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 More Pheu Thai members, including Chaturon Chaisang, are to front the NCPO after making political comments amid warnings that members of the media could be a target for ''attitude adjustment'' too.

news.vice.com A fishing trawler that sank in the Bay of Bengal on Thursday was packed with illegal migrants bound for Malaysia, dozens of whom are feared to have drowned, Bangladeshi authorities have said. Survivors said that more than 100 people might have been crammed onto the vessel, according to a coastguard official quoted by bdnews24.com.

bangkokpost.com THAI president Charamporn Jotikasthira said the airline will no longer fly Bangkok-Madrid and Bangkok-Moscow and stop the service between Phuket and Seoul from March 29. The decision followed the scrapping of the Johannesburg route on Jan 15.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/transport/461600/thai-axes-3-loss-making-routes



hrw.org Thousands of Rohingya families have been detained in poor conditions. The Thai government has turned a blind eye to networks of human traffickers preying on Rohingya seeking to travel to Malaysia. In June, the US State Department downgraded Thailand to a Tier 3 ranking in its 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report for failing to combat human trafficking.

thailand.embassy.gov.au Human trafficking remains a critical challenge to countries throughout South East Asia, and the Australian Government has taken a leadership role in combating the trade alongside partner governments and community organisations in the region.



bangkokpost.com Commentary: Do we want to build a society where even a former prime minister can be impeached with total disregard to due process? And if this can happen to a former prime minister in broad daylight, then what chances does an ordinary person have against the unchecked powers of the state?

economist.com Offering up Ms Yingluck to the establishment could buy the generals time. Her impeachment also helps vindicate the coup-makers' narrative, useful to the junta, that politicians elected through democratic means, rather than appointed by them, will lead Thailand to ruin.

bangkokpost.com Protest groups that opposed Ms Yingluck's government say the rice-buying program was part of a pattern of corruption by politicians allied with her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed as prime minister in a 2006 coup.

andrew-drummond.com The Thai Supreme Court has as expected issued an arrest warrant for British journalist Andrew Drummond for failing to attend a hearing on a final judgment on a libel case brought by James Lumsden, former joint proprietor of Boyz Boyz Boyz Club in Pattaya.

cnn.com A gas explosion tears apart a Mexico City maternity hospital. With two deaths confirmed by the city mayor, there are also fears parents, babies and medics could be trapped in the debris.

nationmultimedia.com While the US remains undecided on whether to impose full sanctions on Thailand or support the military government, China has curried favor with the junta by actively supporting it. Thammasat University historian Thanet Aphornsuvan said: ''The current political regime in Thailand has led the country to align with the Chinese.''

channelnewsasia.com There are growing concerns that the Thai government's recent attempts to introduce cyber-security laws have given authorities overwhelming power to monitor internet users in the country.

smh.com.au The Australian dollar plunged against the greenback in the early hours of Friday morning, dropping down to US77.27 cents. [A low Aussie$ means fewer Australian visitors to Phuket.]

bangkokpost.com Pole dancing on the Bangkok subway is now officially against the law, so be warned. Don't try it, even if seized by a momentary whim.

theguardian.comThe Foreign Office summoned Moscow's ambassador to London to complain about a flight by two Russian bombers over the English Channel, which Britain says posed a potential danger to civilian flights.

telegraph.co.uk Manchester airport, the UK's third busiest, was forced to close for several hours to allow snowploughs to clear snow from runways. East Midlands airport also suffered disruption.

nationmultimedia.com The Tourism Authority of Thailand will continue focusing on Asean markets out of fear of the continuing economic instability in Western economies.


Try Phuketwan's Asean Today daily:
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/asean-today-firing-squad-ready-virgins-recover-mh370-declared-lost-singapore-crime-21793/



bbc.com Andy Murray fought back superbly to beat Tomas Berdych and reach his eighth Grand Slam final. He will face Serb Novak Djokovic or Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka on Sunday. They meet in the second semi-final on Friday.



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.

January 30 US consular outreach, Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort

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