News
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Sponsored Infinito helps hotels in Thailand with revenue management
Maximising revenue and profit–isn’t that the ultimate goal for every business in the hospitality industry? If you run a hotel, you might have heard that revenue management is an effective way to boost your top-line revenue. It involves using data...
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Phuket Finance: UK bill reassures QROPS retirees
PHUKET: With the recent release of the draft finance bill for 2013, the UK government has eased worries of the QROPS (Qualified Recognized Overseas Pension Schemes) industry that new legislation might close down the market. Last year, offshore pension providers were quite shocked when HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) removed overnight the ability of expat retirees to transfer their…
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Phuket Business: Coping with labor costs
PHUKET: As labor-intensive industries adjust their operations in order to cope with the nationwide 300 baht minimum daily wage, efforts include trimming logistics costs, improving production efficiency and hiring only skilled workers.Tawee Piyapattana, president of Pacific Fish Processing Co, which specializes in the production of frozen seafood, says the company, which employs 3,000 people, will not lay off personnel but…
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World Sports: Armstrong confesses to drug taking – USA Today
Lance Armstrong confronts doping charges in interview Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Lance Armstrong could be jailed and cycling could be dropped from the Olympics as a result of the disgraced American athlete’s reported admission that he had used performance-enhancing drugs during his racing career. USA Today and other media said on Monday that Armstrong confessed to the doping in…
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Phuket Media Watch: Paper defies party; Indian troops shoot Pakistani soldier; Cuban can leave
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community How a feisty Chinese newspaper stood up for press freedom Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Journalists at the Beijing News were at home late one night last week when their mobile phones started ringing. Colleagues in the newsroom were telling them of a showdown between the newspaper’s management…
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Phuket Island View: Deporting Rohingya only feeds traffickers – Phil Robertson
PHUKET: The Rohingya refugees rescued off of Phuket on January 1 reportedly requested to be sent back to Myanmar, according to Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut.Since Thai authorities systematically deny access to detained Rohingya for humanitarians, NGOs and journalists, it’s impossible to actually know what the Rohingya told the officials, but you can bet they were not given much choice in…
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Swiss tourist dies after being pulled from Phuket waters
PHUKET: Police are waiting for doctors to confirm whether or not a 75-year-old Swiss man pulled from the water at Patong Beach yesterday afternoon died from drowning or other – more natural – causes. Staff at Patong Hospital notified Patong Police Deputy Superintendent Pratuang Polmana of the man’s death at about 4:15pm. Police named the man as Thomas Nebel, 75.…
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Charges still not laid against Tiger Discotheque owners following fatal fire
PHUKET: Charges are yet to be laid against the owners of the Tiger Bar and Discotheque following a fatal blaze which ripped through the Patong nightclub five months ago. The fire, which took place on August 17, killed four people, including two tourists, and injured 11. Public Prosecutor Vivath Kitjaruk told the Phuket Gazette they were still considering whether to…
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Monk defrocked after robbing Phuket “money tree’
PHUKET: A monk chose to be defrocked at the main temple in Phuket Town, Wat Wichit Sangkharam, this afternoon after being caught stealing a temple donation “money tree” and running off with 1,000 baht in cash. Wichit Police were alerted to the theft at 11:30am after local residents near Wat Nakaram (click map here) reported a monk absconding with a…
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Hong Kong tourist dies in Phuket ICU after “mysterious’ swimming incident
UPDATE: Since this story was posted online, staff at Bangkok Hospital Phuket have confirmed that Mr Lai has died in the hospital’s ICU. “We cannot release any details as per the family’s request,” the staffer said. JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa staff confirmed they have been notified of Mr Lai’s death. “We are still working with the police in…
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Hundreds of Rohingya refugees offshore north of Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette has confirmed reports of hundreds of Rohingya in open boats in the Andaman Sea off Phang Nga, just north of Phuket. The news comes as thousands of ethnic Rohingya flee the violence in Myanmar. “We have heard there are about nine boats containing hundreds of Rohingya, but they have yet to land anywhere along the coast,”…
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Phuket “Ae Inside’ killer to face Cha-am justice first
PHUKET: Phuket Police will have to wait for their counterparts in the Thai tourism town of Cha-am to close their murder investigation before taking the confessed assassin of Phuket newsman Wisut “Ae Inside” Tangwitthayaporn into custody (click here). Police from the Crime Suppression Division headquarters in Bangkok, along with local Cha-Am Police, moved in and arrested Tossapol Ketkaew, 36, at…
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Phuket Media Watch: Hindu pilgrims stream to mythical river in their millions for Maha Kumbh Mela
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Millions take to the Ganges at largest Hindu festival Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Upwards of a million elated Hindu holy men and pilgrims took a bracing plunge in India’s sacred Ganges river to wash away lifetimes of sins today, in a raucous start to an…
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Phuket Police to order Bangkok autopsy for Dutch tourist
PHUKET: Police investigating the death of a Dutch tourist whose body was discovered floating off Patong Beach yesterday will send the man’s body to Bangkok for an autopsy in order to identify the cause of death.The body of Stephan Buczynski, 26, was discovered at about 9:30am by a tourist riding a jet-ski some 500 meters offshore from the north end…
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Phuket beach turf war leaves car gutted by flames
PHUKET: Phuket police believe a Honda Jazz belonging to a beachfront seafood restaurant owner was maliciously set ablaze last night as part of an ongoing conflict between vendors in the Surin Beach area. Police declined to name the owner of the car for safety reasons. The owner parked the car in front of the restaurant at about 3pm yesterday. Just…
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Phuket Finance: Investing in “frontier markets’
PHUKET: I have recently come across an investment concept that’s caught my interest, and for those of you with a speculative bit of capital to allocate – you might find it interesting also. Fund Management Group has recently launched an equity-based fund, spread across what they call new frontier countries. According to them, frontier markets represent 40% of the world’s…
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World Sports Watch: Man Utd & City put pretenders in place; Euro round-up
Dominant United and City beat pretend pretenders Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Premier League leaders Manchester United and second-placed champions Manchester City put former English heavyweights Liverpool and Arsenal firmly in their place yesterday with United’s Robin van Persie again on song. United sealed a needlessly nervy 2-1 home win over eighth-placed Liverpool to maintain their seven-point lead after Van…
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A heart lost in Seoul: an English professor struggles with life after love in Phuket
SPECIAL REPORTPHUKET: In a cautionary, age old island tale, one known by many jaded and broken-hearted men on Phuket, Barry (not his real name) fell in love with a young Thai bar girl. “It was early Spring, 2010, almost three years ago. Her name was Liz (not real name). I fell madly in love with this girl. Each second apart…
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Blockade-sparked tour counter blitz, ‘well received’
PHUKET: A blockade of the Karon beachfront road by tuk-tuk and taxi drivers has sparked a police blitz on all tour counters in the area using Russian nationals to sell tours. So far the blitz has been “well received”, Karon Police Deputy Superintendent Narong Laksanawimon told the Gazette on Wednesday. The tour counters allegedly specializing in Russian services were individually…
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Royal Thai Police parade highlights Phuket, Pattaya tourism-safety campaign
PHUKET: Royal Thai Police stormed Phuket’s party street, Soi Bangla, with an 800 officer strong parade yesterday to highlight a 30-day safety campaign aimed at slashing the criminal activity in Phuket and Pattaya. “We expect the 30-day project to decrease the criminal activity in Phuket by 50 per cent, and significantly increase how safe tourists feel on our island,” Phuket…
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Phuket Opinion: Taxis – a decade of blocking progress
PHUKET: The recent police-ordered closure of tour counters run by Russian nationals in Kata-Karon is just the latest in a long series of protest-related events in Phuket that undermine the rule of law by rewarding law-breakers and punishing those who play by the rules.The closure of the counters followed a blockade of the Karon beachfront by members of a so-called…
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Obama, Karzai accelerate end of U.S. combat role in Afghanistan
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international communityPHUKET: (Reuters): President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed yesterday (January 11) to speed up the handover of combat operations in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, raising the prospect of an accelerated U.S. withdrawal from the country and underscoring Obama’s determination to wind down a long, unpopular…
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Australian tourist found dead from possible drug overdose in Phuket resort
PHUKET: Patong police believe an Australian tourist who was found dead in his Phuket hotel room yesterday died from a drug overdose. The 45-year-old, whose name has yet to be released to the public by police, was staying at a resort in the Patong beach area. Captain Teerasak Boonsang of the Patong Police told the Phuket Gazette the man’s body…
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Phuket Business: The sweet taste of success at Vanich Sweetcorn Farm
PHUKET: Mr Apirag Vanich is the owner of the Vanich Sweetcorn Farm, which produces corn-based foodstuffs and drinks including; corn milk; boiled corn, fresh sweet corn and baby corn.They also produce three healthy drinks which are; butterfly pea flower tea, corn silk tea and mulberry juice. Vanich Sweetcorn Farm, spread out over an area of about 67 rai, uses modern…
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Phuket Sports: Julian Seal’s journey passing the baton
PHUKET: Julian Seal is a man on a mission. Inspired originally by “Met Track”, a London Metropolitan police initiative to get disaffected teenagers off the streets by using sport, his enthusiasm was galvanized by the success of the 2012 Olympic Games, and the inspiring way in which it showed how sport can foster not only excellence, but can instill in…
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Phuket Media Watch: China sends troops to Myanmar border
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community China sends troops to border with conflict-torn Myanmar Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: China has sent soldiers to its border with Myanmar amid concern that escalating violence between the Southeast Asian country’s government and ethnic separatists is spilling over, an official Chinese newspaper reported yesterday. The…
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Phuket Police have balls, promise to be gentle with ticket sales
PHUKET: The Karon Police do have balls, but heavy-handed tactics in selling the tickets will stop, the Karon acting police chief confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today. The news follows a mob of angry residents in the popular Phuket tourist area of Karon Beach gathering at the newly-established Karon Police Station yesterday. Their complaint: the “strong tactics” used to sell…
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Phuket Sports: Bay Regatta back in style
PHUKET: THE Bay Regatta, formerly known as the Phang Nga Bay Regatta, will take place January 30 to February 3. The popular sailing event takes in the scenic cruising grounds around Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi. The event is organized by Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC) and is expected to attract around 40 boats this year. The racing is split…
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Phuket Sports: PCC start new year in style
PHUKET: After a short break for the festive season, the fourth match of the Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels Cricket League was played last weekend (January 7). Patong Cricket Club (PCC) squared off against the Village Cricket Team, with PCC claiming an all important victory in emphatic style. Opener Mike Khan (41), who was well supported by his partner Raju Seemant…
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Phuket Sports: Andaman Pearl continue to shine
PHUKET: The Andaman Pearl’s last away game against CAT FC at Grand Sport Park, Bangkok, was played without their head coach issuing instructions from the sidelines. Suphol Senapeng was admitted to hospital in the early hours of Wednesday morning suffering from a severe stomach ache. Phuket United used coach Suphol’s absence as an added incentive to continue their fine form…
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Hot-headed somtam vendor wanted for Phuket shooting
PHUKET: Phuket Police are on the lookout for a somtam (spicy Thai salad) vendor following a local building supplies shop staffer being shot in the head at point-blank range with a homemade zip gun south of Phuket Town last night. Somjit Chueajan, 21, from Lampang province in northern Thailand, remains in the intensive care unit at Vachira Hospital Phuket, in…
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