bbc.co.uk North Korea has agreed to suspend uranium enrichment, US and North Korean officials said. In return, the US is expected to approve a proposed food aid package.
dailymail.co.uk James Murdoch cut his ties with British newspapers and the UK by stepping down as executive chairman of News International.
PHUKET: A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media.
breakingtravelnews.com Gerd Steeb, President of Centara Hotels & Resorts, has retired. Working directly under Chairman Suthikiati Chirathivat, Mr. Steeb's tenure has seen the brand's rise to become Thailand's largest operator of hotels with 38 properties in Thailand and 17 are overseas. [Expansion on Phuket has been a key. Centara was
Phuketwan's 2010 Phuket Business of the Year.]
bangkokpost.com Phuket's gateway airport continued to lead market share among Thailand's second-tier airports of Chiang Mai, Krabi and Koh Samui with a 57 percent share in 2011, up from 51 percent in 2007. Bali, one of Phuket's major regional competitors, is seeking to fast-track expansion of a new international terminal that will be able to accommodate 25 million travelers a year.
Phuket Update Tourist Police volunteers have warned visitors to be on their guard after a spate of snatch-and-ride thefts, especially in Patong, Karon and the west coast holiday destinations. One pair arrested last week were allegedly responsible for three thefts in Patong's beach road.
Associated Press Thai protest leader Sondhi Limthongkul whose PAD movement helped topple three prime ministers was sentenced to 20 years in prison for falsifying financial documents aimed at securing a one billion baht government bank loan for his media empire. He was later released on 10 million baht ($328,000) bail pending appeal.
mizzima.com Burma's human rights situation has improved notably in some respects but it has significantly worsened in others, Amnesty International said. It called for the UN to seriously consider a commission of inquiry to investigate war crimes and systematic human rights abuses.
The Rohingya ethnic minority is particularly exposed to human rights violations, as they are singled out in practice and law, with discrimination against them codified. ''Under the 1982 Citizenship Law, they are denied citizenship and thus are de facto and de jure stateless,'' AI said.
nationmultimedia.com A court handed a 41-year jail term to a woman for procuring three girls under 15, including her own daughter, for sex. Tim Wongsiri, 50, had threatened to stop sending her to school if she and the other two girls refused to have sex with expats including 45-year-old Briton, Stuart Hargreaves Lloyd, who was sentenced to 21 years for raping minors.
guardian.co.uk Paul Conroy, the Sunday Times photographer wounded in the leg in an attack in the besieged city of Homs, has been smuggled out of Syria in a dramatic and dangerous rescue in which up to 13 activists lost their lives, it has emerged.
dailymail.co.uk A top swimsuit model from Queensland's Gold Coast has been killed in a motor cycle crash on Phuket - and police revealed she had not been wearing a helmet at the time.
scmp.com At least 10 people were hacked to death when mobs went on the rampage in China's restive Xinjiang region, state media reported.
Associated Press The crippled Italian cruise ship Costa Allegra, being towed in the Indian Ocean with more than 1000 people aboard and no air conditioning, now won't reach land in the Seychelles until Thursday, officials said.
telegraph.co.uk Muslim-majority Malaysia has banned a planned concert by singer Erykah Badu after a photograph appeared of her with the Arabic word for Allah written on her body.
smh.com.au India have blasted their way to 3-321 in 36.4 overs for a stunning bonus-point win over Sri Lanka. Virat Kohli smashed 133 off 86 balls to lead the Indians to the most extraordinary run chase witnessed on Australian soil.
cnn.com Victims and campaigners from the Bhopal disaster of 1984 have staged a "die-in" outside the UK's sports ministry to protest at the sponsorship role Dow Chemical Company will play in the London 2012 Olympics.
March 10-11 Weekend fairs begin at Boat Lagoon, Phuket City
March 29-April 1 Phuket International Boat Show, Royal Phuket Marina
April 6-8 Phuket Bike Week
April 12-13 Songkran New Year Festival
April 23-28 Phuket Pride Festival
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
