Thai Foreign Ministry offers advice for travel to Qatar World Cup
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2022
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry has warned that fans planning to travel to Qatar for the Fifa World Cup must first register for a Hayya Card at the website hayya.qatar2022.qa.
Only those who hold a Qatar residency or work permit are exempt from the requirement.
However, travellers will not need to present Covid-19 test results or vaccine certificates at Qatari immigration, it added.
The ministry’s Consular Affairs Department also warned that Qatar is an Islamic country and travellers should study Qatari regulations and guidelines before travelling to avoid violating local laws or sensibilities.
For example, travellers must not import pork products, alcohol, or drugs into Qatar, it added.
It also advised travellers to dress formally, act appropriately, and avoid drinking alcohol in public while in the Middle East country.
The department also suggested avoiding signs of conflict and being extra cautious in crowded areas by keeping a close watch on their belonging and documents.
Thai travellers in need of urgent assistance in Qatar can contact the Thai Embassy in Doha by phoning +974 5557 8760 or +974 3380 9062, visiting https://www.facebook.com/Thaiembdoha, emailing consular.doh@mfa.go.th or checking https://doha.thaiembassy.org.
Messi makes fifth World Cup as Garnacho, Simeone omitted
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2022
THE NATION
Lionel Messi will travel to a record-equalling fifth FIFA World Cup™ and is joined by fellow international stalwarts Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi. Lionel Scaloni decided, however, not to include forwards Alejandro Garnacho and Giovanni Simeone, while Giovani Lo Celso misses out through injury.
Paulo Dybala has been deemed fit enough to play despite suffering a hamstring injury which has kept the forward out since October. Fellow Serie A forwards Lautaro Martinez, Joaquin Correa and Nicolas Gonzalez make up the rest of the front line, along with Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez.
Scaloni, who won the Copa America with Argentina last summer, has called upon 21 players from that squad, including Leonardo Paredes, Nicolas Tagliafico and Premier League pair Lisandro Martinez and Christian Romero.
This will be La Albiceleste’s fifteenth World Cup and twelfth consecutive tournament, with their best showings coming in 1978 and 1986 when the South Americans won the trophy.
Qatar paid three African nations to secure votes for World Cup hosting rights: Netflix documentary
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022
Three African countries — Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria — accepted bribes to vote for Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup, according to a revelation in Netflix’s new documentary, “Fifa Uncovered”.
The UK newspaper, The Sun, said a former international media officer for the World Cup bid, Phaedra Almajid, blew the whistle on the three African countries.
She alleged that Hassan al-Thawadi, who is currently the secretary-general of the Supreme Committee responsible for World Cup, which kicks off this month in Qatar, offered US$1.5 million to Jacques Anouma (Ivory Coast), Amos Adamu (Nigeria), and Issa Hayatou (Cameroon) at a meeting of the African football federations in January 2010, less than a year before the decision on hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup. Qatar pipped Australia, Japan, South Korea, and the US.
She also unveiled in the documentary that, “We were talking about how Africa had been given its chance to host the World Cup and how the Arab world should be given their chance, and then Hassan offered Hayatou $1 million for Hayatou’s football federation and in return, we wanted his vote.”
“I remember there just being laughter and then him saying that is not enough, and so the price was upped to $1.5 million — just like that. It was just so simple: ‘We will give you this money for your football federation, you give us your vote, and thank you so much’.
“One by one we did the same thing with Anouma and Adamu. $1.5 million was offered to each member that evening in exchange for their vote. It was verbal, I never saw money.”
She highlighted that the booty was directed to the federations instead of Hayatou himself.
“It was made very clear the money was going to football, it was never said it is going into your pocket, I do need to emphasise that. Where it ended up, I have no idea.”
Ever since Almajid disclosed this issue, she claims being harrassed by anonymous calls, emails, and attacks on social media.
Al-Thawadi has rejected all accusations and insinuations.”My reaction, especially on the Phaedra situation, it’s frustration. They are inherently false and there are facts on the ground that prove they are false.”
The documentary, “Fifa Uncovered”, is now available on Netflix in four parts in the first season for which it got 7.7 from IMDb.
Thai badminton stars of tomorrow face Asia’s elite in Bangkok
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022
Stars of the future will be on show for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic when the Toyota Gazoo Racing Badminton Asia U17 & U15 Junior Championships start at Bangkok’s Central Changwattana on November 29.
The week-long tournament will see 134 of Thailand’s elite young shuttlers test their mettle against top juniors from 14 countries – including traditional badminton powerhouses Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong.
The tournament will be Thai juniors’ first opportunity in over two years to check their progress against international peers, Badminton Association of Thailand president Patama Leeswadtrakul said.
Thai players qualified for the event as winners and runners-up in this season’s Toyota Junior Badminton Championships or by gaining points in the Toyota Youth Super Series 2022.
Pattama urged sports fans to cheer on the Thai athletes at the venue for free or watch the tournament on the “BadmintonThailand Official” YouTube channel.
Ronaldo to lead talented Portugal squad in Qatar World Cup
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022
Reuters
Cristiano Ronaldo will enter his fifth World Cup with a Portugal squad filled with talented players but that will be missing some national team regulars.
The duo have both impressed this season for Portuguese table toppers Benfica, who are unbeaten so far in all competitions and qualified from their Champions League group ahead of Paris St Germain.
Silva has been one of Europe’s breakout players this season after forcing his way into Benfica’s starting team after injuries to Morato and Lucas Verissimo.
In-form Ramos has helped Benfica fans quickly forget former forward Darwin Nunez, who joined Liverpool in the close season, scoring 12 goals in all competitions, with coach Santos choosing him over Wolves forward Goncalo Guedes.
Led by Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal’s squad will be on paper one of the best competing in Qatar.
“We have a team capable of winning it all, that is what this group is capable of,” Santos told a news conference in Lisbon.
“The players are hungry and will give it all to make Portugal the world champions.
“Our list was based on the players’ qualities and potential, on what each one of them can offer to our system.”
Santos added he was not worried about criticism aimed at captain Ronaldo, whose struggles at Manchester United this season have raised questions about whether his brilliant career is nearing its end.
Squad: Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Jose Sa (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC), Rui Patricio (AS Roma).
Defenders: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Joao Cancelo (Manchester City), Danilo Pereira (Paris St Germain), Pepe (FC Porto), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Antonio Silva (SL Benfica), Nuno Mendes (Paris St Germain), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund).
Midfielders: Joao Palhinha (Fulham FC), Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Joao Mario (SL Benfica), Matheus Nunes (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC), Vitinha (Paris St Germain), William Carvalho (Real Betis), Otavio (FC Porto).
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid), Rafael Leao (AC Milan), Ricardo Horta (SC Braga), Goncalo Ramos (SL Benfica), Andre Silva (RB Leipzig)
“Queen” Pannarai Reigns Throne at 9th TWT-SAT Open
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022
THE NATION
Unfancied Pannarai Meesom-us outperformed EPSON Tour player Pavarisa Yoktuan to snatch her first career title following a stroke-victory in the Bt2.5 million SAT-TWT Open “Road to World Ranking” at the Pattaya Country Club on Thursday.
Starting the tee-off hole four shots behind co-overnight leaders Pavarisa Yuktuan and Jaravee Boonchant, both being active on the EPSON Tour, the 19-year-old went through 15 holes with six birdies without a bogey. And although she committed her first error on the 16th, she rebounded to fire her seventh birdie of the day on the final hole for a round of 66 which propelled her to the title on six under-par-210.
“I was overwhelmed to finally have a title of my own. In fact, I didn’t feel confident at the beginning but I tried to calm down and control my iron and putter better,” said the 18-year-old girl from Chonburi who earned her career biggest cheque of Bt367,500, two years after turning professional.
Last year, Pannarai or “Queen” as called by her family, came close to winning a title in the Thailand Mixed last in Cha-Am only to lose a nail-biting play-off to fellow teenager Ramil Saelim.
“After that loss, I knew I could win a tournament. But to be honest, there was quite a nerve-wrecking moment on the 16th as I was so nervous. I didn’t dare to look at the scoreboard, and I just tried to hang tough out there,” said Pannarai who had Ekkarak Pimpiset, a caddie of Thai living legend Prayad Makrsaeng, carry the bag for her this week.
“I have to thank him for always keeping me cool when I was uptight. I also like to thank my parents for their support. I dedicate this title for them,” added the teenager whose next plan is to compete in the Taiwan LPGA Q-School later this month.
Pavarisa swapped three birdies with three bogeys at the front nine. She surged into contention again with another birdie on the 10th hole but a double bogey on the following hole pushed her two strokes back.
Two more birdies saw her close in with a 71 and a total five under-par-211. She had to be content with the lone second place and the runner’s up prize money of Bt223,440. She also won the Sportsmanship Award, voted by fellow players.
First round leader Kusuma Meechai, after a 72, followed a shot behind on 212 while Jaravee and Mind Muangkhumsakul were at tied fourth, each with a 213.
The Best Amateur title went to Alisa Inprasit who signed off at tied 16th on 223.
The ninth SAT-TWT Open is organized by Thailand Women’s Professional Golf Association (Thai WPGA). It features a three-day stroke-play format. After 36 holes, top 60 and ties will move ahead to the final round where they will battle it out for the winner’s prize money of Bt367,500.
Ten Hag thrilled with United’s improved performance against Villa
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022
THE NATION
Erik ten Hag says it’s clear his squad had learned from their mistakes at the weekend, in their 4-2 League Cup victory over Aston Villa on Thursday.
United lost 3-1 to Villa in their Premier League clash on Sunday.
“The fighting spirit was back. Players are not robots and I know that, but you can’t accept it, that you get beaten like Sunday. It was quite clear the reaction from the team today, when you go two times go down and fight back like this. You see the progress we make in our attitude. You show the progress we make in mentality. We are in the right direction.” said Erik ten Hag
“For defending, rules are not but or if, I just demand them to do it. In offensive possession, I call it principles, there’s more freedom. How close you come to an opponent’s goal, the more freedom is coming up. But also there, there’s still some principles. You can also organise attacking football. You need that and while you’re attacking in our game it’s really important, the rest defence. In that balance in the rest defence, it’s again, 100 per cent discipline. If not, you got killed like Sunday, like with the third goal.”
“Now in this mooment we have a lot of players who are nominated for the squads, who are performing in the World Cup. That’s good for Manchester United. So I’m really happy for all of the players who go to the World Cup. That’s a great event. You are competing with the best players, with the biggest nations. So that is a great experience and they become better football players there. So it’s great. The more players for Manchester United there, the better it is.”
Man Utd survive Villa scare to reach League Cup last 16
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022
THE NATION
Manchester United have booked our place in round four of the Carabao Cup, after a thoroughly entertaining 4-2 victory over Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
After what was a low-key opening first 45 minutes, the action sprung into life during the second period, with goals from Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay sealing victory in M16.
Having fallen behind twice in the contest, Ollie Watkins opened the scoring after the interval, with our French forward Martial instantly hitting back. Diogo Dalot then turned into his own net, before Rashford equalised once more. Fernandes and McTominay then both found the net in the last 15 minutes, as Erik ten Hag’s side progressed in the competition.
FIRST HALF – CAGEY OPENING
There were few chances but Tyrell Malacia’s early searching ball initially looked set to be seized upon by Martial, before skidding along the dampened Old Trafford surface to almost find Fernandes over on the right. Robin Olsen was however quick to deal with any potential danger, sweeping the ball clear and out for a corner.
United did have the ball in the net after 17 minutes, as the game began with a cagey tempo. Fred’s through ball found Rashford in behind the Villans’ backline, as our no.10 raced through before squaring the ball to Fernandes to tap home, with the offside flag raised on the far side just moments later.
Failing to cause United any real threat in the opening exchanges, a rare Villa attack forced a corner for Erik ten Hag’s side to deal with. Douglas Luiz’s in-swinging delivery looked to catch out Martin Dubravka at his near post, with McTominay quickest to react to head away any potential danger.
Moments later, Luiz’s second successive corner was initially cleared by McTominay again, before former captain Ashley Young tried his luck from his distance, with his strike flying high and wide and thus into the lower section of the Stretford End.
SECOND HALF – CONTEST COMES ALIVE
With only two minutes gone in the second half, Villa took the lead, as Jacob Ramsey found Ollie Watkins darting in behind our backline and he expertly finished into the net. The Englishman raced through on goal, before lifting his effort over our on-rushing debutant Dubravka to open the scoring.
However, just a mere 19 seconds following the restart, the Reds were level, as Martial notched his fourth goal of the season. With Fernandes the orchestrator, our no.8 took the ball down superbly after being found in behind, before laying the ball on a plate for Martial to tap home, thus restoring parity in the game.
Villa then retook the lead as Ashley Young’s deep cross was met by substitute Leon Bailey at the back post, with Dalot inadvertently turning the Jamaican’s effort into his own net, with United once again tasked with coming from behind.
Rashford almost levelled things as Malacia cleverly picked him out. He twisted and turned inside the visitors’ penalty area, before his right-footed strike clipped the post and flashed wide of the mark. Our no.10, however, quickly made amends, with Malacia again involved. His chipped pass found Rashford initially, before he nodded the ball through to Christian Eriksen to run onto. Young’s strong challenge dispossessed the Dane in the process, before Rashford seized onto the loose ball, smashing past Olsen.
Malacia’s low cross into the area caused Villa further problems with time ticking on, as he picked out Fernandes in the process. His turn and shot was saved well once more by the stubborn Olsen, with the ball turned away for a corner. Captain Harry Maguire powerfully met the resulting set-piece, with the Swede again denying United.
But with 12 minutes remaining, our reward was finally found, as the ever-involved Olsen gifted the ball to substitute Alejandro Garnacho. The teenager turned provider as he found Fernandes, who, in turn, raced through and fired home our third of the evening, via a deflection.
As the game ticked on, Ten Hag again opted to go to the bench to bring on Casemiro, bidding to find a vital grip on the midfield area. However, McTominay then put the gloss on the game with just seconds remaining, as the Scot stretched wonderfully to tap home Garnacho’s cross, shortly after rattling the bar with a great attempt, as we progressed to round four of the competition.
Gruelling Bhutan race draws attention to impact of climate change on vulnerable mountain countries
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2022
Twenty international runners and nine Bhutanese took part in the challenging Snowman Race held from October 13 to 17 in Bhutan, an event that also drew the world’s attention to the dangers of climate change.
The Snowman Race is regarded as the world’s toughest race and is also said to be the highest ultra-marathon.
The route started from the northwestern district of Gasa and ended in the central district of Bumthang, running through 203 kilometres of Himalayan wilderness, with an average elevation of over 4,267 metres and multiple peaks summiting 5,470 metres.
The race follows a historic high-altitude trekking route of Snowman Trek, which normally takes up to 20 days to complete.
The toughness of the race is not the only aspect that makes the Snowman Race historic. Its goal is to draw the world’s attention to the dangers of climate change visible in the Himalayas.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, ICIMOD, says the Third Pole or High Mountain Asia will continue to warm by at least 1.8 to 2.2 degrees Celsius even if the global average temperatures stable at 1.5 degrees over pre-industrial levels and is projected to lose a third of the glacier volume by the end of the century.
“Seeing the glacial retreat at Narithang was very impactful,” said Byron Powell, a Snowman Race athlete from the United States. “A kilometre of glacier is missing with thousands of Olympic swimming pools worth of volume gone.”
Bhutanese national Gawa Zangpo took overall first place with a race time of 31hrs 53mins 26secs.
Zangpo was followed by Sanjay Wangchuk, who sprinted past ecstatic flag-waving students, to take second place in 34:18:02.
The first international athletes past the post following the final stage were Luke Nelson (USA), Gabe Joyes (USA) and Wataru Lino (Japan), all three crossing the line together in a stage time of 6:20:56.
An emotional Luke Nelson ran into the arms of his fellow countrymen on completing the final leg and quickly underscored the severity of the challenge, saying, “If this last stage was the only stage we ran, it would still make the race incredibly difficult, the unrelenting 9,000 feet descent from the mountains was punishing, but incredible, it’s an unforgettable experience.”
The final stage of the race saw the remaining runners complete the stage by early afternoon with the final athlete, Canadian Nicki Rehn, crossing the line at 2.30pm to rapturous applause from the crowd.
To complement the objectives of the Snowman Race, a climate conclave followed the race on October 18.
“Both Snowman Race and the climate conclave drew inspiration from the prescient wisdom of His Majesty The King on the conservation of natural and cultural heritage. It aspires to bring the world’s attention to climate change, one of the defining issues of our time, and its impacts, particularly on the lives of people living in fragile mountain ecosystems,” said Ambassador Kesang Wangdi, the Snowman Race Secretariat.
It brought together national, regional, and global climate experts and leaders to spotlight the vulnerabilities and challenges faced by Bhutan and other mountain countries in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region living on the frontlines of climate change.
The conclave drew attention to the urgency of a society-wide action, particularly the important role of non-state actors, including businesses and the private sector. Complementing the race, the conclave seeks to make Bhutan a voice of the vulnerable mountain ecosystem reeling from climate change.
Delayed for a year, the fourth edition of “Unfolding Kafka Festival” is as cutting-edge as ever and provide the audience with more hands-on learning experience than before
It’s the last two months of the year and, like it was pre-pandemic, Bangkok is full of arts festivals. Bangkok Art Biennale (BAB) is on until February and kicking off this weekend is Bangkok Theatre Festival (BTF).
Photo Credit: “PLI” by Vojtech Brtnicky; “Haptic Installation” by S20; James Bachelor by Andrew Sikorski
Already up and running with sheer vigor is the bilingual multidisciplinary Unfolding Kafka Festival which last weekend opened with a unique collaboration between French conductor Michaël Cousteau, Thai choreographer Jitti Chompee and his company 18 Monkeys Dance Theatre as well as PGVIM (Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music) Baroque Ensemble, thanks the French Embassy’s support which also made possible two solo performances “Comme un Symbole” and “Quelques-uns le demeurent” by French dancer and choreographer Alexandre Fandard this Wednesday (November 9) and Thursday (November 10) at Lido Connect.
“This fourth edition was supposed to take place last year but it has been delayed because of the pandemic,” says Jitti, the founder and artistic director of the festival.
“I already planned it way back right after the 2019 edition and I spent the gap year working on a project on Khon with Department of Fine Arts, Ministry of Culture. At the moment I also have some ideas which works will be in the 2024 edition—which will be the last one before I start a dance conservatory—and then I plan to watch these works to see how complicated it is in terms of logistics. That’s how I’ve been curating the festival,” explains the artistic director who says that his curation is self-taught.
“For this edition, I focus on the choreography of the works and up and coming artists who’re mainly touring in Europe [instead of superstars]. I also make sure that the content of their works is somehow related to the festival’s keyword of ‘metamorphosis’.”
This Wednesday (November 9), the audience at Lido Connect was thrilled by Czech artist Viktor Cernicky’s “PLI” in which he arranges 22 identical conference chairs into various images beyond our imagination.
Tomorrow (November 12), the audience will have a chance to see him outdoors at the tennis court of Peninsula Hotel, listen to his talk and play with his chairs.
Jitti recalls, “Thanks to the European network Aerowaves I got to know about Cernicky for the first time in, I think, 2017. During the pandemic, a festival in Cambodia presented ‘PLI’ online. I watched it and was thrilled. Then I emailed him and traveled to watch it live in Barcelona where I also met his producer to discuss the logistics of how to bring it to Thailand.
“A challenge was how to transport these 22 conference chairs and in the end we had them made in China and shipped here, saving much cost, as well as to Hong Kong where the work will soon be staged [at Tai Kwun Center for Arts over the New Year holidays].
“Later I watched this work again in Prague to make sure we can handle all the technical requirements and to refer him to Bangkok International Children’s Theatre Festival (Bict Fest) as it was staged at The Place in London with workshops for young children.”
After the two performances, the chairs will be installed along with a brief introduction video by Cernicky at the Jim Thompson Art Center from November 19 to 27 when the visitors are welcomed to play and experiment with them, for self-education.
In the same venue from November 22 to 27 are the 2022 video installation work “Mold 1” and the 2010 one “Haptic Installation” by Japanese dancer and computer graphic wiz Hiroki Umeda, who will also give a lecture on his transdisciplinary works on November 23 thanks to the support by Japan Foundation, Bangkok.
Jitti adds, “The visitors are also welcomed to take a video of their creations inspired by these installations at the Jim Thompson Art Center, posting it with the hashtag ‘#UnfoldingKafkaFestival’ and stand a chance to win Bt 10,000 prize money. I myself tried stacking these chairs but I failed every time.”
At the same venue, Australian choreographer James Bachelor, who has presented a few works here before the pandemic, will also present a new work “Shortcut to Familiar Places” and give a dance workshop.
Commemorating the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Australia and Thailand, Bachelor will work with his Thai counterpart Pakhamon Hemachandra in a homage to his teacher Ruth Osborne who was trained in the methods of modern dance pioneer Gertrud Bodenwieser.
Many people here are still unsure about attending live performances, as we become more familiar with their online counterparts and paranoid about the new and less severe variants of COVID-19. This festival, though, is a proof that, with a curatorial scheme that focuses on the audience’s understanding and appreciation of arts, it’s really worth our attendance.
“Unfolding Kafka Festival 2022” continues until November 27. For details on other works, visit www.UnfoldingKafkaFestival.com. For tickets, ticketmelon.com or email UnfoldingKafkaFestival@gmail.com
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