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

voanews.com Thailand and Cambodia are stepping up diplomatic efforts to prevent more fighting along their border. But the two countries accuse each other of using banned weapons in their battles in the past few days near a 900-year-old Hindu temple.

thestandard.com.hk The Bali Hotels Association has welcomed a moratorium on new hotel development in the Indonesian island's three busiest areas. Bali's rising appeal has come with concerns its image as a tropical oasis is being tarnished by rampant development, overcrowding and traffic jams.

mysinchew.com Fearing the island could become a victim of its own success, Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika took the extraordinary step of slapping a moratorium on new hotel development in the island's three busiest areas. Bali Tourism Board chairman Ida Bagus Ngurah Wijaya said: ''We don't want the development of tourism in Bali to backfire.''

nationmultimedia.com Hotel operators [in Thailand and on Phuket] are rebranding and revising management contracts in order to strengthen operations and get the right partners ahead of the challenges and threats they expect to face. The process is expected to continue over the next two to three years.

thephuketinsider.com Koh Samui's four-year hotel building boom is threatening to undermine the long-term success of the destination as supply outstrips an arrivals demand hamstrung by severely limited airlift, according to the Samui Hotel Market Update 2010.

tvnz.co.nz It was initially thought that toxic seaweed cost 23-year-old Sarah Carter her life and made her two travelling companions Amanda Eliason, 24, and Emma Langlands, 23, violently ill. But Eliason said from her hospital bed in Chiang Mai that she did not know what it was that killed her friend and left her own life in the balance.

stuff.co.nz Ms Eliason said she was moved from intensive care to a general ward in the Chiang Mai Ram Hospital and was hopeful of being discharged in the next few days. She eventually needed heart surgery to assist her recovery.

bangkokpost.com "We have never had such a case in Chiang Mai before," Chiang Mai public health chief Wattana Kanchanakamol said. He said a preliminary report into the death of Carter indicated a viral infection.

thesun.co.uk A woman has died after flying from London to the US to get silicone injections in her buttocks. Claudia Adusei, 20, died in Philadelphia after undergoing the procedure in a room at the Hampton Inn hotel. She died later in hospital after suffering "chest pains".

Associated Press "This is something that's completely unregulated," Philadelphia police Lt. Ray Evers said. "If nothing goes wrong, if no one dies, we're not going to find out about it."

afp Five Philippine policemen forced a German tourist to buy them laptop computers by threatening him with false drug and terrorism charges, a police chief said. The incident, which took place in Manila's upscale financial district of Makati, is the latest embarrassment for the country's police force.

bestmediainfo.com Isha Singh and Alan Rego, the young creative team of Interface Communications, Mumbai was adjudged the winner of Young Lotus Workshop contest organised by the Advertising Agencies Association of India, for representing India in AdFest, Phuket, from March 17-19.

reuters Four people were killed and several suffered gunshot wounds in clashes between security forces and about 3000 protesters in a western province of Egypt, the state news agency and security sources said.

scmp.com The US welcomes China playing a responsible security leadership role but is still warning of the need to keep an expanded American military presence in Asia for decades to come, according to a military strategy report released by the Pentagon.

guardian.co.uk Aung San Suu Kyi is to be honored at this year's Brighton festival with a series of arts commissions inspired by and intended to reflect her "extraordinary spirit". Burma's opposition leader was named as this year's guest director, following Brian Eno last year and Anish Kapoor in 2009.

reuters "He really moves the metal," says Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Tony Tyler of John Leahy, the man Boeing loves to hate, who has made Airbus the world's biggest aircraft manufacturer.

afp Indonesian police stood guard outside churches after a wave of religious hate crimes swept the mainly Muslim country, shocking civil society and sparking international concern.

todayonline.com Passengers will have to pay more this year as some airlines may pass on rising fuel costs to consumers. However, Tiger Airways, a budget carrier, said it doesn't levy any fuel surcharge.

gulf-times.com A second daily service will be introduced by Qatar Airways on its popular Singapore route from May 1. The airline currently operates daily flights from Doha to Singapore using a Boeing 777 aircraft with the services continuing on to the Indonesian resort island of Bali.



Until February 10 Old Phuket Town Festival, food and walking street fest
Unti February 13 The Bay Regatta - Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi
February 11 IBAP for Michael Doyle, US attorney and co-author of 'Doyle's Practical Guide to Business Law in Emerging Countries in Asia.'
February 18 Makha Bucha public holiday
February 20 Pink Floyd charity tribute by New Machine, Zantika, Khao Lak
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
March4-6 Pool Asia Expo and Conference, Hilton, Phuket
March 14-19 ADFEST 2011 at Movenpick Resort, Phuket
March 27 Earth Hour commemoration on Phuket
April 13-15 Songkran Festival
May New PPAO Hospital to open, Phuket City


Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket