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Gaddafis killed; Phuket Wage May Rise 25pc; Tesco Protest Riot; Fifa Probes Singapore; Phuket Papers

Sunday, May 1, 2011
Phuketwan PhuketWATCH

A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media.

nationmultimedia.com Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will announce a policy today to boost minimum wages by 25 percent over the next two years if his party is re-elected to office. The pledge will be made during a speech he will give to mark Labor Day. [Phuket has the highest minimum wage at 221 baht a day.]

bbc.co.uk Colonel Gaddafi's youngest son Sayf al-Arab and three of his grandchildren have been killed in a Nato airstrike in Tripoli, the Libyan government said. Colonel Gaddafi was reportedly in the large residential villa which was hit by the strike, but was unharmed.

press association Kate and William spent the night at Buckingham Palace, the Queen's official residence in London, after a party that finished at 3am. They decided not to depart for their honeymoon immediately and will spend the weekend in Britain.

telegraph.co.uk Two people have been charged by police after protests against the opening of a new Tesco Express store in Bristol turned violent. Around 400 people were involved in running skirmishes with police, which resulted in officers carrying riot shields to protect themselves from a barrage of bricks, bottles and roof tiles.

eurosport.yahoo.com An "academy of match-fixers" operating out of Singapore could be responsible for rigging matches around the world, Fifa's head of security Chris Eaton said in a newspaper interview on Saturday. Eaton, who worked for Interpol for more than a decade before joining world soccer's governing body, told Singapore's The New Paper that a global investigation into match-fixing saw many of the lines of inquiry focused on the city-state.

wyff4.com A 38-year-old American was sentenced in federal court for taking his child to Phuket, Thailand, where he told her for several months that her mother had died, investigators said. Samuel Lee Horton had pleaded guilty to falsifying a document to get a passport for his then-three-year-old daughter. He was arrested on Phuket last year.

bernama.com Thailand needs to be well-prepared for nine possible disasters, said the Engineering Institute of Thailand and relevant authorities. The nine disasters are namely storm surges, drought, coastal erosion, land subsidence, swift changes of sea levels, earthquakes, forest fires, tsunamis and global warming, according to Thai News Agency.

saudigazette.com.sa An 80 percent drop in recruitment of domestic workers from the Philippines and Indonesia has led Saudis to turn in increasing numbers to East Africa and East Asia.

inewsone.com A Singapore-registered vessel with 25 people on board has been hijacked off the coast of Kenya, officials said. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said it received a report Saturday that said the chemical tanker MT Gemini was hijacked, Xinhua reported.

independent.co.uk Aung San Suu Kyi, lauded as the emblem of Burma's long hoped-for democratic reform, has revealed an unsuspected side. In the run-up to Brighton Festival she announced that she is a fan of reggae legend Bob Marley and the Grateful Dead.


Tweedledum v Tweedledee, Week IX


BOTH Phuket newspapers are 44 pages this week, which means the Phuket News (20 baht) appears in cover price terms at least to be better value than the Phuket Gazette (25 baht). However it's only true if you happen to prefer photographs, and lots of them, to text and classifieds. The Gazette also contains two self-promotional full-page ads while the News settles for one. Events on Phuket are clearly going to be a battleground. The News devotes a double-page spread to IronKids Phuket 2011, held last weekend, while the Gazette settles for a half-page on the back of Sport, plus a short column critcising squabbling parents. A half-page ad for the Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club, where IronKids was held, appears in the News. This week the Gazette takes the bold step of announcing: ''Gazette Online Classifieds - 10,000 readers every day!'' Every day? Even on Christmas Day? We wonder.
Bum-kick of the week: The Gazette omits to publish the punchline of its Editorial, leaving dolphin lovers dangling over the finish: ''those among us who believe in karma should reflect on the conseqences of . . . .'' We will continue to bob up and down, awaiting enlightenment.

Phuket Coming Events


PHUKET'S US Navy League is holding a welcome party Sunday night for the crew of the USS Ronald Reagan and its battle group at the Irish Times Pub in Patong's Jungceylon mall, with check-in from 6pm. Irish carving buffet 7pm. Cost: Navy League members 300 baht, visitors 400 baht.

May 1 National Labor Day public holiday
May 5 Coronation Day public holiday
May 13 Royal Ploughing Day public holiday
May New PPAO Hospital to open, Phuket City
May 17 Visakha Bucha Day public holiday
June 12 Laguna Phuket International Marathon
June 17 Phuket Property Dot Com Pro Am Invitational, Laguna
June 23-26 Phuket Fun Fly paragliding, Nai Harn
July 3 Phuket Navy League US Independence Day fair at Headstart International School
July 15 Asarnha Bucha Day public holiday
July 20-24 Six Senses Phuket Raceweek
August 12 HM The Queen's Birthday public holiday
October Vegetarian Festival, Phuket
November 26-27 9th Phuket International Soccer 7s
November 27 Laguna Phuket Triathlon
December 3-4 6th Andaman International Soccer 7s
December 4 Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship, Laguna

Phuket Coming Events 2012

March 18-28 National Youth Games, Phuket
Phuket Coming Events 2014

November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket
Phuket's US Navy Greeting: $3 for a Bottle of Water
News Analysis/Photo Album About 5000 US Navy personnel will be on Phuket for the next few days, having fun and learning a lot about the difference between rip offs and real Thai hospitality.
Phuket's US Navy Greeting: $3 for a Bottle of Water

Phuket's Soi Dog Group Declares Cash Crisis
Latest One of Phuket's best known charitable organisations, the Soi Dog Foundation, now finds itself in need of extra cash to guarantee the future of its continuing care.
Phuket's Soi Dog Group Declares Cash Crisis

Little House on Phuket Saves Tourists in Trouble
Latest An innovative Phuket Tourist Police program that offers basic accommodation to travellers in trouble has already helped a series of tourists in need.
Little House on Phuket Saves Tourists in Trouble

4.4 Earthquake at Sea 'Not Felt' on Phuket
UPDATE An earthquake close to Phuket causes no damage and is not felt on the island. Phuket officials say there is no concern for alarm.
4.4 Earthquake at Sea 'Not Felt' on Phuket

Phuket Mayor Writes to Quell 'Sea Waste' TV Damage
Latest The Mayor of Karon has written a letter in an attempt to explain to European television viewers how the sea at Phuket beaches may have become polluted.
Phuket Mayor Writes to Quell 'Sea Waste' TV Damage

Phuket Airport Gains Speedy Improvement Plan
Latest Improved seating, carousels, entrances and exits are part of an instant upgrade ordered for Phuket in advance of a major six billion baht expansion.
Phuket Airport Gains Speedy Improvement Plan

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Friday March 29, 2024
Horizon Karon Beach Resort & Spa

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