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

latimes.com Beverly Beyette writes: Top-end hotels are discounting rooms and spa services as Phuket grapples with filling 42,000 hotel rooms - and 5000 more to come by 2011. All this is in the face of three million fewer foreign visitors to Phuket in the last two years and hotel occupancy rates that have dipped from 66 percent in 2007 to 57 percent in the first quarter of 2009. I found every imaginable amenity, as well as friendly and accommodating people, and at no time did I feel in any danger, although I stayed out of the seedier places at night.

Phuketwan Update Monica Vearer, mother of British diver Shane Free, is continuing her vigil at the bedside of her son, who remains in a coma in a Phuket hospital. Mr Free was injured in a motorcycle crash in the early hours of December 13. With all his possessions disappearing, he appears a victim of robbers. His mother says he is now breathing unassisted and she hopes his condition continues to improve so he can be repatriated.

theindependent.co.uk China and six other South-east Asian countries toasted the inauguration of the biggest free trade area in the world, when the Association of South East Asian Nations, or Asean-6, was formally launched. Covering nearly two billion people in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, along with China, Asean-6's stated aim is to eliminate tariffs on almost all traded goods between its members. China holds the whip hand.

wsj.com Malaysia's High Court ruled that local Roman Catholics can resume referring to God as Allah in Malay-language publications, in a decision that appeared to partially halt the steady Islamisation of the majority-Muslim nation in recent years. The court overturned a three-year-old government ban that prevented the Catholic Church from using the term Allah as a translation for God in its local-language publications.

indiatimes.com In the midst of the introduction of new guidelines on tourist visas, India's government announced tourist visa on arrival for citizens of five countries, including Japan, New Zealand and Singapore, in an effort to promote tourism. The ministry of external affairs said that the visa on arrival plan for Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore would continue for a year on an ''experimental basis.''

bbc.co.uk Going to bed earlier protects teenagers against depression and suicidal thoughts, research suggests. A study of 12 to 18-year-olds found those with bedtimes after midnight were 24 percent more likely to have depression than those who went to bed before 10pm. And those who slept less than five hours a night had a 71 percent higher risk of depression than those who slept eight hours, the journal Sleep reports.

timesonline.co.uk Minimum prices for vodka have been introduced as part of President Medvedev's campaign to combat alcoholism at a time when Russians traditionally drink heavily. The price of the cheapest half-litre vodka bottle will nearly double to a minimum of 89 roubles . Shops in Moscow carry a wide selection of vodka, with luxury brands priced at more than 10 times the new minimum. Elsewhere, the cheapest vodka can be bought for 51 roubles.

bangkokpost.com Some minority languages in Thailand could die out in the next 10-15 years unless steps are taken to preserve them, said a Thai member of the Unesco World Heritage Committee. Thailand had more than 70 languages used by ethnic groups and at least 15 of them have been listed as nearly extinct, said Somsuda Leyavanija, the Culture Ministry's deputy permanent secretary who has been appointed to the 21-member Unesco panel.

theage.com.au Since 2005, Australia has accepted more than 5200 Burmese asylum seekers from refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border alone, making Australia the second largest recipient of refugees from these camps in the world, behind only the US. The number of asylum seekers fleeing Burma shows no sign of abating, and this year shapes as a potentially critical year for the country.