Indonesia FM visits Bangkok
Indonesia FM visits Bangkok
THAILAND: Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda arrived in Thailand on Thursday for a two-day official visit aimed at boosting bilateral relations between the two countries, Thai foreign ministry officials said.
He was scheduled on Thursday to meet with his Thai counterpart Surakiart Sathirathai before attending a dinner hosted by the minister in his honor.
"Topics of discussion will include trade and investment cooperation, security and other fields of cooperation," according to a statement from the Thai foreign ministry.
The minister will pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Friday, followed by a call on deputy prime minister responsible for security, Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, and a lunch hosted by the private sector. --AFP
;AP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Malaysia-SARS Family of SARS victim isolated JP/10/ASEAN
Family of SARS victim isolated
MALAYSIA: The Malaysian government has ordered a stay-at-home quarantine for five relatives of a man who died - possibly from a flu-like illness that has killed nearly 80 people worldwide - health officials said on Thursday.
The quarantine order was the first in Malaysia, which has so far not reported any confirmed cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, said Health Director-General Mohamed Taha Arif.
He said the people being quarantined in eastern Pahang state were family members of a 64-year-old Malaysian man who fell ill and died after returning from trips to China and Singapore late last month.
The man "had most of the symptoms" of SARS, but the Health Ministry would wait until Friday to announce whether he would be classified as a probable SARS case, Mohamed Taha said. --AP
;AP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Vietnam-addicts Drug addicts jumps 25 percent JP/10/ASEAN
Drug addicts jumps 25 percent
VIETNAM: The number of known drug addicts in Vietnam jumped 25 percent over the past year to 142,000 despite a government crackdown, state-controlled media reported on Thursday.
Among them, 25,453 are serving sentences at prisons and other correctional facilities run by the Ministry of Public Security, the Ho Chi Minh City Police newspaper quoted a government report as saying.
The newspaper said more than 67 percent of the drug addicts known by police are under the age of 30.
The number of addicts has continued to rise in recent years despite tough penalties, including death sentences for drug- related offenses. --AP
;DPA;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Taiwan-Thai-SARS Thais get tough, Taiwan protests JP/10/ASEAN
Thais get tough, Taiwan protests
TAIWAN: Taiwan protested on Thursday against Thailand listing the island as one of the five SARS outbreak nations and making Taiwanese visitors wear masks for the first two weeks they visit the kingdom.
"Neither the World Health Organization (WHO) nor the United States has officially listed Taiwan as one of the SARS-affected areas," Lee Teng-lung, deputy director general of the Department of Health, said.
On Wednesday, Thailand health authorities ordered strict quarantines, to be enforced by the law, for visitors found to have SARS from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam. In addition, they ordered tourists and business people from these countries to wear surgical masks for their first two weeks in the kingdom. --DPA