AP Malaysia court gives five-year prison term to opposition leader Anwar in sodomy case.

theguardian.com Malaysia's highest court has upheld a sodomy conviction against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim - a ruling that could bring a five-year prison term, frustrating his political ambitions and sidelining a key irritant to the government.

telegraph.co.uk A Briton in Spain has been arrested on suspicion of murder after he allegedly punched a suspected German paedophile he caught filming his daughter in a restaurant.


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



bangkokpost.com Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and business leaders got a firm ''I promise'' from Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha for an election within a year, reports Pichai Chuensuksawadi from Tokyo.

nationmultimedia.com The reserved seating and umbrellas have now been swept from famous beaches [on Phuket]. Let's hope this remains the case once the junta relinquishes control.

bangkokpost.com The US said its relationship with long-time ally Thailand was going through a ''challenging'' period as the two sides began a major military exercise, scaled down over Washington's concerns about the military leadership.



bangkokpost.com Phuket police arrested a young Australian man for allegedly filing a false complaint that he was the victim of an armed robbery in an attempt to get an insurance payment. Police said AIex Gorgees,19, went to Karon police station about 11.30pm Sunday and told a duty officer that he had been robbed at knifepoint by two men and a woman.

andrew-drummond.com Lawyers representing Shane Looker, the 45-year-old Briton accused of murdering a Bangkok prostitute, chopping up her body, putting it in a suitcase and throwing it into a river have reacted furiously to an attempt by Thai Police to put out an Interpol Red Notice. They claim they have evidence which totally contradicts the Thai police version of events.

bangkokpost.com Editorial: The raid last week on the Kanchanaburi ''tiger temple'' is a firm step in the right direction in protecting wild animals. Elephants are constantly harassed, hunted, hit and cruelly mistreated. The rhino has disappeared from Thailand thanks to merciless hunting. Animal poaching and wildlife smuggling is a hugely profitable cross-border business.

independent.co.uk The bag full of power cables and utility clamps may not have looked very interesting when Carol Armstrong found them stuffed in a closet in her Ohio home. Yet the items - which had lain hidden for more than four decades - were actually priceless mementos from the most famous space mission of all, during which her husband Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/neil-armstrongs-wife-finds-priceless-bag-of-missing-space-equipment-after-40-years-10034763.html

mirror.co.uk Hooded gunmen exchanged automatic rifle fire with police in Marseille as France's Prime Minister visited the city to discuss crime-fighting. Kalashnikov shots rang out across La Castellane, the troubled estate plagued by gangs fighting over the city's drug trade.

ft.com At least 29 migrants died of hypothermia as they tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea in treacherous conditions, a maritime tragedy that has called into question the Italian government's decision last year to wind down a search-and-rescue mission.

scmp.com A Chinese mining tycoon together with his younger brother and three associates has been executed, according to state media. Sichuan native Liu Han, 48, was found guilty of 13 charges - including murder, organising casinos, running a mafia-style gang and illegally selling firearms.

foxnews.com President Obama confirmed that his administration is weighing the possibility of sending arms to Ukraine to help the country beat back Russian-backed separatists, if diplomacy fails.

theage.com.au Qantas frequent flyers will be given the opportunity to bid for an upgrade to any remaining business class seats a week before a flight in a new initiative designed to increase loyalty to the airline and boost revenue.

eurasiareview.com Various ethnic groups in Myanmar, especially the Muslims or Rohingya, continue to suffer from discrimination and difficulties in obtaining equal citizenship rights.

theage.com.au Editorial: The last thing Australia needs is another 18 months of the kind of dispiriting, inconsistent leadership that Tony Abbott exhibits.

scmp.com Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi has accepted a marriage proposal from a romantic rock star who delivered a diamond ring to her by drone.

reuters Same-sex couples began marrying in Alabama on Monday despite an attempt by the conservative chief justice of the state's Supreme Court to block judges from issuing marriages licences to gay men and women.

telegraph.co.uk The lawyer who says she discovered the lost manuscript of a second Harper Lee novel angrily rejects claims that the elderly novelist is being manipulated.

afp A Japanese woman has told Indian police she was raped by a tourist guide in the historic northern city of Jaipur, in the latest sex attack on a foreigner, an officer says.

traveller.com.au According to a Green America report published in 2010, each airline passenger generates just more than a kilogram of waste per flight. In 2013, airlines around the world carried 6.3 billion passengers, who, therefore, produced more than 3.15 million tonnes of waste.



Try Phuketwan's Asean Today daily:
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/asean-today-anwars-day-destiny-vietnam-wars-warped-legacy-burma-rights-rosy-21849/



dailytelegraph.com.au The death of Ballina surfer Tadashi Nakahara - the second fatal attack on the NSW north coast in five months - was beamed around the world on the live stream of the Coastalwatch website, which features cameras at many of Australia's top surf spots. The four-metre shark took both of his legs and half of his board.

news.com.au Former Grand Slam doubles champion Bob Hewitt has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault of minors in a Johannesburg court. Australian-born Hewitt, 75, is accused of raping a girl under the age of 16 in 1981, raping another girl under the age of 16 in 1982, and sexually assaulting a third girl under the age of 18 in 1994, all in South Africa.



THE SOI DOG Foundation will be holding its fourth mobile event in Phuket on February 21 to offer puppies and kittens for adoption. The event will be held at Macro in Thalang from 11am to 3pm. The kittens and puppets have all been vaccinated and sterilised.

February 14 Valentine's Day

February 19 Chinese New Year

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

May 4 Additional public holiday scheduled