Rescuers battle to search for 131 still missing: PM Thongloun

13 Sept 11:15 Key points summarised by AI

A fracture in the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy hydropower dam caused devastating flooding in Laos' Attapeu province, leaving 131 villagers missing.
Rescuers are actively searching for the missing amidst challenging conditions, with 3,060 people displaced and 13 villages affected by the floodwaters.
Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith clarified that only one fatality has been confirmed, contradicting higher media reports which assume the missing are deceased.
Urgent aid, including food and clothing, is critically needed for the victims sheltered in various locations.

Suchada: Meet the reluctant star of Thailand’s cryptic crypto drama

Today 15:38 Key points summarised by AI

Thai MP Suchada Zhang Thaensap faces intense scrutiny over her husband’s substantial 1.84 billion baht wealth, with opposition lawmakers alleging connections to international scam networks.
A significant portion of her husband, Taiyang Zhang's, declared assets includes a 1.44 billion baht loan to the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, which still owes him 1.34 billion baht.
Opposition MP Rangsiman Rome accused Suchada's husband of links to online scam networks and gambling sites, prompting Suchada to vehemently deny the claims, demand evidence, and file a defamation complaint.
Taiyang Zhang's background includes co-founding Ren Protocol, later sold to Alameda Research (linked to the FTX collapse), and some of his former associates have been convicted in crypto company failures.
Suchada, a former actress and first-time MP, maintains her husband's innocence, while her party leaders have distanced themselves from the allegations, deeming it a private matter.