bbc.com Former singer Gary Glitter has been jailed for a total of 16 years for sexually abusing three young girls between 1975 and 1980. Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was sentenced for attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault and one of having sex with a girl under 13.

bangkokpost.com Parents of Thanpuying Srirasm Suwadee detained by police without bail after they confessed to charges of lese majeste and arranging false statements.

bangkokpost.com The number of foreign visitors via Bangkok's two major airports, Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang, last month surged 11.7 percent and 51.2 percent year-on-year, respectively. However, international visitor arrivals at Phuket fell by four percent due to a decline in Russian tourists.

smh.com.au Three more people say they have suffered food poisoning after eating tuna from Thailand sold at a Sydney city cafe.

theage.com.au The Aussie $ dropped 1.2 percent against the US dollar to US77.9 cents. [This means fewer Aussie tourists for Phuket.]

bangkokpost.com A taxi driver threw a wrench at a passenger who kicked his car after the driver refused to take him to the agreed destination. The incident, on a roadside in Bangkok, was caught on camera and hit social media.
http://www2.bangkokpost.com/vdo/thailand/483633/bangkok-taxi-driver-passenger-fight


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



bankokpost.com The Transport Ministry foresees a light-rail system inside Phuket and from the island province to Phang Nga to boost Phuket's tourism industry. Transport Minister Prajin Juntong said that he had discussed ideas to make Phuket a ''premium destination'' for tourists with Deputy Prime Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula and Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkan Wattanavrangkul.

irishtimes.com One of Northern Ireland's most highly-rated young footballers must serve 220 hours community service for having quantities of ecstasy and cocaine, a judge ordered. Glentoran winger John McGuigan has been offered trials in Thailand with professional club Phuket FC. ''There's no doubt this is a very talented young man,'' his lawyer insisted.

bangkokpost.com The freedom to hold mass political rallies will soon just be a memory after a 182-0 vote for a new law giving authorities full powers to ban or control public gatherings.



AP Near death from a lack of proper food, he was rescued from a tiny island in Indonesia two months ago. He is just one of countless hidden casualties from the fishing industry in Thailand, the world's third-largest seafood exporter. Human rights advocates say some improvements have been noted in domestic waters, but such policies have little impact when vessels stray into the territorial waters of other countries.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/overfishing-driving-slavery-thailands-seafood-boats-29207424



AP Thai Airways says one of its planes hit severe turbulence over Thailand and 11 people on board were injured. Airline President Jarumporn Chotikasathein says the Airbus A340-600 was headed to Bangkok from Tokyo at the time and landed safely.

nationmultimedia.com Four people in Sydney are suffering from suspected fish poisoning after eating tuna sandwiches made with fish imported from Thailand, agencies reported. The four had ordered the tuna in question from the same cafe.

allafrica.com Patong is the most famous beach resort on Phuket. While my partner and I were there at the beginning of February this year, local media reported that eating had been banned on Phuket beaches but Phuket Governor, Nisit Jansomwong, came out with a statement clarifying that eating is in fact allowed.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201502250950.html

dailymail.co.uk A British tourist who had become ''infatuated'' with Thailand plunged to his death in a mystery fall from a 36th-floor apartment. Detectives are investigating how John Knotts came to fall from the Sky Beach Condominium in North Pattaya on February 18.

independent.co.uk The masked executioner who as ''Jihadi John'' has come to embody the bestial violence of Islamic State was today revealed to be a British computer programmer who was known to MI5 and police for at least four years before he slipped away into Syria.

cnn.com United Airlines has issued a stern warning to its pilots after mistakes in the cockpit put passenger planes in potential danger.

christiannews.com Photos of three Thailand men who recently 'married' each other have gone viral, garnering societal support for the concept of same-sex ''throuples'' worldwide, but also generating remarks from Christians about the confirmation of the slippery slope that has long been predicted.

reuters The United States military officially ended a mission to build treatment facilities to combat an Ebola outbreak in Liberia months earlier than expected, in the latest indication that a year-long epidemic in West Africa is waning.

cnn.com For a third day in a row, heavy snowstorms caused avalanches in Afghanistan's Panjshir province, bringing the death toll to 168, officials said.

AP Ultra-radical Islamist militants in northern Iraq have destroyed a priceless collection of statues and sculptures from the ancient Assyrian era, inflicting what an archaeologist described as incalculable damage to a piece of shared human history.

smh.com.au Virtuoso, the global luxury travel network with $US14 billion in annual sales, has crunched its numbers, finding that while retired travelers spend more overall, Gen X goes short, sharp and flash to burn through more cash every day they're away.

news.com.au A British man who was put on a sex offenders register after trying to have sex with a mailbox has been found dead. Paul Bennett, 45, was charged with indecent exposure last month after he was caught rubbing his genitals on a mailbox and shouting ''wow''.



Try Phuketwan's Asean Today daily:
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/asean-today-drugs-ringleader-deported-tourist-donate-organs-survivor-cambodia-21946/



afp Turks Besiktas knocked Liverpool out of the Europa League in a thrilling Istanbul clash at the scene of one of the English club's greatest triumphs, clawing back their first leg deficit and then winning on penalties. Title-holders Sevilla are also through to the last 16 following a 3-2 win at Borussia Moenchengladbach.

smh.com.au A poster promoting a Belgian cycling race has been branded ''sexist'' by equality groups and led to numerous complaints, the Belga news agency reports. The poster for the E3 Harelbeke, to be held on March 27, depicts the hand of a cyclist motioning to grab the bottom of a hostess whose skirt is raised.

bbc.com Afghanistan beat Scotland by one wicket with three balls to spare to claim their first cricket World Cup win. Scorland have now lost all 11 matches they have played in three World Cups.



February 26-28 Phuket Old Town Festival

March 1-15 Heroines festival

March 4-8 Bay Regatta

April 11-19 Phuket Bike Week

April 17-19 Songkran Festival

May 4 Additional public holiday scheduled

June 20-21 Baba wedding at Old Phuket Town

July 15-19 Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek