Thai King Cancels Birthday Appearance

Thailand's ailing King Bhumibol Adulyadej has canceled plans to hold an audience to mark his 87th birthday on the advice of his doctors.

The cancelation Friday disappointed thousands of devotees who camped outside Bangkok's Siriraj Hospital in hopes of catching a glimpse of the world's longest ruling monarch.

The king's birthday, also celebrated as Father's Day in Thailand, is a national holiday.

The appearance being called off will fuel mounting concern over the health of King Bhumibol, a god-like figure for many and widely seen as a unifying figure through years of political unrest.

It also comes at a sensitive time for the Southeast Asian nation, six months after the army took over in a coup and amid a widening corruption investigation that has led to the arrest of relatives of Princess Srirasmi, the wife of the Crown Prince.

King Bhumibol was admitted to Bangkok's Siriraj Hospital in October and underwent an operation to remove his gallbladder.

"A team of royal physicians... agreed that he is not ready to grant a royal audience and therefore doctors have recommended he cancel royal activities," the Royal Household Bureau said in a statement.

The king last appeared in public in November.

Thousands gathered at the hospital after hearing the news, with most wearing yellow, a color associated with the monarchy. Some shouted "long live the king" and waved yellow flags while others held portraits.

"It doesn't matter whether he appears in public or not," said Thepwitoon Chim-ngog, 37. "I'm just happy that I'm here to show my loyalty to him."

Another well-wisher traveled to the hospital to mark the day.

"I intended to come here no matter what. I'm happy to be part of this today. This morning I was at the Grand Palace but the Royal Household said his audience is canceled so we came here," 57-year old Kanchana Malaiporn from the northern Lampang province said.

King Bhumibol's health and anxiety over the succession have formed part of the backdrop to a complex crisis driven by Thailand's rival business and political elite.

King Bhumibol, also known as Rama IX, carries considerable moral weight in Thailand. The king has in the past used birthday speeches to comment on the state of the nation or, as in 2001 with then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, to criticize government leaders.

The king made several interventions in the 1970s and 1990s to call for calm during political upheaval. He was silent during the latest crisis, which began in November and culminated in the May 22 coup.

The military government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a staunch royalist, has called on all Thais to wear yellow throughout December to mark the monarch's birthday.

Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, the king's only son, is expected to carry out official ceremonies to mark his father's birthday.

Material from Reuters was used in this report.

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Jose Carreras Cancels Concert at Last Minute

Legendary tenor Jose Carreras at the last minute canceled a concert at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul on Sunday, citing health problems.

The concert was called off 30 minutes after it was set to begin and the audience was sent home and given their money back. Carreras completed his scheduled concert on Saturday.

A spokesman for Pop Communication, which organized the concert, said the elderly troubadour contracted laryngitis.

The 2,000-strong audience were largely supportive. One audience member said, "I'm concerned about Carreras' health. I hope he gets well for his next performance."

Carreras (67) famously battled Leukemia in the 1980s. He was last scheduled to perform in Korea in 2011 but canceled with only a week to go.

But the organizers have been criticized for inconsiderate behavior. One person who claimed to have been among the audience posted a message on the Internet saying, "There are rumors that he was in no condition to go on stage, but the organizers prodded him to sing. This is why the cancellation notice came so late as the singer waited to see if he would feel better."

The organizers told the audience during Saturday's concert that Carreras had caught a cold.

In a strange confluence of events, across town the even more revered tenor Placido Domingo was performing to an audience of 10,000 people. The two frequently shared a stage during the massive Three Tenors galas, the third being Luciano Pavarotti.

Classical music fans say it was a hard choice which concert to attend, which is why they felt even more disappointed about the cancellation. A quarter of some 2,750 tickets at the Carreras event were sold as "VIP seats" for a whopping W440,000 (US$1=W1,114).

This is the second time this year that a globally famous singer has canceled a concert here. Paul McCartney was set to give his first concert in Korea in April of this year, but that fell through, also for health reasons. A viral infection also forced the 72-year-old ex-Beatle to cancel concerts in Korea and Japan.

Some prefer singers to cancel in advance rather than give abysmal performances of the kind some superstars have put up here.

Pop diva Mariah Carey bombed in her first concert in 11 years in Seoul, angering fans. She later blamed bad health. The concert started 20 minutes late and she had trouble hitting the high notes for which she is widely admired and parodied.

Whitney Houston also disappointed audiences in Korea with her first and last performance here in 2010. Already ravaged by years of drug addiction, Houston coughed through the concert and her heavy breathing rattled the sound system.

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