independent.co.uk Amtrak Philadelphia train crash - live updates: Five dead and 140 hospitalised as Train 188 derails after leaving 30th Street Station

reuters The Pentagon is considering sending US military aircraft and ships to assert freedom of navigation around rapidly growing Chinese-made artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea, a US official said.

afp A strong 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan early Wednesday but authorities did not issue a tsunami warning and there were no immediate reports of damage.


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



AP Abandoned at sea, thousands of Bangladeshis and members of Myanmar's long-persecuted Rohingya Musilm minority appeared to have no place to go after Malaysia and Indonesia refused to offer refuge to boatloads of hungry men, women and children.

abc.net.au Thailand and Malaysia may set up camps to shelter hundreds of refugees arriving on their shores, officials say, after reports that at least 8000 people are still adrift at sea.

nytimes.com U Kyaw Hla Aung, a Rohingya lawyer and community leader in western Myanmar, said people were leaving the refugee camps daily to embark on sea journeys. ''It is clear that security forces here are working together with human traffickers,'' he said. ''If not, those people couldn't leave.''

Phuket Update National police chief General Somyot Poompangmoung is to meet his Malaysian counterpart on Phuket today to discuss the Rohingya human trafficking crisis.

bangkokpost.com Thailand will host a May 29 international meeting on the flow of migrants through the Bay of Bengal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had called for a summit, but other countries did not respond to calls for a meeting of heads of government.



AP At least 60 people were killed and over 1500 injured as another powerful earthquake rocked Nepal, bringing down buildings and spreading panic less than three weeks after a 7.8 temblor devastated the country and claimed over 8000 lives.

bangkokpost.com Residents slept on the streets of Kathmandu after the second major earthquake killed dozens and brought fresh terror to the country.

telegraph.co.uk A US military helicopter searching for survivors of the Nepal earthquake is missing with eight people aboard.

nationmultimedia.com The Public Health Minister agreed to address the problem of unreasonably high prices charged by some private hospitals at the request of the Thai Medical Error Network, its president Preeyanan Lorsermvattana said. The minister accepted the network's petition, which garnered 33,000 signatures.

Krabi Update A man is dead and his son is under intensive care in Krabi Hospital after the pair were overcome with lack of oxygen while deepening a water well in Krabi. Prapan Chaikhao, 59, and, Somnuek, 38, were pulled to the top by rescue workers in Lamthap but Khun Prapan died in Krabi Hospital.

itv.com Two British men were killed walking along Samui's ring road when a speeding car careered out of control and ploughed into them, an inquest heard. Derek Rodney Gent and Mike Holmes, both 68, pals for more than 30 years, were on a dream trip with their wives, Christine and Janet, on the island of Koh Samui when the crash took place on March 23.

bangkokpost.com Eight women arrested for prostitution at a brothel in Hua Hin resort town early Tuesday told police they chose to work in the sex trade because it paid well.

Phuket Update The Phuket based Royal Thai Navy 3 went on an aerial survey looking for Rohingya vessels at sea. The mission followed reports about Rohingya camps being located around the Andaman region.

bangkokpost.com The Department of Civil Aviation is confident that five Thai airlines faulted by the Chinese aviation authority can solve their problems without risk of penalties being imposed.

latimes.com A man awaiting trial for allegedly strangling his ex-wife and throwing her from a cruise ship off the Italian coast tried to hire two inmates to kill another ex-wife, according to prosecutors. Lonnie Loren Kocontes, 57, has been in custody since 2013.

afp AOL agreed to sell itself to telecom giant Verizon for $4.4 billion, representing an ignominious closing chapter for a company that was once one of the world's leading tech stars.

telegraph.co.uk People should stop taking antidepressants as their benefits are exaggerated and they would be healthier in the long-term without them, a leading scientist has said.



channel4.com A Cambodian TV channel faces a social media backlash after it tricked a 13-year-old girl into thinking she would be reunited with her mother, but met a man in drag instead. The channel has subsequently apologised for the joke, which social media followers labelled as ''brainless''.

Try Phuketwan's Asean Today daily:
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/asean-today-rohingya-adrift-fear-boatpeople-pushed-sea-blogger-guilty-cruel-stunt-22452/



afp Neymar struck twice as Barcelona reached the Champions League final by beating Bayern Munich 5-3 on aggregate in their semi-final despite losing Tuesday's second-leg 3-2 at the Allianz Arena.

bbc.com Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has compared Lionel Messi to Brazil legend Pele as he backed former club Barcelona to win the Champions League.

smh.com.au As Kevin Pietersen was scoring 355 not out, across town Andrew Strauss said the star batsman will not be picked for Ashes.



June 20-21 Baba wedding at Old Phuket Town

July 14-16 Trial of Phuketwan journalists at Phuket Provincial Court

July 15-19 Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek