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


abc.net.au Indonesian investigators are turning their attention to the possibility that support for last Friday's suicide bombings of two Jakarta hotels came from overseas. Indonesia's anti-terrorism chief Ansyad Mbai has been reported saying that links between the attacks and funding from overseas - possibly channelled along people-smuggling routes via Pakistan, Thailand and Malaysia - are being investigated because that was how the Marriott Hotel attack of 2003 and the first Bali bombing were financed. Former anti-terrorism chief Surya Dharma says he suspects Al Qaeda links to these latest attacks, which he thinks were certainly done with help from people working inside the hotels.

Bangkok PostTransport Minister Sohpon Zarun has ordered Airports of Thailand to step up measures at Suvarnabhumi and other airports to prevent extortion scams.
He said all embassies will be informed that if their citizens encounter this problem, they should file a complaint with the Transport Ministry. One British couple's claim will also be investigated and legal action will be taken against those found to have been involved in the scam, he said.

bernama.com Thailand has registered 44 deaths related to H1N1 since the virus was first detected here more than two months ago. The Public Health Ministry said 20 more people died in the past week while the number of cases also rose to 6776, with 35 patients still remaining in hospitals. This was the first statement made by the ministry a week after the Thai government decided to stop daily updates on the number of deaths and confirmed cases.

Associated Press US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to tell North Korea that it can avoid ''unrelenting'' sanctions and win normalised relations by completely scrapping its nuclear program. Officials said Clinton intends to announce Thursday that if North Korea takes irreversible steps to denuclearise, then the US and its negotiating partners would be willing to reciprocate in a ''comprehensive and coordinated fashion.'' ''Full normalisation of relations, a permanent peace regime, and significant energy and economic assistance are all possible in the context of full and verifiable denuclearisation,'' Clinton says in excerpts of prepared remarks released by her staff.

AFP US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday urged Myanmar to free democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, saying such a move could pave the way for investments from the US. ''If she were released that would open up opportunities at least for my country to expand our relationship with Burma, including investments in Burma,'' she said, referring to Myanmar by its former name. Speaking after meetings in Phuket on the eve of Asia's biggest annual security forum, she said such opportunities were ''up to the Burmese leadership''.

yonhapnews.co.kr US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that she will not meet this week with North Korean officials on the sidelines of a regional security forum in Phuket, instead urging North Korea to return to the six-party talks on ending its nuclear programs. ''We really don't have any intention of talking to them, at least I don't, because what we are interested in is North Korea coming back to the table and continuing the negotiation that will lead to a denuclearised Korean Peninsula,'' Clinton said in an interview with the Fox News.

hindu.com For the first time, Sri Lanka has set a six-month timeline for rehabilitating Tamils displaced by the conflict between its armed forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Asked in Phuket when the time limit for resettling the internally displaced persons began, Minister for Foreign Affairs Rohitha Bogollagama said he wanted the global community to appreciate that the war had ended less than two months back.

timesonline.co.uk Tens of thousands of people, from renowned astrophysicists to farmers, descended on a muddy Indian village to watch the best solar eclipse of the 21st century from what was predicted to be one of the finest vantage points on the planet. There was only one problem: when the key moment came, it was cloudy. The luxuriously thick monsoon cloud cover that had formed over Taregna in northern India overnight obscured any view of the heavens from the moment ''first contact'' was made between the Moon's shadow and the Sun to the point of totality - when the Sun was completely obscured and the sky turned black.

ew.comA search conducted on the Houston office of Michael Jackson's doctor ended with federal agents seizing a forensic image of a computer's hard drive and 21 documents, reports the New York Times. Officers entered the Armstrong Medical Clinic in North Houston to search the offices of Jackson's physician, Dr Conrad Murray. As onlookers and news helicopters hovered, they loaded bags of confiscated evidence into police cars.

journaltimes.com The young Pakistani gunman who confessed to his role in the Mumbai attacks on a train station and luxury hotels says he would rather be hanged in this world than face ''God's punishment'' in the next. The Indian court trying Ajmal Kasab has yet to accept his confession and guilty plea for taking part in one of the worst terrorist attacks in Indian history, three days of carnage in November that left 166 people dead.

traveldailynews.com The US is the eighth top source of visitor arrivals to Thailand. In 2008, visitor arrivals from the US totaled 602,680, a fall of 3.36 percent caused mainly by the global economic crisis and the 10-day closure of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport in September 2008. In January-April 2009, US visitor arrivals totaled 214,610, a decline of 15.86 percent. In 2007, US visitors had an average length of stay of 14 days per person per visit, well above the nine-day average of all visitors to Thailand. They also enjoy spending money in Thailand, with an average daily expenditure of over $135, generated 1.1 billion for tourism income.


Phuket, Not to Be Eclipsed, Says 'Hello Hillary'
Take the Tour Inside Hillary Clinton's Resort Cloud earlier covered the eclipse of the sun, But Phuket finally got something special. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives.
Phuket, Not to Be Eclipsed, Says 'Hello Hillary'

Patong Gunfight: Police Warn of Killers On The Run
Murder Alert The gang that shot four men today, killing one, are on the run on Phuket and dangerous. Police tonight warned people to stay clear of the fugitive gang, and named the victims.
Patong Gunfight: Police Warn of Killers On The Run

Patong Gunfight: One Dead, Three Wounded
Updating Report A shootout in Patong has left one man dead and three injured this afternoon. Bystanders said it was a like the Phuket version of a scene from the wild west.
Patong Gunfight: One Dead, Three Wounded

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'


AseanWATCH: Clinton Show Rolling on to Phuket
Latest Human rights will be high on Hillary Clinton's list as the arrest of five Malaysian Immigration officers provides topicality. Phuket gives her a chance to impress the critics.
AseanWATCH: Clinton Show Rolling on to Phuket

MediaWATCH: Woman Faces Flogging for a Beer
News Digest Malaysia to flog woman for drinking a beer; H1N1 surge tipped; Phuket will host Asean summit in October; US is back, says Clinton; Indonesia warns Burma on rights
MediaWATCH: Woman Faces Flogging for a Beer