bangkokpost.com Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Sunday called for protesters to give a clear answer by the following day on whether they will end their mass rally in Bangkok. ''Schools are about to open. Parents are concerned about their children's safety,'' he said on national television. ''There should be a clear answer by tomorrow (Monday) so that cooperation on the reconciliation plan will go ahead.''

Associated Press Power is out and some homes are damaged after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake rattled Indonesia's North Sumatra province. The afternoon quake hit southeast of Banda Aceh. A localised tsunami watch was issued.


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

bangkokpost.com More red shirt members from the north and northeastern provinces arrived in Bangkok to join their comrades at Ratchaprasong intersection. All 5000 had to pass security checkpoints manned by police and soldiers in Saraburi, Ayutthaya and the capital where officers recorded each person's identity card details and the vehicle's registration. A rising number of protesters is likely to affect the reconciliation plan.

nationmultimedia.com The red shirts postponed for another day or two their proposal for national reconciliation, with leaders saying they needed more time to ''tidy and complete work''. Nattawut Saikua, a protest leader, said the red shirts were well aware the whole country was waiting to see an ''atmosphere of reconciliation'' as soon as possible. ''We won't be slow - the soonest is tomorrow [Sunday] and the latest is the day after tomorrow,'' he said.

japantimes.co.jp Letter from reader: What is needed very quickly is a law banning political uniforms. Britain had a lot of trouble in the streets with Oswald Mosley's blackshirts and their opponents in the 1930s. The Public Order Act of 1936 put a swift end to that by banning political uniforms. The present dangerous polarisation in Thailand is far too similar to prewar Europe, especially Continental Europe with its Nazi/fascist brownshirts and blackshirts and the Communist redshirts. Are there any Thai legislators out there to take note?

thainews.prd.go.th From April 26-30, a group of 38 tourism entrepreneurs, hoteliers, golf and spa operators from Phuket, Pattaya and Chiang Mai, plus members of Phuket Tourist Association, went to Seoul and Busan to meet travel agents to attract Koreans to Phuket and the Andaman region. One spokesperson voiced his confidence that the Korean market for Phuket will expand at 10-15 percent, especially if THAI launches direct flights between Seoul and Phuket.

bbc.co.uk British air passengers faced more misery as a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland continued to disrupt European flight schedules. Many flights to Spain, France and Portugal were grounded, with further disruption expected on Sunday. The ash cloud closed 16 Spanish airports, including the international hub Barcelona.

Associated Press Candidates finished campaigning for next week's Philippine national elections amid a rush to replace faulty software in more than 76,000 machines that will count the country's first electronic vote. Political hopefuls drove in motorcades and held last-minute rallies to win over undecided voters around Manila and in the provinces before official campaigning for Monday's polls ended at midnight.

foxnews.com Today, the pill is the most popular form of contraception, with approximately 12 million American women taking it. Eighty percent of women will use the pill at some point during their reproductive years. After 50 years, a male equivalent to the birth control pill is still five to seven years away. Even then, the likelihood is that women will still prefer their forms of contraception.

Associated Press A Malaysian court has sentenced an Indonesian man to death for fatally shooting five people during a wedding reception on a remote Borneo island. Bernama reported that the court in Sarawak state sentenced Nyambang Entuhan to death by hanging over the 2007 shooting. The man, married to a local woman, reportedly became angry and opened fire after the village chief warned wedding guests not to marry Indonesians. The bride and groom survived.

interconnectionworld.com Burma has agreed to repatriate 9000 Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh. They will be repatriated after the coming polls in Burma. First, the Burmese government was not will to take anyone back, yet finally, it has agreed to take back 9000. This came when [Bangladesh] Foreign Affairs Minister Dipu Moni, talking to journalists at the Asian University for Women in Chittagong, said: "We had an agreement with Burmese government on this and they are to repatriate 9000 Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh."

thestar.com.my Media outlet products need to be scrutinised and compared with others due to the fact that all of them appear rather one sided and biased in their reporting. Although, I doubt anyone can find any paper to compare with the crap printed in Harian Metro. Oh..there is the Malay Mail. As for Malaysia Today, and Malaysia Kini, biased reporting and grandiose headlines are normal and acceptable to the point of irritation. Most Malaysian media outlets both online and in print have failed to actually be considered news in comparison to Western and even other South East Asian outlets of the same kind.

Phuket Updates
THE LATEST Phuket visit by US warships USS Shiloh and USNS Earhart is being hailed as a great success by the Phuket Navy League after the first all-crews event at the Malibu Bar on Soi Bangla in Patong proved ''a real hit.'' ''Compliments have been passed back to us from both ship's officers and the Navy and civilian personnel,'' a league official reports. The next visit will be hosted by John Butler's Honky Tonk Bar. Patong taxi drivers even joined a tour of the USNS Earhart and today from 8.15am US Navy personnel will be helping with paintwork at Patong Hospital.

OPUS ONE, the new upmarket Phuket restaurant that replaces Silk at Surin Plaza, opened last night with violin strings replacing the dance party sounds more familiar at Stereo Lab, the Surin beachfront club also owned by the same group. The restaurant offers soft music and French food from 11.30am to midnight daily. Silk recently moved to the Andara Resort in Kamala.

IMPIANA PHUKET on the beach road in Patong held a cooking class for 54 at the Sala Bua restaurant during the week. The representatives of the Extra Miles company were from Australia, Singapore and India. Phuket was first choice for the annual team-building in Thailand this year. Well-known chef Ronnie has left Sala Bua after many years and his replacement is an Italian, Angelo Magliaro.



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 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.
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