A new daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective. Reports from national and international media, with translations into English from Thai.

Associated Press: The Government approved an excise tax increase on beer and other alcoholic drinks to nine percent from seven percent in a bid to boost revenue. Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said the increase of excise taxes on liquor, beer and brandy will be effective from Thursday onwards. The measure is expected to boost income by 6.3 billion baht (US$179 million), which will be used for investment in infrastructure projects. Tax increases on fuel and cigarettes are anticipated.

Bangkok Post: Cabinet has approved the second phase of a Finance Ministry 1.43-trillion-baht economic stimulus plan, aimed at creating jobs for about two million people. Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said the state investment projects raise long-term competitive advantages of Thai businesses.

AFP news agency: The Chon Buri provincial governor was transferred yesterday over the protest by red-shirts who shut down the Asean Plus Six summit in Pattaya. Cabinet transferred Suraphon Pongthadsirikul from Chon Buri province to the smaller nearby province of Chachoengsao. A senior government official said on condition of anonymity Mr Suraphon was transferred because he was a ''red governor'''. The Asean Plus Six summit is now scheduled for Phuket in June.

bbc.com A British man has been appointed the new caretaker of an Australian tropical island, a six-month position described as ''the best job in the world''. Ben Southall, 34, a charity fundraiser, emerged from a field of over 34,000 applicants. Mr Southall wll live and report from Hamilton Island, on Queensland's Great Barrier Reef. The process gave a global profile to Australian tourism, which has gone into decline amid the worldwide recession.

Andaman News NBT: From May 6, people in the range of audio coverage from the early tsunami warning towers will hear the national anthem twice a day, every Wednesday. This is an effort to make sure that warning towers are functioning well. Phuket Vice Governor Smith Palawatwichai requests hotel and tourism operators to keep their guests or clients informed of the practice so that they are not surprised or panicked.

The Nation: Public Health announced that three patients quarantined overseas travellers, one a German tourist, had normal cases of flu. Cabinet approved the plan to procure another 10 thermal scanners for border checkpoints. The scanners are already in use at some border crossings, and all major airports.

Daily News: Sales of motorcycles in Thailand have dropped by 16.8 percent on last year, to 366,262 for the first quarter of 2009. A spokeperson for the federation of Thai Automotive Industry said sales could stay slugish for two or three years. Government incentives were needed, he said.

staronline.com: AirAsia says earnings for the first quarter were ''fantastic'' after the company boosted passenger numbers. Earnings for the second quarter were also looking good, chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes told Bloomberg Television. He did not elaborate. AirAsia's first-quarter passenger numbers surged 21 percent year on year while global airline passenger traffic fell 11.1 percent last month, according to the International Air Transport Association.

channelnewsasia.com: Thailand's tourism industry could suffer a revenue drop of 35 percent this year, according to analysts. Dale Lawrence, director of Corporate Communications, Pacific Asia Travel Association, said swine flu was ''potentially another kick in the teeth for tourism, but it isn't yet . . . In the Asia Pacific region, we are very experienced in dealing with it, in the wake of the SARS crisis of 2003. Lessons have been learned." Tourism in Thailand accounts for five per cent of the GDP and employs up to seven per cent of the total workforce.

Thai Rath: Rain can be expected across the south of Thailand because of a large tropical storm over the South China Sea, with the potential to be a typhoon. The storm is heading east, with strong winds stretching as far as the Andaman region. High waves are being forecast.

Asia Times (atimes.com): Shawn W Crispin writes: ''Once-coherent forces are fragmenting in Thailand, promising to complicate standing political alliances while disintegrating others. As Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva strikes new conciliatory poses the emerging realignment could ignite potent new sources of instability and foil his government's strategy to shore up its democratic mandate at new polls next year.''


Latest: Phi Phi 'Poisoning' Kills Two Tourists
Update A case of apparent poisoning on Phi Phi has left two young women dead, a Norwegian and an American. A third tourist, a Norwegian teenager, survived after being treated at a local hospital.
Latest: Phi Phi 'Poisoning' Kills Two Tourists

'Superstar Search' as Thai Resorts Fight Back
Latest Thai resorts are offering a reality tv style shot at stardom among many attractions, including lower prices, aimed at boosting business.
'Superstar Search' as Thai Resorts Fight Back

Phuket Cruise Ship Check: Three Held in Flu Alert
Latest Health authorities on Phuket also have responsibility to check seaborne arrivals, with concerns about swine flu still riding high and three new quarantine cases in Thailand
Phuket Cruise Ship Check: Three Held in Flu Alert

Wanted: More Phuket Risk-Takers, and Money
Opinion The campaign on the Great Barrier Reef for ''The Best Job in the World'' would have worked ideally on Phuket. The island needs great ideas of similar quality, and financial support.
Wanted: More Phuket Risk-Takers, and Money


MediaWATCH: PM Tells All on 'Mob' to NY Times
Latest Thailand's Prime Minister has chosen to give his first detailed account of the attack on his life and the street mob crisis to an international newspaper, the New York Times.
MediaWATCH: PM Tells All on 'Mob' to NY Times

MediaWATCH: 'White Shirts' Bangkok Street Protest
Latest A move to the middle begins with a Bangkok parade to end bickering; Call to extradite Thaksin; 'farcical' Thailand politics; Aussie holiday nightmare as guests demand money back.
MediaWATCH: 'White Shirts' Bangkok Street Protest

MediaWATCH: Sondhi on Military, Reds and Yellows
Latest A television mogul use his medium to explain an attempt on his life; swine flu now appears to be not as significant; Bankers seek an ATM fee cut
MediaWATCH: Sondhi on Military, Reds and Yellows