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

The Nation The Public Health Ministry will reveal details from its first autopsy on a H1N1 patient today. Patients with mild flu symptoms are being urged not do any exercise, as heavy breathing would help the virus attack the lungs. According to the Public Health Ministry, the new strain of flu has claimed 24 lives in Thailand and infected more than 4469. Most patients make a full recovery within two or three days - and most fatalities were among people who had gone to hospital too late.

zimbabwestar.com The 42nd annual meeting of the foreign ministers of Asean wound up Monday with a strongly worded joint statement on regional security issues but little action. The Asean foreign ministers' final joint statement condemned last week's Jakarta bombings and North Korea's recent underground nuclear test while calling for the freedom of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The ministers also endorsed the terms of reference for an Asean Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights that will be launched at the 15th Asean Summit in October, also to be held in Phuket.


Associated Press Bound for Phuket this week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton engaged in a question-and-answer session with Indian university students who probed her thinking. Engaging in what she calls public diplomacy to argue that Americans have more in common with people around the globe than is often suggested, she blamed the media - not just the news but also entertainment - for distortions. ''People watching a Bollywood movie in some other part of Asia think everybody in India is beautiful and they have dramatic lives and happy endings. And if you were to watch American TV and our movies you'd think that we don't wear clothes and we spend all our time fighting with each other.'' The crowd roared.

eturbonews.com Blasts at two hotels put in question the effectiveness of security at hotels in Indonesia and, generally, around the world. Hotel managements and security officers will be confronted with new challenges to beef up efficiently security. Indonesia must act swiftly to reassure travelers. The country seems until now to have been the only one in Southeast Asia to have escaped the economic slump. Tourist arrivals last year grew by an astonishing 16.8 percent, passing for the first time the six million cap at 6.42 million international arrivals. For the first half of 2009, preliminary figures point to 2.41 million international travelers, up by 1.7 percent over 2009.

Associated Press Southeast Asia's most wanted militant is said to be a masterful bomb-maker and aspiring regional commander for al-Qaida, who has eluded capture for nearly a decade. Malaysian Noordin Mohammad Top, classified by the US State Department as a terrorism financier since the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings, is believed to have struck again last week with twin suicide blasts at the Ritz-Carlton and J.W. Marriott hotels in Jakarta. ''Noordin is a smart and cunning terrorist,'' saidBrigadier Surya Dharma, former head of the Detachment 88 anti-terrorism unit. ''He wants to show that he deserves to be the commander of al-Qaida here in Southeast Asia.''

The Australian Photographs of a third bomb found in the Marriott, revealed yesterday, showed a laptop bag, lined with steel bolts, ready to accept explosives and other bomb parts. It is not clear whether that device was intended to be used in Friday's attack or was simply a macabre calling card left by Top. Police have also said that the third bomb, found in a ''control centre'' room occupied by the three men on the 18th floor at the Marriott, was ''identical'' to material found at a house in central Java last week recently visited by Top.

People's Daily Online Thailand's southern resort of Phuket expects to see the recovery of its tourism, which has been sluggish for the past months, following the relieving signal conveyed by the ongoing meetings of Asean, local tourism executives said. The famous resort island of Thailand has been suffering a sluggish trend of tourism for the past three or four months, as the whole kingdom sees its tourism industry going downward due to the global economic crisis, domestic political turmoil and the ongoing H1N1 flu pandemic.

Bangkok Post Mitsubishi Motors Thailand plans to rehire staff it laid off last year to prepare for an expected increase in production. ''There are signs of increased orders coming from abroad and at home,'' said president Nobuyuki Murahashi. Domestic sales of Mitsubishi cars, pick-up trucks and passenger pick-up vehicles increased markedly as did its vehicle exports. Mitsubishi Motors predicted local sales would reach 22,700 units this year, higher than 19,200 units reported in 2008.

AFP A Malaysian prince on Monday filed a $29.6 million defamation suit against his estranged model wife for alleging he sexually abused her. Tengku Temenggong Mohammad Fakhry, the prince of Kelantan state, filed the suit claiming both Manohara Odelia Pinot and her mother had made defamatory allegations about him, state media said. In May, Manohara says she slipped away from the prince's guards at a Singapore hotel and returned to her family in Indonesia with tales of abuse, rape and torture. The prince's lawyer said he would serve a writ on Manohara and her mother Daisy Fajarina, who are both in Indonesia.

asiaone.com Singapore will soon be home to Asia's largest ''six star'' columbarium, according to a Malaysian company which is investing $50 million to renovate an existing facility in Choa Chu Kang. The facility, Nirvana Memorial Singapore, will have space for up to 15,000 single-urn lots, spread across six suites, in the first phase of its development. On completion of the third and final phase in 2011, Nirvana Memorial will be able to accommodate as many as 40,000 niches. ''Six star'' columbaria feature comfortable facilities for visitors.


Phuket Rampage: Knife 'Held at Tourists' Throats'
Latest Police have arrested three men accused of a Phuket City rampage during which, security camera footage reveals, they held a knife to the throats of a tourist couple in a lift.
Phuket Rampage: Knife 'Held at Tourists' Throats'

Phuket 'Kill You' Rampage Wake-Up Call for Police
Crime Alarm Three men have terrified residents of a stylish upmarket apartment block in Phuket City, raising issues about police manpower and the pursuit of crimes involving expats.
Phuket 'Kill You' Rampage Wake-Up Call for Police

'Zig-Zag' Airport Scam: More Details Revealed
Latest A scam at Bangkok's international airport occurs more often than officials believe, the BBC reports after questioning police and an alleged ''middleman'' named Tony.
'Zig-Zag' Airport Scam: More Details Revealed

MediaWATCH: Can the Phuket Summit Deliver?
News Digest Foreign Ministers from 23 nations and representatives from four more are gathering on Phuket to deal with human rights, the Jakarta bombings, and Asia's key issues.
MediaWATCH: Can the Phuket Summit Deliver?

Aid Groups Alarmed at Isolation of Rohingyas
Latest Two aid groups are alarmed because they have been denied access to a group of Rohingya boat people for six months. One has died, raising concerns about survivors.
Aid Groups Alarmed at Isolation of Rohingyas

AseanWATCH: Media Tarnishes Phuket's Image
Update Red Shirts leave by bus for pandas, Governor pays for fuel; Phuket open for tourism as usual yet newspaper describes ''Asean lockdown''' in erroneous report about the island.
AseanWATCH: Media Tarnishes Phuket's Image

SOUND Phuket Opening Party: Photo Special
Updating Photo Special Bangkok hi so and Phuket so so met to enjoy a treat of an evening when SOUND Phuket opened its doors and the eyes and ears of hundreds of fans in Patong.
SOUND Phuket Opening Party: Photo Special

Tragic Riddle of Young Tourist's Death in Patong
Updating report A student nurse on holiday on Phuket has died leaving question marks about what caused her sudden demise. A grieving father is looking for answers.
Tragic Riddle of Young Tourist's Death in Patong

Patong Tourist Tells of Sharp Jellyfish Sting
Latest An Australian tourist has told of a marine sting that took place in the sea off Patong, raising concerns about safety as jellyfish numbers increase.
Patong Tourist Tells of Sharp Jellyfish Sting