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

timesonline.com Share prices in Shanghai slumped by seven percent amid fears that the ''China effect,'' which has helped to stoke growing global economic confidence in the past six months, is about to fizzle out. The stampede out of shares came amid reports that the authorities in Beijing may be planning to protect state-run companies from their trading mistakes by allowing certain companies to default on derivative contracts struck for oil, coal and other commodities.

Bangkok Post Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva wants Thailand to be the creative centre of Asean industry, with the value of creative industry products to rise from 12 percent to 20 percent of gross domestic product by 2012. ''The government recognises the importance of creative industries by combining the country's cultural assets with technological and innovative knowledge to come up with products with distinctive features,'' the PM said. ''These products would bring about sustainable development and allow Thailand to be the country of thinkers.''


cbsnews.com Dan Raviv says he wanted to hear what Stan Lee thought about the Disney deal for Marvel Entertainment: Lee is, of course, the co-creator of Spider-Man and many other comic book superheroes that have earned billions for Marvel and the movie industry. Still active at age 86 at his company Pow! Entertainment in Los Angeles, Lee said by phone: ''I could not be happier. It's a marriage made in heaven. This couldn't be a better deal. Disney does everything - and they do it well. And it's always good family entertainment, and that's what we always tried to make of Marvel.''

The Nation Anchalee Wanichthepphabutr, a deputy secretary to the prime minister, said in Phuket that because of the world economic slowdown, internal political turmoil, and H1N1, the Thai government has put tourism on the national agenda, pushing forward projects to promote the industry. The recent success of the Asean ministerial meeting and related conferences has restored tourists' confidence and the number of visitors, especially from Asian countries, has increased, as seen by four chartered flights a week from China and three from Korea.

cnn.com Three men charged with sexually exploiting Cambodian children are being brought back to the US to face prosecution, the Justice Department has announced. The men are the first to be charged under an international law enforcement initiative specifically targeting Americans traveling to Cambodia for the purpose of sexually abusing children. Operation Twisted Traveler is an effort by the Justice Department and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to crack down on sex tourism.

nytimes.com Closing the doors to foreign workers is hardly a uniquely Malaysian response to the global economic downturn. But in Malaysia, the cutbacks are not simply a result of the economic crisis. The government has said it wants to reduce the number of foreign workers to 1.5 million by 2015. Some believe weaning the country off its dependency on foreign workers is crucial to increasing local wages. However, the rubber glove industry is one of several struggling to find enough workers to fill orders, which have surged with the spread of swine flu.

Washington Post Stiff, shy and very rich, Yukio Hatoyama cuts a curious figure for an opposition leader whose party laid waste on Sunday to the most formidable political machine in the history of modern Japan. Hatoyama, 62, who soon will become prime minister, has perhaps the bluest political blood in the land. But he is hardly a natural politician. When he did enter the family business of politics in the 1980s, a far-away look, an eccentric manner and a wooden style of speaking caused him to be nicknamed the ''alien.'' He talks about how ''politics is love,'' a formulation not often heard from ambitious Japanese politicians.

Associated Press A suspect wanted in connection with hotel suicide bombings in the Indonesian capital had infiltrated the national airline in a plot to carry out a ''bigger attack,'' the national police chief told members of parliament. The suspect, identified only as Syahrir, had been recruited by a militant network and was working as a technician with the airline, Garuda Indonesia. Syahrir had resigned from the airline, but remains at large.

nytimes.com Thomas Fuller reports that two years ago, villagers closed their shutters and refused to greet Thai soldiers. Now most residents peer out of their wood-frame houses and offer strained smiles. Paka Lue Song, only a 15-minute drive from the provincial capital of Pattani, is ground zero for Thailand's ''surge'' of troops into its troubled southern provinces. But more recently analysts refer to another surge: the number of killings has risen sharply in recent months. More than 317 people have been killed so far this year, compared with 284 in the same period last year. The dead include civilians, soldiers and insurgents.

voanews.com Thailand's army has increasingly turned to civilian volunteers to boost security in the troubled southern provinces. But rights activists fear arming civilians spreads more guns in a region that has suffered a bloody insurgency for five years. Rights groups say the size of the force has led to a dangerous proliferation of weapons in the south.

The Nation A visiting US expert on human trafficking has urged the Thai immigration authority to quickly screen detained Rohingya boat people and provide sufficient assistance if they are victims of human trafficking. Luis CdeBaca, the US Director of Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, who will meet with several Thai authorities on refugee and migrant concerns, said victims of trafficking deserved assistance, not detention.


Jet Phuket Takes Off for 6.3m Visitors Record
Phuket's Economy Forecasts are that Phuket will reach a record 6.3 million arrivals and departures this year, which means the boom is rapidly overtaking the gloom.
Jet Phuket Takes Off for 6.3m Visitors Record

Researcher Pursues '100pc Truth' on Ownership
Latest An academic whose research created a newspaper storm is actually as concerned about Phuket tourism and the environment as she is about property.
Researcher Pursues '100pc Truth' on Ownership

Hot Phuket Car Burns Rubber and More
Latest A Phuket motorist found his trip across the island turned into an adventure when the smell of burning alerted him to a wiring problem. And now he has mechanical problems, too.
Hot Phuket Car Burns Rubber and More

Phuket Romances its Way onto Movie Screens
Latest Phuket, in real life all comedy, drama, action and romance, has finally been made into a movie. ''It's very small but it's big,'' says the leading man. Yes, that's Phuket.
Phuket Romances its Way onto Movie Screens

Phuket Drownings: Russian Vanishes at Karon
Updating Report The spate of needless drownings continues on Phuket with Karon officials hunting for the body of a Russian holidaymaker last seen in the surf at popular Karon beach.
Phuket Drownings: Russian Vanishes at Karon

Wet Phuket Delivers Double Dousing in August
Latest Statistics from the Bureau of Meteorology confirm that parts of Phuket are twice as wet as they were last year in August. But that depends whether it's north, south, or east Phuket.
Wet Phuket Delivers Double Dousing in August


MediaWATCH: First Day of a New Dawn for Japan
News Digest Japan voters reject past; H1N1 spreading fast; Reality contestant dies in Bangkok; Asean red shirt rumble tipped; Holiday Brits drink too much; N Korea weapons nabbed.
MediaWATCH: First Day of a New Dawn for Japan