse than Sunday's downpours. There's an 80 percent chance of rain on those days.

xinhua Thailand's fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra made a high-profile speech to his red-clad supporters Sunday night and called for continued effort to amend the constitution, which he said would bring ''true democracy'' to the country. Thaksin was speaking on Skype broadcast on giant open-air screens at Bangkok's core business zone.

globalpost.com Around 20,000 Red Shirt protesters rallied in Bangkok to mark the third anniversary of a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests which exposed Thailand's deep divisions, police said. Central World, Thailand's largest shopping mall which was torched in the final days of the 2010 protest, was closed while the colorful rally took place.

Phuket Update Phuket Governor Maitree Intusut is meeting with leaders from Phuket's tourism industry today. The governor has a meeting with Ambassadors from the European Union countries scheduled for June 14 on Phuket. Phuket's Australian honorary consul, Larry Cunningham, is believed to be a highlight speaker at that meeting.

dpa Foreign arrivals at Yangon airport during the first four months of the year jumped 44 percent year-on-year, with Europeans accounting for about one-third, reports said. Through April, 253,136 foreign visitors arrived at Yangon airport, 67,460 of them Europeans, the Myanmar Times reported.

independent.co.uk A Burmese leader will stand in the White House today for the first time since 1966. Not only does Thein Sein's US visit cap an unprecedented round of diplomatic bridge-building that has taken him from Australia to Europe in recent months, it is also the high-water mark of his country's return to international favor.

smh.com.au US officials say President Barack Obama will use the name Myanmar during the visit, even though the State Department and CIA insist the country Thein Sein leads is called Burma.

bloomberg.com This is Myanmar's Mandela moment: Largely because of charismatic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the world will never be more interested in the country or more eager to invest there, as happened in South Africa in the early 1990s. At the same time, Myanmar's transition is hardly complete. Faced with some of the world's most expensive start-up costs, many companies will decide Myanmar isn't worth the trouble.

irrawaddy.org Bangladeshi authorities are planning to send back 31 bodies of Burmese citizens found dead on the beach of Bangladesh's Teknaf Township, which borders Burma. Authorities suspect that the bodies are those of Rohingya Muslim refugees who tried to flee Arakan State's low-lying coast by boat ahead of Cyclone Mahasen's landfall.

telegraph.co.uk More than 500 imams have joined forces to protest against David Cameron's plans for gay marriage in an unprecedented intervention from the British Muslim community. Leaders representing tens of thousands of worshippers at mosques across the country, have signed a joint letter to The Sunday Telegraph accusing the Government of attacking ''the cornerstone of family life.''

heraldscotland.com Thousands of people have protested in Rome against austerity policies and high unemployment, urging new Prime Minister Enrico Letta to focus on creating jobs to help pull the country out of recession.

ft.com Italy's new coalition government has adopted its first measures since taking office last month to stimulate the recession-hit economy, announcing the suspension of an unpopular housing tax in a big concession to Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right party.

israelnationalnews.com Israel's Foreign Ministry issued an alert about dengue fever to travellers in Thailand. The disease, which is transmitted by mosquitos, can be fatal, and there is no vaccine or medicine to prevent it.

telegraph.co.uk A British businessman at risk of prostate cancer has become the first in the world to have the organ removed. The 53-year-old, who has not been identified, discovered that he was carrying a ''faulty'' BRCA2 gene that has been linked to aggressive forms of both breast and prostate cancer.

bbc.co.uk Britain's first astronaut is expected to be chosen to go on a five-month mission to the International Space Station. Major Tim Peake is believed to have been given the go-ahead for the trip in 2015.

theage.com.au The average price for coffee in Australia could hit $4 (120 baht) in three years, according to industry groups and economists.



independent.co.uk England won the opening Test of the summer with a compelling exhibition of fast bowling. They dismissed New Zealand for a total of 68 to secure a 1-0 lead in the series. Stuart Broad took 7 for 44.

Agencies Sir Alex Ferguson's final game as Manchester United manager ended in a crazy 5-5 Premier League draw at West Bromwich Albion. United raced into a 5-2 lead just after the hour mark, but three goals in the last 10 minutes saw Albion snatch a point in a remarkable encounter.

dailymail.co.uk Needing to win to guarantee their place in Europe's prestige competition, Arsenal revisited a familiar scoreline and a familiar strength. Newcastle 0-1 Arsenal.

afp Spain's Rafael Nadal dominated his 30th meeting with Swiss rival Roger Federer to secure his seventh title in nine years at the Rome Masters.

smh.com.au Australian Cadel Evans held on to second place overall to Italian race leader Vincenzo Nibali in the Giro d'Italia on a day that saw the peloton again pitted against bitterly cold conditions that were made even harsher by heavy snowfalls high in the Alps.



May 24 Visakha Bucha Day

May 24-26 International Rugby 10s, Thanyapura

June 9 Laguna Phuket International Marathon

July 6-7 Phuket Air Show and Family Picnic, Phuket Air Park

July 17-21 Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek

July 22 Arsarnha Bucha Day

August 12 HM The Queen's Birthday

October 5-13 Phuket Vegetarian Festival

October 23 Chulalongkorn Memorial Day

November 9 Asian Cup Triathlon Sprint, Patong

November 10 ITU Long Distance Series triathlon, Patong

November 17 Loy Kratong Day

November 24-December 1 Challenge Laguna Phuket Tri-Fest. Laguna Phuket

December 5 HM The King's birthday



January 9-12 Phuket International Boat Show, Royal Phuket Marina

November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket