bangkokpost.com The Immigration Bureau chief says abuse of tourist visas by South Koreans, Russians and Vietnamese working illegally in Thailand is the main motivation for cracking down on cross-border visa runs.
http://bangkokpost.com/news/security/410342/border-insecurity-mounts-as-tourist-visa-abuse-is-targeted/

cnn.com China has evacuated more than 3000 citizens from Vietnam and is sending ships to retrieve more after deadly anti-Chinese violence erupted in a territorial dispute.

reuters West African leaders meeting in Paris agreed to work together to wage ''total war'' on Boko Haram saying the Nigerian Islamist group had become a regional al Qaeda that threatened all of them.

heraldscotland.com Emergency services pulled seven bodies from flooded homes in Bosnia and soldiers rushed to free hundreds of people stranded in a school in Serbia during the worst floods to hit the Balkans in more than a century.


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



firstpost.com Anti-government protesters in Thailand are to stage mass rallies in coming days to try to get a new Prime Minister installed, but leader Suthep Thaugsuban said if this final push in a six-month fight did not succeed, he would surrender to authorities on May 27.

bangkokpost.com Chairman Jatuporn Prompan ordered the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) to mobilise members for a bigger rally to start on Tuesday and to peak on May 27. The date coincides with the latest ''final'' deadline set by Suthep Thaugsuban, the leader of the People's Democratic Reform Committee.

nationmultimedia.com Acting Prime Minister Niwattum-rong Boonsongpaisan will meet with the Senate tomorrow to discuss ways to break the political impasse but has insisted that any solution must be constitutional and any move to appoint a new prime minister cannot be done unless it is legal.



Phuket UpdateLower case makes a comeback with the opening of the 390-room dusitD2 phuket resort in Patong, formerly the Destination Resort and before that a Courtyard by Marriott. The resort has the Hard Rock Cafe as a neighbor and from May 31 the first Hooters in Thailand will join the pair. Kelly Lewis, until recently GM of the Indigo Pearl Resort at Nai Yang, has been signed to give the resort pizzazz.

smh.com.au The first book about the loss of flight MH370 will go on sale on Monday with a theory about what might have happened. 'Flight MH370 The Mystery,' to some extent supports the theory that the aircraft may have been accidentally shot down during a joint Thai-US military exercise in the South China Sea.

Phuket Update A protest by Malaysian drivers is being blamed for visa run vans from Phuket being prevented from proceeding to Penang for more than a week now. Visa runners are being ferried on from the border in Malaysian vehicles, according to reports. It's yet another problem for besieged Phuket visa run companies, amid a crackdown.

Phang Nga Update More than140 Laguna Phuket staff volunteers led by Prae Sunantaraks, Director of Community Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility, together with Baan Tappla villagers and school students, and representatives of Marine and Coastal Resources planted 4500 mangrove saplings at Baan Tappla, Phang Nga. It's part of an annual Laguna tree planting.

wsj.com Western powers are pressing the UN to designate Boko Haram a terrorist organisation as early as next week, senior US officials said, to turn up pressure on the insurgent group behind the kidnapping of hundreds of school girls in Nigeria.

dailymail.co.uk The fossilized bones of the biggest dinosaur ever discovered have been found in Argentina. Scientists believe the species of titanosaur weighed in at 170,000 pounds, as heavy as 14 African elephants.

bangkokpost.com This week the common traffic cone (gruay) has achieved something of a celebrity status following an alleged over-reaction by guards attached to the anti-government protesters. Motorists who had the temerity to move or knock over the cones have been seriously assaulted. This led to the cones being referred to as ''Holy Gruay'' in the social media, as they are apparently untouchable.

Bangkok Pundit While Thaksin's popularity has gone up and down over the years, the essential problem is that he and the party which he is de facto leader of are still popular enough that the Democrats cannot win. This has been the case for more than 10 years and shows no sign of going away to a significant level that the results will change.

thephuketinsider.com In the search for new tourism niche twists the latest offering from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is Honeyteering. Yes that's right, you can honeymoon with a conscience.

Phuket Update A woman living on Phuket who says she specialises in stealing sunscreen bottles to sell on to traders was identified from security camera footage and nabbed by Patong police with 20 bottles of lotion. Dawreung Budda, 31, faces more heat in court soon.

independent.co.uk Unwinding in the pub on a Friday night could be wrecking your health - just four glasses of wine is enough to cause lasting damage, scientist have found.



dvb.no An investigation by DVB Multimedia Group into alleged malpractices within the Burmese judicial system exposes how court procedures are manipulated using false evidence and documents. Many people in Burma have been vociferous in complaining about rampant corruption within the government and the bureaucracy. Transparency International ranks Burma in its annual index as 157th out of 177 countries in levels of corruption.

nationmultimedia.com Washington has penalised Thein Sein's government for not doing enough to stop violence against minorities; the rest of the international community must break its silence and follow suit. Nobody said the road of democratic reform would be smooth and direct for Burma (Myanmar), whose latest bitter setback came with the US extending economic sanctions against the country for another year.

nytimes.com Two major figures in the security apparatus of the authoritarian Laotian government were among those killed in a plane crash in Laos: the deputy prime minister, Douangchay Phichit, and Thongbane Sengaphone, the minister of public security, according to two Lao diplomats.

dw.de Laos has had 30 fatal air accidents since the 1950s, according to the Aviation Safety Network. In October last year, a civilian airplane operated by Lao Airlines plunged into the Mekong River in bad weather, killing all 49 people on board.

scmp.com The row between China and Vietnam over oil drilling in the South China Sea has cast a shadow on Chinese investment in the country and threatens regional trade.

thediplomat.com Enthusiasm for ASEAN, and in particular the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) at the end of 2015, has been waning, particularly among heavyweight members like Indonesia. This lack of interest in ASEAN affairs, and a willfully blind attitude to the more weighty issues of state, could not have come at a worse time.



bbc.co.uk Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admits he feels ''a big relief'' after winning his first trophy since 2005 by beating Hull 3-2 in extra-time in the FA Cup final at Wembley. Wenger had to watch his Gunners side go 2-0 down to Hull when James Chester and Curtis Davies scored inside the first eight minutes.

telegraph.co.uk Against all the odds and despite suffering a series of setbacks, Atletico Madrid clinched their first La Liga title since 1996, battling back to draw with Barcelona and celebrate this most unlikely of triumphs.

travel.aol.co.uk Researchers have developed an ''early warning system'' to alert authorities of a dengue outbreak in three of the 12 World Cup host cities in Brazil. In an analysis published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, scientists say the risk is high enough to warrant a high-alert warning in Natal, Fortaleza and Recife.



July 11 Arsanha Bucha Day

July 16-20 Phuket Race Week yachting, Cape Panwa

August 12 Queen's Birthday

September 24-October 2 Vegetarian Festival, Phuket

October 23 Chulalongkorn Memorial Day

November 6 Loy Kratong

November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket

December 5 King's Birthday

December 10 Constitution Day

December 25 Christmas Day

December 26 10th Anniversary, 2004 Tsunami

December 31 New Year's Eve