Gundam RX-78 in Bangkok this October

Gundam RX-78 is coming to Bangkok from 21 to 25 October, 2009, in an exhibition at Paragon Cineplex. As part of the Mobile Suit's 30th anniversary celebrations, Dream Express (DEX), which owns the Gundam copyright in Thailand, brings the Gundam showcase to town along with a host of activities.



Fans can enjoy the 10 million Baht event, which will feature the fibreglass model albeit reduced to half its size budget and without arms.

Like in Japan, there'll be a Gundam history showcase and a special room filled with posters, t-shirts and models.

Okawara Kunio, one of three creators of Gundam franchise, will give interviews and talk about his work during the expo while leading model maker Mark Bakuc will hold workshops and tutorials for all model geeks.

Admission to the expo is free.



Created by Sunrise Animation, "Gundam" first hit Japanese TV screens back in 1979. The series arrived in Thailand two years later, airing on weekdays at 5pm under the title "Apiniharn Gundam" (literally "The Magic of Gundam") and luring kids away from the playgrounds and into their homes to watch the robots fight.

The 30th anniversary celebrations aside, the Gundam scale model is also part of the Green Tokyo project, which is campaigning for a green city and is part of the proposal for the city to host the 2016 Olympics.

Gundam is still very popular in the East Asian region, with fans in Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore snapping up some 20,000 million yen worth of plastic models every year.

"Generally, Gundam has two groups of fans: anime fans and plastic model fans" says Vichien Vangveravongsa, general manager of the Dream Express (DEX), which owns the Gundam copyright in Thailand.

Sirimongkol Singwangcha arrested for selling drugs

Former World Boxing Champion Sirimongkol Singwangcha alias Sirimongkol Singmanasak (Thai: ศิริมงคล สิงห์มนัสศักดิ์) has been arrested for selling Ice drug or Methamphetamine.



Chonburi police arrested him on Saturday night as he was about to make a delivery to a customer. He was found with 28.4 grams of Ice, and admitted to being an agent selling Ice.



Source: news.sanook.com

Da Torpedo jailed for 18 years

The Thai Criminal Court on Friday found activist Daranee Chancheonsilapakul, aka Da Torpedo, guilty of lese majeste and sentenced her to a combined jail term of 18 years.



Daranee Chancheonsilapakul, 46, made a series of inflammatory speeches at the red-shirt rallies, notably the demonstration last June at Sanam Luang. Her remarks were against the 2006 coup but laced with offensive references to the monarchy.

The court said in its verdict that Daranee had maliciously offended the monarchy as per Article 112 of the Criminal Code.

She was penalised for three counts of lese majeste, each carrying the punishment for six year imprisonment.

The court found no cause for leniency because the defendant showed no remorse.

Source: Bangkok Post

Paradorn Srichaphan launches herbal Viagra

Thai tennis superstar Paradorn Srichaphan has launched a new product billed as a natural alternative to Viagra.



Yes, he uses it - twice a week. No, it doesn't mean his two-year marriage to former Miss Universe Natalie Glebova from Canada is faltering.

"If you ask me, 'Paradorn, do you need to use this kind of medicine,' I would say no.

But when I do use it, I feel a lot healthier," he said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "My marriage is going really well."



The product, Majic Iris, is a supplement that contains ginseng, oysters and black galangal, which resembles ginger and is believed in Thailand to act as a stimulant.

The product is only available in Thailand from his company, Magic Thai Herbs by Paradorn.

The 30-year-old Paradorn hasn't played professional tennis since March 2007 due to a wrist injury. He is the highest-ranked player in Thai history and was once No. 9 in the world.

Paradorn said his wrist is "getting a lot better but isn't good enough to play tournaments." He's trying his hand at business in the meantime.

He recently opened an Italian restaurant in Bangkok and is opening a tennis academy in the Thai capital next week.

The herbal supplement has existed for several years but under a poorly marketed Thai brand, which Paradorn said he bought and re-branded and repackaged.

His target customers are "married men who are struggling with sex and want to freshen things up," and single men who "like to party." But he says the supplement has benefits beyond the Viagra market.

"The main point is that it helps you feel stronger and gives you more energy in general," Paradorn said, adding that he also plans to launch a supplement for women.

Tata Young Ready For Love

Tata Young's latest international album "Ready For Love" releases on August 25, 2009.



The album's first single, "Ready For Love", was written by Alex Smith, Mark Taylor and Ayak Thiik and produced by André Brix Buchman from Valicon Company in Germany. It also features a track ‘Perfection’ co-written by Leona Lewis along with many of the tracks written by internationally acclaimed songwriters.

Short-haired Tata Young is "sexy and glamorous", says Rainmaker Cho, the South Korean who's shot her latest music video, but he set out to make her even "more energetic and lovely".

Tata Young gets a Korean makeover for her highly anticipated third international album.



The concept of the music video for the first single "is basically from me", Tata told reporters the other day as they previewed the CD produced by Andre "Brix" Buchmann of Berlin's Valicon Productions.

Like Cho, who's previously worked with South Korean superstars Rain and Wang Lee Hom, Buchmann wanted more variety.

Rhythm and blues mix with dance pop on 12 tunes from songwriters around the world.

The title track, which has been airing for a couple of weeks, "feels cool and energetic like in the '60s", Tata says, saying she learned the "big voice" techniques of American R&B singers Aretha Franklin, Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson.

"My Bloody Valentine" will be the follow-up single. "Mission is You" and "Shine Like a Superstar" are Silom Soi 2-style rousers. "Burning Out" and "Suffocate" get melancholy.

"Ugly" is a return to the catchy form of "Sexy, Naughty, Bitchy" and "Love is the Law" sounds like Madonna's "Rain".

Tata calls "Boys Will Be Boys" her favourite track, and "Exposed" the "opposite of her real life".

"It isn't me, but the Sony bosses in Europe said it's gonna be a hit there."

It's about a small-town girl who's dumped by her lover after she becomes famous, and that's sure not our big-city Tata.

A massive advertising campaign is pushing "Ready for Love" across Asia, Australia and Europe.

Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India, Singapore and Japan will receive an unprecedented level of promotion for an album by a Thai pop artist.

Miss Thailand wins Miss Photogenic 2009

Miss Thailand, Chutima Durongdej, won Miss Photogenic in the 2009 Miss Universe pageant competition held in the Bahamas this morning Thailand time.



Miss Venezuela, Stefania Fernandez, was named winner of the 2009 Miss Universe pageant. Miss Dominican Republic, Ada Aimee de la Cruz, was the runner up.

Miss China, Wang Jingyao, was named Miss Congeniality.

Judges included actor Dean Cain and supermodel Valeria Mazza.

MV Doulos in Bangkok

MV Doulos the world famous floating library returns to Bangkok to expand knowledge, help and hope during its stay in August.



The MV Doulos – just two years younger than the Titanic

From July 29 to August 24, 2009, MV Doulos opens its door at the Khlong Toei Port, Bangkok, for interested people to visit its book store and get in touch with its volunteers to exchange cultures and experiences.

This is the fifth visit to Thailand. The mission of the ship is to bring knowledge, help and hope to every human being on earth. Moreover, the ship can become an outside classroom for its member crews to learn how to live and work together under cultural differences.



MV Doulos crews provide a lot of activities for people who visit its ship such as sharing experiences with the crews, international café for music, dance and language, international cultural performances and an English café.

MV Doulos was built in 1914, 2 years after Titanic. It is listed in the Guinness book of world records as the world’s oldest ocean-going passenger ship.

Over the past 30 years, MV Doulos visited over 100 countries in Asia, Latin America, Africa, Europe, Australia and the Arabian Peninsula. More than 21 million people have come on board to visit her famous floating book fair.

Samui Airport Crash: Bangkok Airways skids off runway

Koh Samui, Thailand: A Bangkok Airways aircraft flight PG 266 skidded off the runway at Samui Airport and crashed into an aviation control tower today.

Update 4:30pm:
About 40 injured of Bangkok Airways' doomed flight PG266 were rushed to the Bangkok Samui Hospital. The hospital could be reached by Tel: 077429500.

Another hospital on the island is Samui Hospital which can be reached at Tel: 0-7742-0902, 0-7742-1399.

Latest crash pictures:




The accident took place at about 2.30pm and as of 4pm, the number of injuries and fatalities was still unclear. Reports say the Captain was killed instantly.

Rescue teams and workers rushed to the scene to evacuate the passengers of the ill-fated flight.



Initial report said that the 75-seat aircraft from Krabi province was landing at the Samui airport when it slid of the runway reportedly because of the poor weather.

The Nation's reporter who was at the scene said the aircraft did not catch fire when the crash happened.

Samui district chief Sakchai Johpalit said rescue workers were evacuating the injured passengers from the aircraft. The aircraft carried 68 passengers. The accident took place as the island was hit by consecutive days of heavy rains. Heavy rains continued after the accident happened.