PHUKET: Thailand’s holiday coast is unprepared for another tsunami, the country’s former emergency chief has warned, with the government-run warning centre so underfunded a key detection buoy was left inoperable for months because a flat battery was not replaced.
Smith Dharmasaroja quit the National Disaster Warning Centre, saying funding and resources for the office had [...]

V Australia has kicked-off a big week in Melbourne, with the airline’s inaugural flight to Los Angeles taking off this morning (Dec 1) just days before the commencement of services to Phuket, Thailand.
Farewelled by Victorian tourism minister Tim Holding, the inaugural Melbourne-Los Angeles flight marks V Australia’s first foray into the country’s largest southern city [...]