bangkokpost.com Phuket police learned that Jintana Mahattanapak, shot dead in traffic on Friday, was known to be strict with the hotel staff under her supervision. She had proposed firing some management-level employees.

Phuket Update An Austrian man who was a frequent visitor to the Austrian Garden hotel in Patong and an asthma sufferer was found dead in his room. He was aged 74. An inhaler was alongside the body. Police say there are no suspicious circumstances.


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

bangkokpost.com A pay strike by about 400 Thai Airways ground staff at Suvarnabhumi airport disrupted dozens of flights, including several international ones, and looks set to continue. At least 20 flights are expected to be affected Sunday if the problem is unresolved, said airport director Vilaiwan Nadvilai.

nationmultimedia.com THAI chairman Ampon Kittiampon said THAI was unable to meet their demands. The airline needed funds to pay dividends and debts, and to make investments.In response, the leader of THAI's labor union called on Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to have Ampon removed.

bangkokpost.com Trafficking of Rohingya from Burma's Rakhine state to Malaysia via Songkhla had been going on for several years and was under the control of some military officers with ranks from major to colonel, say police sources. They were smuggling the Rohingya migrants in by boat. On arrival in Thailand, the Rohingya were taken by truck to Songkhla and hidden in a forest.

Phuket Update As Phuketwan has reported, the trafficking begins on Thailand's Andaman coast north of Phuket, where military officials collude with local powerbrokers in buying and selling Rohingya, often straight off the boats before they land in Thailand to be treated like slaves.

bangkokpost.com Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha has admitted some of his soldiers are involved in trafficking Rohingya migrants into Thailand before sending them to work in Malaysia. General Prayuth said some members of the Internal Security Operations Command were linked to smuggling rings: ''These bad apples must be punished and got rid of.''

chiangraitimes.com When nearly 850 Rohingya boat people were rescued from their secret shelters in Songkhla's Sadao district this week, the government finally did the right thing by providing them with humanitarian care and allowing them to have access to international assistance.

nationmultimedia.com Internal Security Operations Command Region 4 officer Maj-General Manat Kongpan, based in Ranong, said 2817 Rohingya migrants were detained for illegal entry from October to December last year and warned that more would come this year, as violence in Burma's Rakhine state continued.

reuters The Algerian army carried out a dramatic final assault to end a siege by Islamist militants at a desert gas plant in which 23 hostages were killed, many of them believed to be foreigners, the interior ministry said.

bbc.co.uk A ceasefire announced by the Burmese military fighting rebels in northern Kachin state appears to be holding.

bangkokpost.com Police are using CCTV cameras in Bangkok's Soi Cowboy, Patpong, Khao San Road and Nana Plaza and giving bouncers martial arts training as part of a campaign to ensure safety. cameras have been installed in the awnings and on the roofs of pubs and nightclubs and are not easily detected.

pattayamail.com Top Royal Thai Police officials ordered nearly 600 area police officers to crack down on crime during the heart of Pattaya's high-season. Pattaya last year hosted 4.9 million tourists a year, 2.6 million of which were Russian, police said.

bangkokpost.com Counterfeit goods are openly sold throughout Bangkok. What is curious is that some items seem to be allowed to be sold at some markets but not others, so a buyer seeking a specific type of knock-off has to know where to look.

bangkokpost.com The Burma (Myanmar) government will start issuing temporary passports to its illegal workers in Thailand next month. Workers can apply for temporary passports at 10 centres in Samut Sakhon, Samut Prakan, Chiang Mai, Surat Thani, Pathum Thani, Kanchanaburi, Rayong, Khon Kaen, Songkhla and Nakhon Ratchasima provinces from February 15 to May 15, the Myanmar embassy said.

mirror.co.uk Four climbers - two of them women - were found dead after they were buried by an avalanche in the Scottish Highlands. Another woman in the party was in hospital with serious head injuries.

balidiscovery.com An Interpol officer from the National Police Headquarters has joined in search efforts for a 38-year-old Russian, Dmitry Lazuth, who disappeared while swimming at Bali's South Kuta beach. Lazuth went swimming during a period in which he was advised by lifeguards not to swim.

AP The death toll from floods in Indonesia's capital has climbed to 14 after searchers pulled three more bodies from the waters.

nst.com.my Tourism Malaysia plans to cut its offices aboard to reduce operating costs. Offices that might face closure are Stockholm in Sweden, Vancouver (Canada), Phuket (Thailand) and Milan in Italy.

telegraph.co.uk A $1.5 million expedition to find Spitfires allegedly buried in Burma at the end of World War II has ended in embarrassment, disappointment and recrimination.



guardian.co.uk With four straight league wins since the slip up at Sunderland, Manchester City are still on United's tail. Manchester City 2-0 Fulham.

telegraph.co.uk In scoring his third goal in his first three games in this 5-0 rout over Norwich City, Daniel Sturridge joined an elite group of seven Liverpool players who have achieved the same feat.

dailymail.co.uk Andy Murray's 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 win over Ricardas Berankis ensured that he arrived in the fourth round of the Australian Open without having lost a set.

guardian.co.uk Roger Federer was balletic and brutal in beating Bernard Tomic 6-4, 7-6, 6-1. It is hard to escape the conclusion that he might conjure up his 18th Grand Slam title next weekend, at 31.



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

October 5-13 Phuket Vegetarian Festival



November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket