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

bbc.co.uk Thailand's Supreme Court has confiscated much of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's family fortune, but the verdict is unlikely to end his appeal or heal the country's deep political schisms.

aljazeera.net More than $1billion of the frozen assets of Thaksin Shinawatra will be confiscated after a court ruled that he had abused his power. The nine judges said Thaksin, who was forced from power by a coup in 2006, had used his position as premier to the benefit of his Shin Corp telecoms company.

voanews.com The court verdict ends an investigation into Thaksin's wealth that followed his overthrow in a military coup in 2006. Thaksin, who lives in exile, fled Thailand in 2008 just before a court verdict found him guilty of corruption and sentenced him in absentia to two years jail over the purchase of state owned land by his ex wife. Thaksin has called supporters to remain calm.

wsj.com For the Red shirts, Mr Thaksin has become less a leader than a figurehead in their pursuit of social justice and struggle for democratic rights. While his administration may have been corrupt, in their view, that just makes him like those who came before him and those who will come after. They admire his legacy of pro-poor policies and Thailand's modernisation for the 21st century, both of which disadvantaged powerful elites.

time.com The majority decision, at once stunning yet expected, was the highest-profile corruption case ever to come before a Thai court and one of the most controversial. The ruling risked further fracturing Thailand's already deep political divide between those who back the ousted PM and his opponents. While the streets of Bangkok were calm immediately after the verdict, Thaksin's allies vowed to hold a massive protest in Bangkok on March 14 to bring down the current government.

Associated Press Thailand has seized two tons of elephant tusks from Africa hidden in pallets labeled as mobile phone parts in the country's largest ivory seizure. Thai Customs officials valued the haul at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport at 120 million baht. It is further sign that Thailand is emerging as a hub for the illicit trade. Poaching of elephants in central and eastern Africa has intensified in recent years.

cnn.com A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Japan's Ryukyu Islands early Saturday, the US Geological Survey reported. Soon after the 5:31am quake, Japan's Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami advisory, recommending that people on the Okinawa Islands evacuate from the seashore. The agency said the expected tsunami height was about 0.5 meters, or 20 inches. [The warning was lifted later.]

usatoday.com The identity of the man who walked into the party like he was walking on to a yacht in Carly Simon's 1972 hit 'You're So Vain' has long been speculated to be Warren Beatty, Mick Jagger, Kris Kristofferson or Cat Stevens. Now, after guarding the secret for 38 years, the singer is whispering the first name ''David'' about two and a half minutes into a new version of the song, if you listen to it backwards. Britain's The Sun says it's David Geffen, who was the head of Carly's record label.

Phuketwan Update The Ninth Phuket Pride Grand Parade will be held on Saturday from 5pm. The parade starts at the junction of Absolute Sea Pearl Hotel and ends by Soi Paradise There will be a closing ceremony at 10pm followed by a late party at Soi Paradise.

guardian.co.uk Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi failed in her latest bid to end more than a decade of house arrest after the country's highest court threw out an appeal against her sentence. The supreme court's decision was widely expected but her lawyer said he would launch a final special appeal to the supreme court after establishing the reasons why the latest attempt had been rejected. ''The court order did not mention any reasons,'' he said.

foxsports.com Add Gatorade to the list of endorsement deals that Tiger Woods has lost. A representative for the drink, sold by PepsiCo confirmed that it had ended its relationship with the golfer, who made a lengthy public apology last week for his infidelities.

Press Release B-Lay Tong Resort, the new Hip and Exciting Resort in Patong, is now opened. Located on the most prime, convenient address at the up-market north end of Patong Beach, just steps away from the beach and offering great seaviews and sunsets to remember! B-Lay Tong is a pulsating resort that offers state of the art design and lounging space. Consisting of 123 rooms & suites, all rooms are designed with subtle lighting and decorated in one of 4 colour schemes based on the concept of Feng Shui, red (fire), blue (water), green (earth) and gold (wind). All Deluxe rooms come with a spacious Jacuzzi or a large bath tub.



To February 28 Phuket Gay Festival in Patong.
February 26-27 Phuket International Blues Rock Festival 2010 at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa, Karon.
February 26-28 Phuket Spicy Soccer 7s at Fifa Phuket Tsunami Centre.
April 9-13 Phuket Bike Week, including tattoo competitions, island rides and the Miss Phuket Bike Week contest.
April 14 Phuket Cricket Sixes begin.
March 13 "Lords (land) Last Barbecue Supper'' a Don's Mall in Rawai closes.
May31-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 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.