3,000 Karens Flee Burma

The Thai army has reported that thousands of Karens are fleeing to Thailand because of fighting that started on June 3 in a village close to the Thai-Burma border. The refugees are mostly women and children who are looking for temporary shelter in Thailand. A total of 2,800 Karen have entered Thailand from eastern Burma. All of them were afraid of attacks from Burma soldiers and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA). The Karen National Union is Burma’s biggest rebel group and has been fighting for independence in the hills of eastern Burma for the last 60 years. The conflict is one of the world’s longest running insurgencies.

 

David Carradine Murdered like Bruce Lee?

David Carradine’s death has been the catalyst for much speculation and rumor since the "Kung Fu" star was found in a closet in a Bangkok hotel. A lot of it centers around the condition of the death scene and the photos taken of the 72-year-old actor’s hanging body, one of which was published in a Thailand tabloid. Carradine’s manager, Chuck Binder, suggests he was murdered. “For sure there was foul play. We definitely don’t believe it was a suicide. David was a great guy and a great client and a great friend.”

According to court documents David Carradine regularly begged ex-wife Marina Anderson to join him in bizarre kinky sex sessions throughout their marriage.

In the documents, she cites her refusal to agree to his demands for “deviant sexual behavior which was potentially deadly” as the reason for their split.

Thailand Is Over the ‘Worst’ as Spending Kicks In

Thailand’s economy is being helped by government spending after sliding into its first recession since the Asian financial crisis in the first quarter, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said.

“We are seeing some signs the worst is behind us,” Abhisit said at a seminar in Bangkok on Tuesday, adding that as much as 80 percent of a government stimulus program has been distributed.

The government in April began pumping cash into an economy that shrank 7.1 percent in the first quarter, giving handouts to the nation’s poorest after the global recession led to a collapse in exports. While gross domestic product isn’t likely to expand until the fourth quarter, the central bank has said there are signs the contraction is moderating.

Credit Suisse Bullish on Thailand

Investors should switch from Taiwan to Southeast Asian stocks as the region’s discount to North Asia is among the largest on record, Credit Suisse Group AG said.

Ratings for Thailand and the Philippines were raised to “overweight” from “underweight,” analysts Sakthi Siva and Kin Nang Chik wrote in a report today. Thai financial and energy companies and Philippine telephone companies were among the most undervalued, they said.

Southeast Asia is at a 142 percent discount to Taiwan, Credit Suisse said, citing its price-to-book versus return on equity model. That’s almost four times the average discount of 37 percent since the brokerage began tracking the data in December 2001. Equities in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are 17 percent cheaper than the rest of the region.