bangkokpost.com Hours after twin time bombs in front of Paragon mall at peak shopping and dining time, military and police spokesmen say they have no suspects and no motive for the blasts, which caused panic but injured just one man.

scmp.com Thailand's restrictive laws on criminal defamation and computer crimes are increasingly being used to silence both the foreign and local media and human rights activists.
http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1698848/thailands-laws-being-used-more-often-silence-journalists

bangkokpost.com The military cancelled a joint announcement on next Monday's Cobra Gold 2015 opening - and announced talks on closer military ties with China.


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



stokesentinel.co.uk A British man is the focus of an international manhunt after the body of a Thai bar girl was found chopped up in a suitcase with a dead dog. Police in Thailand say Shane Looker, 45, is thought to have fled the country to Malaysia and they believe he may have been trying to make his way to Ibiza.

dailymail.co.uk The body of go-go dancer Laxami 'Pook' Manochat was sliced into pieces before it was stuffed inside a suitcase and thrown into the Mae Klong River in Kanchanaburi, 70 miles south of Thai capital Bangkok.

reuters Two pipe bombs exploded outside Siam Paragon mall in Bangkok in an attack which Thai police said was aimed at raising tension in a city living under martial law. The bombs caused little damage but were the first to shake the Thai capital since the military seized power in May.

smh.com.au No stranger to conflict zones, Peter Greste arrived in Cairo 13 months ago for what he thought was a simple assignment: filling in for a colleague over the Christmas break. After 400 days in an Egyptian prison, he is finally a free man.

reuters There was no official word on the fate of his two Al Jazeera colleagues - Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian national Baher Mohamed - who were also jailed in the case that provoked an international outcry.

theage.com.au Given Greste's commitment to media freedom, one thing seems certain - he will not allow his colleagues to remain in prison without raising his voice in their defence and continuing to campaign for their release.



nationmultimedia.com At the moment, Thailand is finalising its report on the progress over issues related to human trafficking and human rights violations concerning migrant workers. Last year, Washington downgraded Bangkok to tier 3. Thai-US relations are unique and cannot be replaced by other bilateral ties. At this juncture, Thailand cannot afford to lose a friend, any friend for that matter.



bangkokpost.com The first round of official southern peace talks between government negotiators and insurgent groups is expected to be held in April, an informed source said. The meeting in April will be the first to be held officially and openly between the two sides in the conflict. Previously, talks had been in secret, both in Thailand and Malaysia.

skift.com Fortunately for Thailand, where tourism accounts for about 10 percent of gross domestic product, the Chinese have been flocking to its temples and beaches in greater numbers. Visitors from the mainland rebounded in the last three months, and surged 87 percent in December from the previous year.

bangkokpost.com Beached: Some Russian tourists have been left high and dry in Pattaya as their currency has devalued and their buying power on everything from condominiums to iPhones has dropped: ''Hotel room reservations from the Russian market have already dropped by 70% for this high season.''
http://bangkokpost.com/news/special-reports/463073/reduced-to-ruble-russia-s-economic-woes-hit-pattaya

nytimes.com Pro-democracy protesters streamed through the heart of Hong Kong on Sunday in their first sizable show of strength since the police cleared occupations that blocked streets for 11 weeks late last year.

scmp.com A fugitive Hong Kong businessman is being sought by US police after he failed to turn up in court to face charges over an allegedly drunken wedding party escapade a judge likened to the movie series The Hangover.

pti A three-year-old boy playing with a handgun accidentally shot his father and pregnant mother in a hotel room in New Mexico, the latest shooting incident involving children in the US.



afp Olivier Giroud, Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla sparkled as Arsenal closed on the Premier League's top four by crushing goal-shy Aston Villa 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium.

dailymail.co.uk Andy Murray had his chances but he was eventually outfought, and seemingly outkidded, by Novak Djokovic to lose his fourth Australian Open final. His long-time Serbian rival appeared to play with Murray???s mind by acting as if he was physically down and out at times, before miraculously reviving to ultimately carve out a 7-6 6-7 6-3 6-0 victory.



bangkokpost.com A five-day Songkran holiday in April is hardly enough. The cabinet has added an extra holiday on May 4, to make a second five-day holiday, for tourism.

February 26-28 Phuket Old Town festival

March 1-15 Heroines festival

March 4-8 Bay Regatta

April 11-13 Phuket Bike Week

April 17-19 Songkran Festival