Haunted beaches
The week's news at a glance.
Phuket, Thailand
Fear of ghosts is keeping Asian tourists from returning to tsunami-stricken areas, travel industry experts said this week. Many Asian societies believe that if the dead are not properly buried, their agitated souls will wander the world. Travel agents from China, Taiwan, and South Korea said the superstition was leading travelers to avoid once-popular Thai beaches. Last December’s massive tsunami killed some 8,000 people in southwestern Thailand alone, and most of the bodies were lost at sea. “The number of deaths in the tsunami was just too high,” said Eric Wu of the Taipei Association of Travel Agents, “so there is a strong psychological element.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
The Apprentice: will biopic change how voters see Donald Trump?
Talking Point 'Brutal' film depicts presidential candidate raping first wife Ivana, but some critics believe portrayal is surprisingly sympathetic
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Russia and Iran 'up the ante' after meeting in Turkmenistan
The Explainer Two nations talk up their closer ties but some in Tehran believe Putin 'still owes' them
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Kmart shelves emptied'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published