The floral extravaganza Ratchaphruek Festival returns to Chiang Mai next month from Dec 1-10 to celebrate the 82nd birthday anniversary of His Majesty the King, the world's longest reigning monarch.
Organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives,the provincial administration and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the festival is expected to draw more than 200,000 visitors.
According to Juthaporn Rerngronasa, TAT's deputy governor for marketing communications, on Dec 5,which is the King's birthday,there will be a grand ceremony involving the lighting of candles and offering of prayers wishing His Majesty sound health,followed by fireworks and light and sound presentation.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will preside over the festival opening on Dec 1 when he'd join local notaries to release 999 floating lanterns, followed by Thai classical dances from the four regions of the country,with 99 performers from each region.
Taking place at the same venue that played host to the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek held to celebrate the 60th anniversary of His Majesty's accension to the throne in 2006, the festival is an exhibition of flowers, plants and fruits,sale of farm products, handicrafts and OTOP goods, and contests featuring farm commodities.
The event three years ago featured roughly 2.5 million plants and flowers,including some rare orchids, and drew about as many visitors.
"The festival should help boost tourism and raise hotel occupancy in Chiang Mai," said the deputy governor.
A first in Chanthaburi
Launched on Oct 26 in Chanthaburi,the first training centre for management of shipwrecks and underwater cultural heritage brings together 16 archaeologists from across the Southeast Asia region.
The training programme is a part-nership between Unesco, the Ministry of Culture and the Underwater Archaeology Division of the Department of Fine Arts.
"Thousands of historical items have already been stolen by treasure hunters and if preventative measures are not put into place to combat the illegal trade,even more priceless treasures will disappear from Asian waters," said Ricardo Favis of Unesco's Bangkok office, adding "Asian maritime archaeologists are still in their infancy, so we must improve their knowledge and skills."
The first batch comprises trainees from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand.The course runs until Dec 5. It is conducted by experts from Australia, England and Holland, and covers subjects such as maritime law,in situ preservation of shipwrecks and underwater sites, museology, treasure hunters and monitoring techniques, shipbuilding technology and ethnographic boat recording.
The Chantaburi facility is one of the best-equipped in the region and located in proximity of shipwreck sites, allowing the trainees to field-test practical skills.
Major TAT push in Moscow
The Tourism Authority of Thailand's (TAT) office in Moscow has embarked on a major offensive after the number of Russians visiting Thailand dropped 29.43 per cent in the first four months of this year.
In 2008, Russian visitors to Thailand totaled 319,587, up 14.23%over the previous year, and generated 16.24 billion baht in tourism revenue. During 2002-08, the number of Russian visitors to Thailand grew by an annual average of 28.79% while their spending grew by 32.76% annually. However, the global financial crisis saw their number drop by 29.43% during January to April this year.
Therefore TAT's Moscow office launched the "Welcome to Thailand Mega Fam" campaign last week, reining in 70 Russian travel agents and media representatives to its cause."Our research shows many opportunities for growth," said Juthaporn Rerngronasa, TAT's deputy governor in charge of marketing communications."Russia is mainly a winter-season market as Russians love our warm weather, the beaches and the sea. Many also enjoy learning diving and exploring underwater treasures around the Andamans and the Gulf of Thailand."
TAT is targetting high-end tourists and meeting delegates through tour packages to Bangkok with a detour to neighbouring countries, and expects the campaign to generate 293,000 visitors from Russian alone, not to mention the Central Asian republics, for a turnover of roughly 14.03 billion baht this winter.
Park encroachment
The Department of National Park,Wildlife and Plant Conservation last week raided a marine park in Trang Province,the site of a private resort, and seized 20 workers before ordering a halt to further construction.
Almost 80 per cent complete the resort,valued at 20 million baht, belongs to a Songkhla businessman. Located in Hat Chao Mai Marine Park, it's built on a strip of land where construction is forbidden.
The raid followed complaints from locals. Somchai Masathien, director of the Forest Fire Control Division led a 50-strong force to the construction site and arrested the workers, after which he told the local media that the building will be demolished.
Tiger resumes flights
Anticipating a rise in passenger traffic during the upcoming tourist season, Tiger Airways has resumed flights between Singapore and Krabi.
"We are very excited about the resumption of Krabi flights. With four flights a week you now have an additional choice of a holiday destination," said Tiger Airways Managing Director Rosalynn Tay.
All of them are afternoon flights available Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The start-up price is at 535 baht excluding surcharges.
Visit www.tigerairways.com for more information.
Concert by the river
"Jazz de Chang Kanchanaburi" is a charity concert scheduled Nov 7 in front of the bridge over the Kwai River in Kanchanaburi.
Proceeds from the event will go to the conservation of elephants in Salakpra,the country's first wildlife sanctuary located in the province.
The concert will feature the Biggles Big Band from the Netherlands and the Bangkok Connection.
The event is jointly organised by the provincial administration, the Dutch Embassy, the private sector in Kanchanaburi,the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the local chapter of Elephant Conservation Network.
Tickets for the concert are priced at 800 baht and include dinner.
For more information, call 034-514-771.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
KARAOKE BUSINESS AND ROYALTY FEE COLLECTING AGENCIES
Since their introduction, karaoke machines have been popular among Thai consumers and part of the restaurant business throughout the country. But karaoke machines cannot operate without musical content, most of which is copyright-protected.
Widespread use of karaoke machines together with musical works hascertainly caught the attention of musical copyright owners. They started to enforce their rights by specifying the royalty rate and conducting police raids against those who use tunes without authorisation. It is important to note that using musical works without proper authorisation is a criminal offence carrying a jail term of up to four years or a fine of up to 800,000 baht (Section 69(2) Copyright Act).
For most small business owners, this fine is a huge figure. In 2002, a group of small restaurant owners with illegal karaoke operations surrounded a leading Thai musical company on Asok Road to protest the business concept in which musical companies would collect royalty fees for songs used by karaoke businesses.The restaurateurs later moved their protest to the Ministry of Commerce.
Since 2002, the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP), the Ministry of Commerce, and the police, among other agencies, have tried to resolve the conflict between restaurateurs and rights owners, but little progress has been achieved. Copyright owners want to collect royalty fees whenever their songs are played, whereas the karaoke operators believe fees are too high and that many musical companies collect fees outside of a properly regulated system.
Furthermore, there is no system in place to determine who the rightful owner of each song is. Some composers have transferred their copyright to more than one music publisher. The DIP has listed these "problem songs" and has asked the police not to prosecute the karaoke operators using these problematic songs.
This uncertainty calls for a law to regulate collecting agencies. In 2007,during Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's administration, the ministry proposed to amend the Copyright Act to establish a collection agency that would administer a minimum number of songs,with royalty rates controlled by the DIP.The minimum songs requirement is to avoid too many small agencies, each owning only a few songs, collecting royalty fees. A lot of collecting agencies would impose too great a burden on karaoke operators. But the draft was shelved by the National Assembly because of protests against the agency's establishment in front of Parliament by a group believed to be connected to the musical right owners.
Government-facilitated meetings have continued since, but to no avail. In 2009,under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government, the Ministry of Commerce has proposed new amendments of the Copyright Act for review by the Council of State, which serves as the government's legal adviser. While the amendments propose to make buying counterfeit products an offence, and to make landlords liable when tenants sell counterfeit products, a proposal for a royalty collection agency is not included.After two years of trying to pass its 2007 proposal, it seems the Ministry of Commerce has given up hope, at least in the short term.
Thailand is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that leaves royalty fee collection to musical companies, who take the law into their own hands without any proper control from authorities.Other Asean countries have established collection agencies, including the Philippines' Filipino Society of Composers Authors and Publishers,Singapore's Recording Industry Performance Singapore, and Malaysia's three collection agencies.
The lack of royalty collecting systems in Thailand means karaoke machine operators continue to be pitted against copyright owners and their collection agencies. Therefore, it is important that there must be clear and manageable legal rules for the collecting of royalties in the karaoke business. The authorities need to come up with concrete solutions to solve this long-pending predicament.It is unlikely that this matter would come to an end soon unless concerted efforts are made by all parties concerned.
Widespread use of karaoke machines together with musical works hascertainly caught the attention of musical copyright owners. They started to enforce their rights by specifying the royalty rate and conducting police raids against those who use tunes without authorisation. It is important to note that using musical works without proper authorisation is a criminal offence carrying a jail term of up to four years or a fine of up to 800,000 baht (Section 69(2) Copyright Act).
For most small business owners, this fine is a huge figure. In 2002, a group of small restaurant owners with illegal karaoke operations surrounded a leading Thai musical company on Asok Road to protest the business concept in which musical companies would collect royalty fees for songs used by karaoke businesses.The restaurateurs later moved their protest to the Ministry of Commerce.
Since 2002, the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP), the Ministry of Commerce, and the police, among other agencies, have tried to resolve the conflict between restaurateurs and rights owners, but little progress has been achieved. Copyright owners want to collect royalty fees whenever their songs are played, whereas the karaoke operators believe fees are too high and that many musical companies collect fees outside of a properly regulated system.
Furthermore, there is no system in place to determine who the rightful owner of each song is. Some composers have transferred their copyright to more than one music publisher. The DIP has listed these "problem songs" and has asked the police not to prosecute the karaoke operators using these problematic songs.
This uncertainty calls for a law to regulate collecting agencies. In 2007,during Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's administration, the ministry proposed to amend the Copyright Act to establish a collection agency that would administer a minimum number of songs,with royalty rates controlled by the DIP.The minimum songs requirement is to avoid too many small agencies, each owning only a few songs, collecting royalty fees. A lot of collecting agencies would impose too great a burden on karaoke operators. But the draft was shelved by the National Assembly because of protests against the agency's establishment in front of Parliament by a group believed to be connected to the musical right owners.
Government-facilitated meetings have continued since, but to no avail. In 2009,under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government, the Ministry of Commerce has proposed new amendments of the Copyright Act for review by the Council of State, which serves as the government's legal adviser. While the amendments propose to make buying counterfeit products an offence, and to make landlords liable when tenants sell counterfeit products, a proposal for a royalty collection agency is not included.After two years of trying to pass its 2007 proposal, it seems the Ministry of Commerce has given up hope, at least in the short term.
Thailand is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that leaves royalty fee collection to musical companies, who take the law into their own hands without any proper control from authorities.Other Asean countries have established collection agencies, including the Philippines' Filipino Society of Composers Authors and Publishers,Singapore's Recording Industry Performance Singapore, and Malaysia's three collection agencies.
The lack of royalty collecting systems in Thailand means karaoke machine operators continue to be pitted against copyright owners and their collection agencies. Therefore, it is important that there must be clear and manageable legal rules for the collecting of royalties in the karaoke business. The authorities need to come up with concrete solutions to solve this long-pending predicament.It is unlikely that this matter would come to an end soon unless concerted efforts are made by all parties concerned.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
THE KING OF POP DEFIES RECESSION
Amidthe current economic downturn, one thing apparently can still sell like hot cakes: CDs of the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson.
His movie and CD may generate as much as US$400 million (Bt13.3 billion) in sales worldwide as fans turn out to see and hear the last live performances by the great entertainer.
"Michael Jackson's This Is It" album, featuring one new song, went on sale yesterday. The movie with the same title opens tomorrow in more than 90 countries, including 3,400 theatres in the US, Bloomberg quoted Hollywood.com Box-Office as saying.
More than 1,000 US shows were sold out as of October 22, according to the online ticket vendor Fandango.com. Cinemas in London, Sydney, Bangkok and Tokyo also reported sell-outs, according to Sony, which is releasing the film and the album. In the UK, sales toppoed those of "Harry Potter" and "The Lord of the Rings" at the Vue Entertainment chain.
"It's a true phenomenon," said Tim Richards, chief executive officer of London-based Vue, whose cinema near the 02 Arena, where Jackson was scheduled to perform a series of comeback concerts, is among those that sold out.
Jackson's work may be prized more after his death than it was in life, said Robert Sillerman, CEO of CKX, the New York-based operator of Graceland, Elvis Presley's Tennessee home, and co-producer of "American Idol".
"In death, people remember the best of somebody," Sillerman said. "Certainly that is turning out to be the case with Elvis and the Beatles. I think it will turn out to be the case in Michael's situation."
Jackson died at age 50 on June 25 in Los Angeles of a drug overdose, three weeks before he was to perform in concerts.
The film may generate $300 million to $400 million in global ticket sales, said Jeff Bock, a box-office analyst for Los Angeles-based researcher Exhibitor Relations. US sales in the first five days may be $55 million to $60 million, said Jeffrey Hartke, an analyst with Los Angeles-based Hollywood Stock Exchange, which forecasts film performance.
The two-disc album, with the new track "This is It", as well as "Billie Jean", "Smooth Criminal" and "Thriller", may sell 200,000 to 500,000 copies in the US, according to Silvio Pietroluongo, director of sales charts at Billboard magazine.
His movie and CD may generate as much as US$400 million (Bt13.3 billion) in sales worldwide as fans turn out to see and hear the last live performances by the great entertainer.
"Michael Jackson's This Is It" album, featuring one new song, went on sale yesterday. The movie with the same title opens tomorrow in more than 90 countries, including 3,400 theatres in the US, Bloomberg quoted Hollywood.com Box-Office as saying.
More than 1,000 US shows were sold out as of October 22, according to the online ticket vendor Fandango.com. Cinemas in London, Sydney, Bangkok and Tokyo also reported sell-outs, according to Sony, which is releasing the film and the album. In the UK, sales toppoed those of "Harry Potter" and "The Lord of the Rings" at the Vue Entertainment chain.
"It's a true phenomenon," said Tim Richards, chief executive officer of London-based Vue, whose cinema near the 02 Arena, where Jackson was scheduled to perform a series of comeback concerts, is among those that sold out.
Jackson's work may be prized more after his death than it was in life, said Robert Sillerman, CEO of CKX, the New York-based operator of Graceland, Elvis Presley's Tennessee home, and co-producer of "American Idol".
"In death, people remember the best of somebody," Sillerman said. "Certainly that is turning out to be the case with Elvis and the Beatles. I think it will turn out to be the case in Michael's situation."
Jackson died at age 50 on June 25 in Los Angeles of a drug overdose, three weeks before he was to perform in concerts.
The film may generate $300 million to $400 million in global ticket sales, said Jeff Bock, a box-office analyst for Los Angeles-based researcher Exhibitor Relations. US sales in the first five days may be $55 million to $60 million, said Jeffrey Hartke, an analyst with Los Angeles-based Hollywood Stock Exchange, which forecasts film performance.
The two-disc album, with the new track "This is It", as well as "Billie Jean", "Smooth Criminal" and "Thriller", may sell 200,000 to 500,000 copies in the US, according to Silvio Pietroluongo, director of sales charts at Billboard magazine.
KARAOKE BUSINESS AND ROYALTY FEE COLLECTING AGENCIES
Since their introduction, karaoke machines have been popular among Thai consumers and part of the restaurant business throughout the country. But karaoke machines cannot operate without musical content, most of which is copyright-protected.
Widespread use of karaoke machines together with musical works hascertainly caught the attention of musical copyright owners. They started to enforce their rights by specifying the royalty rate and conducting police raids against those who use tunes without authorisation. It is important to note that using musical works without proper authorisation is a criminal offence carrying a jail term of up to four years or a fine of up to 800,000 baht (Section 69(2) Copyright Act).
For most small business owners, this fine is a huge figure. In 2002, a group of small restaurant owners with illegal karaoke operations surrounded a leading Thai musical company on Asok Road to protest the business concept in which musical companies would collect royalty fees for songs used by karaoke businesses.The restaurateurs later moved their protest to the Ministry of Commerce.
Since 2002, the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP), the Ministry of Commerce, and the police, among other agencies, have tried to resolve the conflict between restaurateurs and rights owners, but little progress has been achieved. Copyright owners want to collect royalty fees whenever their songs are played, whereas the karaoke operators believe fees are too high and that many musical companies collect fees outside of a properly regulated system.
Furthermore, there is no system in place to determine who the rightful owner of each song is. Some composers have transferred their copyright to more than one music publisher. The DIP has listed these "problem songs" and has asked the police not to prosecute the karaoke operators using these problematic songs.
This uncertainty calls for a law to regulate collecting agencies. In 2007,during Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's administration, the ministry proposed to amend the Copyright Act to establish a collection agency that would administer a minimum number of songs,with royalty rates controlled by the DIP.The minimum songs requirement is to avoid too many small agencies, each owning only a few songs, collecting royalty fees. A lot of collecting agencies would impose too great a burden on karaoke operators. But the draft was shelved by the National Assembly because of protests against the agency's establishment in front of Parliament by a group believed to be connected to the musical right owners.
Government-facilitated meetings have continued since, but to no avail. In 2009,under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government, the Ministry of Commerce has proposed new amendments of the Copyright Act for review by the Council of State, which serves as the government's legal adviser. While the amendments propose to make buying counterfeit products an offence, and to make landlords liable when tenants sell counterfeit products, a proposal for a royalty collection agency is not included.After two years of trying to pass its 2007 proposal, it seems the Ministry of Commerce has given up hope, at least in the short term.
Thailand is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that leaves royalty fee collection to musical companies, who take the law into their own hands without any proper control from authorities.Other Asean countries have established collection agencies, including the Philippines' Filipino Society of Composers Authors and Publishers,Singapore's Recording Industry Performance Singapore, and Malaysia's three collection agencies.
The lack of royalty collecting systems in Thailand means karaoke machine operators continue to be pitted against copyright owners and their collection agencies. Therefore, it is important that there must be clear and manageable legal rules for the collecting of royalties in the karaoke business. The authorities need to come up with concrete solutions to solve this long-pending predicament.It is unlikely that this matter would come to an end soon unless concerted efforts are made by all parties concerned.
Widespread use of karaoke machines together with musical works hascertainly caught the attention of musical copyright owners. They started to enforce their rights by specifying the royalty rate and conducting police raids against those who use tunes without authorisation. It is important to note that using musical works without proper authorisation is a criminal offence carrying a jail term of up to four years or a fine of up to 800,000 baht (Section 69(2) Copyright Act).
For most small business owners, this fine is a huge figure. In 2002, a group of small restaurant owners with illegal karaoke operations surrounded a leading Thai musical company on Asok Road to protest the business concept in which musical companies would collect royalty fees for songs used by karaoke businesses.The restaurateurs later moved their protest to the Ministry of Commerce.
Since 2002, the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP), the Ministry of Commerce, and the police, among other agencies, have tried to resolve the conflict between restaurateurs and rights owners, but little progress has been achieved. Copyright owners want to collect royalty fees whenever their songs are played, whereas the karaoke operators believe fees are too high and that many musical companies collect fees outside of a properly regulated system.
Furthermore, there is no system in place to determine who the rightful owner of each song is. Some composers have transferred their copyright to more than one music publisher. The DIP has listed these "problem songs" and has asked the police not to prosecute the karaoke operators using these problematic songs.
This uncertainty calls for a law to regulate collecting agencies. In 2007,during Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's administration, the ministry proposed to amend the Copyright Act to establish a collection agency that would administer a minimum number of songs,with royalty rates controlled by the DIP.The minimum songs requirement is to avoid too many small agencies, each owning only a few songs, collecting royalty fees. A lot of collecting agencies would impose too great a burden on karaoke operators. But the draft was shelved by the National Assembly because of protests against the agency's establishment in front of Parliament by a group believed to be connected to the musical right owners.
Government-facilitated meetings have continued since, but to no avail. In 2009,under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government, the Ministry of Commerce has proposed new amendments of the Copyright Act for review by the Council of State, which serves as the government's legal adviser. While the amendments propose to make buying counterfeit products an offence, and to make landlords liable when tenants sell counterfeit products, a proposal for a royalty collection agency is not included.After two years of trying to pass its 2007 proposal, it seems the Ministry of Commerce has given up hope, at least in the short term.
Thailand is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that leaves royalty fee collection to musical companies, who take the law into their own hands without any proper control from authorities.Other Asean countries have established collection agencies, including the Philippines' Filipino Society of Composers Authors and Publishers,Singapore's Recording Industry Performance Singapore, and Malaysia's three collection agencies.
The lack of royalty collecting systems in Thailand means karaoke machine operators continue to be pitted against copyright owners and their collection agencies. Therefore, it is important that there must be clear and manageable legal rules for the collecting of royalties in the karaoke business. The authorities need to come up with concrete solutions to solve this long-pending predicament.It is unlikely that this matter would come to an end soon unless concerted efforts are made by all parties concerned.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Vienna Mozart Trio gala concert
The Grand Hyatt Erawan, Bangkok will host a gala concert,"Haydn Anniversary 2009", to be performed by the Vienna Mozart Trio, on October 21 at the Grand Ballroom of the hotel. The event will feature a 90-minute recital by the internationally acclaimed Auner family, namely Irina (piano), Daniel (violin) and Diethard (Cello). Their repertoire includes works by Haydn, Brahms, Schirk and Schumann. The Vienna Mozart Trio is known around the world and has performed on many prestigious stages from Asia to Europe. The Haydn Anniversary 2009 Concert is sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank in association with the Rotary Club of Bangkok and the Grand Hyatt Erawan, Bangkok.Proceeds will go to community-related projects under the patronage of the Rotary Club of Bangkok.
Tickets for 'Haydn Anniversary 2009' are 2,000 baht each. For reservations, contact the Grand Hyatt Erawan, Bangkok on 02-254-1234 ext 4324/5, from 9am to 5pm on weekdays,9am to noon on Saturdays.
Tickets for 'Haydn Anniversary 2009' are 2,000 baht each. For reservations, contact the Grand Hyatt Erawan, Bangkok on 02-254-1234 ext 4324/5, from 9am to 5pm on weekdays,9am to noon on Saturdays.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Boyzone pay tribute to their "brother"
Thousands of Boyzone fans gathered in Dublin on Friday when the body of singer Stephen Gately arrived home for his funeral following his death in Spain.
People lining the roads outside a local funeral home applauded as a hearse carrying his coffin arrived.
His body had been escorted back to Ireland by the other members of the group: Ronan Keating, Mikey Graham,Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy.
With them on the private plane was Gately's partner Andrew Cowles, whom he married in a civil union in 2006.
Before leaving Palma airport on the Mediterranean island of Majorca, Keating read a statement and spoke of the band's grief.
"Last Saturday, our world changed forever when we lost our friend and brother Stephen."
He said the band and Gately's family had been overwhelmed by the messages of love and support they had received.
"What the future holds for the four of us now is too hard to even think about but we know that nothing will ever be the same without our dearest friend Stephen."
Keating promised an "unforgettable send-off" for Gately,33, who was found dead on Oct 10 in his holiday apartment in the Majorcan town of Port Andratx.
Keating and his bandmates have had tattoos featuring Gately's birth and death years in commemoration of him.
Irish police issued a special traffic management plan to deal with the large crowds that were expected to attend yesterday's funeral at St Lawrence O'Toole's church in Seville Place, close to his family home.
Close family and friends paid their respects at the funeral home and there was a private family mass on Friday.Local residents have been cleaning and painting the church for the funeral, and the surviving members of the band held an overnight vigil with Gately's remains.
The band's website says that Mr Cowles has asked that rather than flowers people should make a donation to a children's charity for which Gately was an ambassador. A further memorial service will be held in London, where Gately and Mr Cowles lived.
An autopsy revealed Gately died due to excess fluid in his lungs, a court spokeswoman in Majorca said.
"He died a natural death of acute pulmonary oedema which had nothing to do with any consumption of alcohol or drugs," the spokeswoman said.
Pulmonary oedema, or water on the lungs, can be due to either the failure of the heart to remove fluid from the lungs or direct damage to the lung tissue.
Gately joined the Irish pop band Boyzone in 1993 after answering an advert in Dublin for an audition.
The band went on to enjoy huge inter-national success, but split up in 2000.
They reunited seven years later, but their recent 19-date "Better" tour failed to fill stadiums, despite offers of free tickets.Gately also starred in West End mu-
sicals in London, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat .
People lining the roads outside a local funeral home applauded as a hearse carrying his coffin arrived.
His body had been escorted back to Ireland by the other members of the group: Ronan Keating, Mikey Graham,Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy.
With them on the private plane was Gately's partner Andrew Cowles, whom he married in a civil union in 2006.
Before leaving Palma airport on the Mediterranean island of Majorca, Keating read a statement and spoke of the band's grief.
"Last Saturday, our world changed forever when we lost our friend and brother Stephen."
He said the band and Gately's family had been overwhelmed by the messages of love and support they had received.
"What the future holds for the four of us now is too hard to even think about but we know that nothing will ever be the same without our dearest friend Stephen."
Keating promised an "unforgettable send-off" for Gately,33, who was found dead on Oct 10 in his holiday apartment in the Majorcan town of Port Andratx.
Keating and his bandmates have had tattoos featuring Gately's birth and death years in commemoration of him.
Irish police issued a special traffic management plan to deal with the large crowds that were expected to attend yesterday's funeral at St Lawrence O'Toole's church in Seville Place, close to his family home.
Close family and friends paid their respects at the funeral home and there was a private family mass on Friday.Local residents have been cleaning and painting the church for the funeral, and the surviving members of the band held an overnight vigil with Gately's remains.
The band's website says that Mr Cowles has asked that rather than flowers people should make a donation to a children's charity for which Gately was an ambassador. A further memorial service will be held in London, where Gately and Mr Cowles lived.
An autopsy revealed Gately died due to excess fluid in his lungs, a court spokeswoman in Majorca said.
"He died a natural death of acute pulmonary oedema which had nothing to do with any consumption of alcohol or drugs," the spokeswoman said.
Pulmonary oedema, or water on the lungs, can be due to either the failure of the heart to remove fluid from the lungs or direct damage to the lung tissue.
Gately joined the Irish pop band Boyzone in 1993 after answering an advert in Dublin for an audition.
The band went on to enjoy huge inter-national success, but split up in 2000.
They reunited seven years later, but their recent 19-date "Better" tour failed to fill stadiums, despite offers of free tickets.Gately also starred in West End mu-
sicals in London, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat .
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The saga drags on
The National Telecommunications Communications (NTC) finally confirmed that a lot of people have a lot of interest in thirdgeneration (3G) yuppiephone service,and not very many of them have kind thoughts about the regulators; about 1,000 people from the phone companies,financial advisers and phone suppliers showed up for what the NTC would be the one and only public hearing on its plans to auction and regulate 3G services;not so fast, said the private business leaders, such as Athueck Asvanont, who is chairman of vice at True Move ; he explained to the NTC that the constitution (Article 84-1) bans the government from competing with telecoms firms,and what are AIS (of Shingapore) and DTAC (of Norway) but foreign state companies?; then the lawyers took a crack at the commission, explaining that it is actually illegal for the NTC to get involved in 3G, because it is a matter for the National Broadcasting Commission, which doesn't exist yet - and any action by the NTC could be overturned by a court decision, sinking 3G even further behind high technology countries like Laos and Cambodia.
For those who missed it, lawyer Wirot Poonsuwan wrote an excellent review in a certain daily newspaper of the dogand-pony show known as 3G licensing and operation; it is online at www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/24707.
The Energy Ministry announced field tests on biodiesel B10 fuel will soon begin, supervised by PTT and the ministry's own Department of Energy Business; if everything goes as expected,the new fuel could win approval as soon as early next year; B10 is 90 percent regular diesel and 10 percent methyl ester, produced from palm.
Your CAT Telecom is no longer a long-distance telephone company, it is an "integrated wireless services provider"; so says your CAT president Jirayuth Roongsrithong, who figures the state enterprise can boost income by spreading out a bit here, tweaking a bit there, and reap the benefits of broadband Internet; but what CAT really is waiting for is issuing licences for thirdgeneration phones, because broadband services will really grow, then; Mr Jirayuth predicted CAT will gross 52 billion baht by the end of the year, even though international call income is certain to slide again.
The Metropolitan Electricity Authority slogged along on its lonely quest to bury power lines in Bangkok; all it has to do is to coordinate with City Hall, telecoms firms and mass-transit operators; MEA governor Pornthape Thunyapongchai noted the "poor city development plan" of previous Bangkok administrators; for now, the only underground power lines are around the Grand Palace and along Silom Road;the MEA is trying to herd the cats into a 3-billion-baht plan to bury wires along Phaya Thai, Sukhumvit and Phahon Yothin, and their sois.
Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp said flatly it would capture a quarter of the Thai smartphone market volume and value - by New Year's Eve; country manager Nattawat Woranopakul figured it would be easy to sell about 100,000 of the phones Thais will buy this year, and grow HTC revenues by 20 percent to 1.8 billion baht; overall,he expects Thais to buy 10 million yuppiephones for 27.9 billion baht - a huge drop from the record 47.3 billion baht in 2006; part of the reason for the drop is falling phone prices, with the cost of smartphones this year alone dropping from a 2008 average of 16,000 to 12,000 baht.
The company formerly known as Philips of Holland, now called China Electronics Corp (CEC) of Shenzhen,vowed to make a comeback in the Thailand yuppiephone market and get into the world Top 5 again by 2014; Philip Lee, who handles overseas affairs for CEC subsidiary Shenzhen Sang Fei Con-sumer Communications, predicted confidently he would double sales in Thailand and globally this year, selling six million phones in total; Philips sold the phone business to the Chinese firm in 2007.
Entertainment giant GMM Grammy signed a deal with Chunghwa Telecom of Taiwan to provide Thai and other Asian workers to download music from the Internet trough their phones; managing director Surachai Sensri of GMM International was so devastated by all that homesickness by the 350,000 immigrant workers in Taiwan that he decided to cash in on it with music from the homeland; the exclusive deal allows Grammy to provide a "buffet service"of continuous music for the equivalent of 52 baht a month, and Grammy also expects to get streaming rights to Vietnamese and Philippines music for the service.
Thailand crunched the numbers on a single production base for the electrical and electronics industry in Southeast Asia - and gave a big smile; eliminating all import tariffs and facilitating trade with the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta)will give a big boost to the Thai industry;Charuek Hengrasmee, president of the Electrical and Electronics Institute, and Katiya Greigarn, chairman of the Electrical, Electronics Industry Club at the Federation of Thai Industries, noted the currently strong position of Thailand in the making of hard drives and electrical appliances - air conditioners,refrigerators and microwaves, say and figured that in international eyes,Thailand will be "the manufacturing centre of the region."
For those who missed it, lawyer Wirot Poonsuwan wrote an excellent review in a certain daily newspaper of the dogand-pony show known as 3G licensing and operation; it is online at www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/24707.
The Energy Ministry announced field tests on biodiesel B10 fuel will soon begin, supervised by PTT and the ministry's own Department of Energy Business; if everything goes as expected,the new fuel could win approval as soon as early next year; B10 is 90 percent regular diesel and 10 percent methyl ester, produced from palm.
Your CAT Telecom is no longer a long-distance telephone company, it is an "integrated wireless services provider"; so says your CAT president Jirayuth Roongsrithong, who figures the state enterprise can boost income by spreading out a bit here, tweaking a bit there, and reap the benefits of broadband Internet; but what CAT really is waiting for is issuing licences for thirdgeneration phones, because broadband services will really grow, then; Mr Jirayuth predicted CAT will gross 52 billion baht by the end of the year, even though international call income is certain to slide again.
The Metropolitan Electricity Authority slogged along on its lonely quest to bury power lines in Bangkok; all it has to do is to coordinate with City Hall, telecoms firms and mass-transit operators; MEA governor Pornthape Thunyapongchai noted the "poor city development plan" of previous Bangkok administrators; for now, the only underground power lines are around the Grand Palace and along Silom Road;the MEA is trying to herd the cats into a 3-billion-baht plan to bury wires along Phaya Thai, Sukhumvit and Phahon Yothin, and their sois.
Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp said flatly it would capture a quarter of the Thai smartphone market volume and value - by New Year's Eve; country manager Nattawat Woranopakul figured it would be easy to sell about 100,000 of the phones Thais will buy this year, and grow HTC revenues by 20 percent to 1.8 billion baht; overall,he expects Thais to buy 10 million yuppiephones for 27.9 billion baht - a huge drop from the record 47.3 billion baht in 2006; part of the reason for the drop is falling phone prices, with the cost of smartphones this year alone dropping from a 2008 average of 16,000 to 12,000 baht.
The company formerly known as Philips of Holland, now called China Electronics Corp (CEC) of Shenzhen,vowed to make a comeback in the Thailand yuppiephone market and get into the world Top 5 again by 2014; Philip Lee, who handles overseas affairs for CEC subsidiary Shenzhen Sang Fei Con-sumer Communications, predicted confidently he would double sales in Thailand and globally this year, selling six million phones in total; Philips sold the phone business to the Chinese firm in 2007.
Entertainment giant GMM Grammy signed a deal with Chunghwa Telecom of Taiwan to provide Thai and other Asian workers to download music from the Internet trough their phones; managing director Surachai Sensri of GMM International was so devastated by all that homesickness by the 350,000 immigrant workers in Taiwan that he decided to cash in on it with music from the homeland; the exclusive deal allows Grammy to provide a "buffet service"of continuous music for the equivalent of 52 baht a month, and Grammy also expects to get streaming rights to Vietnamese and Philippines music for the service.
Thailand crunched the numbers on a single production base for the electrical and electronics industry in Southeast Asia - and gave a big smile; eliminating all import tariffs and facilitating trade with the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta)will give a big boost to the Thai industry;Charuek Hengrasmee, president of the Electrical and Electronics Institute, and Katiya Greigarn, chairman of the Electrical, Electronics Industry Club at the Federation of Thai Industries, noted the currently strong position of Thailand in the making of hard drives and electrical appliances - air conditioners,refrigerators and microwaves, say and figured that in international eyes,Thailand will be "the manufacturing centre of the region."
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