Updating All Day, Every Day
smh.com.au Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Fraser has died at the age of 84. Mr Fraser was prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party from 1975 to 1983. He took charge after the Whitlam government was dismissed in a constitutional crisis that followed months of budget deadlock.
pep.ph Zayn Malik has reportedly left One Directions On the Road Again World Tour due to ''stress.'' The 22-year-old singer pulled out of a commercial recording in Hong Kong March 19 and has flown back to Britain. [He was spotted on Phuket holding hands with a woman who wasn't his fiancee.]
PhuketWATCH Daily Media Wrap
PHUKET: The daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media. Beware of inconsistent imitations.
Today's Top News Items
bangkokpost.com A nine-member bench of the Supreme Court ruled to accept for trial the Office of the Attorney General's indictment of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra over the bungled rice-pledging scheme. The first hearing is scheduled for May 19.
nationmultimedia.com A postmortem has found that a Chon Buri motorcyclist killed while passing a police checkpoint was shot once at a horizontal trajectory in the back of the head, Thai Police spokesman Lt-General Prawut Thawornsiri said.
news.com.au ''Chinese people. Unbelievable!'' A Thai model caught up in a stampede of Chinese tourists has posted an angry VIDEO rant online. Duangjai Phichitamphon was waiting at the tourist tax refund desk at Jeju International Airport in South Korea when Chinese tourists jumped the queue.
http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/thai-models-unbelievable-rant-about-chinese-tourists/story-e6frfq80-1227269569211
Human Trafficking in Thailand
nationmultimedia.com Some 157 Lao nationals who fell victim to human trafficking were rescued in Thailand last year, an increase from the 103 rescued the year before, statistics showed. Of the 157 victims, only two were male and 135 of the total were under 18 years old, statistics showed.
bloomberg Four out of five workers in the canneries are foreign, part of an economic web of some 4 million migrants employed in Thailand's factories, fishing fleets, and brothels. The pressure is building to clean up questionable labor practices in the fish export industry.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-19/human-trafficking-u-s-presses-thailand-on-worker-protections
Phuket World of People
bangkokpost.com Airports of Thailand has scrapped its plan to develop a commercial centre at Phuket airport. The decision came after the emergence of a gigantic luxury mixed-use property development project next door, The Terminal Phuket, which will be a direct competitor to AoT's planned Phuket International Airport City.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/tourism/501191/aot-shelves-phuket-commercial-centre
nationmultimedia.com Speaking at 'Imagine Thailand 2020' hosted by the Pacific Asia Travel Association, businesses in tourism made several proposals - including making Thailand duty-free - to bring more tourists and increase competitiveness.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Tourism-industry-players-suggest-how-to-improve-Ki-30256367.html
voanews.com An elusive poaching vessel sought by authorities in Australia and New Zealand is now anchored off an island near Phuket. Sea Shepherd said one of its ships has also been chasing the Nigerian-registered Thunder for more than 90 days and the two vessels are now in the Gulf of Guinea.
bangkokpost.com Thirty-four European tourists were lucky to escape unhurt when the double-decker bus they were travelling on to Koh Sami burst into flames in Chumphon province, police said.
AP Thai authorities arrested a Malaysian and a Thai they said were behind a transnational ivory trade network after seizing more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of African ivory in the biggest bust in recent years.
reuters Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL, Thailand's largest meat and animal feed producer, plans to spend 20-25 billion baht ($611-763 million) this year, mostly on the expansion of its international operations and overseas acquisitions.
smh.com.au Islamic State has issued a statement claiming responsibility for the deadly attack on Tunisia's national museum that killed 23 people.
smh.com.au The Australian dollar dropped as much as 2.5 percent from its peak, from a high of US78.32 to as low as US76.12.
thephuketinsider.com I love brandspeak and one of those silly new iconic lodging terms now trending is poshtel.
theguardian.com Two men have been killed and more than 10 wounded after gunmen opened fire in a pub, in a suspected gang-related attack in the Swedish city of Gothenburg, police have said. Customers in the bar were watching football on television when the shootings took place.
shanghaiist.com Seven people were killed and 19 injured after being struck by falling rocks at a popular tourist spot in Guilin, China. According to staff, the tragedy occurred as the tourists were getting ready to board boats at the Folded Brocade Hill, one of the Guilin's most famous scenic parks.
afp Solar Impulse 2 landed in Myanmar's second largest city Mandalay after completing the fourth leg of its landmark circumnavigation of the globe powered solely by the sun.
AP A Czech tourist suffered minor injuries when a polar bear attacked the tent he was sleeping in on the remote Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, Norwegian authorities say.
scmp.com More Chinese are expected to apply for the United States' investor visa this year as people embrace an expanded immigrant quota and promising business opportunities, says a think tank report.
Around the Asean Region
bangkokpost.com The average Thai test-taker typically scores lower than those in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar (Burma) on both the International English Language Testing System and the Test of English as a Foreign Language.
Try Phuketwan's Asean Today daily:
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/asean-today-lawless-playground-tourists-eat-tigers-burma-jails-reporters-brunei-slashes-defence-spend-22081/
Phuket World of Sport
afp Dynamo Kiev shattered Everton's hopes of restoring English pride with a ruthless 5-2 demolition of the Premier League side in the Europa League last 16.
news.com.au Australia will be hot favorites to upstage Pakistan in the third quarter-final of the Cricket World Cup on Friday but Misbah ul-Haq's men are not to be underestimated.
Coming Events on Phuket 2015
April 11-19 Phuket Bike Week
April 13-15 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
Jumping the queue is not exactly an unknown phenomenon in Thailand either so I'm not sure what the rant is all about.
Ever tried to tell someone here in Thailand not to jump the queue ? If you want to get punched in the face, that's a good place to start.
Posted by Herbert on March 20, 2015 09:46
Editor Comment:
There is a vast difference between queue-jumpers in Thailand and being swarmed by Chinese, Herbert, as the video clearly shows. Perhaps you haven't watched it. I am constantly amused at readers who put down the criticisms of others. It's as if only their criticism matters.