THAI NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - MAY 1, 2007.

BANGKOK, May 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers:

BANGKOK POST:

- Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont admitted an information campaign by ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was a political problem, and will hire a US public relations firm for ,000 (1.9 million baht) a month to counter the Thaksin media juggernaut.

- Leading climate experts gathered in Bangkok on Monday with representatives of 119 countries for a five-day meeting to write recommendations for the United on policies and technologies needed to curb carbon emissions and slow global warming.

- Management of the SET-listed contractor Ch. Karnchang Plc (CK) yesterday pledged to pay a dividend by the third quarter this year to appease small shareholders upset with the dividend omission for 2006 despite healthy business growth.

- PTT Plc has called for an increase in the price of natural gas for vehicles (NGV) to 10 baht per kilogramme from 8.50 baht currently by the end of this year. A source at the Energy Ministry said the petroleum giant had submitted the proposal to the ministry, citing global increases in petroleum product prices.

- The economy slowed further in March due to persistent weakness in domestic demand, according to data released yesterday by the Bank of Thailand. The private consumption index shrank 1.4 per cent year-on-year in March, compared with a 0.2 per cent year-on-year increase in February, contributing to a 0.5 per cent contraction year-on-year in the first quarter.