bangkokpost.com Thailand's Land Transport Department has ordered a probe into a video clip featuring two foreign passengers having sex in broad daylight on a tour bus.

reuters Bad weather and rough seas on Tuesday forced the suspension of the search for any wreckage of a missing Malaysian jetliner that officials are now sure crashed in the remote Indian Ocean with the loss of all 239 on board.

Thailand Update Officials now say they have recovered 32 bodies from a bus that crashed 150 metres into a ravine in Tak province at 9.40pm. The bus was the last in a four-bus convoy bound for Laos. The driver was inexperienced and the bus had only gone 60km.


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

afp At least 27 people died and more than 20 others were injured late Monday when a bus careered off a hillside road and into a ravine in northern Thailand, police said. Thailand's roads are among the world's deadliest and accidents are common, especially on buses traveling late at night

bangkokpost.com The Tourism Authority of Thailand intends to woo American honeymooners to Thailand now that the US economy is improving. Honeymooners are a key niche market as they spend up to three times more than leisure tourists.

nytimes.com President Obama and the leaders of the biggest Western economies agreed to exclude President Vladimir V. Putin from the Group of 8, suspending Russia's 15-year participation in the diplomatic forum and further isolating his country.

reuters Anti-government demonstrators in Thailand resumed street protests on Monday after lying low for weeks, piling pressure on increasingly beleaguered Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who is expected to face impeachment within days.

bangkokpost.com As security guards led the protesters back onto the streets to drum up support for Saturday's cross-Bangkok mass march, the Pheu Thai Party complained to the United Nations that ''democracy is being undermined.''

theguardian.com ''Thaksin is a genius,'' Phokachang adds. ''It's the first time a prime minister has ever honored his promises to the poor.'' The response from the Isan farmers and their almost unquestioning support for both brother and sister are emblematic of the rift.



theage.com.au Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was deliberately crashed into the ocean in ''an apparent suicide mission,'' according to a report in Britain's The Daily Telegraph. The newspaper report, which appears on the front page of Tuesday's edition, was based on what it claimed were ''well-placed sources''. Fairfax Media cannot vouch for the veracity of the story.

usatoday.com After British satellite company Inmarsat refined its findings to say the plane likely headed over the remote ocean, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced the Boeing 777 crashed and all 239 occupants were dead.

reuters The announcement was greeted with hysteria by Chinese relatives of those on board and a demand by China that Kuala Lumpur share all the evidence it had on the incident.

bbc.com One of the most complex recovery operations ever undertaken could lie ahead. The first stage would be to carefully examine any fragments of MH370 found. Their condition, for example whether they show any signs of an explosion, could begin to shed light on what happened to the plane.

news.com.au Malaysia Airlines has revealed the co-pilot of flight MH370 was flying the Boeing 777 for the first time without a so-called ''check co-pilot'' looking over his shoulder.

heraldsun.com.au Singapore has stepped up security checks at Changi Airport as a ''precautionary measure'' after Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing earlier this month, the city-state's police said. The statement did not reveal what steps had been taken.

afp A Cambodian judge jailed British teacher Richard Fruin, 36, a convicted pedophile in the UK, for two years for sexually abusing three brothers aged eight, 10 and 11 at a Phnom Penh guesthouse.

NNT The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation will give aid to 30 provinces that have been declared drought disaster zones after the department surveyed the endangered areas. In the South, Trang, Satun, Krabi and Surat Thani in the South are suffering.

bangkokpost.com Police in Songkhla say they need three days to wrap up their probe into Indonesia's allegations the crew of a Thai fishing boat detained and killed two Indonesian navy personnel.

csmonitor.com In what appears to be the largest such mass sentencing in modern times, an Egyptian court has convicted 529 people of capital crimes, a move that has stunned human rights defenders who decry deep systemic biases in the country's politicised judiciary.

bbc.com The German magazine, Der Spiegel, citing what it said were NSA documents from Edward Snowden, said the US was positioned to launch cyber offensive operations against the Chinese leadership through its access to the networks of the Chinese telecoms giant, Huawei.



huffingtonpost.com The next best thing to lounging on a Phuket beach is throwing a Thai dinner party, redolent with the exotic flavors of Southeast Asia - that perfect balance of sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, and briny.

couriermail.com.au Australian health fund NIB will vet overseas surgeons and hospitals so patients who take an nibOptions package will be guaranteed 12 months after care and if they suffer a complication can have it dealt with at no extra expense.

scmp.com Claims that a group of suspected Chinese Uygurs in Thailand wanted to be trained as terrorists have been ridiculed by a prominent human rights organisation.

nytimes.com When asked about the migrants in Thailand, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, said at a news conference in Beijing that the Chinese government was working with the Thai authorities to determine their identities. Violence between Uighurs and ethnic Han, the majority ethnic group in China, is on the rise.

variety.com Technicolor's facility in Bangkok, Thailand, will close at the end of the month. Staff at the long-established plant have been told that their last day will be March 27 and that the facility will close on March 31.

globaltimes.cn The Philippine government downgraded the travel warning for Thailand after the country lifted its state of emergency imposed about two months ago to quell mounting civil unrest.



news.com.au Jean-Paul Duminy hit a fighting half-century and Dale Steyn took four wickets as South Africa recorded a thrilling two-run win over New Zealand at the World Twenty20 in Chittagong.



March 30 Vote for Thailand senators, alcohol sales banned from 6pm March 29 to midnight March 30

April 6 Chakri Memorial Day

April 7 Substitute holiday for Chakri day

April 10-20 Phuket International Cricket, Republic Ground, Chalong

April 11-19 Phuket Bike Week

April 13-16 Songkran New Year Water Festival

April 20-27 Phuket Pride Week

April 26 Vote for mayor in Patong, alcohol sales banned in election area from 6pm April 25 to midnight April 26

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 14-21 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