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

afp Travelling by plane has never been safer, the EU's European Aviation Safety Agency said on Wednesday. "Worldwide fatal accidents involving large commercial air transport airplanes were lower in 2013 than any other year in the last decade, with 17 accidents, compared with a yearly average of 27," the agency said.

scmp.com Canada announced the first H5N1 avian flu death in North America, of a patient who had just returned from China, and said it was urgently contacting airline passengers on the victim's flights.

bangkokpost.com The booking record of Mjets, Thailand's biggest provider of chartered private jets and ground handler of executive jets at Bangkok's Don Muang airport, shows zero movement of incoming flights starting tomorrow.

dailymail.co.uk Bangkok will still be open for business for tourists despite threats of a shutdown by anti-government protesters, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has promised. The TAT has reassured travellers that ''much of the city will still be open for business and accessible, both for locals and tourists.'' Despite road closures, special lanes will be provided for tourist buses and protesters have promised not to disrupt public infrastructure, including city buses and vans, water-transport, BTS skytrain, MRT subway, Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link.

bangkokpost.com The signals are clear and ominous. We are at the edge of a precipice staring into a dark abyss.

xinhua Chinese tourists to Bangkok are expected to drop by 70 percent this month amid the political chaos in the capital, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand Piyaman Tejapaiboon said. The Lunar New Year traditionally draws more Chinese visitors to Thailand, but this is unlikely this year, he said.

nationmultimedia.com The Tourism Council of Thailand expects the tourism sector to suffer losses in January of around Bt18 billion. Visitor numbers are expected to decline to 2.1 million from the target of 2.5 million, a 15 per cent drop. Some tourists have bypassed Bangkok and moved to other destinations such as Phuket.

bangkokpost.com The Public Health Ministry will open medical service units in 26 locations as part of measures to deal with the so-called Bangkok shutdown on Monday.

reuters Protesters trying to topple Thailand's prime minister marched in Bangkok again on Thursday, testing support for a planned ''shutdown'' of the capital next week, and a survey showed consumer confidence slumped last month because of the crisis.

nationmultimedia.com Officials expect the number of Chinese tourists coming to Phuket to drop by 40 percent this month, despite the fact that Chinese New Year falls on January 31.

csmonitor.com Protesters, who have been trying to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's government since November, plan to block main intersections and cut power and water to state buildings in a mass rally starting January 13. Protest leaders say they will occupy Bangkok until the government falls, Agence France-Presse reports.

bangkokpost.com Caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said there is no reason for a coup, despite the political deadlock.

wsj.com Thai protesters are tired of vote-buying and other forms of influence peddling in elections here. Now, many of them are handing over large amounts of cash to a firebrand provocateur who aims to do away with next month's ballot entirely.

rt.com Throughout the country Thais are glued to their TV sets, watching the unfolding Bangkok drama. But they watch on different channels. The social groups that support the government watch live coverage on their own national television channel, dubbed 'Red TV' after their 'red-shirt' identity; meanwhile, the opposition have their own channel and watch coverage on 'yellow shirt' TV .

ft.com Judges, anti-corruption investigators and official auditors have launched a barrage of attacks against the administration of Yingluck Shinawatra, prime minister, prompting speculation of a possible repeat of a 2008 ''administrative coup'' that ousted a previous government.

voanews.com Thailand's ruling Pheu Thai Party hopes the February elections return them to office with an even bigger majority. The campaign slogan ''Respect My Vote'' is a rebuttal to the anti-government demonstrators who succeeded in blocking candidates from registering in 28 districts.

bangkokpost.com It is troubling when commentators don't talk to the people on the streets Resorting to such a simplistic and myopic analysis is an example of what Michael Vatikiotis, regional director for Asia of Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, calls ''the tyranny of global commentary.'' it is myopic, if not wrong, to suggest that the first group is more democratic than the second.

cnn.com A 14-year-old boy is being hailed as a hero in Pakistan for tackling a suicide bomber - dying at the main gate of his school and saving schoolmates gathered for their morning assembly.

theguardian.com The bodies of Queensland woman Noelene Bischoff and her 14-year-old daughter, Yvana, are to be returned to Australia from Bali on Friday. The two died suddenly in Bali last weekend after becoming violently ill, with speculation they ate toxic fish.

nytimes.com There was good news last week in Burma (Myanmar) when President Thein Sein stated his support for changing the nation???s Constitution to allow ''any citizen,'' including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Prize-winning democracy advocate, to run for the presidency in the 2015 elections.

slate.com The Sex Workers of Thailand: Unlike some of his earliest environmental portraits, Canadian Gerry Yaum photographed his subjects - a mix of male, female, and ''ladyboy'' workers from go-go dance bars, beer bars, and the streets - against a white backdrop. ''There is nowhere for viewers to hide. They must confront the subject.''

dnaindia.com The sun was shimmering and the day was bright. It was my second day in Phuket, at the Westin Siray Bay and Resort, and the itinerary read - 12:00-20:30 -Explore Phang Nga Bay by starlight . . . kayak through the magnificent limestone caves and experience Hong Island like no other . . .



manchestereveningnews.co.uk Technically this tie is not over, but the chances of West Ham overturning a six-goal deficit are slimmer than a dieting super model. Manchester City 6-0 West Ham.

bloomberg Russia began a counter-terrorism operation in a southern province that borders the Krasnodar region, where the Winter Olympics will be held in Sochi in less than a month, after six bodies were found in abandoned cars.



Phuket Bike Week, Asia's biggest motorcycle event, is in its 20th year and will be held from 11 April to April 19 in Phuket. The turnout is expected to be more than 30,000 people (2013 headcount). April is high season and all hotels are normally fully booked.

Until January 12 Phuket International Boat Show, Royal Phuket Marina

January 11 Children's Day

January 31 Chinese New Year (Horse)

February 14 Valentines Day

February 14 Makha Bucha Day

April 13-16 Songkran

March BMW Golf Cup International World Finals 2013 at Blue Canyon Country Club

August 12 Queen's Birthday

September 24-October 2 Vegetarian Festival, Phuket

November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket

December 5 King's Birthday