bangkokpost.com Security officials arrested an auto broker in Pattani province in relation to the bomb explosion at the Central Festival Samui mall on April 10.

afp New Zealand Prime Minister John Key publicly apologised to a waitress who labelled him a ''schoolyard bully'' for repeatedly pulling her ponytail on visits to her cafe.

ihsmaritime360.com Preliminary investigations showed there was a fire inside the engine room at the stern of the Krabi to Phuket ferry, while rescue appliances were enough for all passengers and in a ready-to-use condition, including life jackets and extinguishers, Voradej Harnprasert, a deputy permanent secretary for transport, told reporters.

AP Fourteen years after first criticising Thailand's human-trafficking abuses, the US continues to ignore its own laws to allow imports to seafood caught by slaves on Thai boats.


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



wsj.com The European Union said it will ban seafood from Thailand unless it clamps down on illegal fishing, while removing a similar threat from the Philippines and South Korea. Thailand was given six months to clean up its fishing industry, or join neighboring Cambodia, the only Southeast Asian country now on the European black list, the EU said.

bangkokpost.com Thailand's position in the global tourism rankings declined last year as the civil unrest has taken its toll on both arrivals and receipts. The Land of Smiles saw its status on the world's international tourist arrival chart slip to 14th last year from 10th in 2013.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/536583/thailand-drops-in-global-tourism-rankings



bangkokpost.com Six people, five Cambodians and the Thai driver, were killed and eight others injured when a speeding pickup truck carrying illegal migrant workers plunged into a roadside ditch in Chon Buri province.



Phuket Update Phuket City police have arrested and charged Pongpon Boondetpiti, 25, over break-ins and thefts from five parked cars at the weekend in the streets of Old Phuket Town.

afp Her removable parts make cleaning or replacement easier, but despite lengthy prior research - Liu can explain subtle differences between an exhaustive list of Chinese and foreign doll brands - he was disappointed.
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1766085/its-better-cheating-my-wife-sex-dolls-fill-need-chinas-lonely-men

nationmultimedia.com Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol revealed he was on the verge of becoming the new majority shareholder at Italian Serie A club AC Milan, saying he will fly to Milan this weekend to seal the deal.

bangkokpost.com The transnational online sales company Ufun may have cheated up to 120,000 members in Thailand out of about 38 billion baht in total through its alleged pyramid scheme, police said.

Journalism Update The Columbia Journalism Review has amended a report on the Bangkok Post and changed the headline.
http://www.cjr.org/criticism/thailand_bangkok_post.php

reuters Libya has stopped several boats packed with Africans trying to reach Italy's shores in the past three days, detaining more than 600 immigrants, a security official said.

Phuket Update Representatives of the Thai, Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean navies met in private on Phuket to improve their joint campaign against piracy in the Malacca Strait and nearby waters.

smh.com.au Two foreigner cases delaying the Australian executions have been thrown out of court, clearing way for Indonesia to carry out their death sentences.

independent.co.uk Katie Hopkins and the editor of The Sun, David Dinsmore, have been reported to the Metropolitan police for incitement to racial hatred. It follows the publication of a column by Hopkins in the tabloid on 17 April, in which she described migrants desperate to reach Britain following humanitarian disasters in their own countries as ''cockroaches'' and suggested the government deploy ''gunships'' to stop them landing on shore.

scmp.com Philippine President Benigno Aquino has explained why people sometimes misunderstand his awkward smile - including in the wake of the 2010 Manila hostage tragedy in which eight Hongkongers died: ''Usually I have a particular smile when I am so fed up.''



AP Hard Rock Cafe withdrew a promotional campaign in Malaysia after public anger at the Photoshopped depiction of an orangutan baring its teeth and playing an electric guitar.

Try Phuketwan's Asean Today daily:
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/asean-today-body-suitcase-couple-guilty-china-fires-water-cannon-trawlers-fall-saigon-22306/



afp Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his return from both a domestic and European ban to captain Paris Saint-Germain as they look to overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit in their Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona.

bangkokpost.com Thai officials are satisfied with Singapore's preparation to host the 2015 SEA Games. The 28th edition of the biennial tournament will be held from June 5-16.



May 4 Additional public holiday scheduled

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