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

PHUKET'S new police security camera network that covers the island is to be unveiled today at Phuket City police headquarters. The network is located on the fourth floor of the hq in Yaowarat Road, Phuket City. It is expected to give police for the first time the capacity to more closely monitor traffic flow all over Phuket.

bangkokpost.com Orient Thai Airlines has several decommissioned jets, including at least five Boeing 747s that have been parked for years at different airports. Aviation industry officials said three inactive Boeing 747s and "a few" single-aisle MD-80 jets are reportedly parked at Bangkok's Don Mueang airport and two other 747s at Udon Thani airport. [An MD-82 branded by defunct Orient spin-off One-Two-Go crashed on Phuket in 2007, killing 90 of 130 people on board.]

radionz.co.nz New Zealand's Minister of Foreign Affairs says there has still been no significant explanation for a string of tourist deaths at a Thai hotel, including that of Sarah Carter. The Governor of Chiang Mai says the deaths of Ms Carter, a British couple and a Thai tour guide - who all stayed at the Downtown Inn last month - are a coincidence.

stuff.co.nz Thai officials have announced that the deaths of Kiwi Sarah Carter and three others after visits to a Chiang Mai hotel are a coincidence, but her father claims there is a coverup. Tests on tissue taken from Ms Carter had been inconclusive and samples had been sent for analysis to the US and Japan.


Phuket Update Phuket will be one of three cities to gain a centre for dealing with family violence, a conference heard yesterday. Violence against women and children was raised as a concern when representatives from Thailand's southern provinces met on Phuket for a seminar organised by the Office of Women's Affairs and Family Development as part of the 100th International Women's Day.
Physical and mental violence within Thai families was increasing every year but police were not empowered to act, said Director Panya Krailert.
A total of 23,522 cases were reported throughout Thailand in 2010 and thousands more went unreported, the conference heard. Forty-four percent of cases involved physical violence; 43 percent involved sexual violence; 17 percent involved mental cruelty, the seminar heard.

afp The union for Cathay Pacific flight attendants has urged the airline to stop overnight crew stays in the Saudi capital over fears for the safety of female staff from molesters. Cathay's female cabin crew have now refused to leave their hotel rooms while staying in the city.

bangkokpost.com The impact of the situation in the Middle East on global travel and tourism is set to be a heavy-duty discussion topic at the ITB Berlin, the world's largest trade show. [Phuketwan's Chutima Sidasathian is filing from Berlin for Phuket readers.]

bbc.co.uk Three members of a BBC team trying to reach the besieged town of Zawiya were detained and mistreated for 21 hours by the Libyan military. They were beaten and subjected to mock executions.

afp Attackers armed with knives and machetes waded into hundreds of pro-democracy activists in Cairo's Tahrir Square, witnesses said, as insecurity raged in post-revolutionary Egypt.

nationmultimedia.com More than 1000 protesters left Bangkok pleased, but still concerned after eight government agencies signed a memorandum of understanding on community land-title deeds. The MoU has bolstered the landless people's hopes for a better life but they remained clueless as to how long it will take to materialise.

nzherald.co.nz The rule-free atmosphere extends beyond Phuket to the tourist Mecca islands of Phi Phi Leh and Ko Tapu. Do I need a life jacket? Only if you want one. Can I jump off the top deck of the launch? Of course, just try not to land on anyone else. As always seems to be the case in Phuket, if you go with the flow everything works out in the end.

4hoteliers.com Luxury lifestyle brand akyra has opened for business to the world's travel trade with its inaugural property akyra Chura Samui, bringing contemporary hospitality through a combination of expressive style and individualism to the tropical island. [Ed: Going into capital letters has been the rage. Now lower-case fights back.]

afp Despite the allure of its picture-perfect sands, Myanmar's murky political landscape has kept Ngapali beach largely under the radar of most tropical sun-seekers, who have typically looked to more well-trodden Asian shores. Those who do venture to the impoverished nation - one of the world's least-developed after nearly 50 years of military rule - rave about the friendly locals, the tasty seafood and above all, the lack of other tourists.

afp Indian aviation regulators have found two more pilots with forged qualifications flying passenger planes, a report said, raising questions about safety on the country's booming airlines. The Indian duo were flying as captains on flights for the IndiGo and MDLR airlines.

moodiereport.com Beginning March 28, passengers will have access to direct connections from Changi to Brazil as Singapore Airlines commences its three-times-a-week service to Sao Paolo via Barcelona.

scmp.com Cathay Pacific Airways reported a record half-year profit and a big plane order but warned high oil prices could hurt its results this year.

afp Ryanair, Europe's biggest low-cost airline, has launched talks with Russian and Chinese aircraft manufacturers about supplying the carrier with new planes. The Irish airline currently flies only Boeing 737 jets but it broke off negotiations with the US firm on a massive new plane order in late 2009 because the two sides could not agree on terms and conditions.

bbc.co.uk Cereal firm Jordans has stopped using recycled cardboard and other firms are to ensure their recycled packaging does not contain any toxic oils from contaminated newspapers. A BBC investigation found other food companies were aware of the issue.

zdnet.co.uk The latest release of the Google Chrome browser, now at its tenth major version, is faster and more secure than previous releases, the company announced.

dailysquib.co.uk [Satire] Failed movie star Charlie Sheen has moved from his Los Angeles mansion house in Beverly Hills to a shack on the Vietnamese-Cambodian border, his agent Billy Bob Moron has revealed. "I'm like Kurtz. I got my men and we're going to go AWOL in the jungle. Shoot things up, drink some tiger's blood, kill a few buffalo with machetes and build a temple," Mr Sheen revealed when he relayed what he was doing through a captured CB radio to CNN reporters in Hanoi city.



LIVERPOOL Legends, a team made up of ex Liverpool Football Club players, are set to play two friendly games against the Legends of Thailand. The first match is scheduled for June 15 at Bangkok's Yamaha stadium followed by a second game at Surakul Stadium on Phuket on June 18.

MALAYSIA Truly Fun Truly Asia 2011 will take place on March 11-13 at Central Festival Phuket second floor, near Power Buy Shop. Special packages for travel to Malaysia, including airlines Firefly, Quatar Air and MAS, will be on offer from 11am-8 pm.

March 11 John Gray speaks at IBAP
Until March 19 Heroine's Monument Festival
March 14-19 ADFEST 2011 at Movenpick Resort, Phuket
March 26 St Patrick's Day Ball, Movenpick Resort and Spa, Karon. Details 081 3979809 or 086 9469232
March 27 Earth Hour commemoration on Phuket
April 13-15 Songkran Festival
May New PPAO Hospital to open, Phuket City
June 12 Laguna Phuket International Marathon
June 23-26 Phuket Fun Fly paragliding, Nai Harn


March 18-28 National Youth Games, Phuket

Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket