Bus accident in Laos kills 13 Chinese tourists

BANGKOK • At least 13 Chinese tourists were killed and dozens injured when their bus skidded off the road and plunged 30m into a ravine in Laos, a police officer said yesterday.

The bus carrying more than 40 Chinese nationals was heading towards the tourist town of Luang Prabang when the accident occurred late on Monday. Brake failure has been blamed for the accident.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Fake tweet on dead Irish teen lands man in court

KUALA LUMPUR • A man who posted a tweet, alleging that dead Irish teenager Nora Anne Quoirin had been raped by Orang Asli, appeared in the Magistrate's Court yesterday.

Telemarketing manager Muhammad Zikri Ibrahim, 29, is accused of committing intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace via his Twitter account last Wednesday. He was charged under Section 504 of the Penal Code and faces a jail term of up to two years, a fine or both.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

Man held for vandalising Yasukuni shrine

TOKYO • A man claiming to be Chinese has been arrested for throwing a black ink-like liquid on a curtain at one of the buildings at the Yasukuni shrine for war dead, the Metropolitan Police Department said.

Japan's neighbours see the Tokyo shrine as a symbol of the country's former militarism, since it honours 14 Japanese leaders convicted by an Allied tribunal as war criminals, along with other war dead.

REUTERS

Utusan to carry on, but papers' prices will go up

KUALA LUMPUR • The Utusan Group is not going to end operations today, but will instead increase the price of its newspapers by 50 sen (17 Singapore cents) from Friday to try and ensure its survival.

Executive chairman Abd Aziz Sheikh Fadzir said the price of Utusan Malaysia would increase from RM1.50 to RM2, while the price of Kosmo would be raised from RM1 to RM1.50.

Datuk Abd Aziz also shot down claims that Utusan would soon close shop because it was not financially viable.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK