HANOI: Flash floods and landslides in northern Vietnam have left at least eight people dead and 10 missing as homes were swept away, disaster officials said yesterday.
Heavy rain of up to 170mm was recorded in the mountainous provinces of Ha Giang, Lai Chau and Lao Cai late on Wednesday, according to the flood and storm control department. About a dozen houses were destroyed while several roads were damaged, it said.
Last year, floods claimed more than 260 lives in Vietnam, a country of almost 90 million people.
Soldiers guilty over prison raid
JAKARTA: Judges from Indonesia’s military court have found some special forces soldiers guilty of premeditated murder for storming a prison and executing four inmates.
The court has found the three soldiers, the executioner and his two closest helpers guilty, and handed down sentences of between six and 11 years.
In March this year a group of heavily armed men raided the Cebongan prison near Yogyakarta and executed four inmates. One man’s body was reportedly riddled with 12 bullets. Prosecutors had asked for a 12-year sentence for 2nd Sergeant Ucok Tigor Simbolan, the man who pulled the trigger.
New campus in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR: Following the success of a model university in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) plans to invest RM300m to build another campus in Educity, Nusajaya. The new campus in Malaysia will initially give admission to up to 10,000 students. This campus will be the largest overseas investment made by MDIS to date. The campus is expected to open in 2015, but MDIS plants to start its first intake of students this month.
Tourist court launched
BANGKOK: Thailand’s first court to specifically handle tourist complaints opened in Pattaya yesterday. It will deal with small issues involving local and foreign tourists in a bid to bolster the image of the country which relies greatly on revenue from the tourism sector. The court is part of a tourism division under Pattaya judiciary control and will operate like a one-stop service for tourists to seek justice for unfair practices from scams, theft, conflicts and accidents. Officials including interpreters are deployed at the office to receive complaints. AGENCIES
