JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Indonesia’s Yohannes Christian John retained his WBA featherweight title by stopping Roinet Caballero of Panama in the seventh round on Saturday.
The 28-year-old John (40-0-1) was making his ninth title defense since winning the belt in 2003.
«Hopefully I can defend it one more time to become a super champion,» John said.
American referee Raul Caiz Jr. stopped the fight after Caballero’s trainer threw in the towel before the eighth round.
The scheduled 12-rounder was the first fight outside Panama for Caballero (22-8-1).
Source: http://www.pr-inside.com/
January 28th, 2008
The 2008 ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) has received a strong contingency from buyers in Asia this year.
Held in Bangkok from 18-26 January, ATF 2008 attracted more than 650 hosted and non-hosted buyers – a majority of which are from countries such as India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam. European, American and Australian buyers also made a strong showing at the event this year.
Although the event’s profile of sellers was dominated by those from Thailand, sellers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Brunei, Cambodia, Lao PDR and various multinational corporate organisations also exhibited.
“This selection of buyers reflects the rapid growth taking place in intra-regional travel — one of the most important trends taking place today,” said Phornsiri Manoharn, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
According to the minister, Asia-Pacific governments will continue to push for regional, social and economic integration by boosting transportation infrastructure and supporting the growth of low-cost airlines. This will undoubtedly fuel the growth of the region.
“This year’s ATF is very significant because ASEAN has just commemorated the 40th anniversary of its establishment. Also, in November 2007, the ASEAN leaders signed a new charter reiterating their commitment to community-building in ASEAN and uniting in making the organisation more people-oriented,” Phornsiri added.
“In the tourism sector, we will be looking for ways to implement this vision. We look forward to welcoming our friends and supporters from throughout the ASEAN region and beyond at the ATF 2008.”
ATF takes place annually and unites the public and private sectors of ASEAN’s ten member countries. These countries have a combined population of 567.5 million people and a total gross domestic product of over US$1 trillion. In 2006, ASEAN received an estimated 56 million visitors – almost half of which was consisted of travel to other ASEAN nations.
For more information, please visit www.atf2008thailand.com.
Source: http://www.etravelblackboardasia.com/
January 28th, 2008