Abhisit: PT's special zone vote bait

The Pheu Thai Party's proposal to make the three troubled southern border provinces a special administrative zone is purely intended to win votes, and is not a realistic solution to the problem, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Wednesday.

Mr Abhisit was commenting on an interview by Yingluck Shinawatra, the No 1 Pheu Thai list candidate, who said  her party would turn the three southern border provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat into a special administration zone.
He said what Ms Yingluck said was not being realistic.
The Democrat Party's policy is to give more power to local administrations - municipalities, tambon and provincial administration organisations (TOA and POA).
"If a special administration is set up, like Pattaya City, the TOAs or POAs would be gone.
"I assume that the special administration (mentioned by Pheu Thai) would be based in Pattani.  If this is true, the people in Betong and Sungai Kolok would come under Pattani.
"I don't see how this would improve the people's quality of life," Mr Abhisit said.
The prime minister also disagreed to an idea to relocate heavy industries to the three southern border provinces, saying this would only cause more conflict to the area.

Snr officials probed over chicken scare

The livestock chief of Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district and the district police chief are being investigated following weekend raids on illegal slaughterhouses in Pak Chong district.

Nakhon Ratchasima Governor Raphee Phongbupphaki said on Wednesday that a panel will  look into whether  the two officials are guilty of negligence of duty.
The inquiry, headed by deputy governor Pititham Thitimontri, is expected to complete its work in three days, said Mr Raphee.  
The Pak Chong district chief, the district chief and two senior police officers from Pak Chong and Klang Dong police stations will be asked to testify before  4 pm on Wednesday.
The Pak Chong district chief, the district chief and two senior police officers from Pak Chong and Klang Dong police stations will be asked to testify before  4 pm on Wednesday.
The governor ordered the transfer of  provincial livestock chief Suksawat Thongnoi to an inactive post after  the contaminated meat scandal broke.

The raids on 11 illegal butcheries in Pak Chong which allegedly illegally bought chicken carcasses from farms and sold them for human consumption after treating them with formalin, a disinfectant solution of formaldehyde and water.  The chicken meat was sold within and outside the district.
Pol Col Wachirawit Kritrittisak, deputy chief of Nakhon Ratchasima police, said police are bringing at least  10 charges against operators of four illegal slaughterhouses in Pak Chong district.
They were among the 11 illegal butcheries raided during the weekend.
The suspects allegedly confessed they supplied butchered chicken corpses to fish and crocodile farms.  They told police they had bought the dead chickens from local  farmers through middlemen.
 The investigation team is gathering evidence against operators of the seven other butcheries, said Pol Col  Wachirawit.
 Police have not yet determined where the chickens came from.  An initial investigation suggested they came from farms in several provinces, including those in the Central Plains.
Pol Col Wachirawit on Wednesday ordered all police stations to set up road checkpoints to search trucks and other vehicles suspected of transporting chicken carcasses.

Mine clearers wounded by land mine

Six members of navy humanitarian team involved in deactivating land mines were wounded by an explosion in Chanthaburi's Pong Nam Ron district, near Cambodia, on Wednesday.

The six were part of a 10-member  team scouring a former mine field in a tapioca plantation near Marum village in tambon Khlong Yai on the border with Cambodia.
One of them stepped on a mine.
Of the six, three were seriously wounded.  The wounded were admitted to Krungthep Chanthaburi Hospital.
The team was on a mine clearing operation after being informed by planters whose tractor working in the field ran over a mine on June 11.  The explosion damaged the tractor and slightly wounded the driver.

Don't write US off over major drought, Phil warns

For the first time since 1994, no American golfer holds a major title, but four-time major winner Phil Mickelson of the United States warns rivals not to write off US players just yet.

Phil Mickelson signs autographs for fans during a practice round prior to the start of the 111th US Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. For the first time since 1994, no American golfer holds a major title, but four-time major winner Mickelson of the United States warns rivals not to write off US players just yet.

"Although international golf has really taken off, American golf is still in very good shape," Mickelson said. "There are some American players that are ready to win majors. I think there are a lot of international players as well."
Should no American capture the crown at the 111th US Open that starts on Thursday at Congressional Country Club, it will mark the longest title drought by the nation which hosts three of the four elite championships in the sport.
The only prior time Americans had none of the four major crowns was 17 years ago when Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal took the Masters, South African Ernie Els won the US Open and Zimbabwe's Nick Price won the British Open and PGA Championship.
"It has been quite a while," Els said. "Everything happens in cycles, and I can see it happening again now."
Els points to the glory days of Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros and Ian Woosnam and the current world rankings, which have England's Luke Donald as World No. 1, England's Lee Westwood second, Germany's Martin Kaymer in third and Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell as the defending US Open champion.
"Back in the early '90s, Europe was dominating like they are dominating now on the world rankings. You had Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Woosie, Seve, those kind of guys, and now you've got the same: Luke Donald and Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell and so forth. They have definitely got the upper hand at the moment and it will probably change again in the future."
Mickelson, whose third career Masters triumph last year was the most recent major win by an American, sees a host of young US talent pushing for a major breakthrough that could come this weekend.
"I'm actually very encouraged with where American golfers are, especially the young players," Mickelson said. "We've got some really good, young, talented players coming up through the ranks, and I think we're going to be very competitive in the team events.
"But it's obvious that world golf as a whole has become so much stronger and that international and European golf has become world class and top notch and some of the best players in the world and certainly on the rankings right now."
Mickelson notes that Donald and Westwood have yet to win a major either.
"Some of our higher ranked, 1 and 2 in the world, haven't won a major yet," Mickelson said. "They are certainly ready and able to and they are international players. There are a lot of guys throughout the world that have the golf game that could easily win here or at any other major."
One factor in the slide has been the collapse of Tiger Woods, a 14-time major champion who has not won any title in 20 months since the revelation of a secret sex life that led to his divorce from Elin Nordegren. He withdrew from the US Open last week due to nagging left leg injuries.
McDowell, who was the top US collegiate golfer in 2002, sees no problem with US talent, just a global spread in the talent pool.
"American golf is probably as healthy as I've ever seen it in my career," McDowell said. "There are a lot of quality young players coming through -- Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan. These guys are quality players who are winning tournaments.
"For a while there you had Tiger, you had Phil. You really didn't have a lot of stand-outs. They have a lot of talent spread across the age brackets now and they are sort of on the verge of being very strong again and winning major championships.
"So I don't think American golf is in bad shape."
Mickelson cited Fowler, Mahan, Jeff Overton, Anthony Kim and Jamie Lovemark and one of his playing partners for the first two days, Johnson, as Americans who could produce great results.
"We have a plethora of great players coming up and I think at the forefront is a guy like Dustin Johnson," Mickelson said. "This guy has got so much raw talent that I really enjoy playing with him because he's a fun guy and he's got all kinds of game."
Johnson does not worry about a power shift away from US talent when every rival, no matter his homeland, is a foe who must fall to win a major title.
"The American guys are playing really good," Johnson said. "A lot of things have to go right to win a major and obviously the guys that have won the last four majors have played really good golf. That's what you have to do to win a major."

McGinley to star in Indonesia Golf Open

Europe's Ryder Cup hero Paul McGinley will be the star turn at the Indonesia Open next month in a strong field which also includes Japanese legend Shigeki Maruyama.

Europe's Ryder Cup hero Paul McGinley (pictured) will be the star turn at the Indonesia Open next month in a strong field which also includes Japanese legend Shigeki Maruyama.

The Irishman is most famous for holing the winning putt for the European team in the 2002 Ryder Cup -- the start of a remarkable stretch for the golfer who was also part of the victorious teams of 2004 and 2006.
Last season he was one of the non-playing vice-captains and played an important role in marshalling Europe to another victory.
It will be a debut appearance on the OneAsia Tour for the 44-year-old, who has triumphed four times on The European Tour with his best season coming in 2005 when he finished third on the Order of Merit.
Maruyama, nicknamed the "Smiling' Assassin", has won three times on the US PGA Tour and has amassed 10 more titles globally.
The US$1 million tournament tees off at the Damai Indah Golf-Pantai Indah Kapuk Course from July 14 to 17 and is the seventh stop on OneAsia in 2011

USA reach Gold Cup quarter-finals

Jozy Altidore scored the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Guadeloupe on Tuesday as the United States seized the last quarter-final berth on offer in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Jozy Altidore (pictured, L) scored the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Guadeloupe as the United States seized the last quarter-final berth on offer in the CONCACAF Gold Cup at Livestrong Park in Kansas City.

The United States advance as the runners-up in Group C behind Panama, who sealed their group win with a 1-1 draw over Canada.
That result also insured that Group A's El Salvador would advance as one of the top two third-placed teams.
The Americans, whose shock loss to Panama had put them in a precarious position, gained some breathing room when Altidore buried a driving shot from 25 meters in the ninth minute.
The defeat was the third in a row for Guadeloupe, surprising semi-finalists four years ago.
Earlier at Sporting Park, Luis Tejada scored in a goalmouth scramble in the first minute of injury time to give Panama their 1-1 draw.
After Anibal Godoy's attempt was blocked, Canadian keeper Milan Borjan couldn't get the ball cleared from in front of the goal and Tejada was able to nudge it across the line.
Canada's Dwayne De Rosario had converted his second penalty in as many games in the 62nd minute to give Canada the lead.
The Canadians, knowing they needed a victory to guarantee a quarter-finals berth, pressed hard from the start.
They failed to convert several chances but got an opportunity from the spot when De Rosario was fouled in the penalty area by Eybir Bonaga.
DeRosario induced Panamanian keeper Luis Mejia to go the wrong way and powered a low shot into the left corner of the net.
The quarter-finals of the tournament, which is the regional championship for North and Central America and the Caribbean, will be held next weekend.
On Saturday at New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, defending champions and Group A winners Mexico will take on Guatemala and Costa Rica face Honduras.
Mexico are trying to repeat despite a squad reduced to 17 after the national federation withdrew five players who tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol during a pre-tournament training camp in May.
Although the federation believes the players ingested clenbuterol inadvertently through contaminated meat, CONCACAF has not ruled on their request to replace them.
On Sunday at RFK Stadium in Washington Group B winners Jamaica play the United States and Panama take on El Salvador.
The semi-finals will be held on Wednesday, June 22 in Houston, with the final slated for Saturday, June 25 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
The winners of the tournament book a berth in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.

No Japan PGA action over Ishikawa driving row

The Japanese PGA will not punish teenage golf star Ryo Ishikawa after he was found to have driven a car without a valid licence, its chairman said Wednesday.

The Japanese PGA will not punish teenage golf star Ryo Ishikawa (pictured) after he was found to have driven a car without a valid licence, its chairman said Wednesday.

The board of the Professional Golfers' Association of Japan agreed at a meeting on Tuesday that it would not take any action at the moment against Ishikawa, Isao Matsui said.
"We found that people around Ishikawa, including his father, did not understand Japan's road traffic laws well. They voiced regret about it," Matsui told AFP.
"It was somewhat disappointing that Ishikawa himself, already a responsible adult at the age of 19, had failed to check it himself."
The young star acquired both a US and an international driving licence while staying in the United States to play in events between February and April.
Ishikawa needed to be abroad for at least three months to make his international licence valid at home but he was apparently unaware of the rule and was seen driving a silver Audi to a domestic tournament in late May.
If charged and convicted, the golfer could be jailed for up to a year or fined 300,000 yen ($3,750).
The PGA chief said he had no plan to call a meeting of the association's disciplinary committee to discuss the issue.
But he said the board might take it up again at its next monthly meeting after seeing what kind of action police may take against the golfer.
Ishikawa, who has a host of sponsorship deals banking on his squeaky-clean image, apologised for the mistake last Friday before leaving to play in this week's US Open in Bethesda, Maryland.
He blamed the mistake on "my own carelessness".
The Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO), which governs the men's tournaments at home, said last week that its disciplinary committee would also wait and see what action police took against Ishikawa.