ttrweekly.com Thai Airways is dumping its prices for people who book well in advance to fly on five major domestic routes on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays. Prices are close to those offered by Air Asia from Bangkok to Phuket.

smh.com.au Angry passengers have gone on the rampage at an Indonesian airport as they protested about extensive flight delays. Smashed glass walls, barricaded gates and airline workers held hostage were just some of the incidents at Indonesia's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, near Jakarta, over the weekend.

afp The US offered a $3 million reward for information to apprehend Russian Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev, sought in a major hacking enterprise that stole some $100 million.


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



bangkokpost.com Two women and a man from Burma (Myanmar) have been arrested and charged with the murder of a Myanmar woman whose partially clad body was found at an ocean lookout on Samui.
http://www2.bangkokpost.com/news/crime/482628/three-arrested-for-samui-murder

afp Hong Kong's leader said that the government is looking to restrict the number of Chinese tourists entering the city following a public backlash over the influx of mainland visitors.

bangkokpost.com New high-tech 100-baht banknotes will be released Thursday with features to stem counterfeiting and increase accessibility. The notes, still in pink, were announced Tuesday with a design to honor the 18th century's HM King Taksin the Great.



bangkokpost.com The NACC decided to press impeachment charges against Abhisit Vejjajiva and Suthep Thaugsuban for ordering the bloody 2010 red-shirt crackdown.

nationmultimedia.com Trang Provincial Court refused bail for a 35-year-old suspect who allegedly abducted, raped and killed an 11-year-old girl before dumping her body in a sewage drain last May. Pathompong Meunban, who was a neighbor of the victim's family, had just left a one-month monkhood at a Phuket temple.

thaipbs.or.th Security authorities are considering to ban wearing motorcycle helmets in 13 districts of Narathiwat province following last week's car bomb explosion that injured a dozen of people and damaged almost 50 shop houses.

bbc.com Three missing London schoolgirls believed to be heading to join Islamic State militants are thought to have crossed into Syria, UK police say.

news.com.au Embattled airline AirAsia has unveiled a new fare deal and it sounds almost too good to be true. Will it be a game-changer for southeast Asian tourism?

scmp.com The concentration of ozone in Hong Kong's air has increased by a third in the last 15 years, highlighting yet again the severity in regional air pollution, preliminary government data has shown.

stuff.co.nz Jumping ashore after the two-hour trip, I find myself on the untrammeled beach of Ao Phante Malacca where there is not an ATM, resort spa, beer bar, tailor's tout or jet-ski to be seen. Instead, Koh Tarutao, the archipelago's namesake island, is a zone of casuarinas, jungle peaks and just one narrow road with no cars on it - the extreme opposite to other, overcooked Thai tourist islands.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/destinations/asia/66575715/thailands-pirate-prison-in-perfect-paradise

breakingtravelnews.com Leading luxury boutique resort Aleenta Phuket-Phang Nga Resort & Spa has added the final touches to its extensive remodelling as it readies to reveal 34 exclusive garden pool villas. The newly built garden pool villas will open on June 1.

nationmultimedia.com Cape and Kantary Hotels in Phuket, Khao Lak, Chiang Mai, Rayong and Ayutthaya are offering a special meeting package starting at 1300 baht per person.

voxy.co.nz An increasing desire for family holidays further afield, along with a change in reputation for the former party hot spot, means more Kiwi families are travelling to Thailand for a mid-winter holiday.

nationmultimedia.com Tourism New Zealand is boosting its marketing activities in Thailand with the aim of bringing in 5 per cent more Thai visitors this year. Tourism New Zealand is strengthening its marketing strategies and plans to work with travel agencies in Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Hat Yai.



afp Festivals centred around the slaughter of pigs in Vietnam and Taiwan outraged animal-rights activists amid growing sentiment to end the bloody rituals.

Try Phuketwan's Asean Today daily:
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/asean-today-mh370-antarctica-theory-burmas-labor-lure-aquino-under-pressure-21937/



watoday.com.au West Indies master blaster Chris Gayle silenced his critics with the highest ever score at a cricket World Cup, bludgeoning his way to 215 and a record 16 sixes before he was finally caught on the final ball of the innings.

goal.com It may have been Lionel Messi spotted at a casino earlier this week but Manuel Pellegrini took the biggest gamble with an ill-judged selection, and is lucky to still be in the tie. Manchester City 1-2 Barcelona.

goal.com Juventus will take a narrow advantage into the second leg of its UEFA Champions League last-16 clash with Borussia Dortmund following a 2-1 victory in Turin.



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