LATEST figure from Bangkok hospitals close to 8pm on Saturday puts the toll of dead at 22 with 172 wounded.
cnn.com At least four people were wounded Saturday when gunfire erupted in Bangkok, hospital officials said. Security forces declared a ''live-fire zone'' in a downtown area following days of clashes that have claimed 17 lives and left 141 people wounded. Soldiers erected warning signs and razor wire to mark the area's perimeter.
A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media.
japantoday.com A second day of clashes between Thai troops and anti-government protesters in central Bangkok left at least 10 civilians dead and 125 people injured, including three journalists, according to emergency medical teams and other sources. [The army reports at least four soldiers dead.] The clashes occurred in the vicinity of a barricaded protest site where some 5000 protesters, known as red shirts, are continuing their campaign to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. The chief of Kluaynamthai Hospital said one of the 10 who died was driving by clashes when he got out of his car to have a closer look and was shot in the chest.
reuters.com Troops battled during the night with protesters who hurled rocks and petrol bombs on roads surrounding an area of luxury hotels and shopping malls they have occupied for weeks, witnesses said. A Canadian television cameraman, one of three journalists hurt Friday during clashes in Bangkok, was hit by three bullets from a military assault rifle and ''gravely wounded,'' his network reported.
bangkokpost.com Soldiers used tear gas, rubber bullets, and live rounds against protesters, who retaliated using home-made rockets and petrol bombs to block advancing soldiers and by setting fire to a bus. The sound of gunfire was heard from both sides. In the evening, a number of grenade attacks took place on Rama IV and Silom roads. The Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation gave soldiers authority to fire live rounds at the lower bodies of attacking protesters.
nationmultimedia.com The Centre for Resolution of Emergency Situation said it will cancel all advance announcements ahead of its operations. The CRES also expects that there are some 500 armed red-shirt guards, battling troops.
timesonline.com What began in early March as a defiant and proud rally intended to oust the Thai Government peacefully and fight for social justice had, by last night, largely unravelled as the army strengthened its stranglehold around thousands of diehard protesters.
independent.co.uk Duncan McCargo writes: Thailand is so deeply fractured that the faultline between color-coded pro-government yellow shirts and anti government red shirts runs through practically every household in the country. Neither the pro-government royalist forces nor the anti-government pro-Thaksin forces are going away any time soon. Each side is backed electorally by up to 40 percent of the population. Only a hard-headed deal making some accommodations to Thaksin's supporters could pave the way for a return to normalcy.
cnn.com The economy of Thailand - where growth this year so far has belied its political ills - is now seeing more of a direct impact as protests grow increasingly violent. Thai Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij told CNN the protests have taken between 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent off the nation's gross domestic product so far this year and have had an ''incalculable impact on investor confidence.'' The protests could shave as much as two percent off GDP if it continues through the rest of the year.
france 24 France 24 journalist Nelson Rand was shot in the leg, hand and abdomen while covering violent clashes in Bangkok. He has undergone surgery at a Bangkok hospital. Rand was with several hundred protesters on one of the main streets outside the protest camp when soldiers launched an operation to clear the avenue.
bbc.co.uk [Football team] Glentoran's planned tour of Thailand has been called off because of escalating violence. The Glens said they had no alternative with insurance cover being declared invalid while a Foreign Office travel warning remained in place.
focustaiwan.tw Taiwanese travel companies said fewer than 1000 Taiwanese tourists are currently in the Thai capital Bangkok as tours to that city have been either suspended or pared down. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs elevated its travel alert for Bangkok from orange to red, which is an advisory not to enter an area.
dnaindia.com Tata Motors' seven-billion-baht project to produce an ''eco'' or hybrid car in Thailand by 2012 has been scrapped. The Indian company may ship the Nano instead. Importing would make the 625cc car a costly proposition - Thailand levies 80 percent customs and 25 percent excise duties.
bloomberg.com General Motors Co. boosted vehicle sales in Thailand 62 percent in April as political unrest failed to dent rising demand fueled by a growing economy. The carmaker sold 1879 vehicles in Thailand last month, compared with 1162 a year earlier. GM will lift output at its Thai factory to 76,000 vehicles and go ahead with plans to invest $467 million to upgrade facilities and build a new diesel-engine plant.
slate.com According to a recent Pew study on Internet habits, only 14 percent of teens now blog, down from 28 percent in 2006. Even on social networking sites like Facebook, millennials are becoming protective of their privacy: Most have put privacy boundaries on their online profiles, and a New York Times article discussed the lengths to which striving high schoolers go to keep their Facebook activity hidden from college admissions officers.
smh.com.au A leaked instant messenger (IM) transcript from 2003 in which Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg mocks users who joined his then fledging social networking site is adding to the sense of outrage over the social networking site's cavalier attitude towards privacy. Facebook, worldwide membership more than 400 million, began altering its privacy policy in December. In January, Zuckerberg told an audience that privacy was no longer a ''social norm''.
May 21-23 Paragliding on Phuket.
May 23 Tourism Authority of Thailand bicycle ride around Old Phuket Town. A guided tour, with meals and a t-shirt, for just 100 baht. Bookings from May 10. Details: 076 217138 or 076 211036.
May 26 Boy George plays at Seduction, Phuket.
May 31-June 5 Eight-nation football tournament for players over 55 at Surakul Stadium in Phuket City. Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Taiwan, Iran, Armenia competing.
June 4-13 Phuket International Film Festival, Coliseum Cineplex, Phuket City.
June 13 Laguna Phuket International Marathon. Fun runs, too.
June 25 to 27 Second Kathu Culture Road Fair, recalling the region's history
July 21-25 Phuket Six Senses Race Week, Evason, Rawai
December 4-11 Phuket King's Cup Regatta
2011
February 9-13 The Bay Regatta - Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi
Four soldiers have died in red clashes and the people of Bangkok have been warned to expect ''people wanting to create instability'' in the next few days.
From noon the action resumed in Bangkok, with troops using tear gas on a 'sideshow' protest at Lumpini Park. In Chiang Rai, reds were reported to be planning revenge attacks.
The provision of an inexpensive public transport on Phuket remains a high priority within the tourism industry and among local honorary consuls. The wheels are turning.
One thing Phuket lacks is a train service, and a fast rail link to Bangkok is now being proposed as a novel way of providing recovery infrastructure to regenerate tourism.
