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    Infinito helps hotels in Thailand with revenue management

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  • Stop killing sharks

    Stop killing sharks

    PHUKET: I came across awful images of a man gutting a juvenile blacktip reef shark on Facebook via Go Eco Phuket and was horrified to see that it happened on one of our local beaches, Kata Noi (story here). It was clear that this man was a spear fisherman from the wetsuit he was wearing and the spear hole on…

  • Hooked on saving sea life

    Hooked on saving sea life

    Wisit Itthiwarapornkul, 50, is the president of Go Eco Phuket. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marine science from Kasetsart University and has worked in the dive industry for more than 10 years. Here, he talks about ways to resolve conflicting local interests in the sea and makes suggestions about what we all can do to preserve the health…

  • Corralling young Phuket minds for a collective economic community

    Corralling young Phuket minds for a collective economic community

    PHUKET: After years of apparent neglect, it is good to see the Embassy of Myanmar’s Labour Attache taking steps to ensure that at least some of the untold thousands of Myanmar workers on the island are being treated fairly by their Thai employers (story here). The history of Myanmar workers in Phuket is a tale of sadness and suffering that…

  • Brazen thief steals Phuket Police officer’s motorbike

    Brazen thief steals Phuket Police officer’s motorbike

    PHUKET: A Phuket Police officer has become the latest victim of motorbike theft on the island. Sen Sgt Maj Narong Wilairat reported at 6:30am that his motorbike was stolen from in front of his police accommodation just meters from the main building at Chalong Police Station. “My son used the motorbike – a red Honda Click Phuket license plate ‘Khor…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: White House unveils plan to end NSA’s bulk collection of phone data

    Phuket Gazette World News: White House unveils plan to end NSA’s bulk collection of phone data

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community White House unveils plan to end NSA’s bulk collection of phone data Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Obama administration on Thursday announced details of its plan to end the government’s vast bulk collection of data about phone calls made in the United States, including new…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: U.N. General Assembly declares Crimea secession vote invalid

    Phuket Gazette World News: U.N. General Assembly declares Crimea secession vote invalid

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.N. General Assembly declares Crimea secession vote invalid Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The U.N. General Assembly on Thursday passed a non-binding resolution declaring invalid Crimea’s Moscow-backed referendum earlier this month on seceding from Ukraine, in a vote that Western nations said highlighted Russia’s isolation. There…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Yingluck graft probe deadline stays; Three arrested for Indonesian Navy murders; Thai satellite spots MH370 debris

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Yingluck graft probe deadline stays; Three arrested for Indonesian Navy murders; Thai satellite spots MH370 debris

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NACC rejects PM’s request to extend deadline The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday refused to extend the deadline for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to file her defence against the charge of dereliction of duty in overseeing the rice-pledging scheme. The NACC…

  • Phuket firefighters stage full-scale drill at Patong resort

    Phuket firefighters stage full-scale drill at Patong resort

    PHUKET: Patong Municipality held its annual full-scale fire and evacuation drill this week, complete with a Navy helicopter airlifting a survivor to safety from a beachfront resort’s rooftop. Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada presided over the exercise on Wednesday, joined by Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan, Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket) Chief San Janthawong and Patong…

  • Phuket Poll: Better driver training best way to stop Patong Hill carnage

    Phuket Poll: Better driver training best way to stop Patong Hill carnage

    PHUKET: More than half of the respondents to a Phuket Gazette poll said that better training for tour bus drivers was the best way to stop the carnage on Patong Hill. Two people crushed to death by a runaway bus in December (story here) sent officials scrambling for ideas on how to prevent more needless deaths on the notorious slope…

  • Phuket lounge chair touts battle boot campers for beach space

    Phuket lounge chair touts battle boot campers for beach space

    PHUKET: A Phuket exercise and beach-cleanup group saw an abrupt end to their activities on March 15 when lounge chair touts battled them for space on Nai Harn Beach. “Clean the Beach Boot Camp” is a free event held every two weeks aimed at bringing together local expats and giving back to the community, explains Krix Luther, the health and…

  • Dynamic Without Fins competition next in the Phuket Suunto Series

    Dynamic Without Fins competition next in the Phuket Suunto Series

    PHUKET: The We Freedive Suunto Series continues this Sunday at Phuket Country Home in Chalong as competitors line up to participate in the “Dynamic Without Fins (DNF)” event. The event will be monitored by Association Internationale pour le Developpement de l’Apnee (AIDA) judges Sarah Whitcher and Richard Wonka. All competitors’ results will be entering the AIDA International ranking list. Those…

  • Phuket protesters to stage mass rally on Saturday

    Phuket protesters to stage mass rally on Saturday

    PHUKET: Anti-government protesters will stage a mass rally in the heart of Phuket Town this Saturday in support of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) protests in Bangkok. “Our rally will start in front of Provincial Hall [map here] at 8:30am, and from 9am we will parade through Phuket Town to show our strength to the government,” protest co-ordinator Amnuay…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Officials say 90 people still missing in Washington mudslide

    Phuket Gazette World News: Officials say 90 people still missing in Washington mudslide

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Officials say 90 people still missing in Washington mudslide Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The number of people missing after a landslide sent a wall of mud crashing into dozens of rural Washington state homes dropped to 90 on Wednesday, as officials reported finding more bodies…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Court drops Lese Majeste; Police deny beating Lak Si shooter; Bt3bn Australia-bound heroin bust in Ranong; Activists slam Thai seafood slavery

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Court drops Lese Majeste; Police deny beating Lak Si shooter; Bt3bn Australia-bound heroin bust in Ranong; Activists slam Thai seafood slavery

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Court drops Lese Majeste case over lack of strong proof The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Court of Appeal gave an alleged lese majeste offender the benefit of the doubt yesterday and acquitted him after the man’s computer notebook – confiscated by police – was…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Planes, ships race against bad weather in search for Malaysian jet debris field

    Phuket Gazette World News: Planes, ships race against bad weather in search for Malaysian jet debris field

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Planes, ships race to beat bad weather in search for Malaysian jet debris field Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Aircraft and ships scouring the southern Indian Ocean for wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 were racing to beat bad weather on Thursday and reach an area…

  • Hydrogen sulfide kills four, injures four in Phuket sewer | Thaiger

    Hydrogen sulfide kills four, injures four in Phuket sewer

    PHUKET: Four workers were killed by hydrogen sulfide fumes in a Phuket Town sewer this morning, and four others remain hospitalized after attempting to rescue them with inadequate equipment. The four who died had been tasked with maintenance of a sewer access point about 100 meters from Tesco Express on Srisena Road, and they succumbed to the fumes one by…

  • Mum’s nightmare a prelude to daughter’s disappearance becoming murder investigation

    Mum’s nightmare a prelude to daughter’s disappearance becoming murder investigation

    PHUKET: More than three months after 7-year-old Natthapa “Nong Dear” Papkaew disappeared, her mother had a nightmare that her beloved daughter had been raped by a tall man with a knife. Jaroon Papkaew, Nong Dear’s mother, woke from the horrific vision only to discover a graver nightmare: DNA tests confirming that the human remains found in a Chalong pine field…

  • Officials inspect overflowing Phuket landfill, prepare for possible fires

    Officials inspect overflowing Phuket landfill, prepare for possible fires

    PHUKET: Island officials yesterday visited Phuket’s overloaded waste management facility and took steps to ensure that any fire there could be quickly contained. The inspection followed the news of a blaze that erupted in a garbage disposal site in Samut Prakan province on March 16 (story here) and adversely affected many locals in the area. “I have asked Prachum Suriya,…

  • Thalang triumph over ICC at ACG

    Thalang triumph over ICC at ACG

    PHUKET: In Sunday’s JLL league match, the Thalang cricket team chased down 143 runs in 22.4 overs at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) to defeat the Island Cricket Club (ICC). In their first encounter of the season on February 9th. ICC set the record for the lowest team total on the ACG of just 37 runs. Winning the toss this…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Sweden demands EU shares out asylum seekers burden

    Phuket Gazette World News: Sweden demands EU shares out asylum seekers burden

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Sweden demands EU shares out asylum seekers burden Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: With numbers of asylum seekers in Europe reaching a two-decade high, Sweden’s immigration minister said many member states were sitting on the sidelines and warned the EU needed to share out the burden…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Bus ravine plunge leaves dozens dead; Grenades rock Bangkok; NSC chief gets his job back

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Bus ravine plunge leaves dozens dead; Grenades rock Bangkok; NSC chief gets his job back

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bus plunges into ravine in Tak, killing 29, injuring 23 The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A double-decker bus plunged into a ravine in Tak province on Monday night, killing 29 passengers* and injuring 23 others. Most of them were elderly people. As of press time,…

  • New bypass road opens for Phuket travellers

    New bypass road opens for Phuket travellers

    PHUKET: The new road that will allow drivers travelling between Patong and Chalong to bypass the Darasamuth Intersection in front of Central Festival officially opened to the public yesterday morning. The new route, officially dubbed the Muang-Naka Road by Governor Maitri Inthusut, is just one part of an overall project to improve traffic flow throughout the island (story here). The…

  • Phuket kidnapping suspect wanted by Russian Police

    Phuket kidnapping suspect wanted by Russian Police

    PHUKET: Police heading the investigation into the alleged kidnapping of Iana Strizheus and Alexey Slabinskiy have confirmed that one of the two main suspects is a Russian fugitive. “We are aware that Ukrainian Oleksandr Boychuk, 44, is wanted by the Russian Police,” Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Arun Kaewvatee told the Phuket Gazette. “We know only that he was wanted…

  • French resort manager, Ukrainian tour guide nabbed in work permit raids

    French resort manager, Ukrainian tour guide nabbed in work permit raids

    PHUKET: Phuket Immigration last night arrested the manager of The Blue Garden Resort & Spa in Cherng Talay, where Russian woman Iana Strizheus was found bruised and battered after her alleged kidnapping ordeal (story here). Officers moved in and arrested French national Eric Raymond Seigneurin, 55, at about 9pm after plainclothes police posing as tourists observed him serving tourists at…

  • Phuket Gov warns against showing ‘too much’ skin during Songkran

    Phuket Gov warns against showing ‘too much’ skin during Songkran

    PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut issued a warning yesterday about showing too much skin during the Thai New Year Songkran Festival next month. “Tourists need to be aware of how they dress and of their surroundings when participating in the Songkran Festival. Please do not just wear a bikini, as it might make you a target for sexual harassment,” said…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Rohingya trafficking cargo ships seized off Ranong | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Rohingya trafficking cargo ships seized off Ranong

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rohingya trafficking cargo ships seized off Ranong The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Coast guards in Ranong seized three fishing boats for illegal modifications believed to have been done to smuggle Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh through Thailand. Lt Thaweeporn Khanathong, who is with the…

  • Sister of Russian missing in Phuket offers B500,000 reward

    Sister of Russian missing in Phuket offers B500,000 reward

    PHUKET: The sister of missing Russian Alexey Slabinskiy has offered half a million baht for information leading to the arrest of the two men believed to be involved in his disappearance. An additional 100,000 baht is offered to whoever finds her brother. WANTED: Olexsande Boychuk. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong Mr Slabinskiy disappeared with his girlfriend, Iana Strizheus, on March 7 (story…

  • Phuket FC versus Sriracha City FC tomorrow night | Thaiger

    Phuket FC versus Sriracha City FC tomorrow night

    PHUKET: Come out to support your local Yamaha League One 11th place Phuket FC Ronins as they take to the pitch against 17th place Sriracha City FC. The game starts at 6:30pm tomorrow night, March 26, at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town – get there early to get a good seat!

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Obama seeks allied, China support as Ukraine exits Crimea

    Phuket Gazette World News: Obama seeks allied, China support as Ukraine exits Crimea

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Obama seeks allied, China support as Ukraine exits Crimea Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: U.S. President Barack Obama sought support from European allies and China on Monday to isolate Russia over its seizure of Crimea, and Ukraine told its remaining troops to leave the region after…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: At least 32 dead as bus plunges into ravine | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: At least 32 dead as bus plunges into ravine

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community At least 32 dead as bus plunges into ravine The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: At least 32 passengers died and many others were injured when their chartered bus plunged into a ravine in Tak’s Muang district last night. Police were alerted at about 7.30pm that…