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Russia will grant Indonesia a US$1 billion credit line to buy Russian military hardware, said spokesman Dino Pati Djalal, without providing details. Indonesian mining company Aneka Tambang will sign a $3 billion deal with Russian aluminum giant United Company Rusal, while state-owned oil company Pertamina plans to sign a $1 billion agreement with Russia's LukOil, he said. Putin will meet with Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday during a one-day stop over on his way to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Australia.

Indonesia has been looking for other sources of arms since the United States—formerly its largest supplier of weaponry—cut military ties in 1999 over human rights concerns. The ban was lifted in 2005, but Jakarta continues to look elsewhere for military hardware.

Indonesia is a major arms-buying client for Russia and has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on fighter jets. (AP)

Dive Boat Capsizes off Thai Coast, Killing Israeli Tourist

A dive boat capsized off the Thai coast Tuesday, killing an Israeli man and injuring seven other tourists, police said. The boat with 59 passengers on board sank during a diving trip near Phi Phi island in the Andaman Sea, police Lt-Col Somdet Sukkhakarn said. Somdet said a tourist identified as 26-year-old Nissim Lugasi of Israel died, and seven others were hurt. He was not certain what countries the other tourists were from. The accident was blamed on rough seas, which are common at this time of year, Somdet said.

Phi Phi island is a popular tourist destination, best known for its beaches and diving. It is located in the southern Thai province of Krabi, about 650 kilometers (400 miles) south of Bangkok. Last month, a boat carrying 38 passengers capsized near Phi Phi. All the passengers and crew were rescued. (AP)

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Monday, September 03, 2007

Burma's Domestic Airfares Up

Domestic airfares for local passengers rose 30 per cent over the weekend, the latest in a series of hefty price increases, according to a report by the German news agency DPA carried by The Myanmar Times on Monday. The rise in fares was implemented by all domestic airlines, including Air Mandalay, Air Bagan and Yangon Airways. A similar price hike is to take effect in October for foreign passengers, who must pay for their tickets in foreign currencies, the report said.

Malaysia's Mahathir to Have Second Heart Bypass Surgery

Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has entered a hospital for his second bypass surgery after recently suffering two heart attacks, officials said Monday.Mahathir was set to undergo "elective coronary bypass surgery" on Tuesday, the National Heart Institute hospital said in a statement. Mahathir, 81, was admitted to the hospital on Sunday, two days after taking part in a parade to mark the country's 50th independence day. The Star newspaper quoted Mahathir's son, Mokhzani, as saying his father—who suffered heart attacks in November and May—had wanted to postpone the surgery until after the national day celebrations. "He is all right and preparing for the operation," the paper quoted Mokhzani as saying. Yahya Awang, the surgeon who performed a bypass on Mahathir in 1989, was to head the surgery team Tuesday, the hospital statement said. (AP)

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Four Die in Flash Floods in N Thailand

Flash floods have swept over mountainous areas in Thailand's northern provinces, killing four people and injuring 12, the country's disaster prevention agency said Tuesday. Heavy rainfall for the past few days caused flash floods in 22 mountainous villages in the northern provinces of Phitsanulok, Phetchabun, and northeastern province of Loei, affecting more than 4,600 people, said a statement from Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Center. Four villagers, including two children, were killed, 12 injured and two were missing, it said. Conditions in the two provinces were returning to normal Tuesday, it said, though farmland in two districts in Phisanulok remained flooded. (AP)

Self-professed 'Princesses' from Ancient Indonesian Monarchy Face Malaysia Court

Two women claiming to be princesses from an ancient Indonesian empire were charged in a Malaysian court Wednesday with entering the country illegally, their lawyer said.
Malaysian immigration authorities arrested Puteri Lamia Roro Wiranata, 21, and Puteri Fathia Reza, 23, in a buffer zone between the sultanate of Brunei and Malaysia's Sarawak state on July 16, their attorney Shankar Ram Asnani said.