A new daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective. Reports from national and international media, with translations into English from Thai.

Bangkok Post: The red shirt movement has shown it remains a force with about 20,000 protesters attending a rally on Sunday called by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship. The supporters turned out despite a substantial downpour. About 150 riot control police were stationed around the rally site in Bangkok.


The Nation: More than 100 hotels and resorts nationwide are being put up for sale with Chanin Donavanik, chief executive officer of Dusit International saying: ''This year is the worst for our hotel industry in 20 years.'' Hotels in famous destinations such as Samui and Phuket have been the first to ''feel the pinch,'' the Nation article says, adding that Phuket's visitor numbers declined by 60 percent in the high season from November to March. Prakit Chinamourphong, president of the Thai Hotels Association, said 70,000 hotel employees could lose their jobs.

Kom Chad Luek: The PM holidayed on Phuket over the weekend and returned to Bangkok last night. Was he in the car when the red shirts attacked it back in April? He said television footage was the obvious way to check. Politics in Thailand remained unstable for now, he added. He urged people not to settle their arguments on the streets.

Channel 11 TV: PM Abhisit Vejjajiva said in his weekly television broadcast, recorded on Friday, that the Asean Plus Six Summit in Phuket next month will not see a repeat of the Pattaya fiasco. His government has a good new security plan in place. The Government would enforce the Internal Security Law to handle the situation, he told viewers. ''The police alone might not be able to control the situation. We need military and civilians to help take care of security matters,'' he said.

The Nation Channel: China has reported its first case of H1N1; Big storms are expected in northern Thailand, with hail.

Associated Press: Japan reported its first four cases of swine flu, a teacher and three students who had been on a high school trip to Canada. Australia also reported its first confirmed case. Deaths rose with 48 recorded in Mexico three in the US, one in Canada and one in Costa Rica. According to WHO more than 4500 cases have been reported in 29 countries, including at least 1626 in Mexico, at least 2532 in the US and 280 in Canada.

asiaone.com: Thailand's Public Health Ministry says it has detected a suspected first case of the H1N1 influenza, pending confirmation from US authorities. Ten of 25 suspected cases remain in quarantine awaiting lab confirmation, a spokesperson said. One person is suspected to have had swine flu, having returned from an outbreak country, but recovered. The ministry has already submitted this person's sample to a US lab because Thailand has no sample to compare for confirmation.

smh.co.au The legacy of Victor Bout, a 42-year-old former Russian military officer dubbed the Merchant of Death, is traced in a long, thorough article. Bout is being held n a Thai jail, pending extradition. Bout ran a business that was built around his fleet of Soviet-era cargo planes, which he used to conduct his clandestine smuggling operations across sub-Saharan Africa and Afghanistan, busting sanctions, fomenting civil wars and genocide. ''A UN report from 2002 found that 70 percent of the coltan exported from [the Congo] was mined by the Rwandan army and that Bout's aircraft were used in flying it out," says an investigator.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/home/technology/blood-tantalum-in-your-mobile/2009/05/08/1241289162634.html

Matichon: Heavy rain in Bangkok caused flooding on Sunday, in some roads up to people's waists.

ftnews.com: Bhundhari Spa Resort & Villas Samui, a four-star Centara Resort, overlooking Chaweng Beach, is being marketed as Thailand's first adult hotel. ''We realised that there is potentially a strong demand for luxury spa resort accommodation that provides a romantic retreat for couples who did not want to be surrounded by children and families,'' a spokeperson said. Phang Nga's The Sarojin prohibited children under 12 a couple of years ago.

abc.com.au: Thailand and Australia say they want to give more direct help to the Rohingya people in Burma and in camps in Bangladesh. The issue was discussed in talks in the western Australian city of Perth between Thailand's visiting Foreign minister, Kasit Piromya, and his Australian counterpart, Stephen Smith. ''We have more than 2000 kilometres of common border and we cannot move Thailand away from Myanmar,'' Khun Kasit said. ''Second its not only the relationship with the Myanmar military regime. I think there are the Myanmar people that we have to look after so whatever we can do to enhance the livelihood of our fellow human beings, fellow Burmese, Myanmar citizens, I think we will do our utmost.''

Burma's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is suffering from low blood pressure and dehydration and is barely eating, her party spokesman says. Nyan Win said they are extremely worried about the 63-year-old Nobel Laureate's health. She has been under house arrest for most of the time since 1990.

Phuketwan Phuket News

Latest: PM and Family Holiday in Secret on Phuket
Latest Thailand's PM Abhisit Vejjjajiva and his family have been enjoying a secret weekend holiday on Phuket. The island will be the setting for June's important Asean Plus Six summit.
Latest: PM and Family Holiday in Secret on Phuket

Phuket Tourists Untroubled by Asean Security: PM
Photo Album The PM briefs journalists on Phuket about his two days off then turns to the more serious subject of Asean and the possibility of the Internal Security Act being imposed.
Phuket Tourists Untroubled by Asean Security: PM

Phi Phi Deaths: Paradise By Day, Party By Night
Take the Tour The deaths of two tourists on Phi Phi remain a mystery as speculation continues about the cause. The island, visited by day trippers in sunshine, also parties long and hard.
Phi Phi Deaths: Paradise By Day, Party By Night

Asean Summit: Fears of 'Scary Army Presence'
Photo Album A double cordon of checkpoints will surround Phuket's Asean Plus Six summit, Phuketwan has learned. But are thousands of men in uniform going to scare the tourists away?
Asean Summit: Fears of 'Scary Army Presence'

Why Pursuing the Truth Matters for Tourism
Opinion/Analysis Does it matter if the truth is never known about mishaps that kill tourists on and around Phuket? It matters because of trust. Only once the whole truth is told can trust be restored.
Why Pursuing the Truth Matters for Tourism

Patong Bid for Bars Ban Near Muslim Mosque
Photo Album While Muslims have always been an essential part of the Phuket community, never have they been so prosperous. And halal culture is likely to bring more tourists in the future.
Patong Bid for Bars Ban Near Muslim Mosque

Recent Phuketwan MediaWATCH

MediaWATCH: Tourist Death Theories Abound
Latest Internal Security Act coming for Phuket; International media seek clues to the deaths of two Phi Phi tourists; why travel is not dangerous; a swim to Burmese heroine Suu Kyi.
MediaWATCH: Tourist Death Theories Abound

MediaWATCH: Tax Up on Alcohol, Fuel Tipped
Latest Tax on alcohol rises, with cigarettes and fuel tipped to be next; three flu cases cleared from quarantine; Pattaya strife governor transferred; tsunami towers to sound weekly.
MediaWATCH: Tax Up on Alcohol, Fuel Tipped

MediaWATCH: PM Tells All on 'Mob' to NY Times
Latest Thailand's Prime Minister has chosen to give his first detailed account of the attack on his life and the street mob crisis to an international newspaper, the New York Times.
MediaWATCH: PM Tells All on 'Mob' to NY Times