A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media.
latimes.com French President Nicolas Sarkozy has asked his wife Carla Bruni to end a holiday with her lover in Thailand and return home, a news report said. Sarkozy is also travelling to Britain on Friday without his spouse. Sarkozy has asked Carla, 43, to end a holiday with her alleged lover, singer Benjamin Biolay, 37, and even chartered a plane to bring her home.
Journal du Dimanche The presidential marriage is breathing its last.
foxnews.com France's flamboyant, diminutive president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and his younger pop star wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, are allegedly both having affairs, according to some of France's most reputable Webzines. The rumors first began on Twitter, but have since gathered a head of steam on more mainstream media sites. Now the country is buzzing with speculation about the possibility of two dangerous liaisons at the heart of the French political system.
nationmultimedia.com Eleven influential organisations, leading businessmen and the Department of Export Promotion have voiced optimism regarding the anti-government red-shirt rallies that start today. All said the protests would not affect business operations or descend into violence. They met to brainstorm ways of minimising the impact on their businesses in case violence did break out in Bangkok this weekend.
straitstimes.com The ''red shirts'', who want PM Abhisit Vejjajiva to call fresh elections, will stage protests across the country today, before converging in central Bangkok on Sunday. ''If (the government) hasn't quit by the 15th, we will march all over Bangkok. It will be the biggest march Bangkok has ever seen,'' said Mr Nattawut Saikua, a red-shirt leader.
telegraph.co.uk Tourists are to be banned from large areas of resorts on some Indian islands because of fears they will bring disease that could wipe out the 350 remaining members of a local tribe. The Indian government has introduced a buffer zone around a reservation for the threatened Jarawa people on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and ordered the closure of an expensive beach resort, in an attempt to save the tribe. The country's Attorney-General has told the Supreme Court that the surviving members of the tribe, who are believed to be descendants of migrants from Africa, are highly vulnerable to Western diseases and infections.
todayonline.com Five days after news first broke of Jack Neo's extramarital affair with 22-year-old actress-model Wendy Chong, the popular film-maker addressed reporters at a short, drama-filled press conference, one which ended in tears, his wife's collapse - and shouts at the media.
channelnewsasia.com He [Neo] arrived at the news conference hand in hand with his wife, Irene Kng, and said he was entirely to blame and began crying. The conference ended when Mdm Kng started crying. As she was walking off the stage, she fainted. And the photographers and cameramen swamped to the stage to take her photos.
smh.com.au ''This guy is supposedly promoting family values but he can't even hold himself back from sending text messages to a 16-year-old,'' actress Maelle Meurzec told the New Paper.
montrealgazette.com Burma's Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Aung San Suu Kyi against her extended house arrest, her lawyer said, keeping her in detention ahead of polls promised by the junta for this year.
scmp.com Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's promotion of her former aide-de-camp to the top military post is fuelling resurgent rumors that she is appointing key allies to allow her to retain de facto control after her term expires this year.
todayonline.com A Kelantan prince was awarded RM6 million ($2.5 million) in damages in a defamation suit against his teenage wife and her mother who accused him of sexual and physical abuse after fleeing home to Indonesia. Tengku Fakhry Ismail Petra won the suit by default last November after the two women failed to file a defence.
theaustralian.com.au Sweden is home to the most bisexual women in the world, Brazilians last longest in bed and New Zealand women are the most promiscuous. A survey by OnePoll.com has revealed the sex trends of women from around the world, with NZ women proving to be the most experienced with 20.4 sexual partners in a lifetime. They are outdone by the world's most promiscuous men, Austrians, who on average have 29.3 partners.
independent.co.uk Just as the popular press is getting up to speed with the idea that older women enjoy sex - a notion so scary that some have been dubbed ''cougars'' - a new piece of research suggests that men can expect a longer and more satisfying sex life than women. You can relax, guys: according to the online BMJ, studies in the US show at least twice as many men as women in the 75-85 age group are still sexually active. And they're said to be enjoying it more.
cnn.com Devotees of Yan tattoos have been gathering outside Bangkok for an annual festival, where believers demonstrate the supposed super-human powers radiated from the designs. Men covered in ornate ink depictions of tigers, Buddhas and ancient scripts rant and rave, scream, laugh and charge around as if they are possessed. They claim the chanting of the monks brings out the power of their tattoos.
businessofcinema.com Director Paresh Mokashi's debut film, 'Harishchchandrachi Factory' will be the opening film at the second Phuket Film Festival which runs June 4-13 on Phuket. Director Mokashi will be attending the festival. 'Harishchchandrachi Factory' was India's entry to the 2010 Oscars in the Foreign Language Film category. Film Festival movies will be shown at the Coliseum Cineplex in Phuket City.
''We're honoring India not only as their cinema industry turns 100 years old but because of the close relationship between Indian filmmakers and Thailand,'' said Scott Rosenberg, managing director of AMW International, organisers of the Phuket Film Festival.
March 13 Don's Last Dinner and Going Away Party from 6pm as Don's Mall in Rawai closes.
March 19 Phuket Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce (AusCham) Sundowners at Paresa Resort at Cape Sol, Kamala. 3.30 pm Seminar on sustainable/green development. Drinks 6pm.
Until March 20 Thao Thepkrasattri and Thao Srisoonthorn Fair at Thalang Victory Memorial Park, near the Heroines' Monument.
Until March 20 Annual French Gastronomy Festival at The Boathouse. Wine Chef Jean-Noel Lumineau, Thailand's only Maitre Cuisinier de France, treats discerning diners to exceptional French food.
March 27 Lights out at Le Meridien Phuket Resort and Spa in support of Earth Hour. Since 1987, the resort has minimised its impact with waste reduction, efficient energy management, water conservation, and green programs.
April 3 Attempt on the mass dive record, Thai Muang, Phang Nga, 11am. Details: 076-411388.
April 9-13 Phuket Bike Week, including tattoo competitions, island rides and the Miss Phuket Bike Week contest.
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 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.
