bangkokpost.com The nationality of more than 40 percent of the 218 people detained in Thailand last month has been verified as Muslim Uighurs from the Xinjiang region in China, said Zhang Yiming, minister-counsellor at the Chinese embassy. The mystery travellers, mostly families, are pleading to go to Turkey or Australia.

Phuket Update ''We've been sold down the river,'' Phuketwan editor Alan Morison said today as he and colleague Chutima Sidasathian prepared to face jail in a Royal Thai Navy action as Reuters ignored the controversial paragraph they wrote and celebrated a Pulitzer prize.

nationmultimedia.com Seacon Group plans to launch three new villa projects worth one billion baht on Phuket as the property market in Bangkok has declined. Executive director Piya Sosothikul predicted demand for homes in Phuket would grow by 15-20 percent annually over the next three years.


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



scmp.com South Korean coastguards and navy divers were working frantically under floodlights to find 277 people still missing after a ferry capsized in what could be the country's worst maritime disaster in over 20 years.

bangkokpost.com Time is running out for hundreds of passengers, most of them high school students on a holiday trip, after an ocean-going ferry capsized.

bbc.co.uk Divers trying to enter the ship overnight were unable to do so because of strong currents

nationmultimedia.com New research from the Grant Thornton ''International Business Report'' (IBR) indicates that global M&A activity - mergers and acquisitions - has risen from this time last year, but Thailand has fallen to the lowest level among all of the 44 countries surveyed.

bangkokpost.com The Democrats have finally agreed to join next Tuesday's meeting to discuss plans for a new election, but are wary of the government's plans.

stuff.co.nz Upon arrival in Phuket we were greeted by hundreds of taxi drivers all fighting in the arrivals entrance for our business. My best friend and I looked at each other and took in a deep breath. At that moment we both realised the scale of utter chaos we were about to be confronted with for the next seven days.



asiancorrespondent.com In an ironic and shameful twist, two Reuters journalists were awarded the Pulitzer prize for covering the plight of Burma's Rohingya while two Phuket-based reporters could face jail for republishing a paragraph from the Pulitzer-winning reports.

andrew-drummond.com Reuters news agency was attacked today for celebrating a Pulitzer Prize in champagne while two Phuket journalists who provided critical assistance on their story face jail.

afp Chutima Sidasathian, who has covered the Rohingya issue for eight years and helped Reuters with its investigation, accused the Thai navy of seeking to muzzle ''small media'' with the defamation complaint. ''We won't apply for bail, this is a bad law and it is an issue of the freedom of the press. This should not happen to the media in a democratic country,'' she said ahead of the hearing.

aap ''It's a paragraph in which the Royal Thai Navy wasn't mentioned in the original English version, and yet in the Thai version that was presented to police the Royal Thai Navy is mentioned three times,'' editor Alan Morison said. ''This is indicative of a set-up, I would say. And we have no doubt that the Royal Thai Navy is out to shut down Phuketwan.''

abc.net.au Morison has told Radio Australia's Asia Pacific program that he and Chutima have ''done absolutely nothing wrong''. Chutima told ABC's 'The World: ''In the past we have [not had] any bad history with the royal Thai navy at all.''

VIDEO Coverage from Phuketwan Pair
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-17/an-thai-defamation-case-against-journalists-set-to-begin/5396182/

huffingtonpost.com Morison told Australian News that he believes the issue is due to one mistranslated paragraph by the Royal Thai Navy. ''It's a paragraph in which the Royal Thai Navy wasn't mentioned in the original English version, and yet in the Thai version that was presented to police the Royal Thai Navy is mentioned three times,'' Morison said.

voanews.com ''I am sure the manner in which [Chutima] has helped open up the Rohingya story to the international organisations is one of the reasons for this prosecution. She has been the person who has, I guess, singularly opened up the Rohingya story to international media attention,'' Morison said.

cnn.com The Thai government says it is committed to combating human trafficking in Thailand but denies that the Rohingya are victims of trafficking. It says that the Rohingya are migrants who consent to being smuggled.

skynews.com.au US-based Human Rights Watch deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson said the Thai Navy was looking to pressure Phuketwan over their reporting on the Rohingya issue.

malaysiasun.com Morison called the case against he and his colleague ''spurious'' and ''deeply flawed.'' While praising Reuters on its award, he said the news agency had failed to provide support to Phuketwan in the case.

Facebook Comment Be strong, be proud. There are many people around the world who support you both.

Thomson Reuters Foundation If you would like to know how the Thomson Reuters Foundation can help add value to your coverage of humanitarian news and issues related to women's rights, governance and accountability, climate change and social innovation, please call our Communication Media Helpline on: +44 (0) 207 542 5455+44 (0) 207 542 5455



news.com.au As a robotic submarine dove into the ocean to look for lost Flight MH370, angry Chinese relatives stormed out of a teleconference meeting to protest about the Malaysian government for not addressing them in person. The Bluefin-21 sub surfaced early for the second time in as many missions, this time after experiencing technical difficulties.



sg.news.yahoo.com Hospitals in Singapore are on alert and are testing patients who show symptoms of a travelling respiratory coronavirus called the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) that has claimed the life of one man in Malaysia so far.

nationmultimedia.com The People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) is refining its security system again after Jirayuth Senanarong, one of its guards, was shot dead in Bangkok. Officials refused to comment on speculation that Jirayuth, 40, was shot by a fellow PDRC guard.

news.com.au Retired Swiss pilot Heinz Peier, 65, was forced to land his homemade plane by an Indonesian fighter jet and surrounded by armed soldiers when he illegally entered Indonesian airspace.

AP A senior US official says high-stakes diplomatic meetings in Geneva to try to ease burgeoning violence in eastern Ukraine will mark Kiev's final attempt to engage with Russia before the West hits Moscow with additional economic sanctions.

dailymail.co.uk Kevin 'Kayvon' Edson, the man arrested near the Boston Marathon finish line carrying a backpack containing a rice cooker on the anniversary of the bombings has been sent to a state psychiatric facility for an evaluation following his initial court appearance.

travelmole.com Singapore Airlines has signed an agreement to be the title sponsor of the F1 Singapore Grand Prix. This year's event will take place from September 19-21 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

thejakartapost.com Dozens of smuggled dogs were euthanised by officers from the Bali Agricultural Quarantine office: ''We don't want to take the risk of a rabies plague.''

news.com.au A woman's dramatic meltdown has been captured on camera - with flight attendants telling passengers to try to stop her if she opened the emergency exit. The unidentified woman was filmed shaking violently and frantically flipping the pages of her magazine, screaming ''God is my savior'' over and over.

independent.co.uk Kim Jong-un: Supreme Leader of North Korea, ruthless dictator and, apparently, style icon. Weeks after he decreed that male university students in his country should emulate his look with state-sanctioned haircuts, Jong-un's appearance is being analysed once again. A headshot displaying his distinctive coiffeur - shaved sides, voluminous locks and 1990s boyband centre-parting - was used as an advert for cuts at South Ealing's M&M Hair Academy.



goal.com Manchester City's quest to keep pace with Premier League leaders Liverpool faltered as they let an early lead slip but recovered to a 2-2 draw with Sunderland.

mirror.co.uk It is always the sucker-punch that does most damage, and for Everton, Jason Puncheon may have delivered such a blow to their top four hopes.

afp Gareth Bale scored a stunning individual goal five minutes from time to win the Copa del Rey for Real Madrid as they overcame Barcelona 2-1 at the Mestalla in Valencia.



Krabi Update The sixth Krabi Rock and Fire International Contest will be held at Railay Beach and Tonsai Bay from 21 to 23 April 2014. More than 30 teams of adventurous tourists from the world over will join the climbing. Krabi has more than 18,000 hotel rooms.

Until April 19 Phuket Bike Week

April 20-27 Phuket Pride Week

April 26 Vote for mayor in Patong, alcohol sales banned in election area from 6pm April 25 to midnight April 26

April 30 US Embassy Outreach, Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort, 8am-noon.

May 24 Visakha Bucha Day

July 11 Arsanha Bucha Day

August 12 Queen's Birthday

September 24-October 2 Vegetarian Festival, Phuket

October 23 Chulalongkorn Memorial Day

November 6 Loy Kratong

November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket

December 5 King's Birthday

December 10 Constitution Day

December 25 Christmas Day

December 26 10th Anniversary, 2004 Tsunami

December 31 New Year's Eve