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

mcot.net Despite warnings by three major tourist-providing countries about the risk of civil unrest, tourism business on Phuket is booming with no hotel room cancellations, Somboon Jirayus, president of Phuket Tourist Association, said. Mr Somboon said hotel occupancy in Phuket is about 80 percent on average and is expected to drop to 70 percent in March.

straitstimes.com The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand was packed for a talk by government spokesman Dr Panitan Wattanayagorn, and a panel discussion. ''I don't even know if we can settle our differences,'' Dr Panitan said. Citing the street violence of recent years as well as violence in the south, he admitted that Thailand was currently not a "normal" society. ''I think we are at war, a different type of war,'' he said.

nationmultimedia.com Chang Noi writes: When you try to qualify democracy by rigging the rules, when you obstruct the freedom of information with too many repressive laws, when you allow politics to be enveloped by fear, then the fog rolls in, the mirrors change perceptions as in an illusionist's show, and darkness descends.
Smoke. Mirrors. Darkness. Fear. Fluff. Fantasy. Mystification. Fog. Folly.

bangkokpost.com The Immigration Bureau has launched a campaign to drive out hundreds of foreign criminals living in Thailand. Bureau commissioner Wuthi Liptapallop said: ''I don't want Thailand to be known as a place where foreign criminals hide and conduct illegal activities - but they do, especially in Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Koh Samui and Phuket,'' Police Lieutenant General Wuthi said. ''We want these and other places in Thailand to be tourist destinations, not places for foreign criminals and gangs.''

3news.co.nz A New Zealand expatriate and kung-fu master has found himself in trouble in Thailand. The Pattaya Daily News is reporting that Thai police arrested Robert McInnes on Friday after he was caught carrying firearms in public while dressed in full SWAT gear. Several automatic weapons and a large cache of ammunition were also found at Mr McInnes's condo.

pattayadailynews.com This bust is apparently in relation to the recently enacted police crackdown on foreign criminals, fugitives and illegal immigrants in Thailand. If this is the case we will be expecting to see a multitude of similar arrests made over the coming weeks.

afp Lufthansa pilots on Sunday were gearing up for a four-day strike over pay and job security that could ground two thirds of the German flag carrier's flights this week. More than 4000 pilots from the Cockpit union are planning to take part in the stoppage from Monday to Thursday, despite a last-minute call from the German government to restart talks with the management over a bid for a 6.4 percent pay rise. Around 800 Lufthansa flights a day will be cancelled.

theaustralian.com.au A tragedy at sunset at one of Queensland's most picturesque tourist spots has claimed the lives of three men. A group of half a dozen men in their early 20s arrived late on Saturday afternoon at the lighthouse area at Point Cartwright near Mooloolaba, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, a tourist spot on a cliff that drops 22m directly on to rocks. One man fell and two more followed. Police are attempting to determine what happened.

ft.com Several ambitious Phuket property projects have crashed or stalled, although you would hardly realise this from reading the local newspapers, for Phuket tradition dictates that failed projects fold in silence and without announcement. The current high season is also noticeably flat, which is unhelpful because many buyers start out as tourists. After what has been a dreadful year for house sales, however, properties have started selling again in Phuket and, according to its advocates, Phuket is once again signalling its place as the ''Saint-Tropez of Asia.''

smh.com.au The strong recovery in developing Asia conceals the anaemic performance of the developed countries of the North Atlantic. The contrast with most of the industrial countries could not be greater. Their recoveries are weak and heavily reliant on temporary factors, such as the rebuilding of inventories and government stimulus spending. It will be Asia, not the US, that acts as the locomotive pulling the world economy along.

afp Tiger Woods's mother lashed out at the media's portrayal of the golf superstar, saying her son had been treated like a criminal by the tabloid media. Kultida Woods was the first person Woods approached following his wrenching nationally televised apology on Friday, leaning forward to embrace her after his heartfelt statement to a select group of friends and journalists. Afterward Kultida Woods said she was proud of her son, and angrily slammed the media's coverage of the sex scandal.

bbc.co.uk A Briton has died following flash floods on the Portuguese island of Madeira, the Foreign Office has said. At least 40 people have been killed in the floods, and more than 120 others hurt - at least three of these British.

temasekreview.com There is much speculation about the number of foreigners working at the recently opened Resorts World Sentosa casino which does not seem to correlate with the reality. Only a few days ago, Singapore's octogenarian leader Lee Kuan Yew claimed that the two Integrated Resorts help to create job opportunities for Singaporeans, but the exact number of Singapore citizens being employed by them remain a mystery. Based on anecdotal accounts, it appears that a majority of its staff are non-Singaporeans, especially the card dealers.

asiaone.com A Singaporean man was arrested Saturday at Hat Yai railway station with 32 kilograms of "ice" worth 76.8 million baht Lok Chong Meng, 35, was nabbed riding the Bangkok-Butterworth express train with the crystal methamphetamine reportedly concealed in his luggage of eight wooden tea tables. A client was to pick it up and take it to Malaysia.

ukparentslounge.com Circumcision is on the rise in New South Wales, Australia, according to figures reported in the Sydney Morning Herald - from a rate of 13 percent of new baby boys in 1999 to 18 percent last year. Despite figures being lower than earlier decades, Sydney paediatrician Dr Anthony Dilley expects the rate to keep rising, even though circumcisions were banned in public hospitals in the state in 2006.

thesundayleader.lk Tourist arrivals have seen a steady increase over the past few months in Sri Lanka. Yet the absence of world-renowned hotel chains in the country may deal a setback to the leisure industry, according to the Tourist Hotels Association. The association is urging the Tourism Ministry to seriously start encouraging international hotel chains to invest in the country.



February 25-28 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'' as 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.