THE WEEK AHEAD
MONDAY
Another December day, another holiday. Old people remember why it’s called Constitution Day. Also it’s the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Miss Universe 2018 contestants will show off their national costumes this evening at the Nongnooch Pattaya International Convention and Exhibition, er, something. Most attention so far is on Miss Vietnam’s ham sandwich dress and Miss Singapore’s Trump-Kim Jong-un tableau and casual wear. Tickets, if you’re interested, through ThaiTicketMajor.com. Every government school in the nation must complete a full list of enrollments to the Office of the Basic Education Commission by today, so Obec can get busy trying to end all the embezzlement of money paid for ghost students. Japanese prosecutors must announce today whether to charge or free fired Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn for under-reporting his income.
TUESDAY
The final Uefa Champions League groupstage play is late tonight and Wednesday night (actually early Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Key match: Liverpool must beat Napoli tonight to have a chance of advancing to the last 16, while Spurs can go through with a draw at Barcelona. Most matches begin at 3am. The Nobel Prize presentations are under way in Oslo. The Peace Prize Forum today will be deeply honoured by a keynote speech from the Nobel laureate Al Gore. Early reports and rumours state he might talk about global warming.
The British parliament is to vote this evening on Ms May’s Brexit deal.
WEDNESDAY
A completely renovated Hellfire Pass Interpretive Centre opens today, close to the famed bridge on the Death Railway line. Plenty of new exhibits in the museum and audio guides to the trail stroll are featured.
The Harvey Law Corp’s experts will advise you on how to buy a citizenship, or several, at an evening seminar at the W Hotel, Bangkok.
Michael Cohen, Orangeman’s former lawyer, is to be sentenced to prison tonight for lying to Congress, although not about Russian collusion, yet again.
THURSDAY
A statue of the heroic ex-Seal Lt Cdr Saman Gunun will be placed in the museum of the rescue of the Wild Boars football team today. The display is near the Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai province.
Thailand in 2028 is the theme of the fourpart, four-director (or possibly five) film Ten Years Thailand, opening today after its run at film festivals including Cannes. It shows four (or possibly five) predictive takes on a dystopian nation in 10 years. The weird but wonderful Wonderfruit Festival opens today through Sunday at The Fields, Bang Lamung, near Pattaya. It’s very family-friendly with live music, strange art and wellness sessions for all.
FRIDAY
The very large, three-day expo known as the Thailand Halal Assembly 2018 opens today at Bitec Bangna. There is always quite a lot to see at this annual fair, so don’t be put off by the weird theme: Precision Halalisation in the Bioeconomy Era.
The three-day Koh Kong Sea Festival opens today on the Cambodian island. It can be reached easily from eastern Thailand, particularly Trat province. Thai citizens require only ID cards, not passports.
The Malaysian court as Shah Alam will rule on witness statements today in the case of the assassination of Kim Jongnam, in the murder trial of a Vietnamese and an Indonesian.
SATURDAY
Get out your money and start buying books, tyres and stuff from Otop, because your generous government will give you an income tax deduction of up to 15,000 baht for those items. There’s absolutely nothing sinister about it, and please purge the nasty thought that maybe they want your vote in the election. No way. Get receipts. The offer is good until Jan 16.
The Action Coalition for Thailand Party (ACT) will select executives at its general assembly today. Founder and ideologue Suthep “Kamnan” Thaugsuban has been insisting he won’t take a position. Spare a thought for Sombath Somphone, and if you get a chance mention it to any diplomat you meet from Laos, whose government disappeared the internationally admired social worker six years ago today.
Man City and Everton kick off the Premier League weekend at 7.30pm. Probable game of the week is the weekend’s finale tomorrow night at 11: Liverpool vs Man United.