News

BANGKOK (DPA) - A delayed wet-season planting is expected to weigh on Thailand's weakening economic growth, agricultural officials said.

(Prachatai English)

BANGKOK — The director of a tourism trade federation in Thailand has warned that outbound charter flights may be affected by an international airline inspection agency's decision to downgrade Thailand for substandard safety protocols.

SEOUL (DPA) — With three more deaths reported Thursday, the fatality rate in an outbreak of an infectious respiratory disease in South Korea climbed to its highest level so far, according to government figures.

CHIANG MAI — Police say three Thai men have been arrested for assaulting two tourists from Australia in the northern city of Chiang Mai.

BEIJING (DPA) — China said it could offer food aid to North Korea, which has declared one of its worst droughts in a century, a news report said.

HONG KONG (DPA) — Plans for election reform that triggered the worst unrest in years in Hong Kong were voted down Thursday, in a move criticized by Beijing.

LAMPANG — Police have arrested a 19-year-old man who allegedly smashed more than 50 figurines at a local shrine dedicated to an ancient Thai king in Lampang province while he was intoxicated.

NARATHIWAT — Thai officials are urging exiled members of the southern separatist movement to visit their families and surrender to authorities during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

JAKARTA (DPA) — The captain of a boat carrying asylum seekers insisted he was paid by Australian officials to turn back to Indonesia, speaking in front of media for the first time Wednesday, amid a growing spat between Jakarta and Canberra over the alleged incident.