reuters A powerful fresh 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck off northern Chile late on Wednesday, prompting tsunami alerts and evacuations along the coast and in neighboring Peru.

dailymail.co.uk British police have launched a bigamy investigation over claims a married businessman had a second family living in Thailand. Peter Leonard, 54, vigorously denied the claims as Facebook photos emerged of him with a woman calling herself Jaija. Leonard.

freemalaysiatoday.com During eight years of intermittent power struggles, Thailand's courts have become deeply politicised and their rulings haven't been kind to the Shinawatra family, whose parties and allies have been the country's undisputed electoral champions for more than a decade.


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bangkokpost.com Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the whole government face the Supreme Court over the Thawil case, with government figures warning a negative court decision will move the country close to violent confrontation

nationmultimedia.com The Constitutional Court voted unanimously to proceed with a petition against caretaker PM Yingluck Shinawatra, accused of breaching the charter in the transfer of the National Security Council (NSC) chief. The petition noted that the charter did not allow the government to transfer permanent officials for the sake of vested interests.

bangkokpost.com ''Corruption is the big problem in Thai society. The corporate governance of state officials is also lower than that of the private sector and it is a big obstacle for the country's development,''' says a senior Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official.

nationmultimedia.com The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has asked Khun Yingluck to coordinate the appearance of her three nominated witnesses in the case relating to the rice-pledging scheme so they can give evidence before the Songkran holiday.

bangkokpost.com Unofficial counts show that 40 of the 77 senators elected Sunday are aligned with Pheu Thai, making impeachment of the prime minister difficult.

nst.com.my Three government officials were shot dead on Wednesday in Thailand's insurgency-stricken south - among them a woman who was then beheaded, police told AFP.

reuters Lufthansa pilots began the biggest strike in the airline's history, grounding most of its flights for the next three days and leaving as many as 425,000 passengers without a connection.
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usatoday.com Investigators are checking on the provider of the food delivered to the plane before takeoff to eliminate the possibility that it had been poisoned, and are looking into the cargo loaded onto the jet.

cnn.com The investigation into Flight 370 is now looking at anyone who had contact with the plane - from the caterers to the cargo loaders, Malaysia's police chief says.

scmp.com Beijing has sought to distance itself from critical comments made by Chinese relatives of those onboard flight MH370, branding them ''irresponsible'' and unrepresentative of the views of the central government.

nbcnews.com Passengers on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 have been cleared of any possible role in the plane's disappearance, the head of the criminal investigation said.

abcnews.go.com The FBI has completed of review of the in-home flight simulator that belonged to the captain of the missing Malaysia Airlines passenger jet and found ''nothing suspicious whatsoever.''

scmp.com The first pieces of evidence that Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 crashed into the ocean may come to light when they are washed up on an Australian beach, possibly within weeks, experts said.



nationmultimedia.com The Erawan Group, one of Thailand's leading hotel developers, has budgeted Bt1.5 billion to open 25 Hop Inn hotels through next year, a strategic move to put more focus on the fast-growing lower-priced segment.

smh.com.au An entire island has its identity forever altered by the presence of tourists. There's deforestation to make way for large resorts; there's drunken Australians wandering the beaches; and there's an increase in the general population, putting strain on the island's resources. It'll never be that lovely, quiet island again. [Ed: The island? Bali.]

kmbz.com Kim Kardashian and her family traveled to Thailand for a vacation, but took time out to visit a local orphanage in the town of Phuket.

nydailynews.com Kardashians visit Thailand: Inside their luxurious vacation

celebrity-gossip.net Gaining more confidence with her body, Kim Kardashian shared another personalised Instagram. Meanwhile, Kim and the rest of the Kardashian clan continue to soak up the sunshine as they vacation at Phang-Nga Beach in Phuket, Thailand. [Ed: Find a good map, please.]

businessweek.com The Leather on Those Golf Gloves Might Come From a Stolen Pet in Thailand. Factories use leather from dog skin for use in everything from drums to guitars, says John Dalley, co-founder and vice-president of the Soi Dog Foundation. Manufacturers of golf gloves also prize dog leather, Dalley adds, especially from the skin of the testicles of male dogs ''because that skin is particularly soft.''

bangkokpost.com Volkswagen has applied to set up its first car plant in Thailand to help narrow the gap with Toyota Motor Corp in Southeast Asia.

cnn.com Strict building codes and the preparedness of millions of Chileans who live along an arc of volcanoes and fault lines probably kept the death toll - only six by Wednesday afternoon - low after an 8.2-magnitude earthquake rumbled offshore and prompted a tsunami, observers said

dailymail.co.uk Seven Thai workers were killed and 19 injured when they tried to dismantle a Second World War bomb with a blowtorch. The device was discovered by builders on a construction site in northern Bangkok's Lad Plakao neighborhood, Thailand.

bangkokpost.com Thai Airways International executives blamed miscoordination between the airline and Skytrax for its failure to secure a top-10 ranking in 2013, not its falling service quality.

reuters Italian police arrested two dozen separatists including a former parliamentarian on suspicion of gathering arms to violently split the wealthy northern region of Veneto from the rest of Italy. The group had converted a bulldozer into a tank with a makeshift cannon and intended to use it in an assault on St Mark's Square in Venice, police said.

bangkokpost.com Malindo Air, a Malaysia-based carrier partly owned by Indonesia's Lion airline group, will descend on Bangkok on April 24 as it begins operations in Thailand. The airline will be serving Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok daily with its 180-seat B737-900ER jetliner.

news.com.au Top 10 sexiest beaches in the world: 1. PHI PHI ISLAND If you've seen The Beach, then you'll know what limestone cliffs, turquoise waters and pristine white sand can do for romance. While the beach itself here has become something of a tourist trap, it is still the ideal backdrop for some Summer loving.

bangkokpost.com With its strong trading performance, Samui's hotel market attracts investors. However, limited investment-grade hotels are available for sale. Last year, only one Samui hotel was sold - Buddy Oriental Samui Beach Resort, a four-star, 133-room hotel sold by JLL.

theage.com.au Australians will be able to fly all the way to London on board a new Boeing 787 Dreamliner for the first time after Royal Brunei Airlines launched flights using the revolutionary aircraft between Melbourne and Brunei. The airline will then fly the aircraft on to London via Dubai.



skysports.com Gary Cahill admitted Chelsea face a tough task to reach the Champions League semi-finals after a 3-1 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain.

reuters Real Madrid planted one foot firmly in the Champions League semi-finals with an emphatic 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund as Cristiano Ronaldo equalled the record for most goals in the tournament in one season.

telegraph.co.uk Fifa has imposed a year-long transfer ban on Barcelona for breaching its rules on the transfer of players aged under 18. The Spanish club has been sanctioned for breaking the rules in the case of 10 minors and been punished with a transfer embargo for two transfer windows and a fine of 450,000 Swiss francs.



April 6 Chakri Memorial Day

April 7 Substitute holiday for Chakri day

April 10-20 Phuket International Cricket, Republic Ground, Chalong

April 11-19 Phuket Bike Week

April 13-16 Songkran New Year Water Festival

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

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