bbc.com Jordan has vowed to avenge the killing of its air force pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh by Islamic State (IS) militants. This comes after an IS video appeared to show him being burned alive.

AP The United States will conduct live-fire training at an upcoming military exercise in Thailand despite saying it would be focusing the drills on nonlethal security cooperation, a US official said.

bangkokpost.com Thai AirAsia (TAA), Thailand's largest low-cost carrier, will bolster its footprint in Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia this year. Chief executive Tassapon Bijleveld said the airline had been preparing to raise flight frequencies to six cities.


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



cnn.com Video and still images apparently show a Jordanian military pilot being burned alive while confined in a cage, according to online posts from ISIS supporters Tuesday. A Jordanian official said the pilot was actually killed a month ago.

bangkokpost.com The British and US governments both updated travel advisories in the wake of the two bomb explosions at Siam Paragon shopping centre on Sunday night. Referring to the explosions from the timed and improvised pipe bombs, the US embassy stated that, ''while the security situation has been generally peaceful over the last six months, this event emphasizes that security incidents can occur without warning.''

nationmultimedia.com Supant Mongkolsuthree, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), called on the government to lift martial law and replace it with Article 44, which grants the junta unchecked power.



thedailystar.net Despite Bangladesh having signed an anti-human trafficking MoU with Malaysia, instances of human trafficking continue to make headlines. The UN estimates that 50 to 150 Bangladeshis travel to Malaysia every week via dangerous, illegal sea routes.
http://www.thedailystar.net/the-plight-of-low-skilled-migrants-in-malaysia-63070



traveldailymedia.com China's Lucky Air will launch its first ever flights to Krabi next week. Due to commence on February 11, the new service will operate tMondays, Wednesdays and Fridays direct to the Thai resort destination from Lucky Air's home base in Kunming.

NNT Phuket Update Patrol teams consisting of local police officers, navy officers and volunteers in Phuket have been dispatched to many areas across the province in an operation to crack down on human trafficking. Ten young women were arrested for prostitution at the Rama IX park. Most child beggars in Phuket are foreigners. The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security is sending them back to their parents.

scmp.com Visas issued by the United States to Chinese citizens soared 68.2 percent in December and January after the two countries forged a deal to extend the validity of tourist and business visas.

bangkokpost.com Terminal 2 at Bangkok's Don Mueang airport should be ready for commercial operation in seven months following its renovation.

afp Britain has become the first country in the world to allow the creation of babies with DNA from three people. MPs at the House Commons on Tuesday voted by 382 to 128, a majority of 254, in favor of allowing the creation of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) babies with DNA from three people.

bangkokpodt.com Consumer prices hit a 64-month-low last month due to declining oil and food prices, but authorities still insist Thailand has yet to see signs of deflation.

AP A senior police official says Canadian police have made another arrest and are announcing charges against three men related to an Islamic State recruiting terror cell in Ottawa.

telegraph.co.uk One of the most bitterly contested questions left by the Balkan wars of the 1990s was resolved when Serbia and Croatia were both cleared of committing ''genocide'' by the International Court of Justice.

TNS A pilot who lost control while taking selfies was likely the cause of a small plane crash that killed two men this past spring, according to US federal investigators. A GoPro camera mounted to the plane's windshield recorded Singh and several other passengers taking selfies on their mobile phones during a series of short flights before the crash, the US National Transportation Safety Board found.

theage.com.au Residents in Seoul have varying opinions on three-year prison term sought for former Korean Air executive for her role in the ''nut rage'' case.

foxnews.com 'To Kill a Mockingbird' will not be Harper Lee's only published book after all. The publisher Harper announced Tuesday that 'Go Set a Watchman,' a novel the Pulitzer Prize-winning author completed in the 1950s and put aside, will be released July 14.



theglobalpostandmail.com Brunei is fast heading back to earth after a joyride fuelled by fountains of oil. Brunei has no income tax, no sales tax and loopholes big enough that many companies pay no corporate tax. It subsidizes basic foodstuffs and sells gasoline for 47 cents a litre. It is the world's fourth-richest nation in GDP per capita.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/bruneis-oil-fuelled-economy-looks-to-diversify/article22750399/

Try Phuketwan's Asean Today daily:
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/asean-today-brunei-hits-hard-times-firing-squads-prepare-singapore-air-sets-standards-21820/



AP Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong hit two parked cars after a night of partying in the US alpine resort of Aspen, but agreed to let his long time girlfriend take the blame to avoid national attention, police reports show.



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 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