Associated Press Embattled PM Abhisit appeared on television Sunday but offered no initiatives to end the country's weeks-long, sometimes bloody, political crisis a day after rejecting a compromise proposal by protesters occupying central Bangkok.


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

Phuketwan Update PM Abhisit Vejjajiva is expected to meet with army leaders and all 76 governors from throughout Thailand today in a move that appears likely to mark the beginning of the end for the red protest in Bangkok. All the indications are that the long confrontation is moving towards a point of no return. Red leaders say they anticipate an attack within 48 hours. One red leader, quoted in The Nation, said: ''We are willing to fight till death.''

dailymail.co.uk Hundreds of angry and frightened Britons left stranded in Thailand by the volcanic dust cloud were battling for plane seats out of the country's capital. Many were left to sleep on cardboard mats in Bangkok airport after their money ran out. Some were also without a meal or roof over their heads because non-European airlines -including Thailand's main air carrier - declined to offer customers hotel accommodation which must be offered by air carriers under EU regulations.

independent.co.uk Consular staff handed out 150 foam mattresses and toiletries after as many as 300 passengers were forced to sleep on the floor of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi international airport, having being told they will not fly home until mid-May at the earliest. Cath Levett, stranded in Thailand, said: ''If we're here until mid-May the holiday will have cost us at least an extra 1500 pounds. We've got insurance, but I doubt they'll pay out.''

abc.net.au Red shirt protesters will discard their signature red clothing to confuse government forces ahead of an expected crackdown. Red shirt leaders claim they have inside information from soldiers who are sympathetic to their cause that the military will move against them today or tomorrow.

straitstimes.com Bangkok edged closer to confrontation as PM Abhisit rejected a compromise proposal by anti-government demonstrators that asked him to dissolve the House in 30 days and call an election. ''I reject it because they use violence and intimidation. I cannot accept this,'' he said. ''The dissolution (of Parliament) must be done for the benefit of the entire country, not just for the red shirts, and it must be done at the right time.''

bbc.co.uk Leaders of the red-shirt movement said they now feared a government crackdown to forcibly disperse them from their Bangkok encampment. An army spokesman had earlier said that what he called terrorists infiltrating the crowds would be suppressed, but the conditions were not yet right for such an operation because of the presence of so many innocent protestors, including women and children.

news.sky.com Many locals are tired of the confrontation and thousands of citizens gathered to make their own protests on Saturday. ''Please stop the mob - I want a normal life,'' read one sign.

bangkokpost.com Prakit Chinamourphong, president of the Thai Hotels Association, expects losses in the hotel business across the country to rise to 15 billion baht if the demonstration lasts for two months. The losses of each hotel in the Silom area are estimated at between one million and three million baht per day. Hotels at the Ratchaprasong intersection are expected to lose about 3 million to 5 million baht a day. ''The condition of the hotel business is now worse than the period the sector suffered from the forced closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport [in late 2008],'' he said.

Associated Press Cancelations are pouring in from tourists and business travelers. Thailand has already lost more than $31 million (one billion baht) from event cancellations and is projected to lose several times that in coming months, according to the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau. The stock market has tumbled 7 percent since just before the violence erupted.

contracostatimes.com A Cal State Northridge professor who published an Internet guide to Thailand's ''girl scene'' shut down his Web site after he and campus administrators agreed it tarnished the university's image. Kenneth Ng, a tenured economics professor who created BigBabyKenny.com, said he concluded it was best to close the site amid criticism of his moral judgment and what he says was a mischaracterisation of the contents. ''Unfortunately what happened is the press got going and implicated me with human trafficking, pedophilia, and prostitution, he said in an interview. University officials had previously taken the position that Ng was free to run the site as long as it involved his own time and resources.

cchronicle.com Ng's site was bad education. It taught Johns prices to pay, recommended particular brothels, and supported information exchange on all facets of Thai prostitution. It was Thai prostitution 101. This prompts major ethical questions as to what methods and models he teaches his students during lecture.

afp About 100 angry protesters stomped on and burnt pictures of Tony Blair as the former British PM addressed a business gathering in Malaysia. The anti-war campaigners shouted noisy slogans against Blair's involvement in the invasion of Iraq and threatened to throw shoes at him - an action considered a grave insult in the Arab and Muslim world - if he came near them.

spreadit.org A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.1 rattled Indonesia's North Maluku province but there have been no reports of damage nor lost of lives and no tsunami warning has been issued. According to the US Geological Survey the temblor was centered near Obi island at a depth of about 33 miles (53 kilometers).

pr.com SpiceRoads Cycle Tours has launched an epic journey for cyclists - a 3000 kilometer-long bicycle tour from Hanoi to Phuket. Riding through Vietnam, Laos and Thailand it will take 39 days to complete this trip of a lifetime. Departure date is September 19 and the cost is US$7500.

sify.com At least 22 people have died and 300 fell sick after consuming spurious liquor inIndonesia's Central Java province, Xinhua reported. The toll is likely to increase. Police said the victims bought the liquor from a resident in Salatiga April 16. People were admitted to hospital when they suffered nausea, breathing difficulties and headaches after drinking the spurious liquor.

sify.com Indonesian police said they have named an Indian company executive as a suspect over an insulting remark that triggered a riot by thousands of factory workers. Ghesa Prabaharan, a 27-year-old Indian executive at the factory, is alleged to have called Indonesian people ''stupid,'' and could risk up to four years in jail, police deputy spokesman Zainuri Lubis told reporters.


April 28 GreenLOVE festival to raise awareness about local and international environmental issues and solutions, British International School 8am-3pm.
April 29 Mom Tri's Boathouse on Kata Beach, 7pm, first of several popular Boathouse literary events of summer 2010. Bjorn Turmann, internationally recognised writer/speaker, will relate stories of his experiences with fiction, film and whatever else happens to be on his mind that day.
April 30 Lions Club Of Phuket Pearl is holding a jazz concert and dance night, performed by children from the Phuket Academy of Dance, at the Royal Phuket Marina. Details: 081 477 0342.
May 1 The Phuket Has Been Good To Us foundation, first fund-raising ball, Sheraton Grande Laguna Resort, 6.30pm-Midnight.
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