NOT QUITE THE NEWS
The real threat for People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) supporters may be neither violent crackdowns by the police nor raids by pro-government supporters. The risk of catching a disease at the demonstration site is a far greater concern.
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| A huge stack of garbage has been piling up inside the Government House compound every day since the PAD laid siege to the place. |
A group of health officers has been ordered to conduct sanitary checks at Government House a week after tens of thousands of protesters laid siege to the compound on Aug 26. The staff were also instructed to closely cooperate with City Hall's health office and run a health check on the PAD supporters packed inside the confined space.
Health Department chief Narongsak Angkhasuwapala said he was concerned Government House would turn into a breeding ground for diseases.
He made the comment following a report that fish in a nearby canal had died due to waste discharged from the demonstration site. Dead grass and plants on the soggy lawn inside the compound was also giving off a foul smell.
He feared rally goers may contract diarrhoea or gastrointestinal diseases due to unhygienic food and a shortage of toilets.
All toilets in the Command and Nari Samosorn buildings were blocked and the bad smell caused food vendors in the areas to close their businesses yesterday. City hall sent mobile toilets to help.
Temple tours popular
Temple tourism in Ayutthaya has boomed over the past few weeks, thanks to the boiling political tension.
"Bangkokians have been flocking to the old temples in Ayutthaya's historic town over the past few weekends," said Juthatip Charoenlarp, the chief of the Ayutthaya Tourism Office. "Not many of them were interested in visiting our temples in the past. This is unprecedented."
The sudden boom in temple tourism caused traffic jams at some of the famous temples, such as Wat Pananchoeng Woraviharn and Wat Yai Chaimongkol. Most of the cars came from Bangkok, she added.
Ms Juthatip attributed the increasing number of visitors to the political tension and the series of clashes between police and PAD supporters and between pro- and anti-government supporters.
"In such stressful circumstances, people turn to religious places to find a peaceful moment and to calm their minds," said Ms Juthatip.
Ayutthaya's temples are the ideal place for Bangkokians to take refuge from political chaos because the province is not far from Bangkok, she added.
Testing his medal
It's hard to win an Olympic medal, but the medal itself may not be as hard as it looks.
Olympic boxing gold medallist Somjit Jongjohor discovered that his medal may not be too hard after he noticed several mysterious notches around its edges.
"I kept wondering where these notches came from. I always hang the medal around my neck, I carefully keep it and never drop it," said the 33-year-old Olympic champion.
After thinking for a while, the boxer came to the conclusion that the ugly nicks came from people biting his medal.
"Since I returned from Beijing, a large number of fans have come to take photos with me and many of them wanted to have his or her picture biting the medal, just like sports champions do," he said. "Their bites have left behind these nicks in the medal."
Somjit had no idea how the practice of biting a medal or a cup became a must-do thing for sporting champions. All he knew is it has damaged his medal.
The Olympic hero, however, does not mind having dents on his gold medal.
"This medal belongs to all Thais. I'm glad that it makes them happy," he said.
Cutting off the problem
A fish farmer in Phetchaburi province has found
his own way of curing erectile dysfunction - cutting it off.
Sayan Koommuang, 33, was taken to hospital on Thursday with blood-soaked pants. Doctors found that his penis had been almost cut off.
Mr Sayan's relatives said the man had suffered from erectile dysfunction for more than three years. He could not have sex with his wife and his mental health deteriorated.
On Thursday morning, Mr Sayan wanted to have sex with his wife, but could not manage to rise to the occasion. He was very disappointed and became furious.
He rushed out of the bedroom to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and cut his private parts.
Doctors said he was lucky his penis was not cut off completely. They successfully re-attached the organ.
"I think it will function well after he recovers," said the doctor.
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