THE WEEK AHEAD
MONDAY
The government is still pursuing the dream of all its previous female predecessors, a deep sea port at sleepy Dawei, Myanmar. Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak will demand a progress report today from the National Economic and Social Development Board, in charge of the project. The new Star Wars movie franchise premieres in Hollywood this morning. It is the seventh in the franchise begun with Harrison Ford in 1977. It opens in Thailand on Thursday. Team Asia for golf’s Jan 15-17 Eur-Asia Cup will be named today from the 2015 Asian Tour Order of Merit. The tournament will be in Malaysia. We know who is in the last 16, and tonight the Champions League draw will detail the match schedule. Meanwhile, the Club World Cup starts today in Japan. There are no Thai teams this year, but Barcelona and River Plate should make it interesting. The final is on Sunday.
TUESDAY
The funeral of the late Supreme Patriarch will be held from today until Thursday. His Holiness Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara Somdet Phra Sangharaja died in October 2013, when he was 100 years old. The 3.6km procession will travel from Wat Bowonniwet Vihara to Wat Thepsirin, or Phra Sumen Road to Luang Road via Lan Luang Road and Krung Kasem Road. The route will be closed to traffic from 8am. Christie’s will auction many items that belonged to former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher this evening. It’s not clear if her broomsticks are included. The leader of the French National Front, Marine Le Pen, will hear the decision in her hate-speech trial, for comparing praying Muslims to the Nazi occupation. Before the recent elections, the Front was called “extreme”, but it now seems to be middle of the French road. The International Atomic Energy Agency will say whether it has any suspicions that Iran is building a nuclear weapon.
WEDNESDAY
Donald Trump and less clownish politicians will again debate which is better suited to be the Republican Party candidate for president next year. The Philippines Supreme Court is to rule on a government-to-government agreement to build up the small US military presence, chiefly because of China and the next-door Spratly Islands. The Japanese Supreme Court is to rule on whether Japanese women can use their own family names instead of taking their husbands’.
THURSDAY
The four-day Wonderfruit “celebration of the arts” begins today at The Fields, Siam Country Club, Pattaya. Performing arts, music and food. More information is at (www.wonderfruitfestival.com). South Korea’s criminal court is to give the verdict in the trial of Japanese journalist Tatsuya Kato of Sankei Shimbun, who wrote that President Park Geun-hye is like the Joseon Dynasty’s Queen Min, who was assassinated by the Japanese. Prosecutors are calling for a sentence of 18 months for the so-called defamation. Friday is the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Japan.
FRIDAY
The Post Publishing seminar “Bangkok-Ho Chi Minh: Bridge to the Silk Road of Asean” is today in Ho Chi Minh City. If you haven’t registered yet, try calling 02-616-4441 for last-minute service. Doors open today for BMFF 7. Big Mountain Music Festival is Saturday and Sunday at Kaeng Krachan Country Club Phetchaburi — mun yai mak or “lots of craziness”. If you can get one, a ticket is 2,000 baht. The 2015 Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya World Heritage Fair starts today in the former capital. The 10-day festival features cultural shows with a sound-and-light performance daily at dusk.
SATURDAY
Attention old people! Tickets go on sale this morning for the Feb 29 concert at Impact Muang Thong by Carlos Santana and Carabao. Silom Road becomes Silom Walking Street today, from Sala Daeng all the way to the Naradhiwas intersection. It’s the start of another programme to close Silom every second Sunday from now through to March. The official start is actually next Sunday, Dec 27, and then every two weeks after that. Thai and Chinese officials will break ground at Ayutthaya today for the control centre of the Sino-Thai railway, which will come later. Spanish people get to vote for their government tomorrow. Thai people don’t. Also tomorrow, trilingual Thunchanok “French Fries” Moonnilta, 22, of Chiang Mai, takes Thailand’s hopes and goodluck wishes into the 65th Miss World finals at the Crown of Beauty Theatre, Sanya, Hainan. She loves cooking, pilates and hot yoga, and is strongly opposed to world hunger. The broadcast is at 7 p.m. There is no early game, but Chelsea host Sunderland among the six 10pm Premier League matches.