BANGKOK - THOUSANDS of bleary-eyed tourists mingled with yellow-clad protesters who brought flights to a halt at Bangkok's international airport on Wednesday, dealing a major blow to Thailand's tourism industry during its peak season.

The tourism industry, which makes up 6 per cent of the economy and employs about a million people, was already flagging after protesters in late August shut down airports serving popular beach resorts in Thailand's south.

BRUSSELS- THE European Commission proposed on Wednesday a sweeping stimulus package worth 200 billion euros (S$391 billion) to jolt Europe's economy out of recession, EU sources said.

The sum, the equivalent of 1.5 per cent of the European Union's gross domestic product, was more than the 130 billion euro minimum which commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso had said previously he was looking for. als.

PROPERTY prices are set to soften and demand will weaken as the Singapore economy slows down, Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan said on Wednesday evening.

Private housing prices have declined by 2.4 per cent in the third quarter of this year, and further price movements will 'depend on the severity of the economic slowdown', he added.

BRUSSELS - CHINA has called off a summit with the European Union scheduled for next Monday because of plans for Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, to visit European leaders and institutions, the EU said.

In Paris, a French government spokesman confirmed French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, would go ahead and meet the Dalai Lama in Poland next month despite Beijing's displeasure.