An arrest warrant was issued today by the Criminal Court in Bangkok for international fugitive and former PM of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra.


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

afp Thailand hailed Apichatpong Weerasethakul's surprise win at the Cannes film festival as a much-needed boost. Culture Minister Teera Slukpetch, promising the film-maker a hero's welcome when he returns to Thailand, said: ''This kind of victory is what we really need at this time of crisis.''

time.com Apichatpong said this is an important moment in Thai history that would force Thais to re-examine their society and beliefs, citing the gap between rich and poor as a source of the conflict. "It reminds me of the film by Spike Lee, 'Do the Right Thing.' We now have to ask ourselves what the right thing is," he said.
Before he captured the award for best film, Apichatpong had blasted Thailand's censorship rules, saying they prevented filmmakers from producing movies about the country's political conflict.
"Thailand is a violent country. It is controlled by a group of mafia. Our governments, present and past, have been such a mess," Apichatpong told the Bangkok Post a day before winning the Palme d'Or.

thenational.ae It's slow, and to call it meandering would be to deprecate the narrative coherence and momentum of lowland streams. But 'Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives,' the sixth film from the singular Thai talent Apichatpong Weerasethakul (he also goes by ''Joe''), is a wonderful thing - sweet, gentle and mysterious, a celluloid phantasmagoria of supernatural visitations and everyday tendernesses where history's intrusions are made to seem as surreal as perhaps they always should be.

wsj.com Both sides of Thailand's political divide are cranking up their spin machines as they race to rewrite the history of last week's bloody riots in Bangkok and the tensions that drove the violence. In the latest twist, opposition leaders filed a censure motion against PM Abhisit Vejjajiva and members of his cabinet for their handling of the red shirt protests. The problem for the government, analysts say, is that its public-relations effort might not resonate much beyond Bangkok.

csmonitor.com Facebook and other social networking sites are popular tools for Thailand's political yellow shirts, and to a lesser extent their red shirt opponents, in the Thai season of political turmoil. But the sites are amplifying social divisions, say some Thais. Online politicking has fueled hate speech, rumor mongering, and vigilante campaigns by ultra-conservatives to ''out'' opponents and harass them in real life.

abcnews.go.com The country is also divided because Thailand's parties are dominated by influential men whose power bases are built on cronyism in their home provinces. That was also the case under Thaksin, the exiled multi-millionaire from northern Thailand who is now warning of a nationwide guerrilla war.

wsj.com While most of Bangkok returned to business as usual Monday, many small entrepreneurs were just starting to rebuild the businesses that were burned down last week. More than 1,500 businesses were damaged or destroyed.

STR Global Hotels in the Asia/Pacific region experienced increases in all three key performance metrics for April 2010 when reported in US dollars, according to data compiled by STR Global. In year-over-year measurements, the Asia/Pacific region's occupancy rose 11.7 percent to 65.3 percent, average daily rate increased 13.1 percent to US$130.06, and revenue per available room jumped 26.4 percent to US$84.96.
Beijing experienced the largest occupancy increase, rising 29.7 percent to 43.3 percent, followed by Phuket, with a 20.6 percent increase to 71.1 percent.

afp Authorities in Barcelona, fed up with tourists wandering the streets in swimming costumes, are preparing a massive campaign to convince them to put on clothes when they leave the beach. ''We want to make people understand that it's an attitude that we don't like, that it's not banned or punishable but that it's something we don't think is civil,'' a spokeswoman for the city hall said.

theage.com.au British Airways has scrapped flights slated to carry 25,000 people a day during a staff strike, which began at midnight local time, including 40 percent of long-haul services from the company's hub at London Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, news agency Bloomberg reported.

gulf-times.com Malaysia and Singapore's prime ministers announced plans to jointly redevelop prime real estate in the city-state in a bid to solve a territorial problem dating from their separation. Singapore was ejected from the Malaysian federation in 1965, but Malaysia still occupies railway land in Singapore leading to Malaysian territory, including the station on the fringes of Singapore's banking district.

mysinchew.com A komodo dragon attacked an Indonesian man as he ate lunch at a building site on one of the giant lizards' protected island habitats. Komodos were believed to hunt with a "bite and wait" strategy using toxic bacteria in their saliva to weaken or kill their prey. But in 2005 researchers found that dragons' jaws are armed with highly sophisticated poison glands that can cause paralysis, spasms and shock through haemorrhaging. The man is recovering.

smh.com.au There just doesn't seem to be anything to do in paradise. Paradise doesn't have an art gallery, or any nice restaurants, or a dingy bar that stays open late. It doesn't have any theatres, or beautiful buildings or historical monuments; just a bunch of palm trees and some sand. Here's my first problem with paradise: sunburn.



May 26 Boy George plays at Seduction, Phuket.
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.
June 25 to 27 Second Kathu Culture Road Fair, recalling the region's history
July 21-25 Phuket Six Senses Race Week, Evason, Rawai
July 4 Planned US Phuket Navy League Independence Day party on Patong shorefront at Loma Park
December 4-11 Phuket King's Cup Regatta

2011
January 6-9 PIMEX boat show, Royal Phuket Marina
February 9-13 The Bay Regatta - Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi