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    Infinito helps hotels in Thailand with revenue management

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  • Phuket FC unlucky 13th in season finale

    Phuket FC unlucky 13th in season finale

    PHUKET: The Islanders ended their Yamaha League One (YL1) 2013 on a low note, falling to their final position of 13th place following a 3-0 away loss to Nakhon Ratchasima FC on Saturday night in Thailand’s Northeast. Following the opening exchanges, it was Phuket who looked to be the most threatening, with Giorgi Tsimakuridze netting the ball in the 20th…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Toronto mayor in crack up; Egypt’s Mursi trial begins; Anonymous hacks Australia; France rues journalists’ executions

    Phuket Gazette World News: Toronto mayor in crack up; Egypt’s Mursi trial begins; Anonymous hacks Australia; France rues journalists’ executions

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Toronto mayor urges police to release video, apologizes for ‘mistakes’ Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford on Sunday urged his police chief to release a video that media reports say show him smoking what appears to be crack cocaine and issued an apology for unspecified…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Amnesty bill protests spread; Tourism takes a hit; Six killed in Pattaya ferry disaster

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Amnesty bill protests spread; Tourism takes a hit; Six killed in Pattaya ferry disaster

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Amnesty opponents to rally nationwide The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Yingluck Shinawatra’s government is walking a tightrope as opposition against the Amnesty Bill has now gained momentum with various groups, including the Democrat Party and many red shirt groups who formerly supported her, openly launching their campaigns…

  • China beats USA in FIVB Phuket Thailand Open final

    China beats USA in FIVB Phuket Thailand Open final

    PHUKET: It took just two sets for the Chinese team, Chen Xue and Xinyi Xia to beat the American pair Emily Day and Summer Ross and win the gold medal in the FIVB Phuket Thailand Open Powered By PTT 2013. The Americans failed to crack the great Chinese wall despite numerous attempts and the high flying, petite Xinyi Xia’s precise…

  • Top cop warns new officers over bribes, extortion

    Top cop warns new officers over bribes, extortion

    PHUKET: Phuket’s new top cop warned the island’s police reinforcements that swift disciplinary action will be taken and criminal charges will be levied against them if they go crooked. “The most important thing is to not use your career to benefit your own pocket,” Phuket Provincial Police Commander Ong-art Phiwruangnont told the 97 recruits, all recent graduates of the police…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: House pushes Amnesty Bill through

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: House pushes Amnesty Bill through

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community How the bill was pushed through The Nation/Phuket GazettePHUKET: Since the Senate is expected to debate the amnesty bill by Friday or next Monday, with the deadline for the bill’s final passage set at 60 days, the House pushed the bill through to its third and final…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: One killed in LA airport; U.S. drone kills Pakistani Taliban leader; Man sentenced in rape, murder that shocked South Africa; Call to cease excessive surveillance

    Phuket Gazette World News: One killed in LA airport; U.S. drone kills Pakistani Taliban leader; Man sentenced in rape, murder that shocked South Africa; Call to cease excessive surveillance

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community TSA agent killed, 6 hurt in Los Angeles airport shooting Reuters/Phuket GazettePHUKET: A gunman opened fire with an assault rifle in a terminal of Los Angeles International airport on Friday, killing a Transportation Security Agent and wounding at least six other people before he was shot and…

  • Phuket taxi driver killer turns himself in

    Phuket taxi driver killer turns himself in

    PHUKET: The man who fatally stabbed a Karon taxi driver in Samkong early yesterday morning turned himself in today.Jirawat Kongtanote, 22, has been charged for the murder of his neighbor, Teeranan Phongkrathin, 29 (story here). Mr Jirawat accepted the charge, saying, “We were friends and I stabbed him.”The two men had a long-running argument that involved, at least in part,…

  • Phuket Opinion: The meter of madness

    Phuket Opinion: The meter of madness

    PHUKET: After landing at Phuket Airport on October 7, I passed all the scam businesses and made my way to the metered taxi stand.I’ve used it for years and know that despite the word “metered” in the name, the price is fixed, about 550 baht to Patong. But with the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) visits, it’s a new era.…

  • Phuket Opinion: Slicing up Thailand’s cash cow

    Phuket Opinion: Slicing up Thailand’s cash cow

    PHUKET: Reports of government plans to raise both arrival and departure taxes on foreign tourists reflect an almost complete lack of cohesion on tourism policy by government officials, and fly in the face of previous pronouncements that Thailand stands at the ready to become the “tourism hub” of the Asean region.The proposed increases, a 100-baht hike in airport departure tax…

  • UK backs cross-cultural negotiation education for Phuket government officials

    UK backs cross-cultural negotiation education for Phuket government officials

    PHUKET: High-ranking local government officers in Phuket will start an English language and cross-cultural negotiation course this month as part of the ongoing cooperation between the United Kingdom and Thailand, said British Ambassador to Thailand Mark Kent. The announcement of the course came after a closed-door meeting between Amb Kent and Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut yesterday afternoon. “The UK embassy…

  • Letters from Abu Dhabi: It’s the F1 pits and a flying circus

    Letters from Abu Dhabi: It’s the F1 pits and a flying circus

    Abu Dhabi: The motorway to the Yas Marina Circuit hops from Abu Dhabi onto Sadiyaat Island, en-route they are building a Guggenheim Museum, a Louvre, and lots of expensive housing. Right now Sadiyaat Island it is a flat naked barren sun-blasted atoll interspersed with cranes, but when Abu Dhabi has a will, there is a way. Then we crossed onto…

  • Phuket taxi driver’s feud leads to fatal stabbing

    Phuket taxi driver’s feud leads to fatal stabbing

    PHUKET: A Karon taxi driver was stabbed to death early this morning by a neighbor he was feuding with. Police were called to the Samkong Shrine area at about 3:30am. When they arrived, they found Teeranan Phongkrathin, 29, lying in the road with a knife protruding from his chest. Friends who witnessed the stabbing told police that Mr Teeranan had…

  • Russian found dead in Phuket resort pool | Thaiger

    Russian found dead in Phuket resort pool

    PHUKET: A 38-year-old Russian man was found dead in a Phuket resort swimming pool early this morning.Royal Crown Hotel & Palm Spa Resort staffers informed Patong police of the death at 4:30am.Police and Kusoldharm rescue workers arrived at the scene to find the man floating face down in the pool.“He was only wearing swimming trunks, and there was a bottle…

  • Jet-ski operators sorted out ahead of Phuket’s high season

    Jet-ski operators sorted out ahead of Phuket’s high season

    PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut stepped out onto the sand yesterday to inspect Patong Beach jet-ski operators. As the island gears up for an increased number of tourists during the high season, the governor made it clear that jet-ski safety was of utmost importance. “Jet-skiing is a popular activity for tourists in Phuket, and it can also be dangerous,” Gov Maitri…

  • Phuket airport taxi collides with tipsy motorbiker

    Phuket airport taxi collides with tipsy motorbiker

    PHUKET: An airport taxi driver rushing to pick up a tourist at the airport collided with an inebriated motorbike driver in Thalang yesterday.The man on the motorbike suffered minor injuries.The taxi driver, Wattana Patan, 36, told police that he was en route to the airport and saw the motorbike riding in the left lane on the Cherng Thalay-Baan Don Road,…

  • Speed cameras coming to Phuket roads

    Speed cameras coming to Phuket roads

    PHUKET: Four speed cameras are being set up on Phuket roads in an effort to reduce road traffic accidents and increase awareness of speed limits, police told the Phuket Gazette on Monday. The cameras may also help police solve crimes, as they may capture images of suspects fleeing crime scenes, said Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Saneh Yawila. The total…

  • Thailand’s favorites keep local hopes alive at Phuket Open

    Thailand’s favorites keep local hopes alive at Phuket Open

    PHUKET: Thailand’s favorites Varapatsorn Radarong and Tanarattha Udomchavee are through to the knock-out stage taking two wins in Pool A, at the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball Phuket Open on Thursday. Thailand has hosted over 10 women’s and one men’s FIVB tournament and the Open is back for an eighth consecutive year. Despite losing their final pool match to Dutch pair…

  • More historical heroes coming to Phuket

    More historical heroes coming to Phuket

    PHUKET: Nine important figures in Phuket’s history will be honored with statues in Thalang by the beginning of next year.The goal of the 26-million-baht project is to remind Phuketians of their brave ancestors who defended Phuket from Burmese invaders, said Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa.“We chose nine figures to honor HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej because he is the ninth king…

  • Letters from Abu Dhabi: Chapter One: Circuses – F1

    Letters from Abu Dhabi: Chapter One: Circuses – F1

    Abu Dhabi: There are three kinds of sports; men against distance, men against men, and man-and-machine against man-and machine. Athletics is the first type, rugby and boxing are of the second. Motor Sports and horse racing are of the third. So which does history say is the most popular? Greece, Rome and Byzantium had all these sporting types. In Rome…

  • Phuket officers push LINE for drug crime clues

    Phuket officers push LINE for drug crime clues

    PHUKET: A popular social networking application that was recently used to locate a missing man with Alzheimer’s disease (story here) will be used to help police crack down on drugs in Phuket. The use of LINE by police was announced yesterday at Phuket Provincial Hall by Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada. The provincial government has established a group on LINE…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Amnesty Bill heats political conflict to a boil; Anti-ICJ protesters told to avoid border; Ancient hand cannons found

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Amnesty Bill heats political conflict to a boil; Anti-ICJ protesters told to avoid border; Ancient hand cannons found

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Amnesty push makes political conflict more likely The Nation/Phuket GazettePHUKET: October has seen important political changes in the past – notably, a student-led uprising in 1973 and a massacre of protesters at Thammasat University in 1976.This year, a new round of political conflict is simmering after the…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: US to keep spying; Syrian chemical weapons destroyed; Congo rebels on brink of defeat

    Phuket Gazette World News: US to keep spying; Syrian chemical weapons destroyed; Congo rebels on brink of defeat

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. Senate panel passes plan to restrict but keep mass surveillance Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee approved legislation yesterday that would tighten controls on the government’s sweeping electronic eavesdropping programs but allow them to continue. In a classified hearing, the panel…

  • Phuket – BISP – Cruzeiro football academy announced

    Phuket – BISP – Cruzeiro football academy announced

    PHUKET: British International School Phuket (BISP) have officially announced plans to launch an unprecedented football academy in collaboration with Phuket FC and top-tier Brazilian football club, Cruizeiro EC. The plans (story here) were formally presented to local media at a press conference held this afternoon at the expansive BISP campus in Koh Kaeo, just north of Phuket Town. Presiding over…

  • “Brother Pom’ says he’s clear of extortion charges; DSI disagrees

    “Brother Pom’ says he’s clear of extortion charges; DSI disagrees

    PHUKET: Pom Sukkasem, the leader of the Central Festival taxi group arrested in September on extortion charges, has announced that the charges have been dropped. However, the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) begs to differ. “I reported to the Criminal Court in Bangkok on Monday as required, and I was told that the prosecutor decided not to pursue my case,”…

  • Phuket airport aims to bring swift justice to shoplifters

    Phuket airport aims to bring swift justice to shoplifters

    PHUKET: Phuket International Airport has established a new policy for dealing with airport shoplifters.Passengers suspected of shoplifting in the airport who attempt to escape prosecution by boarding their flights will now be asked to deplane to be arrested. However, the arrest and the retrieval of the passenger’s luggage must all be completed within an hour.The announcement, made on October 29,…

  • Phuket woman transfers over 2 million baht to alleged Facebook scammer

    Phuket woman transfers over 2 million baht to alleged Facebook scammer

    PHUKET: A woman believed by police to be entangled in an intricate Facebook scam transferred 2 million baht into a Thanachart Bank account and 48,000 baht into a Bangkok Bank account based in Phuket. The 53-year-old woman, named only as “Ms A” by police, filed a complaint to Wichit Police yesterday after being asked to transfer an additional 2.3 million…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Council to name top monk; Nurses apologize; Naomi Campbell pales

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Council to name top monk; Nurses apologize; Naomi Campbell pales

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Council to name top monk soon The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: BECAUSE of the position left vacant by the passing away on October 24 of the late Supreme Patriarch, His Holiness Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara, at the age of 100, the Sangha Supreme Council would soon…

  • Social network app helps finds missing Alzheimer’s patient

    Social network app helps finds missing Alzheimer’s patient

    PHUKET: A man with Alzheimer’s disease who went missing last Saturday was located on Sunday, within hours of police posting a notice on a popular social network site. Benjawan Moonket reported her 60-year-old father, Muang Moonket, missing to Thalang Police at about 5pm on Sunday (story here). Officers shared the information via Line, a social networking application, and about three…

  • USA’s Kessy joins up with Sweat to top Pool G at Phuket Open

    USA’s Kessy joins up with Sweat to top Pool G at Phuket Open

    PHUKET: USA’s Jennifer Kessy and Brooke Sweat top Pool G after securing two wins on the first day of pool play at the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball Phuket Open yesterday. The penultimate Open of the year is back in Thailand for its eighth consecutive year, taking place from October 28 to November 3. Kessy/Sweat were first on court at 9:00…