BANGKOK - THAILAND'S prime minister has appointed an acting national police chief, choosing the candidate he would like to see hold the position full-time.

MANILA - MASSIVE damage from floods triggered by tropical storm Ketsana will likely reduce the Philippines' growth in 2009, the government's economic planning chief said on Tuesday.

JAKARTA - A FEMALE Japanese tourist has been found dead on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali after a suspected kidnapping, police said Tuesday.

Ms Rika Sano, 33, was found partially decomposed with her belongings scattered around her near the popular tourist beach of Kuta in southern Bali on Monday, provincial police spokesman I Gede Sugianyar told AFP.