bbc.co.uk Fighting has resumed along the border between Thailand and Cambodia, a day after clashes in which at least six soldiers were killed. Troops exchanged artillery and gunfire in jungle around Ta Krabey temple, which both sides claim.

cnn.com Heavy winds from a severe storm caused significant damage, shattered windows and sent debris raining down on passengers, closing the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport indefinitely.


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

bangkokpost.com The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2011 issued by the World Economic Forum dropped Thailand to 41st among 139 nations, from 39th in 2009. Long lines at immigration checkpoints at Bangkok and Phuket airports remain weak points, as well as lack of infrastructure and high-speed internet.

nationmultimedia.com Today, the red-shirt-backed Pheu Thai Party will hold a conference at Thammasat University's Rangsit campus in Pathum Thani to introduce its election candidates. Tomorrow, the yellow shirts' political arm - the New Politics Party - is scheduled to convene to vote on whether to contest the next election, expected around mid-year.

straitstimes.com News of five massive bombs in Jakarta set to detonate near a Catholic Church shows that Singapore is ''right in the middle of an extremely dangerous volatile area,'' in which it is a prime target, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam said.

afp The plotters of a foiled Easter church bombing in Indonesia planned to film the attack and could be behind other atrocities, police said, with Indonesia on its highest alert level. Anti-terror police arrested 19 suspects and defused five bombs around the church, on the outskirts of Jakarta.

bangkokpost.com At least 88 protesters were killed by security forces during massive demonstrations on Friday across Syria in one of the bloodiest days since pro-democracy protests erupted in mid-March, witnesses and activists told AFP by telephone.

Associated Press British tourist Helen Beard was poolside with her son and partner at a Florida hotel when she heard a scream and turned to see a one-year-old girl dangling from a fourth-story balcony. She leapt up and positioned herself beneath the toddler just in time to catch her, saving the girl from certain injury.

pattayadailynews.com Ayutthaya police have partly exposed a ''sex lottery'' among factory workers. The winning prize is a night in bed with a young woman, whom could be claimed at one of the two participated hotels.

thejakartaglobe.com Indonesia's already problem-ridden preparations to host the 2011 Southeast Asian Games suffered a huge blow when a senior official overseeing the Games was named a graft suspect. The suspect is believed to be the secretary of the ministry, Wafid Muharram.


A WARM welcome back for a beauty: Cape Panwa Hotel, Phuket, recently welcomed back Miss Belgium 2010, Ms Cilou Annys, who stayed at the hotel during this Songkran Season. She also stayed at the hotel as one of the Miss Belgium 2010 finalists in late 2009.

ukpa A grandmother taken ill on a cruise ship fell into the freezing Arctic Ocean after being dropped by paramedics transferring her to a rescue boat. It took eight minutes to recover Janet Richardson, 73, from the icy waters. Mrs Richardson, from Penrith, Cumbria, was travelling with her husband George, 78, on the cruise ship Ocean Countess.


TO WIN readers at news stands, front-page impact is vital. Compare the headlines: 'SIX LIVES LOST' versus 'Roadwork begins on Big Buddha hill'. The Phuket News, using a big photo well, wins the front-page contest easily this week, especially as the Gazette blunders by getting the toll right in a sub-heading but wrong in its very first paragraph. When howlers like that are made in newspapers, bums are usually kicked hard. What's most interesting this week in Phuket's media arm wrestle is the publication in the News of a full-page advertisement that implies 'The Phuketian', a magazine that comes with the News once a month and goes out with international facsimile newspapers sold on Phuket, could have as many as 60,000 readers. What the ad actually says is: ''Does an average of 60,000 readers every month sound good?'' Well, yes it does. That's a big number for Phuket. But advertisers will be asking: 60,000 does sound good, but how many people actually do read it? Publication of the figure means the gloves are off - if gloves can come off in an arm wrestle - in a media scramble where the one with the most readers wins. Sixty thousand? The only monthly publications in English on Phuket that are most definitely read by 60,000 people are the electricity bills.

NUMBERS are definitely critical, whether it's a road toll or the total of newspapers read. To compound matters, the Gazette says in its editorial that Phuket had more than seven million tourist arrivals in 2010. Wrong. There were seven million arrivals AND departures at Phuket airport, meaning that about 3.5 million people were inbound to Phuket, many of them tourists. Getting it right is important. And good newspapers always correct their blunders.

cnet.com Privacy concerns surfaced earlier this week when researchers announced that they found what looked like secret files on the iPhone that track user location and store it on the device without the permission of the device owner. It's still unclear what the data is used for and why Apple has been collecting it.

nytimes.com No, Apple is not tracking you, and neither is the government. The one legitimate concern, therefore, is that someone else with access to your computer could retrieve the information about your travels and see where you've been. Your spouse, for example.



April 24 Ao Chalong Yacht Club Open Day
April 24 Easter Family Day, Friendship Beach, Rawai
April 25 Anzac night for Aussies, Lady Pie, Cherng Talay
April 28 Pierre-Yves Cousteau dinner at IndoChine
May New PPAO Hospital to open, Phuket City
May 1 National Labor Day public holiday
May 5 Coronation Day public holiday
May 13 Royal Ploughing Day public holiday
May 17 Visakha Bucha Day public holiday
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 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