At least 24 killed in Nepal bus accident

KATHMANDU • At least two dozen people were killed when a passenger bus veered off the road and plunged 150m in central Nepal, an official said.

The bus, which had 40 people on board, was heading from the capital Kathmandu to the Koshipari area of Kavrepalanchowk when the accident happened at 1pm yesterday.

Mr Bal Krishna Panthi, chief district officer of Kavrepalanchowk, said a helicopter and ambulances were dispatched to the accident scene.

XINHUA

Thai soldiers killed in helicopter crash

BANGKOK • Five soldiers, including a regional army commander, have been killed in a helicopter crash in northern Thailand, the military said yesterday, a day after the chopper went missing in bad weather.

The UH-72 helicopter lost contact on Sunday while returning from Pai district in the mountainous north-west where it had been conducting flood relief operations, said junta spokesman Winthai Suvaree.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Mahathir discharged from hospital

PETALING JAYA • Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad was discharged from the National Heart Institute (IJN) yesterday, six days after he was admitted for a chest infection.

He will continue with physiotherapy and exercises at home, IJN said.

The 91-year-old was kept under observation during his hospital stay, with visits limited to close family members.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK