Backpacking Asia Blog

Aug 22, 2010

Laos/Vietnam: Vietnam Airlines introduces online check-in service

Vietnam Airlines has launched an online check-in facility for passengers with no checked baggage traveling on domestic and international flights departing from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and South Korea.

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Aug 22, 2010

Thailand: Emergency rule to be lifted last in Bangkok

The state of emergency will be lifted last in Bangkok, National Security Council secretary-general Thawil Pliensri on Tuesday.

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Aug 22, 2010

India: Yamuna crosses danger mark, people evacuated

NEW DELHI: The water level of Yamuna River has crossed the danger level due to incessant rains in the last three days, forcing the government to evacuate people living in low-lying areas along its bank.

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Aug 5, 2010

Laos: Laos sentences four convicted drug dealers to death

Vientiane, Laos - A Lao court has sentenced four men to death after finding them guilty of smuggling a huge haul of drugs into the country, media reports said Wednesday.

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Aug 5, 2010

Bangkok: Police detain two bomb suspects

Metropolitan police have detained two people suspected of planting bombs near the Big C Supercenter in the Ratchadamri area and on Rang Nam Road last week.

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July 30, 2010

Thailand: Emergency ruled ended in six more Thailand provinces

Thai authorities have lifted a state of emergency in six more provinces, more than two months after ending mass protests in Bangkok.

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July 23, 2010

Northern Thailand: Outbreak warning in the North

About 40 per cent of the airconditioning units and water supply system in 100 hotels and business establishments in the North were found to be carrying the Legionella bacteria, posing the risk of an outbreak of Legionnaire's disease, a researcher at Chiang Mai's health promotion centre said yesterday.

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July 21, 2010

Cambodia: Angkor Air set for big take-off

The Kingdom’s national airline, Cambodia Angkor Air is set to buy two new planes in order to expand its flight network to South Korea, China and Japan.

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Cambodia: Dire rights report: Sex workers face rape and beatings

Human Rights Watch has accused the Cambodian government of subjecting sex workers to rape and severe beatings at the hands of law-enforcement officials at controversial detention centres.

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July 21, 2010

Thailand: Emergency law revoked in three provinces

The cabinet on Tuesday agreed to lift the state of emergency in three more provinces, deputy government spokesman Supachai Jaisamut said.

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July 14, 2010

India: First international flight to land at IGI new terminal Wednesday

NEW DELHI: An Air India flight from New York will be the first flight to operate from the swanky new terminal-3 (T3) at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here Wednesday.

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July 4, 2010

Southern Thailand: Two bomb blasts kill 8, including 4 troops

Six security officers and two civilians, have died in two powerful bomb blasts in the deep South.

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June 30, 2010

India: New Delhi most expensive Indian city for expats: Survey

NEW DELHI: The national capital has emerged as the most expensive city in the country for expatriates in terms of cost of living, a survey by global HR consultancy Mercer said.

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June 30, 2010

Thailand: Dengue and cholera outbreaks bring warnings after 30 die

BANGKOK: -- The Public Health Ministry has ordered its officials across the country to keep a close eye on the outbreak of two communicable diseases, dengue fever and cholera, following reports these illnesses have killed 30 people over the past six months.

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June 22, 2010

Cambodia: Tuol Sleng photographer begins building Khmer Rouge museum

A former photographer at the notorious Khmer Rouge prison Tuol Sleng said Thursday that he had begun construction on a museum to house his collection of regime memorabilia, including what he says are Pol Pot’s shoes and toilet.

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June 13, 2010

World Health Organization: Asia -- Prevention and treatment of artemisinin-resistant falciparum malaria

21 May 2010 -- The emergence of artemisinin resistance on the Thai–Cambodian border has implications for the management of malaria in international travellers to the following parts of South-East Asia: Western Cambodia, the border regions of Thailand and Cambodia, border regions of Thailand and Myanmar, Eastern Myanmar, and the Binh Phuc Province of Vietnam.

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May 6, 2009. Updated: May 13, 2009

Phi Phi, Thailand: Norwegian woman dead -- foodpoisoned?

I haven`t found any news on this on English, so I`m going to translate the news from Norwegian to English (as written in the online newspaper www.VG.no)

-- I`m Norwegian -- don`t worry! ;)

A Norwegian woman, Julie Michelle Bergheim (22 years old) died at at a Thai hospital Sunday night (May 3, 2009). Julie was on her way home from Sydney, Australia with her bestfriend. They both studied in Sydney and were only stopping by Koh Phi Phi. Her friend also got sick, but she survived and is on the road to recovery.

Pic left: Norwegian citizen: Julie Michelle Bergheim
Pic right: American citizen: Jill Sheree St. Onge -- Image credits: andamantimes.com

 

The police and doctors believe that the Julie died of food poisoning. But the cause of death has still not been confirmed. The doctors are still checking the blood-and urine tests. They state that it will take two weeks before they have an answer.

Updated: The prelimenary report shows that she suffered from acute gastritis (infection caused by viruses, bacteria, drug toxicity etc.) combined with severe dehydration, vomiting and hyperventilation.

The police is still investigating, but they do not suspect this will turn into a criminal case at this stage. They are awaiting the final autopsy report (Andaman Times).

From Nettavisen.no:

Apparently Julie and her friend drank a Thai bucket at the "Reggae Bar." Thai police has checked several bars on Phi Phi and taken samples from the drinks. The tests have been sent to a lab for analysis. According to the police in Krabi, the results will be released in about 10 days.

An American female tourist (26) suddenly died on Phi Phi on Sunday (May 3, 2009) -- just a few hours before the two Norwegians got sick (according to Andaman Times).

A police detective says that Julie and her friend ate a restaurant just before they got sick. The woman who died ate pasta, while the other woman ate spaghetti.

The tourist police informed the staff at VG that the American woman ate hamburger just before she got sick.

The police can`t disprove or confirm if the three women ate at a restaurant on the island, but they do confirm that the three of them stayed at the same hotel.

According to the police the Norwegian women went to a disco after dinner. The surviving woman told that they shared a "Thai bucket." Both of them threw up heavily all night, and they were sent to the hospital on main land. Only a short time passed when Julie died at the hospital.

The spokes person for the tourist police says that the American woman threw up so heavily that she lost consciousness. When her fiancee brought her to the clinic, she was already dead.

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