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news.com.au As many as 950 migrants are feared dead including hundreds who were locked in the hold by smugglers in the Mediterranean's worst ever tragedy.
smh.com.au One of Britain's most controversial commentators has sparked a furore by suggesting Europe follow Australia's approach to asylum seekers by ''threatening them with violence until they bugger off''.
http://www.watoday.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tiny-hearts-what-the-uk-has-been-told-about-australias-asylum-seeker-policy-20150420-1momxh.html
bangkokpost.com Nearly 41 million baht belonging to ex-DSI chief Tarit Pengdith and his wife is frozen after a probe into land held in their names.
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
bangkokpost.com Compared to Hua Hin, Phuket suffers far more complicated problems connected to criminal groups and powerful local politicians. The NCPO prescribed a clean-up of the whole island, ordering that all illegal structures on the beaches be demolished. The clean-up started in July last year in Phuket, where problems with local taxi mafia, beach vendor bullies and jet-ski thugs were out of control.
http://bangkokpost.com/news/general/532691/summer-dreams-dashed-in-divisive-beach-clean-up
bangkokpost.com Police have arrested a monk and two other men for allegedly stealing corpses from Udon Thani cemeteries for use in black magic rituals to help believers pick winning lottery numbers.
Phuket World of People
independent.co.uk Hundreds and potentially thousands of past convictions for serious crimes including rape and murder have been thrown into doubt in the US by a startling acknowledgement by the FBI that for two decades its forensic experts consistently overstated the significance of hair matches to favor prosecutors.
ibcworldnews.com A two-year-old girl from Thailand by the name of Matheryn Naovaratpong has become the world's youngest person to be cryogenically frozen. The child, whose frozen body will be preserved in a cooling unit in Arizona by the company Alcor, had had 12 brain operations and dozens of chemotherapy treatments before she died of ependymoblastoma.
manchestereveningnews.co.uk A couple on honeymoon spent a terrifying 40 minutes cast adrift after leaping for their lives from the Krabi to Phuket ferry fire which killed a schoolgirl. The shocking incident has cast a shadow over the happiest time for Gareth, 36, and Natalie Lee, 29: ''All the staff just ran and jumped off the boat, there was no help.''
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/thai-ferry-disaster-honeymoon-couples-9072714
telegraph.co.uk On seeing a light, just before midnight on Saturday, the migrants surged to one side of the 66ft fishing vessel. Unbalanced, it capsized. And, in what is thought to be the worst migrant tragedy in the Mediterranean, 700 lives were lost.
nationmultimedia.com Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Concervation has asked Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua Foundation - the body overseeing the ''Tiger Temple'' in Kanchanaburi - to hand over 146 tigers to authorities this coming Friday. A special working group has been set up by the department to deal with the transfer of the tigers.
afp Pesticide poisoning was the likely cause of the mysterious deaths of at least 18 people in a south-western Nigerian town earlier this week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said. The ''current hypothesis is cause of the event is herbicides,'' WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said in a Tweet.
bangkokpost.com Three women heading to a meditation session were killed after a speeding pickup truck and their car collided head-on in Chon Buri's Sattahip district on Saturday night, police said.
mashable.com Moore never, at least not in that paper, said what his law has come to mean. Yes, the 1965 paper written for Electronics magazine focuses heavily on how many components can fit on a circuit, and which factors will impact that growing number; but it wasn't until 1975 that the idea that transistors would double every year or two emerged.
Around the Region
Try Phuketwan's Asean Today daily:
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/asean-today-ikea-accused-anti-gay-war-games-begin-asia-turns-africa-22289/
Phuket World of Sport
afp Fabian Delph destroyed Steven Gerrard's hopes of a fairytale Liverpool send-off by scoring the winner as Aston Villa reached the FA Cup final with a 2-1 victory.
afp Manchester City strengthened their grip on fourth place in the Premier League with a 2-0 win at home to West Ham, but at the cost of seeing David Silva carried off on a stretcher.
news.com.au An English club all-rounder has made history by scoring 350 in a one day game. Livingstone's runs came from just 138 balls, including 34 fours and 27 sixes.
afp Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton made light of brake problems and a seamless switch from champagne to rose water after winning the Bahrain Grand Prix to extend his lead in this year's title race.
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
May 4 Additional public holiday scheduled
June 20-21 Baba wedding at Old Phuket Town
July 15-19 Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek
Having recently returned from Patong, and being a previous visitor in 2012 and 2010, my large group of travelling friends were expecting many changes after the coup in 2014, especially regarding changes to the beaches.
However we were pleasantly surprised that not much had changed from a tourists point of view. Even though beach chairs are gone, mats and umbrellas are still abundantly available. Yes, our favourite bars at the back of the beach have gone but there are still numerous vendors selling drinks as well as food and other items. Contrary to what much feedback has stated, we found the beaches more organised with clearly defined zones, especially for swimmers, and the Jet Ski's and powerboats operate purely within their allocated zones. Don't let the scare mongerers put you off. We love the place and will be back!
Posted by Adam Proudfoot on April 20, 2015 10:40
Editor Comment:
We think it would be even better if visitors could bring their own beach chairs and umbrellas.