UPDATING All Day, Every Day
theguardian.com Bob Hoskins, the British actor who starred in The Long Good Friday, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and many more, has died aged 71.
dailymail.co.uk Brunei is to become the first East Asian country to adopt Sharia law despite international criticism. Sharia punishments will include severing of limbs for theft and death by stoning for adulterers and will be introduced over a period of three years.
afp At least 14 people were killed Wednesday when a truck carrying local villagers crashed in a mountainous region of north-west Thailand, police and hospital officials said.
smh.com.au The Australian-led team searching for missing Malaysia Airlines jet MH370 has discounted claims by a private company that it may have found the plane's wreckage in the Bay of Bengal.
theguardian.com Cambodia has agreed to an in-principle arrangement to take asylum seekers in Australian detention in Nauru who are found to be genuine refugees, according to the ABC.
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
jurist.org Thailand's National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) indicted 36 senators for alleged misconduct, including the misuse of authority in violation of Thailand's constitution. The indictment is a response to the senators' attempt to amend the constitution to make the senate fully elected, a move ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in November.
nationmultimedia.com The Election Commission (EC) agreed to take into consideration the proposal of Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva to reform the electoral process before holding an election.
bangkokpost.com The parachute training jump mishap that killed two police cadets in Phetchaburi on March 31 was no accident, an official probe concluded, but was caused by substandard maintenance of the cable used to deploy the chutes.
wsj.com Key economic indicators suggested that Thailand's growth in the first quarter likely contracted slightly as prolonged political conflict undermines the economy, the Ministry of Finance said.
bangkokpost.com Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, serving 10 years, writes from jail: As far as I am concerned lese majeste should not be a statute of law and therefore I am not guilty. So if I were to accept a royal pardon for freedom, I would still be a prisoner of my conscience. I choose to suffer in order to fight injustice and malpractice despite the fact that I will eventually be found guilty or die beforehand.
fidh.org Thailand must release labor rights activist Somyot Prueksakasemsuk and promote a free, open, and informed public debate on lese majeste.
Latest on Lost Flight MH370
microfinancemonitor.com A New York pilot informed his hometown news channel WIVB that the MH370 was lying underneath the Indian Ocean, off the northeast coast of Malaysia, which is west of Songkhla in Thailand.
intoday.in Michael Hoebel, 60, says he reached the conclusion after searching thousands of satellite images online and spending hours trawlling through images made available to the public on a crowd-sourcing website, TomNod.com, before coming across what he believes is the doomed plane. The plane appeared to be in one piece. ''It is located beneath the water off the northeast coast of Malaysia, just west of Songkhla in Thailand,'' he says. Asked if the shadow could be a shark, Hoebel said, ''That's a 210-foot shark.''
washingtonpost.com It is time for others to follow or get out of the way. The Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 investigation has been floundering for too long. Republicans should urge the president to inform the world that the United States is assuming the lead role in the investigation, search, recovery and final report.
Phuket World of People
bangkokpost.com Editorial: The Phuketwan case raises questions about just why the navy has gone after the Phuketwan news team so very strongly. It is one of several wrong signals that the Phuket naval officers have given in the case of the Rohingya allegations. Bringing the full power of state prosecution against a small website is the navy's legal right, but it is also the right of observers to question whether it is a giant case of overkill.
pen-international.org John Ralston Saul: Free speech is of course a more fundamental yet delicate element of any civilization. It requires fair laws, governmental restraint, solid public structures and independent enforcement.
ttrwekly.com Australia's Nine news travel section commissioned Bangkok writer Mason Florence to identify the beaches Australian tourists should avoid. Top of the list was Pattaya that he said was ''enslaved to vice; a neon-lit tropical Gomorrah fuelled by sweat, tears and the sterling trade of its sprawling red-light scene.'' Since Mr Florence wrote his recommendations, both Samui and Phuket have been plagued with the same negative traits that he identified in Pattaya.
ndphr.net The United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights, Tomas Ojea Quintana has said ''There are elements of genocide in Rakhine with respect to Rohingya.'' Speaking at the London Conference on Decades of State-Sponsored Destruction of Myanmar's Rohingya, Ojea added: ''It is crimes against humanity. The possibility of a genocide needs to be discussed.'' The conference marked the first time top legal experts, academics and activists have met at the London School Of Economics And Political Science (LSE) and initiated the public debate on whether the persecution of the Rohingya by Myanmar should be considered genocide under international law.
saudigazette.com.sa The Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar are victims of a war of genocide at the hands of Buddhist extremists, and this is being done with both the blessing and the inaction of the Myanmar government. The atrocities Rohingya Muslims have been subjected to from murder, arson, displacement and deprivation of even basic human rights are considered crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing, according to the testimony of international human rights organisations.
aroundtherings.com The Director General and Technical Director of the Olympic Council of Asia, Mr Husain Al-Musallam, believes the 4th Asian Beach Games in Phuket, Thailand, this November will be the perfect combination of tourism and sport. Speaking at the 200-day countdown celebration at the Jungceylon Shopping Mall in Patong, Mr Al-Musallam said: ''They will be a Games of happiness, fun and modern sports presentation on the famous beaches of Phuket.'' Mr Al-Musallam added that the OCA's decision to award hosting rights to Phuket proved the trust and support of the Asian sports movement in the Phuket tourism industry following the devastating tsunami that hit the island and region in December 2004.
insidethegames.biz A tour of the six different venue clusters was also organised to give a first hand update on progress, beginning at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa, the headquarters for the OCA and Organising Committee during the Games. A visit was then paid to one of the two main venue clusters on Karon Beach, where marathon swimming, sailing and windsurfing, as well as handball, volleyball and basketball, will be among the sports to take place. The Games will feature 147 events in 23 sports from November 14 until November 23.
More News from the Region and the World
mcot Thailand's caretaker Cabinet extended the Internal Security Act (ISA) in the capital and its adjacent provinces for another two months amid worries over possible confrontations between rival political groups.
nationmultimedia.com Editorial: It sounds romantic to say people are willing to die for democracy, but the truth is that most, if not all, "political" deaths have been for an unpolished ''winner-does-all-and-gets-all'' concept. One can die for an ideal, of course, but it pays to remember that too big of a bite can also choke you to death.
thestar.com.my Malaysia ranked 38th out of 106 countries in terms of military strength according to a report published by Global Firepower. In the Asean sphere, aside from Singapore (44), Malaysia also beat out the likes of Cambodia (82) and Laos (102), but lost to Vietnam (23), Thailand (24) and the Philippines (37).
theguardian.com Australian federal police have issued Matt Christopher Lockley with a notice to appear in the Brisbane magistrates court on 6 June, when he is expected to be charged with interfering with a crew member after a hijack scare on a flight to Bali.
watoday.com.au A FedEx employee wearing bullets draped across his chest ''like Rambo'' opened fire at a package-sorting centre outside Atlanta, wounding six people before apparently committing suicide, police and witnesses said.
phnompenhpost.com The Cambodian government has ''agreed in principle'' to a controversial refugee resettlement scheme with Australia, a senior foreign ministry official announced, but will hold off on inking a deal until the proposal has been further analysed.
inquirer.net Males from Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos have the second-shortest bananas in the region with their four-inch produce. Surprisingly, the Thais and Cambodians have a relatively small bulge.
Phuket World of Sport
dw.de Real Madrid have eliminated Bayern Munich from the Champions League, demolishing the Bavarians 4-0. With Bayern needing to play catch-up from the start, the Spaniards made sure they instead widened the gap.
afp Having won last week's first leg 1-0 in Madrid, Real won the semi-final 5-0 on aggregate as Pep Guardiola's Bayern, the title holders, suffered their heaviest home defeat in European competition.
skysports.com Cristiano Ronaldo broke Lionel Messi's all-time record for the most goals in a single Champions League season. Gareth Bale told Sky Sports News: ''That's why he's the world's best player. It's an honor to play with him and to learn from him.''
smh.com.au Former Australian swimmer Geoff Huegill and his publicist wife Sara Hill will face court next month after being allegedly caught with cocaine at Sydney's Randwick racecourse.
Phuket Coming Events 2014
April 30 US Embassy Outreach, Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort, 8am-noon.
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 14-23 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
