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

smh.com Authorities have detained a suspected financier of the terrorist bombings of two Jakarta hotels 10 days ago. A swoop on a home in the Indonesian city of Makassar uncovered what police said were fake identification cards, passports and evidence of a lucrative bank fraud operation. The raid in South Sulawesi came after locals told police of a suspicious man who frequented a radical mosque and an internet cafe, later identified as Taufin Haji, alias Mustofa Akbar. The Jakarta Post said the passports showed its holder had travelled to Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.

Jakarta Post Editorial While many Malaysians have expressed concern regarding the presence of hundreds of thousands of illegal Indonesian workers in their country, we can be sure there is at least one Malaysian citizen living illegally in Indonesia. This man, Noordin, has not just has killed many innocent victims and ruined the country's economy, but has also damaged world peace. Hopefully our Malaysian neighbors will not become angry if an Indonesian asks: ''Who is more dangerous: illegal Indonesian workers or terrorist Noordin M. Top?''


The Nation Thaksin Shinawatra has shown his opponents that his support in Thailand remains strong. This can also go a long way to repairing the international damage to his reputation from the Songkran events. Thaksin over the past few days has tried to repaint himself as a peaceful man and erase the image of the belligerent one whose rabblerousing helped shove the country to the brink of bloodshed in April. Latest polling gave him a narrow edge in popularity against the Prime Minister for the first time in months.

Bangkok Post when times are bad, people cut back spending in favor of a classic, cheap Thai comfort food: instant noodles. The Treasury Department, however, prefers a different measure of consumer confidence. Officials report an increase in 10-baht coins in the market, signifying that people are breaking into their piggy banks and small savings in search of money for everyday spending. Coin exchanges for banknotes have nearly doubled in recent months, with 7-8 million coins returned to the Treasury Department per month compared with 3-4 million in more ordinary economic times.

Reuters At least 160 Britons are being held in quarantine abroad, suspected of having the H1N1 flu virus, the Foreign Office says. The Britons, a mixture of adults and children, are being held in China, Singapore, India and Egypt. The actual number could be higher because some Britons are likely to be held in quarantine without getting in touch with the Foreign Office, it said. Most are being held in their hotels or schools. The bulk of people have been quarantined in China and Singapore. Ten have been quarantined in India and five in Egypt.

boston.com An editorial had this to say about Hillary Clinton on tour: ''Her public blunders on Burma and North Korea may be less consequential, but they too required backtracking by her entourage. She was in effect making new policy on her own when she declared in Thailand that US investment sanctions on Burma - which President Obama recently renewed - would be lifted if the ruling junta released Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. She also had to retract her call for Asean to expel Burma if the junta does not change its thuggish ways. And she made a dangerous situation worse when she referred to North Korea's leaders as ''unruly teenagers.''

travelbizmonitor.com Eighteen of the best hotels in the region are in the running for the title of Asia's Leading Hotel in the World Travel Awards 2009, to be announced in November. They are: Amanpuri, Phuket; Conrad, Bangkok; Four Seasons, Tokyo; Hilton, Kuala Lumpur; JW Marriott, Phuket; Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong; Raffles, Singapore; Shangri-la, Beijing; The Datai, Langkawi; The Imperial, New Delhi; The Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok; The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur; The Oberoi, Udaipur; The Peninsula Palace Beijing; The Peninsula, Tokyo; The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai; Trident Hilton, Gurgaon. The World Travel Awards 2009 has received nominations of more than 900 Asian travel companies, destinations, hotels, resorts and airlines.

thestar.com.my The new Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act means people boarding a flight to Malaysia from China, Nepal, India, Indonesia, Thailand or other South-East Asian countries, could be handed a multi-lingual pamphlet asking: ''Are you being trafficked?'' The pamphlet in 10 languages has a brief checklist meant for those coming to Malaysia for work. An emergency hotline number is included, part of efforts to get those heading for Malaysia to be better prepared in a worst-case scenario. Unesco estimates that there are 250,000 sex workers in Malaysia. NGO director Irene Fernandez who works extensively with trafficked victims and in rescuing them believes most of the sex workers are forced.

travel.asiaone.com Impressive traffic growth that has come with the liberalisation of the Singapore-Malaysia air sector, demonstrating the potential for a similar outcome throughout Asean, says Singapore's Transport Ministry. Following eight years of decline, traffic on the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route grew 12 per cent last year, compared to the year before. In December 2008 , one month after low-cost carriers started flying between Singapore and East Malaysia, air traffic between Singapore and Kuching doubled, compared to the same month in 2007.

chron.com Loren Steffy writes: ''Somewhere in Washington, there's probably a bucket with some airlines' names on it. After all, taxpayers have bailed out banks, insurance companies, automakers, Wall Street and mortgage lenders. Can America's foremost frequent failers be far behind? The second quarter is supposed to be the highlight of the airlines' year, the period when planes are stuffed with leisure travelers and travel demand is at its peak. This year, though, the recession, the swine flu scare and rising fuel prices have hammered results.''

thetimes.co.za Stanley Stewart writes: ''They were islands a child might draw, islands from a storybook, steep sugar-loaf islands, beautiful and bizarre. Flotillas of these weird islands were scattered across the pistachio-green seas of Phang Nga Bay in southern Thailand. If Eden had an ocean, one guidebook swoons, it would look like this. This was a seascape made for Chinese junks and scimitar-bladed pirates, for sea gypsies and Bond villains.''

thaindian.com Internet users in Asia and the US should start experiencing higher data throughput when the new Asia-America Gateway comes into operation next month. Constructed at a cost of more than $US550 million, the 20,000km optic cable is one of the longest rollouts in history, beginning in Malaysia and having landing points in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Guam and Hawaii, with branches to Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and Vietnam. The new cable has been funded by AiTi of Brunei Darussalam, CAT Telecom (Thailand), PLDT (Philippines), REACH (Hong Kong), StarHub (Singapore), Telekom Malaysia (Malaysia) and VNPT (Vietnam).


Phuket Seen As Threat to Remote Island Tribes
Latest Phuket could be the jumping off point for journeys to a remote Andaman island that are said to threaten an isolated tribe. The fate of the Jarawa people has become an international concern.
Phuket Seen As Threat to Remote Island Tribes

More Police Needed: Grateful Phuket Governor
Latest Phuket deserves credit for a ''wonderful'' Asean week, with the prospect of more in October, the island's governor says. But more regular police are definitely needed.
More Police Needed: Grateful Phuket Governor

China Invasion of Phuket Begins: Photo Special
Photo Special The first of 105 new flights from China arrived on Phuket last night, with others from Korea and Spain set to follow. It's a sign that the island is beating difficult conditions.
China Invasion of Phuket Begins: Photo Special

Phuket Red-Shirts Mark Thaksin's 60th Birthday
Latest He's the fugitive in a private jet, the former PM with a golden past that no longer glitters. And today, Phuket supporters could not quite muster 60 people to celebrate a Thaksin birthday.
Phuket Red-Shirts Mark Thaksin's 60th Birthday

Phuket's Giant Turtle Wins His Freedom
Latest A giant turtle, treated on Phuket after suffering a wound at the hands of illegal fishermen, has recovered and been freed. A microchip will track his movements.
Phuket's Giant Turtle Wins His Freedom

Phuket Surfer Riding High at Surin: Photo Special
Photo Special Phuket beaches grow more turbulent in Summer but at one of them, Surin, an American surfer is offering a commonsense recipe for survival and fun in the sea.
Phuket Surfer Riding High at Surin: Photo Special

Airport Scam: Duty Free Store Declares Innocence
Latest The duty free firm named in Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi scam declares its innocence as the airport, a transit stop for many passengers to Phuket, prepares for a crackdown.
Airport Scam: Duty Free Store Declares Innocence

Phuket Flower Fair to August 2: Photo Special
Photo Special Huge crowds flocked to the Phuket Flower Fair on opening night. Green folding cash may be in short supply but the currency of horticulturalists is holding its value.
Phuket Flower Fair to August 2: Photo Special