Tokyo:Over one in three anti-malarial drugs sold in southeast Asia are fake while a third of samples in sub-Saharan Africa failed chemical testing for containing too much or too little of the active ingredient, potentially encouraging drug resistance. Around 7% of the drugs tested in India was found to be of poor quality with many being fake.
A Lancet study to be announced on Tuesday says 3.3 billion people are at risk of malaria, which is endemic in 106 countries. Every year, between 655,000 and 1.2 million people die from Plasmodium falciparum infection.

A small earthquake with a magnitude of 2.3 on the Richter scale hit the western province of Kanchanaburi on Monday, the Meteorological Department's Seismological Bureau reported.

The earthquake struck at 11.51am in Sai Yok district.

There were no reports of damage or casualties.

The Asia-Pacific region may be home to some of the world’s fastest growing economies including China, Japan, India and Indonesia. But, last year at least, it also was the most vulnerable to natural disasters that hampered expansion and disrupted trade.

The United Nations Economic and Social Survey of the Asia Pacific, a report released Thursday, says Asia Pacific sustained damages and losses of $266.8 billion out of $366 billion globally in 2011 — the worst year in history for catastrophes.

In course of a decade, Nepal and four other countries in the South-East Asia Region, namely Bhutan, DPR Korea, Thailand and Sri Lanka have brought down the number of confirmed malaria cases by more than half, WHO said in a statement issued on the occasion of the World Malaria Day, which is observed on April 25.

WHO noted that the estimated malaria incidence per 1,000 population at risk was reduced by 27 per cent from 30 in 2000 to 22 in 2010 in the region.

Thailand's national disaster prevention centre issued a tsunami warning for six southern provinces along the Andaman coast on Wednesday after a huge earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia.

People in Phuket, Krabi, Ranong, Phangnga, Trang and Satun were ordered to move to higher ground because of a possible tsunami, an official with Thailand's National Disaster Prevention Centre told Reuters by telephone.

A tsunami warning was issued yesterday by the Disaster Management Center for coastal areas in Sri Lanka as an earthquake of the magnitude of 8.6 on the Richter scale struck the west coast of Northern Sumatra around 2.08pm local time. Tremors were felt in several parts of the island including Dondra point, Colombo, Jaffna and Trincomalee.

People rushing home after a tsunami warning was issued yesterday. Picture by Saliya Rupasinghe