World News

Phuket Gazette: Rebels release UN peacekeepers; UN calls on Israel to release prisoners; Inmates escape

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:40:00 GMT

PHUKET MEDIA WATCH� World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket's international community

Rebels release peacekeepers in Sudan's DarfurPHUKET (news Wires): More than 50 international peacekeepers and other personnel who were blockaded by rebels in northwestern Darfur on Sunday have been allowed to leave, officials at the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) confirmed yesterday.

The 55-person peacekeeping contingent was blocked by more than 100 armed men belonging to the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) while conducting a long-range patrol in the village of Shegeg Tova in Darfur, a region in western Sudan, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from its team site in Umm Baru.

Rebels initially accused the peacekeeping patrol of cooperating with Sudanese security services, but most of them were allowed to leave on Monday after negotiations.

Phuket Gazette: Munch's "Scream" for sale

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:03:18 GMT

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Munch's 'The Scream' to go on sale at New York art auctionPHUKET (News Wires): A Norwegian businessman will sell the Edvard Munch masterpiece "The Scream" during an art auction in New York City in May, auction house Sotheby's announced yesterday. The price is expected to exceed US$80 million.

The 1895 painting, owned by Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, will lead the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale at Sotheby's in New York City on May 2.

Phuket Gazette: 400 Frankfurt flights cancelled; Pilot dies during flight; Small plane crash

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:51:35 GMT

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400 flights cancelled as ground controllers strike at Frankfurt airportPHUKET (News Wires): More than 400 flights have been canceled at Frankfurt Airport in Germany after ground controllers launched a two-day strike over a wage dispute yesterday, aviation officials said today.

Only 16 of the 200 ground controllers reported for work on Thursday after the German union for air traffic workers (GdF) announced a seven-hour strike between 3pm and 10 pm local time. As a result, at least 150 flights were canceled on Thursday at Europe's third-biggest airport.

Violence condemned; drone strike; mass escape; Florida execution

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:20:15 GMT

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Reporters Without Borders condemns violence by Israeli forces against journalistsPHUKET (News Wires): Reporters Without Borders on Wednesday condemned the alleged violence used by Israeli forces against Palestinian, Israeli and foreign photojournalists covering demonstrations against Israel's West Bank separation barrier.

In a statement, the Paris-based press freedom organization said it "deplores the total impunity enjoyed by the soldiers responsible for these abuses." It said that two Palestinian journalists were injured by tear gas grenades and rubber bullets fired by Israeli soldiers when they were covering a weekly protest in the village of Nabi Saleh on February 10.

Phuket Gazette: Fisherman murdered by police; 272 prisoners dead; 54 rhinos poached

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:09:00 GMT

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Sri Lanka police open fire on protesters, killing one
PHUKET (News Wires): One demonstrator was killed yesterday morning when police officers opened fire on fishermen who were protesting against fuel prices in northwestern Sri Lanka, local media reported.

Thousands of fishermen clashed with police during the protest against a fuel price hike in the town of Chilaw, which is located in the Puttalam District of North Western Province. Police reportedly fired tear gas to disperse the protesters when they started hurling stones at them, according to the Colombo Page.

Phuket Gazette: 'Morality Police' nail Valentines couples; Google gobble of Motorola moving forward

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:42:00 GMT

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Malaysian police arrest couples on Valentine's DayPHUKET (News Wires): Islamic "morality police" have arrested at least five couples in a Malaysian city for being intimate on Valentine's Day, local media reported last night. It follows similar operations in previous years.

The Star, the country's largest newspaper, reported that the couples were arrested at budget hotels in the Malaysian city of Petaling Jaya in the state of Selangor.

Phuket Gazette: Reactor temperature rises at Fukushima Daiichi; Schiphol reopened after bomb threat

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:08:00 GMT

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Nuclear reactor at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant rises to 82�CPHUKET (News Wires): The bottom of one of the reactors at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in eastern Japan rose to 82 degrees Celsius (179.6 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday afternoon, the Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) said yesterday.

According to Tepco, the safety equipment at the No.

Phuket Gazette: TV Journalist couple killed; The Sun newspaper staff arrested

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:09:27 GMT

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TV journalist couple murdered in Bangladesh capital PHUKET (News Wires): Two well-known Bangladeshi television journalists were killed at their residence in the capital of Dhaka over the weekend, police said yesterday.

The bodies of Golam Mustofa Sarowar and his wife, Meherun Runi, were first discovered on Saturday morning by their 5�year-old son at their rented flat in Dhaka. Police said they had been stabbed to death earlier in the morning.

Phuket Gazette: Singer Whitney Houston dead

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 09:42:38 GMT

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Singer Whitney Houston dies at Beverly Hills hotel
PHUKET (News Wires): Grammy Award-winning singer and actress Whitney Houston, one of the world's best-selling music artists, was found dead in her Beverly Hills hotel room on late Saturday afternoon, police said. She was 48.

Beverly Hills Police Department spokesman Lieutenant Mark Rosen said paramedics responded at approximately 3:43 pm local time after receiving a 911 call for medical aide at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Phuket Gazette: India - Leopard kills girl; Student stabs teacher; Bus crash kills 26

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:33:41 GMT

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Leopard kills fifth girl in western NepalPHUKET (News Wires): A teenage girl was killed by a leopard in the district of Baitadi in western Nepal on Wednesday, the fifth such incident in two months, local media reported yesterday.

The 14-year-old girl was mauled to death by a leopard in the village of Pancheshwor on Wednesday when she was busy cutting grass in the jungle. She is the fourth person to be killed by a leopard in Pancheshwor village, the Republica newspaper reported.

Phuket Gazette: Oracle buys Taleo; PepsiCo cuts 8,700 jobs; Air traffic double; Dreamliner fuels Thai growth

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:57:03 GMT

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Oracle to buy Taleo for US$2.9 billion PHUKET (news Wires): Multinational tech company Oracle yesterday announced that it has agreed to acquire Taleo Corporation for approximately US$2.9bn.

Phuket Gazette: Ministers without porno?; Toxic bootleg liquor; Fighter jet crashes

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 18:41:46 GMT

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Three Indian ministers resign after porno scandal PHUKET (News Wires): Three ministers in southwestern India resigned yesterday after being accused of watching pornography during a debate in the state's assembly, local media reported today.

Women and child development minister CC Patil and cooperation minister Laxman Savadi, two Karnataka state ministers from the ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party, were filmed by television cameras as they allegedly shared pornographic files through their mobile phones during a debate at the state assembly.

The footage on the phone showed a woman dancing, undressing and then engaging in sexual acts.

Phuket Gazette: Military options in Syria; Drone kills 10; Medical TV drama 'House' to end

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 14:32:00 GMT

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Report: U.S. reviewing military options in Syria to end conflictPHUKET (News Wires): The U.

Phuket Gazette: Mississippi executes man; Last World War I vet dies; Teenage suicide in Moscow

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:43:18 GMT

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Mississippi executes man for convenience store killingsPHUKET (News Wires): A Mississippi man convicted of killing two men during a robbery spree in December 1995 was executed this morning, officials said. A U.S.

Phuket Gazette: EU's aviation agency orders Airbus A380 wing inspection

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 09:52:00 GMT

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EU's aviation agency orders Airbus A380 wing inspectionPHUKET (News Wires): The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) yesterday issued a mandate to further inspect the wings of all Airbus A380 aircraft currently in service.

The published Airworthiness Directive to mandate a so-called High Frequency Eddy Current inspection is a directive to prevent any unsafe conditions which could threaten passengers. It is also the second interim measure following a first directive issued three weeks ago.