Jintamas Saksornchai

Details have been murky over the number of tourists affected and the possible source of the methanol-laced drinks.

A second Australian teenager who fell critically ill after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos has died, according to a family statement sent to Australian media.

Details on the alcohol poisoning began trickling out about a week after the two Australian women fell ill on Nov. 13 following a night out drinking with a group in the remote town.

Southeast Asian defense chiefs are meeting with China, the United States and other partner nations in Laos for security talks, which come as Beijing’s increasingly assertive stance in its claim to most of the South China Sea is leading to more confrontations.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has expressed regret that his Chinese counterpart chose not to hold talks with him during meetings of Southeast Asian defense chiefs in Laos, calling it a setback for the entire region.

Court drops all charges against a Thai woman in a 2015 bombing at a Bangkok shrine that killed 20

A Thai court drops a case over the deaths of Muslim protesters in 2004

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Southeast Asian leaders Friday that the U.S. is concerned about China’s “increasingly dangerous and unlawful” activities in the disputed South China Sea during an annual summit meeting, and pledged the U.S. will continue to uphold freedom of navigation in

Southeast Asian leaders have stepped up pressure on China to respect international law following clashes in the disputed South China Sea, but Chinese Premier Li Qiang remained defiant during annual summit talks as he blamed “external forces” for interfering in regional affairs.

Chiang Mai, Thailand’s northern city popular with tourists, has been inundated by widespread flooding as its main river overflowed its banks following heavy seasonal rainfall.