Air force plane crashes in sea
Air force plane crashes in sea
MALAYSIA: An air force training plane crashed off peninsular Malaysia's east coast on Wednesday, a defense ministry official in Kuala Lumpur said.
The plane's sole occupant was believed to be its pilot, said Tengku Sariffuddin Tengku Ahmad, an aide to the defense minister. The cause of the crash had not yet been determined.
Tengku Sariffuddin said that the pilot had been rushed to a hospital in the eastern state of Pahang.
A hospital official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the pilot remained conscious and was expected to live, although he suffered serious injuries, including some backbone fractures.
The Pilatus PC7 aircraft crash occurred at about noon local time in Malaysian waters off Pahang, about 13 nautical miles (21 kilometers) off Beserah beach. --AP
;REUTERS;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Thailand-RI-visit Thailand PM Thaksin to visit Indonesia Jan 17-18 JP/9/ASEAN
PM Thaksin to visit Jakarta this month
THAILAND: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is due to arrive in Jakarta on Jan. 17 for a two-day visit, Thai officials in Bangkok said on Wednesday.
The trip follows Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri's visit to Bangkok last August.
Details of Thaksin's trip were not immediately available.
During Megawati's visit last year, part of a whistle-stop tour of all nine fellow members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Thailand and Indonesia discussed political stability, security and boosting investment. --Reuters
;AP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-RP-earthquake Moderate earthquake shakes southern Philippine province of South JP/9/ASEAN
Moderate earthquake shakes RP
PHILIPPINES: A moderate earthquake rattled southern Philippine provinces but caused no injuries or damage, seismologists in Manila said on Wednesday.
The magnitude 5.6 quake at 7:34 p.m. (6:34 p.m. Jakarta) Tuesday was centered in the Mindanao Sea 76 kilometers southeast of General Santos City in the province of South Cotabato, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
The institute said the tectonic quake was focused below the Mindanao Sea at a moderate depth of 125 kilometers. No aftershocks were expected.
The quake could be felt at intensity 4 in the city of General Santos but there were no reports of damage. It could be felt at lower intensities in several provinces nearby. --AP
;AP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Malaysia-politics Malaysian officials schedule Jan. 19 for state by-election JP/9/ASEAN
KL sets date for state by-election
MALAYSIA: Officials set Jan. 19 for a Malaysian state by-election that is expected to underscore the dominance of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's government.
Mahathir's ruling National Front coalition hopes to retain the northern Perlis state assembly seat of Indera Kayangan by an increased majority compared to a 1999 election, when it captured nearly two-thirds of the vote.
The seat fell vacant Dec. 19 when assemblyman Khor Liang Tee died of cancer. Khor was a member of the Malaysian Chinese Association, the largest ally of Mahathir's United Malays National Organization.
Announcing the by-election Wednesday, Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, chairman of the national election commission, said that 7,976 people were eligible to vote. There are an almost equal number of ethnic Malays and ethnic Chinese voters. --AP