bbc.com The Transport Ministry in Thailand is seeking to ban all unlicensed drone flights, including flights by individuals, local media reports. Those caught flying drones unauthorised could face a year in prison and a fine of 40,000 baht, Transport Minister Prajin Juntong said.


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



nationmultimedia.com Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha launched a full rebuttal against Daniel Russel, the visiting US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, saying the coup was staged to save democracy and that martial law would not be lifted because it could lead to political disturbances.

leicestermercury.co.uk A British backpacker is missing on the Thai island of Koh Tao. Concerns are growing for Lauren Hebden, 27, who has been missing since December 22. She is last believed to have been in Kao Tao, Thailand although it is possible she may have moved on to another island.

bangkokpost.com Japan will build an 874-kilometre railway linking Thailand and Myanmar through Kanchanaburi, a cross-Southeast line tried but never completed, with Prime Minister Prayut to witness a contract signing in Tokyo in two weeks.

tnn Around 230 passengers from Bangkok realised after landing in Kolkata on Tuesday that their checked-in luggage had been left at Suvarnabhumi Airport. The airline staff offloaded all the bags from the aircraft belly after 30 passengers had to be taken off the fight as they were carrying cabin luggage beyond the permitted limit.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Bangkok-flyers-land-without-luggage/articleshow/46035387.cms#write



Phuket Update Recovering in Vachira Phuket Hospital from a cracked skull is Christopher Stark, 64, an English teacher, who told police he was hit with a baseball bat at his local, the Green Leaf Bar in Rawai, when he said he was short of cash to pay for two drinks.

independent.co.uk The group that claimed responsibility for taking Facebook and Instagram offline have threatened more attacks as the social networks came back online. The group has threatened to release personal data found during a hack on Malaysia Airlines. They also said there was ''more to come soon''.

theregister.co.uk A technical cockup - rather than hostile hacker action - is apparently the reason Facebook, Instagram and other Web 2.0 sweethearts fell off the internet.

nationmultimedia.com Three-fourths of Thai business leaders are ready to push for the establishment of an internal anti-corruption policy at their organisations, while 78 percent believe the private sector will play a more active role along with the government in fighting corruption over the next one to two years, according to a survey conducted by the Private Sector Collective Action Coalition Against Corruption (CAC) during October and November.

bangkokpost.com Thai Airways International will reduce its workforce by 20 percent through buyouts and attrition over the next five years, government and labour union officials said.

voanews.com Thailand's military-backed government is looking to boost the country's ailing economy with a more than $100-billion infrastructure spending program that includes upgrading the national rail network and opening links to Southern China.

theguardian.com Under the imposing entrance gate of the Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz almost 300 survivors and hundreds of dignitaries remembered its liberation 70 years ago and paid homage to the 1.5 million Jews and other prisoners slaughtered there.

foxnews.com A US citizen was among nine killed when gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Tuesday, a senior State Department official said. The attack on the Corinthia Hotel, which sits along the Mediterranean Sea, triggered an hours-long standoff that ended when two assailants set off a grenade that killed them, officials said.

smh.com.au Five more great SE Asian beaches: Among Thailand's many pretty beaches, the one fronting Trisara resort on Phuket's north-west coastline is particularly fetching. Trisara supports the Keep Phuket Clean campaign, so regular beach clean-ups ensure a pristine cove.

ttgasia.com Located on a 600m stretch of private beach, just an hour's drive from Phuket International Airport, the newly opened Pullman Khao Lak Katiliya Resort and Villas consists of 223 rooms and suites and 97 villas, many of which come with their own private swimming pool overlooking the Andaman Sea.


Try Phuketwan's Asean Today daily:
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/asean-today-terror-target-among-dead-burma-trady-asean-cambodia-bans-film-21783/



goal.com Branislav Ivanovic's thumping extra-time header sealed Chelsea's spot in the League Cup final after an incident-packed 1-0 victory over Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. Neither side could be separated after 90 pulsating minutes.

Phuket Update Yokohama FC eventually outclassed Phuket FC to run out 2-0 winners at Surakul Stadium on Sunday. That gave the Japanese side a 3-3 draw on aggregate against the island side in their two friendlies. Expectations are high that Phuket will be promoted from Division One this season.



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