bangkokpost.com Police are searching for clues to the identity of a gunman who fired bullets into four cars owned by the ASTV media group early Saturday morning. ASTV, which backs the yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy, was recently involved in a war of words with the army chief, Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha.

bbc.co.uk An Egyptian court has sentenced to death 21 defendants over clashes between rival football fans in which 74 people were killed last February.

smh.com.au Australia Day 2013 marks the first time that both the Australian and the Aboriginal flags have flown side by side on the Harbor Bridge on Australia Day.

bbc.co.uk At least 50 people have been killed in a prison riot in western Venezuela, hospital staff say. The riot was triggered when local media broadcast news that soldiers had been sent to Uribana prison in Barquisimeto to search for weapons, Prisons Minister Iris Varela said.

haaretz.com Egypt's armed forces deployed troops in the city of Suez after nine people were shot dead during nationwide protests against President Mohammed Morsi, underlining the country's deep divisions as it marked the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.


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

bangkokpost.com Thailand will shelter more than 1000 Rohingya for six months and seek talks with Burma (Myanmar) and other countries to settle the fate of the illegal migrants, Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said. The decision was reached amid growing calls for Thailand not to turn the migrants away. Talks are planned with the British ambassador as Burma was once a colony of Britain.

nzweek.com The unexpected influx of Rohingya Muslim immigrants from Myanmar's Rakhine state is now a big burden to the Thai government. The burden could become more worrisome if more Rohingyas flee their home, becoming ''boatpeople'' and heading for Thailand where their fellow Muslims have been given temporary lodging and food.

dvb.no Isolated from the economic hub of downtown Sittwe, Aung Mingalar is facing a growing humanitarian crisis. Food supplies are short and prices soaring; the only healthcare facility in the area is barred shut because there are no supplies. Despite fresh pledges of government and international aid, locals insist that the ongoing policy of segregation is a much bigger problem.

sunlive.co.nz A Mount Maunganui yachtie was killed off Phuket trying to avoid a collision with another vessel. Richard Spraggs, 59, hit his head when he fell off his yacht La Zingara in Chalong Bay, Phuket, on Friday morning.

nationmultimedia.com More than 500 employees of Bangkok Bank gathered in front of its headquarters on Silom Road to demand increases in bonus and other incentives.

bloomberg Apple surrendered the title of the world's most valuable company to Exxon Mobil after concern over slowing growth drove the shares to the biggest loss in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. Apple's 12-month reign as the No. 1 stock ended after the shares slumped 18 percent this year, worse than any other companies in the benchmark gauge for US equities.

pattayamail.com Letter: Yes, it is time to finish the jet-ski scam in Pattaya. It is a tradition overdue (I was scammed at Jomtien Beach in April 2000). You mentioned that Phuket has had mandatory insurance since 2009. The important question is: ''Did it put a stop to the scams in Phuket?''

voanews.com While Burma's military steps up battles against Kachin rebels along the border with China, security analysts say Beijing has been quietly selling advanced weapons to another insurgent group on its border, the United Wa State Army. The Wa are the largest militia in Burma and considered the biggest narcotics dealing organisation in Southeast Asia.

eurasiareview.com Reporters Without Borders said it is outraged by the 11-year jail sentence that a Bangkok criminal court passed on Voice of Thaksin magazine editor Somyot Prueksakasemsuk on lese-majeste charges for publishing two articles by another person in 2010 that were deemed to have defamed the king and the monarchy.

globaltvbc.com A class from Simon Fraser University travelling in Bali are the latest people to come across a potentially lethal problem that is ravaging Indonesia: methanol poisoning. The situation is so grave that Australia has issued a travel advisory. Bali, nearby Lombok and the Gili Islands have all recorded injuries and deaths.

bangkokpost.com The strong baht has helped steady the prices of overseas tour packages, which otherwise would have increased by at least 10 percent this year. Charoen Wangananont, the former president of the Thai Travel Agents Association, thinks tourism to Japan will benefit this year as a result.

travel.cnn.com Travelers looking for a luxury destination in Asia have a new option to add to their itineraries - Okinawa. Okinawa appears to have all the makings of a remarkable subtropical travel experience - clear waters, top-notch scuba diving, endless beach, UNESCO World Heritage sites and delicious local cuisine.

irrawaddy.com For yet unknown reasons, Burma excluded tennis, table tennis, badminton, gymnastics and field hockey from the 27th SEA Games, which will be held in Naypyidaw on Dec. 11 to 20. Member nations, such as Thailand and Singapore, will object to the decision at the SEA Games Federation Council Assembly on Sunday.



smh.com.au Andy Murray, no longer bearing the grand slam gorilla on his back, has also laid the Roger Federer bogey to rest and consequently will play his contemporary, the game's new benchmark Novak Djokovic, in a next generation Australian Open final.

afp China's Li Na will take on world number one Victoria Azarenka as she attempts to win her second Grand Slam trophy in the Australian Open women's final on Saturday.



January 30-February 2 Bay Regatta, Phuket Phang Nga Krabi

October 5-13 Phuket Vegetarian Festival



November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket