guardian.co.uk More than 200 people have been killed in shelling by Syrian forces in the city of Homs, according to activists, as the UN security council prepares to vote on a draft resolution backing an Arab call for President Bashar al-Assad to resign.

ft.com Panasonic warned it would suffer a $10.2bn full-year loss, the largest in its 94-year history, becoming the latest Japanese electronics group to succumb to the effects of a strong yen, supply problems in flood-hit Thailand and escalating restructuring costs.


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

guardian.co.uk Three British holidaymakers have died in an outbreak of legionnaires disease at a hotel in the Spanish resort of Calpe. The three unnamed Britons, aged between 73 and 78, were among more than 20 people to have contracted the disease at the Diamante Beach hotel.

mercurynews.com Solomon Kahn, who grew up in San Rafael and went on to become a high-profile disc jockey for the Golden State Warriors and San Francisco Giants, was killed in Bangkok, Thailand, when a taxi in which he was riding was struck from behind by a truck. He was 34. Kahn, of San Francisco, was on his first tour of Thailand, playing four dates in the country.

sfweekly.com According to a family friend, he was with his fiancee, Nicole Cronin, in a taxi when the vehicle stalled on a highway and was rear-ended. Kahn was fatally wounded. Cronin sustained several fractures, but is not in critical condition.

Phuket Update About 100 police at Patong's Kathu Police Station all passed a urine test for drugs this week. Police at all eight Phuket stations are to undergo tests. Officers were given notification the first time, but will not be told about future tests.

andrew-drummond.com Well I am sticking my neck out on this one. But I absolutely support Kanokrat Booth's fight for justice and her wish to defend herself in a British divorce court. Don't we play fair any more?

nationmultimedia.com With little time left to live and waiting to be sent home to spend her final days with her family, breast cancer patient Kung had what could be her last wish granted - she married the man she loves, Damien Messner, 46, an Australian truck driver and the father of two of her four children.

nationmultimedia.com Cancer is believed to be the No 1 killer in Thailand accounting for about 20 percent of deaths in the country every year. In 2010 alone, 58,076 people succumbed to the disease.

wsj.com US District Judge George Wu ruled the $1.8 million kickbacks case against Juthamas Siriwan, the former governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, and her daughter Jittsopa will not resume until July 30. The US government will renew an extradition request for the Siriwans.

nationmultimedia.com Some Thais still relate to the monarchy institution as if they lived under an absolute monarchy, leading them to become enraged when faced with people they think want to criticise the institution, said Thammasat University political scientist Kasian Techapeera.

scmp.com German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel has been denied a visit to a liberal Guangzhou-based newspaper's newsroom and prevented from meeting a prominent human rights lawyer in Beijing.

philstar.com Malaysian police has sent a special team to identify three militants killed by Philippine Air Force in a raid, Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said.



BISHOP Sven-Bernhard Fast from Visby is to join the congregation of Phuket's Swedish Church at a service at 11am on Sunday at Kata Beach Resort, with a social gathering afterwards at Hasse's Dee restaurant.

thejakartaglobe.com The first among a group of 95 Indonesian Christians to be deported from the US despite voicing fears of religious persecution at home are scheduled to return on February 29, the Foreign Ministry said.

independent.co.uk Burma has plenty to entice visitors - and with the travel boycott at an end, they are sure to arrive in numbers, says Simon Usborne.

ft.com Worldwide malaria deaths may be almost twice as high as previously estimated, according to a new study that has sharply divided scientists tackling one of the world's most deadly diseases.

nationmultimedia.com The number of dengue fever cases fell by more than a third last month in Thailand after last year's floods interrupted the breeding cycle of the mosquito that carries it, health officials said.

smh.com.au As Jakarta's population grows in wealth, 565 more cars and 3006 more motorbikes clog its roads every day. According to one official report, this city with a daytime population of 11 million is just nine years away from being gridlocked. When it rains and the roads flood, many areas are there already.

nzherald.co.uk Thailand will not allow sales of wine labelled "Napa" if the grapes aren't from that California region. The agreement, reached late last year, is part of a campaign for truth-in-wine-labelling laws supported by a loose-knit alliance of wine regions around the world.

nytimes.com In the last three years, a rash of wine bars and restaurants have opened in Bangkok that feature more than just name-brand labels and sell wines at less than stratospheric prices. Imbibing in the Thai capital has never been more accessible or more interesting.



dailymail.co.uk John Terry was stripped of the England captaincy for the second time and a number of team-mates believe he should not be picked by Fabio Capello while allegations of racism persist. The decision was taken by the 14 members of the FA board.

thetelegraph.com.au Australian Scott Hend has shot to the halfway lead at the Asian PGA's Burma Open with a one-shot advantage over Thailand's rising star Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

pattayamail.com Pattaya United secured fourth place in the 2011-12 Thai Premier League standings and the players received a welcome five million baht bonus after securing a hard fought 1-0 victory over Muangthong United.

dailymail.co.uk In patriotic red, white and blue, Games souvenirs are meant to showcase the best of British workmanship to mark the London Olympics. Unfortunately, a mere 9 per cent of the collection is actually made in Britain.

bangkokpost.com Thailand failed to progress to the World Group play-offs after losing 2-1 to Kazakhstan in the Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I in Shenzhen, China.



February 23-26 10th Thai International Travel Fair, Bangkok

February 24-25 Phuket Blues Festival, Laguna Phuket

March 29-April 1 Phuket International Boat Show, Royal Phuket Marina

April Opening of Gardens by the Bay, Singapore, three waterfront gardens that will dwarf Kew in London and provide ''green lungs'' for the city.

May 5 Krabi celebrates the province's 140th anniversary

May 26-June 5 National Youth Games, Phuket



November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket