Italian Muay Thai Boxer Dies Week After Bangkok KO

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4 November 2018, 14:35

Italian Muay Thai fighter Christian Daghio, succumbed to his injuries and died one week after going down in the last round during a title fight in Bangkok. Photo: Kombat Group Thailand

PATHUM THANI — An Italian boxer died Friday, one week after he was knocked out in the last round of a title match in northern metro Bangkok.

Christian Daghio, 49, lost consciousness and had been in a coma after he was knocked down in 12th round against Khondon Saithonggym, 36, for the WBC Asia Silver Heavyweight for under-175 pounds on Oct. 26 in Rangsit, Pathum Thani province.

Daghio, who runs a boxing gym in Pattaya and had come off a record 10 undefeated bouts, was knocked down for a second time in the last round. He fell at full weight, hitting his head against the canvass. It was not yet known as of publication time what the exact cause of death was.

Daghio was originally from Carpi, Italy.

According to an Italian sports site, he was the first Italian to be allowed to officially fight in Thailand. He had a number world titles in Muay Thai. It said he had returned to the ring recently after a year’s break and leaves behind a wife and daughter.

Thailand’s Buildings Tell Story of East vs. West

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Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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4 November 2018, 14:17

Original plans for the Phra Thinang Chakri Maha Prasat called for three European-style domes . The regent to the young king strongly objected, and traditional spires were erected in their stead. Photo: 2008Guangzhou / Wikimedia Commons

BANGKOK — The rise of Western architecture in Thailand – then known as Siam – a century and a half ago is a tale of intercultural tensions, blurring class structures and changing habits such as polygamy, according to a historian.

European architecture began to be adopted during the reign of King Rama IV, who ruled 1851 to 1868, Pirasri Povatong, an associate professor of architecture at Chulalongkorn University said at a recent talk at Matichon Academy.

Some of the earliest Western-style structures were adopted by King Pinklao, his younger brother and the second king, and two such pseudo neoclassical buildings can still be found at his palace, which today is the National Museum.

Read: Thai Modernism Gets Second Life in ‘Foto_MoMo’ (Photos)

The period coincided with the introduction of English-language learning. Avud Theeradej, author of “The Language of Elites: Behind the Studies of English During the Reign of Rama V,” said that it wasn’t until the reign of Rama IV, when royal children were being taught to read and write English, that Europe became considered the center of power and scientific advancement. Before that it had been China.

The tension persisted. When King Chulalongkorn or Rama V, the son of Rama IV, ordered the construction of the Chakri Mahapasart Throne Hall at the Grand Palace, three neoclassical domes were supposed to cap the palatial building.

“The three domes have already been ordered in London but Somdet Chaophraya Srisuriwongse protested, saying no Western structure had ever been built on the palace grounds,” Pirasri said, referring the young Rama V’s regent.

The king eventually yielded to the objection of his most senior official and, upon its completion in 1882, Thai-style spires like those found on traditional palaces and temples were placed on top of the otherwise neoclassical structure that today mesmerizes throngs of visitors and tourists daily.

That did not stop a race by the royal children of Rama V and well-to-do Siamese commoners from building palaces and mansions in various European styles, however.

With the use of European architects, chiefly Italians, various styles of Western architectural styles were adopted including neo-gothic, neoclassical, neo-Venetian, Moorish, Art Nouveau and even Art Deco.

Suddenly, the rigid rules governing what commoners could or could not build according to traditional Thai architecture became irrelevant as elites and nouveau riche raced to adopt Western edifices.

One extant example today is the Venetian neo-gothic mansion which was converted into the Government House in 1969 to be the prime minister’s seat of power. Though not a palace, it was more grand and beautiful than a number of palaces built by princes and princesses during the time. It was originally built as a mansion and bestowed to Chao Phraya Ramrakhop, a trusted aide of King Rama VI. Originally known as Norasingh Mansion, it was completed in 1918.

By the time of Rama VII, who ruled from 1925 to 1935, polygamy had gone out of fashion, at least officially, with the king being declared monogamous. Pirasri said the need to build a massive Western palace then went out of fashion, and the king settled on Sukhothai Palace on Bangkok’s Samsen Road, which, through a combination of Western architecture and Siamese decorative arts, resembles more of a mansion.

Though the palace was built by Rama V as a gift to his son Rama VII in 1918, Pirasri argued that the younger king just didn’t need as many rooms and buildings to house dozens of royal consorts and their children any longer.

Anxious US Politicians and Volunteers Make Final Push

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Associated Press

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4 November 2018, 13:25

Harvey Rosenfeld attends a Democratic party rally Saturday in West Palm Beach, Florida, bedecked in a red, white and blue outfit topped with an Uncle Sam hat and had a sign around his neck reading, “Be Patriotic, Respect Democracy, Honor America.” The 68-year-old retired publicist said he had been a Republican for 30 years until its stances against abortion rights and gay rights drove him away. Photo: Terry Spencer / Associated Press

TEMPE, Arizona — The Republican, Rep. Martha McSally, wore a maroon and gold Arizona State University T-shirt and jeans as she belted out the national anthem at the school’s homecoming game Saturday. The Democrat, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, wore a canary-yellow dress and eight-inch platform shoes with cactus applique as she presided over the coin toss.

But the crowd of 46,000 greeted both U.S. Senate candidates the same way: with a mix of cheers and boos.

It was a fitting kickoff to the anxious final weekend before the 2018 midterms, a campaign that seemingly launched the day after Donald Trump was elected president two years ago that is climaxing in the shadow of a bomb plot targeting Democratic leaders and the worst anti-Semitic shooting in the nation’s history. Each side is doing everything it can to mobilize voters this weekend, warning of the dire consequences of failure.

Democrats are counting on wresting control of the U.S. House from Republicans and hoping for a longshot series of wins to win back the Senate as well. But Republicans are optimistic they can gain seats in a Senate map heavy on red states and haven’t given up on holding the House.

Neither side wanted to leave anything on the field in the final weekend. “I’ve never been so sleepless, so restless as I have been” since Trump was elected, Sudi Farokhnia, a risk manager in Orange County, California, said before leaving a rally to volunteer for Democratic congressional candidate Katie Porter. Farokhnia has spent hours phone-banking for Porter, who is challenging Republican Rep. Mimi Walters.

Brandon Evans, 36, was cleaning out his parents’ storage room in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Jordan on Saturday when he got an unexpected visit from his congresswoman, Republican Mia Love. Love, who faces a tough re-election challenge, traveled through her largely suburban district in an orange-and-blue modified motor scooter, knocking on every door she could.

Evans assured her she had his vote because of gun rights. “I feel like they’re under attack more than they’ve ever been,” Evans said.

Campaigns pulled out the heavy hitters. Trump continued to hopscotch the nation, holding a rally in Montana for GOP Senate candidate Matt Rosendale, who is challenging Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, and another rally for GOP candidates in Florida. Vice President Mike Pence traveled from Kansas to Wisconsin to Florida getting out the vote for Republicans.

At a Pence event outside Kansas City on Friday, Ronald Solomon, a 59-year-old investment banker from Las Vegas who sells Trump memorabilia and was dropping in out of curiosity, was incredulous that the GOP could lose seats given the economy.

“There are better jobs. There are more jobs. People are getting bonuses — they’re getting raises,” Solomon said.

At a Pence rally Saturday on behalf of embattled Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Sue Hodgson of River Falls said she was more “nervous more than excited.” The group around Hodgson, who was sporting a star-spangled, down-filled winter jacket, nodded, with hands jammed into jacket pockets against the 40-degree chill inside a massive warehouse.

“We’re here to show our support,” Hodgson said. “I just hope it’s enough.”

In West Palm Beach, Florida, three miles (five kilometers) from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, legendary singer Jimmy Buffet tried to fire up local Democrats for gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum and Sen. Bill Nelson. He tweaked the words to some of his old favorites.

“Come Tuesday, things will change,” Buffett sang, swapping the date in his famous song “Come Monday.” ”Come Tuesday, we’re making a change. It’s been two insane years and it’s time to really switch gears …” He also played a version of “Margaritaville” slamming the state’s Republican governor, Rick Scott, who is running against Nelson for the Senate, over an algae infestation that’s killed millions of fish and closed beaches along the state’s western coast.

“Some people say there’s a red tide to blame,” Buffett sang, “but I know that it’s all Rick Scott’s fault.”

Harvey Rosenfeld, 68, attended the rally in his usual attire — a red, white and blue outfit topped with an Uncle Sam hat and a sign around his neck reading, “Be Patriotic, Respect Democracy, Honor America.”

“All my life I have studied all of the candidates in determining for whom I would vote,” said Rosenfeld, a retired publicist and former Republican. “But this time, I think the Republican Party has caved into Trumpism and it has gone so far astray that the only way that we can return to having a strong, vibrant Republican Party is for them to have a sharp wakeup call by seeing a strong rejection of their current platform.”

In Arizona, the nasty Senate race has dominated the state. McSally, a former combat pilot, has accused Sinema of “treason” for comments about the Afghanistan war in 2002 while Democrats have been hammering the GOP candidate over her vote to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law.

Lately, as Trump has tried to raise fear of a caravan of Central American migrants trying to cross Mexico on foot to reach the U.S. border, McSally has taken to hammering Sinema on immigration. Those thoughts were on the mind of Stephen Ovanessoff, a retired church deacon and pathologist at a church visited by Republican Rep. David Schweikert as part of the congressman’s own get-out-the-vote efforts Saturday.

“There should definitively be a strong border, especially for a country like the United States,” said Ovanessoff, who immigrated from Iraq. “Because if you go outside to other countries there are millions and millions of people everywhere that want to come and live in this country.”

In Tempe, outside Sun Devil Stadium, where thousands gathered wearing the team’s bright yellow colors, Sinema was mobbed by well-wishers asking for hugs and selfies. The Democrat posed with voters as a band played a punk version of Elvis Presley’s “Fools Rush In.” Sinema teaches two courses on social work at the university and has multiple degrees from the school, and was widely recognized, even by ticket scalpers.

One student gushed to Sinema, “I’ve heard your ads on Spotify.” One man confided to her: “You’re the most qualified candidate, but I can’t vote for you — I’m a Republican, my wife would kill me.”

Gina Kilker was making her way through the crowd when she cried out, “Oh, my god, that’s Kyrsten Sinema.” Soon the candidate was posing with Kilker, her husband, daughter and son-in-law.

“We did not expect to see her,” Kilker said. She tried to quickly sum up her emotions about the last two years to a passing reporter, and boiled it down to this: “We’re hoping and praying for a blue wave.”

Story: Nicholas Riccardi

Beckham Adds Star Power to Thai Football Clinic

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Associated Press

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4 November 2018, 13:09

Retired footballer David Beckham poses Saturday for a group photograph during a sponsored promotional event in Bangkok. Photo: Gemunu Amarasinghe / Associated Press

BANGKOK — Former Manchester United and Real Madrid football star David Beckham made a brief appearance Saturday in Bangkok where he conducted drills and addressed a crowd of around 100 young football fans as part of a sponsored promotional event.

Beckham’s appearance was part of the “AIA Football Clinic for Youth with Leading Coaches” event that also featured coaches from English Premier League team Tottenham Hotspurs as well as Thai celebrities and football players.

“I’m very excited to be here with you all and to play a little bit of football,” Beckham said to a group of young kids who sat and listened to one of football’s biggest names on the astro-turf football pitch outside the SCG Muangthong Stadium in Bangkok where the event was conducted. “It’s great to be back in Bangkok. I’m excited and I’m hoping you are.”

For about five minutes, Beckham conducted passing and dribbling drills with a group of prospective young football players.

“I have seen the determination of these kids while playing football during the training session,” Beckham said in a statement. “They’re all here because they love the sport and have a tremendous passion for it.”

For most of the event, scores of young children ran around a seven-a-side pitch in an unorganized fashion. Passing footballs and playing among themselves, hoping to catch a glimpse or, better, take a pass from any celebrity present.

But some kids said they were too young to ever watch Beckham play and only knew of him through their parents.

“My dad introduced me to him (Beckham),” said nine-year old Pongpipat Tinthamwong. “When he told me about him, I started watching him on the internet.”

Story: Kaweewit Kaewjinda

Leicester Wins First Match Post-Accident, Dedicates Score to Vichai

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Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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4 November 2018, 13:03

Leicester City's Demarai Gray celebrates scoring his side's first goal of the game and reveals a shirt that reads 'For Khun Vichai' on Saturday during the English Premier League soccer match between Cardiff City and Leicester City at the Cardiff City Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Photo: Simon Galloway / PA

CARDIFF, Wales — Leicester City winger Demarai Gray celebrated the first point scored Saturday by removing his jersey to dedicate it “For Khun VIchai.”

The gesture mourning and honoring team owner and Thai billionaire Vichai Srivadhanaprabha, who was killed in a helicopter crash one week earlier, saw Gray given a yellow card by a referee in the match against Cardiff City,which the Foxes won 1-0 in the Premier League Match. It was the first match for the team since it lost its owner in the accident.

A large Thai National flag which a message R.I.P. Vichai and the team’s emblem was also unveiled at the stadium during the match.

Leicester City fans with a giant banner that reads 'RIP Vichai' during the English Premier League soccer match between Cardiff City and Leicester City at the Cardiff City Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Photo: Simon Galloway / PA via AP — Leicester City fans with a giant banner that reads ‘RIP Vichai’ during the English Premier League soccer match between Cardiff City and Leicester City at the Cardiff City Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Photo: Simon Galloway / PA via AP

Bookings Surge at Chiang Mai Hotels for Cool Season

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Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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3 November 2018, 15:04

Hot springs at a resort in Chiang Mai province. Photo: Matichon

CHIANG MAI — Cooler weather and the high season are bringing welcome visitors to the north.

Chiang Mai hotels are already 70 percent to 80 percent booked for the next four months, and Noppadol Jaripak of the provincial tourism industry council said the majority of those booking the 50,000 hotel and resort rooms are tourists from Europe and North America.

The majority from Europe are tourists from Spain, England, Italy and France. Asian tourists saw a drop, especially among mainland Chinese. Visitors from ASEAN member states including Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam are still heading to Chiang Mai during the cool and dry season.

As for Chinese guests, Noppadol said the majority are young, working-age backpackers now mostly coming in small groups of two or three people rather than tours. They stay an average three to four days, down from five to seven days.

As for Thai tourists, he said the early arrival of the cool season has been a boon so far.

“The weather has turned cold early this year. On top of mountains such as Doi Intanon, temperatures have fallen 1- to 5-degrees Celcius,” he said, adding that Thai tourists make up 70 percent of those opting for homestays or pitching tents in the various national parks during the four-month period.

Opinion: A Rude Bangkok Awakening for Suthep

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Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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3 November 2018, 13:33

Akawutt 'Ake' Auttagorn holds a sign reading 'Liar Liar' as Suthep Thaugsuban canvasses Wednesday at Big C Ratchadamri.

It was almost sad to watch the once popular Suthep Thaugsuban marching this past week in Bangkok to recruit new party members.

Gone were the adoring thousands who packed the roads when he led the anti-Yingluck Shinawatra movement five years ago. To be sure, a trickle of die-hard supporters remains, but of interest to observers and the media was the bad news for Suthep.

It was more than just fewer turning out to greet and stuff fistfuls of cash into the hands of the man who led the People’s Committee for Absolute Democracy with King as Head of State, or PCAD, in massive protests which shutdown key parts of Bangkok and eventually led to the 2014 coup. The PCAD was more commonly called the People’s Democratic Reform Committee, or PDRC.

What haunted him as he tried to recruit members for his new Action Coalition for Thailand Party were the confrontational incidents in which people challenged Suthep, calling him a liar or worse for returning to politics despite vowing after 2014 coup to quit them forever.

Even pro-junta newspaper Thai Post led its Thursday front page with “Bangkokians fed up with Suthep.”

On Wednesday, the day the protest movement began five years ago, Suthep spent his sixth and last day for now marching through Bangkok. Again, an activist grabbed headlines when he showed up holding not one but two small signs in English with the words “Liar. Liar.”

“How much have you been paid?” video shows Suthep asking the man while flashing him a thumbs-up in a bid to remain cool.

The man said no one had paid him.

“Do not fool the people! Do not fool the people! Do not be cannon fodder for dictatorship,” said the man, Akawutt “Ake” Auttagorn, who protested against Suthep outside Big C Ratchadamri. It was a reference to not just how the Suthep-led protest of five years ago led to the coup which Suthep loudly called for at the time, but also how his new party is perceived as pro-junta and likely to support the junta leader staying on as prime minister, despite protestations it’s too early to decide its intentions.

The “liar” accusation made against Suthep wasn’t just about going back on his word by returning to politics. But when he led the protests, Suthep’s mantra was “reform before elections.” Now, with little or no reforms made by the ruling junta, he is more than happy to see the party he leads, not de jure but de facto, compete in elections before reform.

Make no mistake, there are still a good number of Bangkokians supporting Suthep despite the low turnout of people in the streets. For the many who used to support him but simply did not show up to meet and greet Suthep like before, one must ask whether they have become disillusioned by the failure of what he ushered in to deliver real reform. Or is it the struggling economy? This is something ACT will have to find out and address if it wants to become a relevant political party.

On social media, contrary to junta claims it has solved political divisions during the past four and a half years, Suthep’s campaign has brought those divisions into relief. The Suthep-haters have been re-energized to unleash vitriol against him. On the other hand, his supporters are defending him anew on old Facebook pages such as PDRC Hot News Update, which is active anew.

It’s unclear how his former supporters will vote, however. If they no longer support Suthep, as the low street turnout suggests, will they continue to vote for the Democrat Party, rivals to the Pheu Thai Party led by two Yingluck and her brother Thaksin Shinawatra? Or will they consider newer pro-junta parties such as Palang Pracharat which is led by three cabinet ministers from the current military regime?

This is unclear despite the clear sign that Suthep’s army of supporters in Bangkok have evaporated.

Data Recovered From Leicester Helicopter Crash

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Associated Press

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3 November 2018, 12:56

A personal salute is placed among tributes Friday at Leicester City football club Friday for Leicester Chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. Photo: Nigel French / PA

LEICESTER, England — Air accident investigators in Leicester say flight data and voice recordings have been successfully downloaded from the black box on the helicopter which crashed and killed the owner of the city’s soccer club.

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who also owns Thai retail chain King Power, was among five people killed in the accident on Saturday outside Leicester’s stadium after a Premier League match.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch says it was able to obtain information from the helicopter’s black box despite it being subject to “intense heat” in the post-accident fire.

Inspectors have started to analyze the data to determine what caused the aircraft to spiral out of control shortly after takeoff. The wreckage was removed from the crash site late Thursday.

Nong Khai Skywalk Offers Perch Over ‘Sea of Clouds’

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Khaosod English

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3 November 2018, 11:54

NONG KHAI — Tourists visit a new skywalk Saturday morning in the northern province of Nong Khai to take in scenic views of what’s called the “sea of fog.”

The new attraction is located in the province’s Sangkhom district and opens at 6am. It has attracted tourists who want to enjoy the views over the Mekong River and Thai-Laos border. Temperatures fell to 16C this morning.

60 Illegal Street Racers Arrested in Kanchanaburi

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Khaosod English

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3 November 2018, 10:53

KANCHANABURI — Forty-eight motorcycles were impounded by the police and 60 illegal racers were arrested Friday night west of Bangkok in Kanchanaburi province.

An unspecified number of minors were among those arrested under junta’s order 22/2015, which ordered a crackdown on such races on public roads.

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