bangkokpost.com Police have arrested an American and two Colombians over the theft of 12 million baht in cash from a pickup truck parked outside the headquarters of Krung Thai Bank in Bangkok. The three were caught in Krabi yesterday by tourist police..


A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media. PLUS World Cup Watch, every day.

Bloomberg Las Vegas Sands Corp's Singapore casino resort is being sued by organisers of the first conference it hosted for misrepresenting a ''complete disaster'' as a world-class venue and for imposing duress, fear and force. IPBA 2010 Pte, on behalf of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association conference, is asking the Singapore High Court to assess damages for misrepresentation, breach of agreement and Marina Bay Sands Pte's conduct, according to a lawsuit filed June 8.
The case counters the casino's suit over unpaid bills. Marina Bay Sands, built at a cost of $5.5 billion, sued IPBA on May 14 for withholding payment of S$300,000. Power failed during a speech by the chief justice of New South Wales, Australia, and delegates complained of unfinished rooms, shuttered facilities and misplaced luggage.

bangkokpost.com Individuals who buy domestic tour packages from local authorised agents will be able to deduct up to 15,000 baht from their taxable income, effective from June 7 until the year-end. Juristic persons who organise exhibitions or roadshows both domestically and abroad will be eligible to deduct up to two times their expenses for corporate tax. Companies will also be allowed to deduct the sums they spend on training retreats in the country. However, the two tax incentives for companies will be effective only after an executive decree has been issued.

moodiereport.com Japanese travel agencies are aiming to kick-start demand for trips to Thailand following the lifting of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warning levels over travel to the country. Japanese accounted for the second highest volume of overseas visitors to Thailand in 2009, after Malaysians. According to Travel Journal International Online, H.I.S. was the first agency to resume its Thailand tour operations, on May 26, a day after the Ministry relaxed its warning level.

xinhuanet.com Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has started considering a possibility to lift the state of emergency, acting government spokesman Panithan Wattanayakorn said. Panithan's remark was made after Abhisit held an hour of meeting with national Army Commander-in-Chief General Anupong Paochinda, Deputy Army Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha, and Thawil Pliensri, Secretary-General of the National Security Council, according to the Thai News Agency

bangkokpost.com The army has approved the delivery of an airship to patrol the troubled South at a cost of 350 million baht, despite undisputed claims the vessel cannot fly high enough to avoid an attack from the ground. Flight tests showed the US-made Aero 40-D rose to a maximum ceiling of 3100 feet. An M16 rifle which has a maximum range of 3280 feet (1km).

nationmultimedia.com Chef and writer David Thompson is back in Thailand not for his usual three-month visit but a full nine months - he's chosen Bangkok as the home of a second branch of Nahm, his restaurant in London that has the distinction of being Europe's only Michelin-star Thai restaurant. His food in Bangkok will be more like the original, ''coming to its roots,'' he says.

bloomberg Cathay Pacific Airways and Air France have begun introducing seatbelt-mounted airbags in their economy-class cabins as authorities tighten regulations aimed at reducing the risk of fatalities in plane crashes. All aircraft built in the US since October must conform to standards designed to keep passengers conscious through an impact involving deceleration at 16 times the force of gravity so that they can escape any subsequent fire. The same rules will be introduced in Europe by the end of next year.

smh.com.au Google has launched one of the biggest revamps of its search engine in history, which it says will provide search results that are 70 percent fresher than the current algorithm. The company says the new indexing system, dubbed ''Caffeine,'' will provide the largest selection of web content ever offered on Google. It's faster - processing hundreds of thousands of pages in parallel every second - and takes up nearly 100 million gigabytes of storage in one database.

thailand-business-news.com If you're among the expatriates who live in Thailand with euros, you're probably used to automatically divide the price in Baht by 50 baht to get the equivalent in euro. Easy, dividing by fifty (100 baht = 2 euro) was still fairly close to reality a few months ago with a euro between 47 and 48 baht, but now we must get used to dividing by 40, and maybe less ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????. Unfortunately, there is not much good news for the future of the Euro.

smh.com.au Travellers' anticipation at snaring a $240 Melbourne to London fare on AirAsia has turned to anger among those who missed out. The rock-bottom fares advertised by AirAsia went on sale in Australia but were sold out within an hour. Disappointed travellers are angered that they could not access the sale fares - offers that were still being promoted on AirAsia's website 12 hours later.

cnn.com Being short isn't easy. Short people make less money, have a harder time finding a mate, and are less likely to be elected to public office, statistics show. A new study suggests that it gets worse: The shortest short people - men under 5 feet 5 inches and women under 5 feet - are roughly 50 percent more likely than the tallest people to have a heart attack or die from heart disease, according to an analysis published in the European Heart Journal.

smh.com.au Jetstar chief executive Bruce Buchanan says daily direct services between Melbourne and Singapore will provide a strong foundation for the growth of the low-cost carrier's long-haul aspirations. The Qantas-owned Jetstar will start direct flights between Melbourne and Singapore from December, using two Airbus A330-200 aircraft that will be based in the city-state.

afp Benigno Aquino has been proclaimed the next president of the Philippines amid joyous celebrations, but he struck a sombre tone as he warned the impoverished nation is in crisis.

cnn.com A nearly 25-year study concluded that children raised in lesbian households are psychologically well-adjusted and have fewer behavioral problems than their peers. The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, followed 78 lesbian couples who conceived through sperm donations and assessed their children's well-being through a series of questionnaires and interviews.



An open letter to the prime minister, a football fan; the finance minister, a tourism fan; the Tourism Authority of Thailand; and True Corp/True Vision management.

According to a number of my associates in Phuket and Bangkok, the managers of True Vision have informed the public that the World Cup broadcasts will not be available in Thailand with English commentary.
The World Cup has the biggest global audience of any sporting event. I also know that there are hundreds, maybe thousands of pubs, certainly thousands of international visitors and expatriate customers, and thousands of individual private subscribers to True Vision in Thailand, who look forward to the World Cup every four years. I have lived here for over 20 years, and I enjoy the World Cup, although I prefer rugby. I also subscribe to True Vision, so I get neither the rugby nor the football world cups for my money.
Mr Korn, as Finance Minister, you have been actively involved in promoting the revival of tourism in Thailand. If True Vision has a legitimate reason for only broadcasting this event in Thai, then I accept that. Extra cost is not a legitimate reason. Subscribers would pay more, even though the current subscription fees are excessive for the service offered. If there is no legitimate reason offered, except extra cost, then True Vision has both contributed to another blow to tourism this month and also shown complete disregard for regular, long-suffering customers.
Thailand urgently needs another licensed television option to True Vision. Mr Prime Minister, we know you have a lot on your plate, but the World Cup starts this Friday. Maybe you could have a word.
Graham Doven, Phuket

cnn.com Short of aliens landing on earth anytime soon - or mankind landing on Mars - the World Cup final is the closest thing the planet has to a collective viewing experience. Hundreds of millions will watch the final on July 11, while world governing body FIFA predicts a cumulative audience for the tournament of 26.29 billion viewers.

smh.com.au Australia are looking to upset three-time champions Germany in Sunday's World Cup opener in Durban. It is a tall order for the Australians first-up at South Africa 2010 - the Germans last lost an opening match at a World Cup against Algeria 2-0 in Spain 28 years ago.



The Laguna Phuket International Marathon returns on Sunday where an anticipated 5000 runners and walkers will take part in the full marathon, half marathon, 10.5km fun run, 5km walk for charity and a 2km run for children. 91.5FM - Phuket FM Radio will be broadcasting the Saturday press conference LIVE for the first time and presenting LIVE coverage of race day from 7am.

Until June 13 Nightly warmup DJ dance parties at Indochine in Kalim beach, see Facebook for details.
Until June13 Prison Products Fair, each evening at Saphan Hin park, Phuket City. On-stage entertainment, food stalls, refreshments, furniture for purchase.
June 13 Laguna Phuket International Marathon. Fun runs, too.
June 18-20 Phuket International Halal Food Festival, Saphan Hin park, Phuket City
June 25-26 Phuket Music Festival, Full Moon Version, at Karon beach. [Last year it was called the RoyFest. It's no longer the RoyFest.]
June 25 to 27 Second Kathu Culture Road Fair, recalling the region's history
July 21-25 Phuket Six Senses Race Week, Evason, Rawai
July 4 US Phuket Navy League Independence Day free family picnic at the Headstart International Learning Center directly across from Makro (near Central Festival) in Phuket City from 10am-7pm.
October 1-3 Asian Hospitality and Travel Show, Central Festival Phuket Convention and Exhibition Center, Phuket City
December 4-11 Phuket King's Cup Regatta
2011
January 6-9 PIMEX boat show, Royal Phuket Marina
February 9-13 The Bay Regatta - Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi