JAKARTA - A TWO-YEAR boy died of suspected bird flu on Thursday in a hospital in Indonesia, the country hardest hit by the virus, medical workers said.

HANOI - VIETNAM wants to turn its national airline into one of the region's best and foresees a rise in passenger numbers this year, officials said on Thursday, despite other carriers battling slumping demand.

SURABAYA (Indonesia) - INDONESIAN police said a bomb threat at a shopping mall in Surabaya, the country's second-biggest city, on Thursday turned out to be a false alarm, the second such incident in two days in the run-up to elections.