bangkokp[ost.com Ten people were killed and 24 others injured when an interprovincial passenger bus travelling from Bangkok to Si Sa Ket crashed head-on with an 18-wheel truck in Surin???s Sangkha district.

canada.com Thai authorities have laid criminal charges against two Iranian suspects accused of involvement in a string of blasts. "Their plan was to attach bombs to diplomats' cars," said an intelligence officer.

cnngo.com The US and the United Kingdom are among several countries urging citizens to be cautious if visiting Bangkok due to a series of bombings.

nytimes.com Speculation about an Israeli strike against Iranian nuclear facilities is rife, but there is little discussion about whether diplomacy can still succeed, precluding the need for military action.

tmz.com Whitney Houston's former husband, Bobby Brown, is ''extremely disappointed'' after hearing that several members of the dead singer's family do not want him to attend her funeral, sources tell TMZ.


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

reuters An Iranian man was seriously wounded in Bangkok when a bomb he was carrying exploded and blew one of his legs off in an incident Israel said was an attempted terrorist attack by Iran. ''The attempted terrorist attack in Bangkok proves once again that Iran and its proxies continue to perpetrate terror,'' Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on a visit to Singapore.

bangkokpost.com The bombs that exploded in a busy Bangkok street were intended for ''foreign nationals'' in Thailand, national police chief Priewpan Damapong said.

ft.com Yingluck Shinawatra, Thai prime minister, said it was too early to assume terrorists were to blame for Bangkok explosions.

Associated Press Israel's Channel 10 TV quoted unidentified Thai authorities as saying the captured Iranians confessed to targeting Israeli interests. The site of the blast is just a few miles from the Israeli Embassy.

nytimes.com Witnesses said three men, all of whom appeared to be foreigners, fled a house in the Sukhumvit neighborhood of Bangkok after an explosion in the early afternoon tore off the roof of a house. One was later detained at the city's main international airport.

bangkokpost.com A passport found at one of the blast sites identified the severely injured man at the scene as Saeid Moradi, 28, from Iran. The suspect reportedly threw a grenade at a taxi in Pridi Bhanomyong Soi 31 after a taxi driver failed to stop to take him.

nationmultimedia.com A report in the Thai-language Manager website said the suspect tried to slit his own throat with a sharp piece of glass, but was stopped by police. Doctors at Chulalongkorn Hospital said the suspect had lost his right leg and sustained injuries to an eye and abdomen. They have also had to amputate his left leg.

Associated Press Authorities are trying to trace Moradi's movements, but initial reports indicated he arrived in Thailand from Seoul, South Korea on February 8. He landed at the southern resort of Phuket, then stayed for several nights in a hotel in Chonburi, a couple hours drive southeast of Bangkok, for several nights.

bangkokpost.com Phuket will be promoted as a high-end Mice destination for Oceania, said Akapol Sorasuchart, president of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau. ''We designed Phuket as a flagship destination and selected seven points of focus. The Seven Wonders of the Andaman Mice City campaign showcases the strength and diversity of the southern provinces," said Mr Akapol. The wonders include the Phuket International Conventional and Exhibition Centre at Mai Khao beach, in Thalang district, which can accommodate up to 4000 participants. [Ed: Er, not just yet it can't. It hasn't been built.]

nationmultimedia.com Burma will introduce an electronic visa application system next month to facilitate visits to the once isolated state, news reports said last week. The e-visa system will be available from March and would allow international visitors to apply for a visa from anywhere via the Internet before visiting Burma.

huffingtonpost.com Chemical war? In Thailand? Don't worry; it's just a drill. US and Thai forces held joint exercises simulating a chemical attack 80 miles east of Thailand's capital Bangkok.

bangkokpost.com Southeast Asia will be the Asia-Pacific region to lead growth in global demand for new aircraft over the next two decades, says the US plane maker Boeing.

nationmultimedia.com There has been a lot of interest lately in Marriott's Courtyard hotels in Patong on Phuket and in Cha-am, which are up for sale. Bidders are from a wide geographical area. The 390-room Patong hotel in particular has attracted strong local and international interest.

nytimes.com Nearly a week after an Islamist mob stormed into the Maldives National Museum and destroyed almost 30 Buddhist statues - some dating to the 6th century - the broken glass has been swept away and the remnants have been locked up.

ft.com Insurance losses arising from the flooding that devastated Thailand are on track to surpass those from the tsunami that struck Japan last year to become the third highest Lloyd's of London has endured since it began three centuries ago. The disaster forced many important car and electronics factories to cease production.

yorkshirepost.co.uk Hollywood actor Sean Penn has weighed into the Falklands dispute amid growing tension between the UK and Argentina, saying: ''I think that the world today is not going to tolerate any kind of ludicrous and archaic commitment to colonialist ideology.''

aap Gabe Watson is a liar who murdered his wife Tina Thomas on their Queensland honeymoon dive trip to pocket $US165,000 in insurance payments and benefits, a prosecutor alleged in his opening statement to a US jury.

telegraph.co.uk A ceremony on the immaculate lawns of Kranji war memorial in Singapore on Wednesday will remember how 80,000 British and Empire soldiers were marched into captivity after surrendering to a Japanese force of less than 30,000 men 70 years ago. As many as 50,000 Chinese in Singapore were massacred by Japanese soldiers after the surrender.

asiancorrespondent.com Indonesia's ballooning number of road accidents is taking a toll on the country, with the lack of traffic law enforcement being blamed as the main culprit. Asian Development Bank reported that some 48,000 people were killed in 2010.



telegraph.co.uk Rangers administration creates 'shock waves' in football world: Scottish Premier League champions Rangers effectively surrendered the league title to Glasgow rivals Celtic as they fight for their future after being put into administration.

guardian.co.uk Rangers had been deducted 10 points, leaving them 14 points adrift of Celtic and effectively forcing them to concede the championship.

sail-world.com The First Pattaya International Multihull Festival was an outstanding success. Sixty craft from 16 countries, as far apart as Aruba to Australia, Netherlands to New Zealand came to join a large Thai contingent for a week of fierce, competitive racing at the Royal Varuna Yacht Club in South Pattaya.



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