Updating All Day, Every Day
reuters The pilot who appears to have deliberately crashed a plane carrying 149 others into the French Alps received psychiatric treatment for a ''serious depressive episode'' six years ago, German tabloid Bild reported
sputniknews.com The Russian Embassy in Thailand reported that Russian citizen Sergei Kovalenko arrested in Thailand at Interpols request on March 10 was handed to the Russian police and sent to Moscow.
reuters A family of 17 suspected Uighur Muslims at the center of a diplomatic tug-of-war between Turkey and China will remain in custody after a Thai court on Friday rejected their argument that their prolonged detention was illegal.
PhuketWATCH Daily Media Wrap
PHUKET: The daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media. Beware of inconsistent imitations.
Today's Top News Items
bangkokpost.com Chinese tourism authorities will send officials to Thailand to ensure safety for their fellow countrymen following a fatal bus crash on Phuket that left three Chinese citizens dead. The China National Tourism Administration said representatives will go to Thailand with safety of Chinese tourists on the agenda, according to the China Daily.
bangkokpost.com Thousands of planned Songkran holidays are cancelled and the government's safety standards are at worldwide risk after Japan and Korea banned NokScoot and other new airlines.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/tourism/509715/japan-korea-clip-thai-flyers-wings
xinhua Bangkok-based Suvarnabhumi airport will add an extra charge to tickets of passengers leaving Thailand for checking their personal and criminal records. Starting on October 1, a new passenger-screening mechanism, known as the Advance Passenger Process System, which charge travelers an additional 35 baht, according to the Bangkok Post.
bangkokpost.com Airports of Thailand (AoT) will build bicycle lanes at airports in Chiang Rai and Phuket, board chairman Prasong Phunthanet says. The Phuket bike lanes will link the airport to Sirinath National Park nearby and Nai Yang beach. [Security may yet become an issue.]
Killer in the Cockpit
reuters Airlines rushed to change rules to require a second crew member in the cockpit at all times, hours after French prosecutors suggested a co-pilot who barricaded himself alone at the controls of a jetliner had crashed it on purpose.
telegraph.co.uk In Andreas Lubitz's home town, the sense of disbelief was palpable. Everyone who had encountered the 27-year-old, who grew up dreaming of becoming a pilot, described him as quiet, polite and ''normal''. Yet, in what Chancellor Angela Merkel described as a ''new, simply incomprehensible'' dimension to the Germanwings air disaster, it appeared that Lubitz was responsible for the deaths of 149 people.
csmonitor.com The copilot flew the Germanwings Flight 4U9525 into the mountains after the pilot was deliberately locked out of the cockpit. The security measures put in place to stop 9/11-style hijackings may have been the fatal flaw that prevented the other pilot from regaining control.
smh.com.au Lubitz repeatedly turned a dial to override the plane's autopilot, sending it in a steep descent into the Alps, after the captain left the cockpit to go to the toilet.
Human Trafficking in Thailand
reuters Thailand's parliament voted overwhelmingly to introduce harsher punishments for human traffickers, including life imprisonment and the death penalty in cases where their victims had died.
ap The US government and major business leaders are renewing their call on the Thai government to crack down on slavery in its fishing fleets, and to punish people who force migrant workers to catch seafood that can end up in the United States.
voanews.com ''We still cannot use just only a single country approach to deal with issues, problems of the [Muslim] Rohingya [in Myanmar] smuggling movement, the problem of the fisheries in Indonesia - there is no regional collaboration to address the issue.''
Phuket World of People
themalaymailonline.com Wong Fu Kang broke a 15-year national record en route to winning the men's 100m breaststroke event at the Malaysia Open Swimming Championship. The 17-year-old Phuket-based swimmer clocked 1:02.56s to clinch gold: ''The environment in Phuket is better and more organised. It has helped my training and I've improved tremendously.''
Phuket Update Phuket Customs officials are still working on the legal tangle revolving around the alleged pirate fishing ship Kunlun, apprehended near Phuket after being pursued by the New Zealand Navy and Sea Shepherd activists for poaching in Antarctic waters.
clashmusic.com Due out on March 31st, Clash is able to premiere Pixielord's performance of 'Phuket'. No, it's not a pun - it's directed at Thailand's gorgeous city, and features some spectral synth work, some driving percussion and a loose-limed sense of abstraction.
http://www.clashmusic.com/news/premiere-pixelord-phuket
economist.com Ten months after seizing power in a coup, Thailand's junta chafes at still having to defend its record. It will soon start handing out to passers-by in busy parts of Bangkok the first of 10,000 glossy booklets recounting the junta's glorious achievements.
afp The long-running conflict with Israel claimed the lives of more Palestinian civilians in 2014 than any year since 1967, the United Nations said, in a damning report on the humanitarian situation. In 2014, Israel and Hamas fought a war in Gaza that killed nearly 2200 people'
newser.com We don't want to know how many pills it took to kill this hangover: Two buddies went out for a few drinks at a pub in Marton, England, last Friday. Hours later, they were in Pattaya, Thailand, a la Hangover II, where they ''knew some guys from school.''
ibtimes.com Two trains collided just north of Bangkok on Thursday, leaving more than 20 people injured, according to local authorities. A report by the Associated Press said authorities were not able to immediately identify the cause of the crash, citing the State Railway of Thailand, which broke the news of the crash on its Facebook page.
AP The Fire Department of New York says four people are in critical condition among a dozen injured in an explosion, building collapse and fire in Manhattan's East Village.
Phuket World of Sport
theage.com.au Australia has crushed India by 95 runs in their World Cup semi-final in Sydney. Australia now play New Zealand in the final on Sunday in Melbourne,
afp A fine finish from captain Neymar helped secure a come-from-behind 3-1 win for Brazil over France in a friendly in Paris.
todayonline.com Coach Bernd Stange cut a satisfied figure despite Singapore's 2-0 loss to Thailand in an international friendly in Korat.
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
April 11-19 Phuket Bike Week
April 13-15 Songkran Festival
May 4 Additional public holiday scheduled
June 20-21 Baba wedding at Old Phuket Town
July 15-19 Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek
As much flak as Chinese tourists have been receiving lately, there's one thing that sets them apart that I wish more Western nations would follow - their government does not just sit idly by when their citizens are dying abroad in accidents or as a result of crime.
If more countries sent delegations to confront the local authorities about their shortcomings in ensuring the safety of their citizens visiting Phuket and Thailand in general, they would have their backs against the wall and forced to take action.
I learned a long time ago that the only way to get anything controversial or problematic sorted out in Thailand is by face to face meetings only.
Anything short of that and you along with your agenda is just so easy to dismiss.
I hope the Chinese delegation will raise issues relevant not only to their nationals and get something done my country's officials for example have never bothered to even try.
Posted by Herbert on March 27, 2015 14:39