JAKARTA - CONTENDERS vying for the top job in Indonesia's presidential election went head to head on Thursday in the first of three televised debates ahead of the July 8 vote.
KUALA LUMPUR - THE finale of this year's Bintang RTM, a singing contest to scout for new talents organised by Radio Television Malaysia (RTM), will be the grandest ever.
Now in its 35th year, this year's Bintang RTM final on June 28 will be held for the first time at the National Stadium, instead of the Auditorium Perdana at Angkasapuri, where it is normally held.
BANGKOK - THAILAND warned on Thursday that domestic infections of swine flu are soaring, as officials said the number of cases had jumped nearly forty-fold from just eight days earlier.
The health ministry said there were now 518 confirmed cases of the A(H1N1) virus, with just two of the 113 cases confirmed since Wednesday involving people who had caught it abroad.
MAE SOT (Thailand) - MYANMAR'S biggest rebel group will soon abandon a stronghold on the Thai-Myanmar border after weeks of fierce fighting with government and rival Karen forces, a rebel commander said on Thursday.
