HANOI: Vietnam will need investment of between US$8 billion and $14 billion a year through to 2030 to develop new power plants and expand its grid, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An said on Wednesday.

The Bank of Thailand (BoT) raised its key interest rate for the first time in nearly four years on Wednesday, lifting it by a quarter point as expected to fight surging inflation as the economic recovery gains momentum.

LAHORE, Pakistan: A Pakistan zoo has called off plans to auction 12 lions from its ever-growing pride to private buyers, saying it would instead create new enclosures for the big cats.

NAKHON RATCHASIMA: A 32-year-old man has complained that he lost his job and faced condemnation for a crime committed by his twin brother, whose name is very similar.

NAKHON SAWAN: The owner of a karaoke shop in Lat Yao district was arrested when local officials raided the premises in the early hours of Wednesday and found 14 scantily glad teenage girls serving drinks, two of them under 18-years-old.

Independent bookstores are disappearing from the streets but this one near Democracy Monument, which started by selling CDs, is trying to hold on to its business. (Video | Jetjaras Na Ranong)

Sri Lanka's ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa is expected to arrive in Thailand on Thursday, seeking temporary shelter in a second Southeast Asian country after fleeing his island nation last month amid mass protests, two sources said.

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd said strict air crew quarantine rules were crimping its ability to take advantage of rising travel demand, even as it narrowed its first-half loss to HK$5 billion (22.5 billion baht).

A delivery truck driver who sped through a checkpoint on Tuesday night sparked a 100-kilometre police pursuit, and was then found to have only a single methamphetamine pill in his possession.

Commercial banks should not rush to raise their interest rates even though the Bank of Thailand (BOT) will tighten monetary policy, Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said on Wednesday.