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

bangkokpost Prosecutors are investigating the deaths of three Burmese, including two children aged two and four, shot dead when a pick-up was sprayed with bullets by Thai soldiers in Ranong on Thursday. Five more were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds. Three were in serious condition. It's understood the tray of the pick-up was covered, and the soldiers may have not known there were people lying in the back when they opened fire. The driver of the pick-up who was uninjured, said he had been paid 500 baht to smuggle the Burmese.

reliefweb.int The killings occurred when the security forces tried to stop a car carrying 15 Burmese at a checkpoint in Ranong Province In January, nine Burmese people were found shot dead in Phop Phra district in Thailand. The victims were identified as illegal Burmese migrants and a Thailand police officer found to be involved in the killings later committed suicide, according to a Provincial Police Bureau chief.

mcotnet.com King Bhumibol Adulyadej returned to Siriraj Hospital early Sunday after a brief visit to his home at Chitrlada Palace. The king left Siriraj Hospital Saturday night for the first time after being admitted for treatment of a lung inflammation on September 19 last year. Wearing a pink shirt, the monarch sat in a wheelchair with his pet dog at his side on Saturday night. His van arrived at the palace, passing rows of his subjects, sitting along the way, shouting encouragement by voicing ''Long Live the King''.

Phuketwan Update A Russian tourist visiting Phuket, Tetenin Alexanden, 30, told Kathu police on Friday that he had lost his wallet containing 5500 baht and credit cards. There was no need for concern. Honest tuk-tuk driver Seree Yordtung,48, found the wallet on the ground at Jungceylon shopping mall in Patong and handed it in.

aljazeera.net Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay, reporting from Bangkok, said that there was no course for former PM Thaksin Shinawatra or others in his family to appeal against the Supreme Court verdict divesting them of 46 billion baht. ''This is the final court in Thailand, the supreme court,'' he said. ''There was talk that he would go to an international court, but it has been found that he has no right to do that because he does not have the support of the state of Thailand.''

timesonline.co.uk Using fossil fuel in vehicles is better for the environment than so-called green fuels made from crops, according to a government study seen by The Times. The findings show that the British Department for Transport's target for raising the level of biofuel in all fuel sold in Britain will result in millions of acres of forest being logged or burnt down and converted to plantations.

bbc.co.uk Chile has begun to count the cost of its deadly 8.8 magnitude earthquake as nations around the Pacific eased their fears of a devastating tsunami. The quake killed at least 300 people, most in their homes. The death toll looks set to rise, following reports that about 350 people died in the town of Constitucion alone.

cnn.com Moments after Saturday morning's earthquake in Chile, the Internet and its social networks came alive with earthquake and tsunami information. Twitter users following #Chile and #tsunami directed one another to media and government sites with helpful information and guidance, as well as the usual rumors, lies and folklore.

abc.net.au At least 50 people have been killed in violent storms that have caused chaos in Europe. Most were killed in France, but Spain, Germany and Portugal have all recorded fatalities. Packing winds just under 150 kilometres an hour, the intense low caused havoc in many countries.

smh.com.au More than 5000 people have gathered in front of the Sydney Opera House to be photographed nude in the name of art and diversity today. A pregnant woman was among the first group of Australians to take their place on the steps of the Opera House just after dawn in photographer Spencer Tunick's latest installation, 'Mardi Gras: The Base.'

todayonline.com Disaster or not, there is no stopping Singaporeans from going for holidays overseas. Agencies were boosted by a new $63 million sales record at the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (Natas) travel fair this year, despite a lower turnout. And travel agents say many are going ahead with trips to South America and Thailand, despite natural disasters and the possibility of political strife, respectively.

wsj.com Singapore's government took unprecedented actions to shield its economy from the 2008 financial crisis, even tapping its foreign-exchange reserves for the first time in its history. Yet GDP still fell 10 percent from peak to trough. The experience unfortunately seems to have reinforced policy makers' conviction that government needs to play a bigger role in the economy.

i4u.com A routine audit of Apple's contractors across the world have found three facilities that employed underage workers, a practice that the electronics company strictly does not condone. Eleven employees hired at its overseas partners were under their country's respective legal working age, some as young as 15. However, at the time the audit was conducted, all 11 had either become old enough to legally work, or were no longer hired.

khaleejtimes.com Emirates Airline has launched an internal investigation and is cooperating with Thai authorities after more than two tonnes of ivory worth $3.6 million was seized at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok on Sunday. The consignment was destined for Laos. An Emirates spokesperson confirmed that the airline shipped the consignment in question from Nairobi to Bangkok as ''telecom equipment''.

Associated Press Officials say Somalia pirates have released a Greek-owned cargo ship and its 19-member crew after holding them for two months. The ship was seized off the Seychelles and had been headed to Thailand. Piracy is one of the few ways to make money in Somalia which is torn apart by civil war.

smh.com.au Simon Webster writes: Digital dumping is on the rise, with people increasingly using emails, text messages and social networking websites to split up with their partners, Reuters reported last week. Few people dump in person any more. With all the emailing, texting and online social networking that modern life entails, who's got the time?

thanhniennews.com About 80 percent of international tourists included beaches in their tours in Vietnam. More than 70 percent of the country's tourist hotspots are located near the coast. But many experts said that tourism investments along the coast have not been properly implemented as companies rush to block beaches with resorts and pollute the environment.Poor management was also threatening the beaches with pollution.

bbc.co.uk The Sri Lankan government says that it is concerned about the welfare of sea turtles which live and breed on the island's southern coastline. The authorities say turtle hatcheries are operating there which contravene conservation laws and that they will prosecute those people involved. Watching adult and newly-hatched turtles is also popular with tourists. That seems to be contributing to the problems.

afp Superstar Sidney Crosby scored the winner in overtime as Canada won the Olympic title, beating the US 3-2 to become the first host nation to capture men's hockey gold in 30 years. Crosby got the winning goal 7:40 into the overtime period, taking a pass from Jarome Iginla and sliding a shot under the pads of US goaltender Ryan Miller.



March 13 "Lords (land) Last Barbecue Supper'' a Don's Mall in Rawai closes.
April 9-13 Phuket Bike Week, including tattoo competitions, island rides and the Miss Phuket Bike Week contest.
April 14 Phuket Cricket Sixes begin.
May31-June 5 Eight-nation football tournament for players over 55 at Surakul Stadium in Phuket City. Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Taiwan, Iran, Armenia competing.
May Date to be finalised for Muay Thai kickboxing competition at Laguna Phuket.
May 21-23 Paragliding on Phuket.
June 4-13 Phuket International Film Festival.