Thai police seize $41m worth of drugs

BANGKOK • Thai police yesterday announced the seizure of drugs worth US$30 million (S$41 million), including 7 million methamphetamine tablets, "ice" and liquid ketamine, from houses around Bangkok linked to an alleged Laotian drug lord.

Seven Thais were arrested in the major two-day operation.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Hanoi jails anti-China activist

HANOI • A Vietnamese activist was jailed for nine years yesterday for "anti-state activity", her lawyer said, the second such heavy sentence handed down by the authoritarian state in less than a month.

Anti-China activist Tran Thi Nga, 40, was sentenced after a one-day trial in a heavily guarded courthouse in northern Ha Nam province.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Political turmoil in Maldives continues

MALE • Maldivian troops blockaded Parliament and clashed with opposition leaders for a second day, witnesses said yesterday , as political turmoil escalated in the troubled islands. The latest bout of turbulence came as Britain urged its citizens to take caution in the capital Male after soldiers tear-gassed protesting politicians.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE