news.sky.com An Italian man has apologised to Pope Francis after he rudely disconnected two phone calls from the leader of the Catholic Church. Franco Rabuffi thought he was the victim of a prank caller when the Pontiff called twice.


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 Washington says Thailand has missed chances to improve intellectual property laws, and will remain for another year on its ''dirty dozen list'' of world's worst pirates.

nationmultimedia.com The Samui Provincial Court ordered public prosecutors to submit key evidence in the much-publicised murders of two British tourists on Koh Tao to the Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS) for verification. The hearing will start on July 8.

bangkokpost.com The prime minister says Europe should ''show us some mercy'' over its demand to clean up everything from Trat fish-packing to illegal trawling.



Phuket Update Police are seeking two men who allegedly hurled rocks at a car being driven by Swede Bo Jonas Daniel Svegsjoe, 38, during a road rage incident on the Phuket coast road near Laem Sing beach. A passenger took photos and the evidence was delivered to Kamala police.

bangkokpost.com Despite the government's threat to use the draconian Section 44 law in pushing the Pak Bara deep-sea port project in Satun, southern people and a network of conservation groups are undaunted, ready for a major fight. Likewise, the coal-fired power plant plan poses a threat to the Krabi tourism industry which depends on pristine marine conditions.

Phuket Update The driver of a green-plate limousine taxi failed to look when turning left in Mai Khao into Thepkasattri Road and crashed into an overtaking truck while moving to do a u-turn, according to Phuket police. The driver suffered cuts and was taken to Thalang Hospital.

afp Rescuers spark rare of joy in Kathmandu as they pull a teenage boy and a woman alive from the earthquake rubble, and they tell astounding survival tales.

bangkokpost.com The former director of Don Muang Airport has been found guilty of dereliction of duty yesterday after 20-million-baht worth of soil was dug up from the premises during his administration last year, said Prasong Poontaneat, chairman of the Airports of Thailand Plc (AOT).

cnn.com German police overnight thwarted a terrorist plot by a radicalized couple, a plan they suspect involved bombing a bicycle race near Frankfurt, a German terrorism researcher briefed by investigators told CNN.

smh.com.au Why Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran never stood a chance. Now that it is done, we can admit the truth we were suppressing - that they never had any hope.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/why-andrew-chan-and-myuran-sukumaran-never-stood-a-chance-20150430-1mwirr.html

thetimes.co.uk Britain's biggest class-A drug bust has netted three tonnes of cocaine worth more than 500 million pounds from a ship intercepted off the coast of Scotland.

reuters China will hold joint naval drills with Russia in mid-May in the Mediterranean Sea, the first time the two countries will hold military exercises together in that part of the world, the Chinese Defense Ministry said.

More than 100 Australians stranded by the Nepal earthquake have been evacuated to Bangkok on two RAAF transport aircraft. Australian Ambassador to Nepal, Glenn White, said all the Australians the embassy is aware of in Nepal are safe.

afp North Korean diplomats walked out of a UN conference on human rights in protest at the testimonies from three defectors about their ordeal living under the regime.

Around the Region

ft.com In the first two months of 2015, motorcycle sales fell 14 percent year on year in Indonesia, which represents 60 per cent of the Asean market that also includes Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Vietnam (18 percent) and Thailand (13 percent) account for most of the rest, while Malaysia and the Philippines together represent just 9 percent.

Try Phuketwan's Asean Today daily:
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/asean-today-manny-fans-warm-big-fight-barbarous-crimes-war-regrets-indon-executions-22370/

Phuket World of Sport

smh.com.au Michael Clarke and David Warner would be offered $50 million contracts as part of a plan hatched by an Indian conglomerate to take on the cricket establishment in a plot that has been likened to Kerry Packer's creation of World Series Cricket nearly 40 years ago. The Essel Group's owner, Indian billionaire Subhash Chandra, has confirmed ambitions to launch a cricket venture.

Coming Events on Phuket 2015

May 1 With the addition of Monday as an extra public holiday, government offices shut down from Friday and reopen on Wednesday, May 6.

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