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Fire in Apartment Building in Hanoi, Vietnam, Kills 14 People, Injures 6

A fire that ripped through a small apartment block in central Hanoi has killed at least 14 people, according to state media (Linh Dan/AFP)

Updated at 2:10 PM, 24 May, 2024

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — An overnight fire in an apartment building on a narrow alley in Vietnam’s capital killed 14 people and injured six others, state media said Friday.

The apartment building in central Hanoi could only be accessed through an alley just 2 meters wide, preventing firetrucks from reaching it, and firefighters eventually contained the fire by using hoses, state media said.

The fire started around 12:30 am and was accompanied by several explosions, the Vietnam News Agency said. It took an hour to extinguish.

Neighbor Nguyen Thanh Trung said he was asleep when he heard the explosions and rushed out to see what was happening. “I could feel the shock at my house,” he said, adding that he along with others got a ladder to break the window to help people escape.

State media reported the building had 24 residents at the time, seven in the owner’s family and 17 tenants. The injured are stable and being treated at Hanoi Transport Hospital.

The fire started in the small courtyard in front of the building that was used as a garage for the sale and repair of electric bikes, state media reported.

Trung said the family would often charge the bikes’ batteries at night.

The alley was later cordoned off by police. The charred remains of burnt motorbikes and plants and scattered belongings remained at the apartment.

Authorities said that they would give USD 1,962 to the families of those who died and USD 1,177 to those injured as compensation.

This fire was reminiscent of a September blaze in Hanoi last year where more than 50 people died in similar circumstances. Rescue operations then were also hindered by the city’s narrow lanes.

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BY HAU DINH, The Associated Press. AP journalist Aniruddha Ghosal in New Delhi contributed to this report.

Laos Faces ‘Water Scarcity Crisis’ Amidst Climate Change Challenges

Laos Faces ‘Water Scarcity Crisis’ Amidst Climate Change Challenges
FILE: Lady farmers hand weeding an upland rice field in Laos. (photo credit: International Rice Research Institute/FLICKR)

Climate change, a pervasive global challenge, has not spared Laos, exacerbating economic difficulties in the country, as highlighted by Sengphasouk Xayavong, Deputy Director of the Policy Division at the Water Resource Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Regional Partners Cooperate to Enhance Disaster Monitoring, Response in ASEAN

Photo supplied by the Mekong River Commission Secretariat

The Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat and the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) have agreed to deepen their engagement, which will bridge the gap between disaster monitoring and response across Southeast Asia.

During a working visit to Jakarta on 17 May, a delegation of officials from the MRC Member Countries and Secretariat headed by the Chief Executive Officer, Anoulak Kittikhoun, signed a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) with the AHA Centre, represented by Executive Director Lee Yam Ming.

The MOI aims to formalize the partnership between these two inter-governmental agencies in disaster monitoring, forecasting, and response; joint training and capacity building; mutual exchange of expertise and experience; and other technical cooperation, including scientific research. It is under the umbrella of the ASEAN-MRC Cooperation Framework.

“This MOI represents a major step in uniting our expertise and resources,” Kittikhoun said. “It bridges the critical gap between disaster monitoring and disaster response, ensuring our region is better prepared for emergencies and our vulnerable communities are better protected.”

Sharing Kittikhoun’s perspective, the AHA Centre’s Executive Director expressed similar sentiments.

“The MOI marks a significant milestone in the history of AHA Centre-MRC relations,” Lee said. “We want to make a positive impact on the people of ASEAN, through better exchange of data and information on disaster monitoring that will make a difference in our disaster preparedness and response endeavors.”

In 2022, Asia experienced 137 out of the 388 global disasters, impacting more than 64 million people and causing almost USD 50 million in damages, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Floods were particularly common, accounting for about 40 percent of all natural disasters worldwide and nearly 70 percent of disasters in ASEAN from 2012 to 2022.

The AHA Centre, with its partners, facilitates cooperation and coordination among ASEAN Member States for disaster management and emergency response in the region. The MRC

acts as a regional platform for water diplomacy and a knowledge hub, promoting dialogue and cooperation in the Lower Mekong River Basin, and providing vital services such as monitoring water levels and forecasting floods and droughts in the Mekong.

By Chandaly Mao, Communication Officer for Press at the Mekong River Commission Secretariat

Alibaba Cloud Announces New Availability Zones and Global Investment to Fuel AI Innovation

Gen-AI platform made available for international customers and enhanced partnerships announced for enriched eco-system to further support global customers


PARIS, FRANCE – Media OutReach Newswire – 23 May 2024 – Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, announced its plan to launch its first cloud region in Mexico, and to establish additional data centers in its key markets including Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and South Korea in the next three years. The new investment to build new cloud and AI infrastructure across key international markets also aims to enhance the cloud and AI product suite for its worldwide customers, while enhancing global partnership and fostering AI talent development to nurture future digital expertise.

“With the rapidly rising demand for AI across industries, we are reinforcing our commitment to expanding our AI infrastructure and enhancing our cloud capacities worldwide,” said Selina Yuan, President of International Business at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, during the Alibaba Cloud Global Summit in Paris. “Meanwhile, our digital talent initiatives, in collaboration with global universities and local partners in our key markets, will further equip the upcoming generation with the requisite AI skills.”

Model Studio for International AI Development
To better enable enterprises and developers to develop AI models and applications, Alibaba Cloud’s premier generative AI development platform, Model Studio, will soon be available for international customers via its Availability Zones in Singapore.

Through Model Studio, customers can gain access to Alibaba Cloud’s large language model Qwen family – including both closed-source and open-source models, featuring multimodal capabilities with sizes that range from 0.5 billion to several hundred billion parameters – to facilitate the development of custom generative AI applications. Additional model finetuning and inferencing tools and services will be available in the second half of the year, fostering the development of more sophisticated AI tasks with greater cost-efficiency.

Enhanced Partnerships to Elevate Customer Experience
Alibaba Cloud announced it has deepened its collaboration with SAP[1] to launch a one-stop enterprise solution for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Asia to reap the benefits of digital transformation with rapid deployment and on-demand expansion capabilities.

By combining the holistic business management capabilities of SAP Business One with Alibaba Cloud’s scalable, secure and cost-efficient cloud infrastructure, this integrated cloud-based business management solution, is poised to provide SMEs in Asia with a powerful, scalable enterprise resource planning (ERP) system on the cloud without the need for substantial initial investment in IT infrastructure.

Leveraging Alibaba Cloud’s compute nest technology, the new solution offers more seamless integration of SAP Business One services with Alibaba Cloud, making it easier for SAP Business One partners to quickly deploy the solution for their customers on cloud. This synergy empowers SMEs to navigate market fluctuations with agility, optimize operational efficiency, and seize growth opportunities.

Given the increasing interest and demand from multinational companies operating in China, Alibaba Cloud is developing a Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud training course in China. The exclusive course is designed for multinational companies with a focus on using and mastering the Salesforce CRM platform, along with its integrated and localized features and products operating on and supported by Alibaba Cloud in China. Since its exclusive availability on Alibaba Cloud in China from the end of 2023, Salesforce has helped multinational brands meet the unique needs of the Chinese market while providing consistency for its global Salesforce products including Salesforce Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Salesforce Platform.

The training program offers customized offline sessions to teach essential skills and competences required for an administrator role on the platform of Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud. Tailored for beginners, the course is structured to ensure that participants become proficient in navigating and utilizing the system along with its localized features on Alibaba Cloud’s trusted cloud infrastructure. It enhances participants’ ability to migrate and integrate smoothly into the Salesforce ecosystem, thus driving more effective synergy and coordination within a global work environment. With the gradual rollout of the program widely, the program aims to equip over 10,000 participants with necessary skills to master the Salesforce platform in China by the end of 2025.

Digital Training with Global Education Institutes
Alibaba Cloud announced a new partnership with Demos Group, a leading corporate training provider in Europe. The two parties will launch a suite of Alibaba Cloud online courses, focusing on cloud computing, data analytics and AI, aimed at enhancing the digital competencies of Demos’ corporate clients’ workforce. Alibaba Cloud is also partnering with OxValue.AI, a deep-tech venture from the University of Oxford, to broaden the suite of Alibaba Cloud capabilities provided to end customers, including AI-driven valuation services.

Moreover, Alibaba Cloud is initiating collaborations with several international universities—University of Reading, Singapore University of Social Sciences, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Arovy University, University Saint Thomas Mozambique to introduce cloud computing and AI courses with the aim to cultivate a new generation of AI experts.

Thriving Collaboration to Support Global Customers
Alibaba Cloud has been chosen by a growing base of international customers for its trusted cloud computing capabilities and proven AI technologies, which play a pivotal role in their accelerated digital transformation journey and the pursuit of AI innovation:

  • LVMH Group, the world leader in high-quality products, and Alibaba Group announced an extended partnership to push further the boundary of luxury experience in China, leveraging Alibaba’s cloud technologies, through AI-powered innovations in retail and on-line with Tmall. In its pursuit of relentless innovation, LVMH has begun integrating Alibaba Cloud’s generative AI capabilities, including Qwen, Alibaba’s proprietary large language model, and Model Studio. This integration has paved the way for the creation of novel applications and services that underscore the luxury Maison’s commitment to staying at the forefront of innovation, harnessing cutting-edge technology to elevate its luxury offerings for global consumers, and fostering innovation-led growth within its global retail businesses.
  • FathomX, a digital health AI company emerging from the National University of Singapore, has utilized Alibaba Cloud’s infrastructure to support its AI-driven breast cancer detection system. The partnership has led to a 27.6% annual reduction in infrastructure costs. This efficiency boost enables FathomX to expand operations and deliver sophisticated healthcare solutions worldwide.
  • International Canoe Federation (ICF): Alibaba Cloud has been helping the ICF to find ways to measure and improve the sustainability of its events around the world since they signed a strategic collaboration last year. Extending the strategic partnership, the ICF will explore the potential of employing Alibaba Cloud’s AI-driven ESG solutions to reduce environmental impact and carbon footprint at its events and jointly organise sustainable activities to promote collaborative efforts.


[1] SAP and SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries.

Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.

Hashtag: #AlibabaCloud

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Alibaba Cloud

Established in 2009, Alibaba Cloud (www.alibabacloud.com) is the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group. It offers a complete suite of cloud services to customers worldwide, including elastic computing, database, storage, network virtualization services, large-scale computing, security, big data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) services. Alibaba has been named the leading IaaS provider in Asia Pacific by revenue in U.S. dollars since 2018, according to Gartner. It has also maintained its position as one of the world’s leading public cloud IaaS service providers since 2018, according to IDC.

Surge in Cross-Border Tourism: Thailand Welcomes Over 300,000 Lao Nationals in Early 2024

Phuket, a famous tourist destination in Thailand. (Lets Phuket)

In a surge of cross-border tourism, Thailand welcomed over 300,000 Lao nationals in the first three months of this year. This influx has placed Laos among the top 10 countries for foreign tourist arrivals in Thailand, as reported by Thai media.

Constitutional Court of Thailand Agrees to Hear Case That Could Imperil Prime Minister

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin (Photo: AP)

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court accepted a petition Thursday, 23 May, from members of the country’s outgoing Senate to begin an ethics probe against the prime minister over his appointment of a Cabinet member.

Inflation in Laos to Remain High All Year Long, Bank of Laos Says

Bank of the Lao PDR

Inflation will remain high through the end of 2024, making it impossible to reduce the inflation rate to a single-digit figure within this year, according to Bounleua Sinxayvoravong, the governor of the Bank of Laos (BOL).

‘Sheer Terror’: Passengers Describe Turbulence-Hit Flight That Put 20 in Intensive Care

‘Sheer Terror’: Passengers Describe Turbulence-Hit Flight That Put 20 in Intensive Care
The Boeing 777-300ER aircraft of Singapore Airlines, is parked after the SQ321 London-Singapore flight, that encountered severe turbulence, at Suvarnabhumi International Airport, near Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. The Singapore Airlines flight descended 6,000 feet (around 1,800 meters) in about three minutes, the carrier said Tuesday. A British man died and authorities said dozens of passengers were injured, some severely. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

BANGKOK (AP) — Passengers on the Singapore Airlines flight that descended sharply after hitting severe turbulence described the “sheer terror” of the aircraft shuddering, loose items flying, and people wrenched so badly that 20 remained Wednesday in intensive care.