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Finance minister gets his figures muddled

The idea of devaluing the baht to boost the economy will not solve deeper-rooted problems

• SIDELINES

  Somchai: The squeaky mouse that tried to roar

  PRIME Minister Somchai Wongsawat deserves a thumbs-up from his supporters - who are mostly self-serving politicians now casting a yearning look at fat government budgets - for resisting pressure from the top brass for him to resign.

• The Philippines and Thailand: Parallel southern unrest

  LIFE goes on in the Mindanao city of Cotabato one day after the Philippines' Supreme Court ruled that a land agreement between the Manila government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) separatist group was illegal. The court ruled by 8-7 to shoot down the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD), which would otherwise have laid down a foundation for the creation of an autonomous region in Mindanao, where roughly half the population are Muslim in this predominately Catholic country.

• China looks to Africa, Africa seems to like the attention

  THE first sign I saw after the plane touched down at Sereste Khama International Airport in Gabrone, Botswana was "Zhongguo Suidian" or "SinoHydro", right at the end of the tarmac. For the next three days, in one of the richest countries on the African continent, I would encounter dozens of Chinese experts, businessmen and traders. And seven Chinese restaurants.