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

cnn.com Full-body imaging machines that see through clothes have significantly improved security in airports and have revealed more than 60 ''artfully concealed'' prohibited items in the past year, the US Transportation Security Administration says. Their ability to spot small concealed objects demonstrates their effectiveness as a security tool, officials said.

atimes.com A campaign of terror is underway in Thailand, with both sides to the political conflict pinning blame on the other for a series of grenade attacks that have targeted government offices, military installations and private businesses. more recent blasts have targeted populated areas and seriously injured soldiers and civilians.

economist.com Far from being a rural army-for-hire, as critics claim, the red shirt movement clearly has plenty of urban supporters. Not all red shirts are fans of Thaksin Shinawatra, the fugitive former prime minister, who backs the movement. But they are ready to join forces to evict a government that, in their eyes, lacks a democratic mandate.

nytimes.com The deference, gentility and graciousness that have helped anchor the social hierarchy in Thailand for centuries are fraying, analysts say, as poorer Thais become more assertive, discarding long-held taboos that discouraged confrontation.

radioaustralia.net.au Thailand is extending the Internal Security Act ahead of the weekend's Mekong River Commission summit. The commission's first four-day summit of leaders from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, will discuss the future of the 4000 kilometre long river. Water levels are reported to be the lowest in 50 years.

bangkokpost.com Environmentalists say the Mekong River Commission is failing to protect the interests of downstream countries. Pienporn Deetes, a campaigner with the Save the Mekong Coalition, said the commission has failed to come up with a plan of action for the river's low water level among the countries that share it, including China.

businessweek.com Indonesian prosecutors are seeking a 15-year prison sentence for 48-year-old Robert Paul McJannett of Perth. The Australian allegedly had 1.7 grams of cannabis hidden in socks inside his suitcase when he arrived at Bali's airport in December.

asap.co.uk Most Australian travellers like Singapore Airlines, which topped a survey undertaken by Australia's advocacy body Choice to determine the best travel service and experience. Lowest scorers in the survey were Qantas, Royal Brunei and BA, with 63, 62 and 57 per cent ratings.

thailand-business-news.com Thailand is on pace for record hard-disk drive exports this year, with their value rising 10 percent to nearly 500 billion baht on the global rebound. Seagate Technology, world's largest HDD maker, said Thailand was poised to gain from rapid growth in global HDD demand in 2010 and in years to come. Worldwide manufacturing of 1.5 million drives a day is dominated by Thai production.

afp The Philippines insisted its airlines were safe after the nation's carriers were banned from flying into the European Union. ''Our aircraft meet the international standards in safety,'' said Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines head Alfonso Cusi. The European Commission banned from April 1 all Philippine carriers, as well as those from Sudan.

reuters Doctors' orders have forced ''genuinely ill'' British singer Tom Jones to cancel concerts in South Korea and Singapore, where he was supposed to perform this week. Jones's website also said the Seoul concerts, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, would be canceled.

traveldaily.co.uk June has become the most popular month for Britons to get away this summer, research from Travelmood has revealed. Searches on the website for June holidays rose by 21 percent, followed by May, October and September. These trumped the usually busier months of July and August. Top destinations included Thailand, Malaysia, US, Australia and Bali.

thefastertimes.com Welcome to Thailand. I can always tell I'm in this country by a quick glance at the sewers clogged with polyethylene and the ditches blooming in fluttery white and blue. Our planet is choking on plastic, and Southeast Asia's urban eating habits don't help. Much of the mess around us comes from food-supermarket acquisitions to street-food meals.

monstersandcritics.com Malaysia's police force plans to soon deploy police dogs at 50 crime hotspots nationwide to compensate for a manpower shortage and check a rise in crime, a news report said. Mohamad Bakri Mohamad Zinin, the director of federal criminal investigations, said trained dogs are to accompany police officers in the chosen areas including Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Forty dogs are to be trained by officers from Finland.

thejakartapost.com Eighteen major palm oil producers and the Directorate General of Plantations decided to set up an independent team to verify Greenpeace's allegations of deforestation by Indonesian companies. Unilever, the world's single largest industrial consumer of crude palm oil, moved in December to cancel new contracts with Indonesia's largest producer after being shown photographic evidence of rainforest clearing in protected areas.

property-report.com The Koh Rong archipelago, 30 minutes by boat from the Cambodian coastal town of Sihanoukville, is being billed as the ''next Asian Riviera'' - following Phuket, Koh Samui and Bali. Koh Rong covers 80 sq km, with a population of just 1500 in small fishing villages. The island is known among off-the-beaten-track travelers for its pure white sand beaches and crystal clear waters.



April 6-8 First Phuket Tattoo Convention, Jungceylon, Patong. Admission 150 baht.
April 9-13 Phuket Bike Week, including tattoo competitions, island rides and the Miss Phuket Bike Week contest.
April 12-13 Water festival on the Beach
April 13-15 Songkran in Old Phuket Town
April 14-18 Phuket Cricket Sixes, Karon Sports Stadium.
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.
May Annual Phuket seafood festival.
May Date to be finalised for Muay Thai kickboxing competition at Laguna Phuket.
May 21-23 Paragliding on Phuket.
June 4-13 Phuket International Film Festival, Coliseum Cineplex, Phuket City.
June 13 Laguna Phuket International Marathon. Fun runs, too.
December 4-11 Phuket King's Cup Regatta