Associated Press Some users of Microsoft's Hotmail service are starting off the new year scrambling to get back emails. A chorus of frantic users have posted complaints on Microsoft's online forum saying that all of their messages have disappeared.


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

bangkokpost.com The dissolution of the House, should it go ahead early, should be done in the first half of the year, PM Abhisit Vejjajiva says. Khun Abhisit predicts his party will win the largest number of seats in its history at the next election.

iol.co.za Road accidents claimed 234 lives in Thailand's first four days of the seven deadly days of New Year's driving, officials said. Between Wednesday to Saturday some 2473 road accidents occurred on Thailand's highways, killing 234 people and injuring 2656, according to figures released by the government's Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department.

mcot.net Thailand Patriot Network representatives gathered at Government House to protest the case of seven Thais detained in Cambodia and announce their plans to rally at the Thai-Cambodian border in Sa Kaeo on Tuesday, aiming to pressure the neighboring country to release the group.

bangkokpost.com A television actor was killed by fireworks during the New Year countdown in Rayong province on Friday. Somjet Sa-ard, a 41-year-old supporting actor, was trying to extinguish the fuse of fireworks he had brought to the countdown party at Wassana Fishing Park restaurant in Klaeng district.

bloomberg The US Capitol and nearby buildings were evacuated when controllers lost contact with a flight headed into restricted airspace over Washington because the pilot switched to the wrong radio frequency.

channelnewsasia.com A 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Sumatra on Sunday, the US Geological Survey said, but there was no tsunami warning. The moderate quake struck at a shallow depth of 16 kilometres at 10:19 pm, 122 kilometres southwest of Bengkulu.

Associated Press A top officer aboard a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier broadcast to his crew a series of profanity-laced comedy sketches in which he uses gay slurs, mimics masturbation and opens the shower curtain on women pretending to bathe together, a newspaper says. The Virginian-Pilot reported that Captain Owen Honors, now commander of the USS Enterprise, appeared in the videos in 2006 and 2007 while he was the second-ranking officer.

voanews.com An accused Russian arms dealer, held in the US as one of the world's most prolific arms traffickers, says he has rejected a US plea bargain deal that would have compelled him to reveal his connections in Russia and other countries. Viktor Bout, in a US prison awaiting trial, also accused Washington of waging a well-orchestrated public relations campaign against him and said he does not expect a fair trial.

theage.com.au Tourism operators in Australia say the number of visitors from Britain and the rest of Europe could decline as much as 15 percent this year because of the high Australian dollar and weak northern hemisphere economies. A record number of Australians are taking advantage of the strong dollar and cheap fares to travel overseas.

businessspectator.com.au Budget airline Jetstar has flagged the possibility of further expansion in Singapore and New Zealand during 2011. Jetstar Australia-New Zealand chief executive David Hall said outbound tourism from Australia to New Zealand and Singapore was a "tremendous proposition," adding that the airline could introduce triangulated flights between the three destinations.

belfasttelegraph.co.uk The world's most prominent political dissident joked how her people had been referred to as ''the Irish of the East''. Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi spoke to Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin on the telephone when she told of how the British had sometimes called the Burmese the ''Irish of the East''.

heraldsun.com.au A 110-year-old Malaysian man who has been looking for a wife said he was ready to marry again after an 82-year-old woman responded to his wish, a report said. Ahmad Mohamad Isa, who has 20 grandchildren and 40 great-grandchildren, told newspaper Utusan Malaysia that he wanted company and a wife to take care of him.

afp Arnold Schwarzenegger has stepped aside as California "Governator," defending his record to the last - and keeping fans and others guessing about his next move after seven years.

todayonline.com Malaysians will now have to pay 20 sen ($0.08) for each plastic bag when they shop on Saturdays at hypermarkets, supermarkets and service stations run by Petronas, in a bid by the government to reduce the use of plastic bags. The amount collected from the sale of plastic bags will go into a fund to benefit the environment and community.

dailymail.co.uk Rock legend Chuck Berry collapsed on stage in Chicago, prompting fears about the 84-year-old star's health. Paramedics wanted to take the singer to hospital but he signed a release saying he did not need treatment and was allowed to return to his hotel.

huffingtonpost.com Former Playboy playmate on sex with Hugh Hefner: "I wanted to see if this experienced King of Sexdom knew anything the rest of us did not. But he just lay there like a dead fish. He must know deep down that it is just a show."


Until January 9 Phuket Red Cross Fair, Saphan Hin park, Phuket City
January 6-9 Pimex boat show, Royal Phuket Marina
January 15-16 Phuket Air Park fly-in
January 22 QSI International fun run day at Bang Wad Dam, Kathu
January 23 Great Phuket Rubber Duck Race Day, Laguna Phuket
February 3 Chinese New Year
February 9-13 The Bay Regatta - Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi
February 11 Phuket Chinese New Year
February 23-26 Phuket Gay Pride Festival, Patong
February 25-26 Phuket International Blues and Rock Festival 2011
February 26-27 Phuket Spicy Soccer 7s, Phuket International Academy
March 14-19 ADFEST 2011 at Movenpick Resort, Phuket
March 27 Earth Hour commemoration on Phuket
April 13-15 Songkran Festival


Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket