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| Sunday, 20 February 2005 |
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Bush, Clinton arrive in tsunami-hit Thailand PHUKET, Thailand. Saturday (AFP) Former US presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush arrived in Thailand Saturday on the first stop of their tour of Asian nations hit by December's catastrophic tsunamis. The former US leaders touched down shortly after noon (0500 GMT) at this tourist island and were greeted by Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai. They then traveled to the devastated fishing village of Baan Nam Khem to assess reconstruction efforts in Thailand's hardest-hit province of Phang Nga. Clinton and Bush, appointed by President George W. Bush to head private fundraising efforts in the wake of the tsunami, are also to visit Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Nearly 5,400 people were killed in Thailand when the giant waves struck on December 26. Roughly half of the dead are believed to be foreign tourists who were spending holidays on the country's famous beaches. Some 3,000 people are still missing, and thousands more lost their homes and livelihoods. Nearly 289,000 people were killed across the region, most of them in Indonesia. |
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