The Star Online: Metro: Central
The Star Online: Metro: Central |
| Malaysian papers turn black in tribute to crashed jet Posted: 24 Mar 2014 08:05 PM PDT Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - Malaysian newspapers ran striking black front pages Tuesday in tribute to the victims of Flight MH370, which crashed in the southern Indian Ocean with 239 people aboard. Malaysia's biggest English-language daily, The Star, ran a stark wrap-around cover emblazoned with the words "MH370 R.I.P." The names of the victims, rendered in small print, made up the letters of the headline. The New Straits Times' darkened front page showed an aircraft above the words "Goodnight, MH370" -- a reference to the last message from the cockpit, "All right, good night", before the Malaysia Airlines jet lost contact on March 8. Malay- and Chinese-language papers also ran front pages with black backgrounds, while The Sun, an English-language daily, changed its masthead to black. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced Monday that latest analysis of satellite data showed that the flight, which went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, had ended in the southern Indian Ocean. Bad weather hampered the search for debris off the coast of Australia on Tuesday, and it remains a mystery why the plane diverted from its original route. The Star said in an editorial that the relatives' "long wait for some form of closure has finally arrived". But it called for unsparing efforts to establish the reasons for the crash. On social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, many Malaysians turned their profile backgrounds black or displayed a plane icon in tribute to the victims. Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein used his Twitter page to call for all citizens of the multi-ethnic country to pray for the victims and their families. "Our search for #MH370 continues," he said. Veteran opposition politician Lim Kit Siang wrote on his Twitter page: "Saddest 4 families relatives friends of 239 on board MH370 - that they have perished in South Indian Ocean. Not just them but a crying world." |
| At least 27 dead in north Thailand bus accident Posted: 24 Mar 2014 04:21 PM PDT Bangkok (AFP) - At least 27 people died and more than 20 others were injured late Monday when a bus careered off a hillside road and into a ravine in northern Thailand, police told AFP. Thailand's roads are among the world's deadliest and accidents are common, especially on buses travelling late at night. "The toll is now at 27 dead and 24 injured -- they are severely injured from what I can see," police captain Sittichai Panyasong of Mae Tho district in Tak province said, revising up an earlier toll. The accident took place at around 8:40 pm local time (1340 GMT) in Tak, which borders Myanmar, as several buses ferried Thai local government workers to neighbouring provinces for a field trip. "The brakes failed as the bus came downhill on a hilly road and it crashed through the concrete barrier and fell into 150 metre-deep ravine," Sittichai added. The victims are mainly believed to be local government officials, but a child was also among the injured, he said. A spokeswoman at a local hospital, declining to be named, confirmed the death toll at 27 adding more than 20 were injured and that she too believed there were children on board, but could not say if any were among the dead. Thailand's roads are among the most dangerous in the world. A recent report by the World Health Organization said Thailand saw 38.1 road deaths per 100,000 people in 2010 -- behind only the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean and the South Pacific island of Niue. That compares with an average of 18.5 per 100,000 in Southeast Asia as a whole. At least 13 school children died last month when their bus collided with a lorry on trip to the seaside south of Bangkok. The students, aged around 10 to 14 years old, were heading to the resort city of Pattaya from the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima. Officials say roughly 60 percent of traffic accidents in Thailand are caused by human error, with poor road and vehicle conditions posing additional hazards. Alcohol also plays a significant role, particularly around national holidays including the Thai new year holiday of Songkran in mid-April, when millions of revellers return to their homes across the country. Those who cannot afford to fly have little choice but to use the roads in country where the rail infrastructure remains weak. Hundreds die on the roads every Songkran, despite nationwide campaigns to prevent drink driving. Bus operators are required to provide seat belts but passengers are not legally obliged to use them. In December dozens of people were killed when a bus carrying New Year travellers plunged off one of Thailand's highest bridges in the kingdom's northeast. At least 20 people were killed in October when a tour bus carrying elderly Buddhist devotees fell into a ravine, also in the northeast. |
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