World News
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Sponsored How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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11 die in early morning passenger van collision in Sa Kaew
PHOTOS: The Nation Eleven people have been killed and four others seriously injured after a chartered van carrying Lao workers collided with an 18 wheel truck in Sa Kaew province, east of Bangkok on the Cambodian border, early today (map below). The Nation reports that they were travelling to the Chanthaburi immigration checkpoint to renew their visas. Police suspect the Thai…
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Which flight route makes the most money in the world?
The world of aviation now has its first billion dollar route. That’s a flight route that makes more money for an airline than any other. And for the first time that route has breached the one billion dollar ceiling – British Airways’ service between London Heathrow and New York’s JFK. OAG has come up with a list of the routes…
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Asian stock markets follow Wall Street’s lead downward this morning
Asian stock markets have followed Wall Street’s lead this morning falling sharply as investors made their concerns apparent about economic recessions in some of the larger economies. They also reacted to more threats of instability from the trade war between the US and China. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index dropped 1.6% during this morning’s trading. US markets led…
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Malay tourist allegedly ploughs into roadside workers, killing five
“Five Thai workers were killed and another injured on the Asia Highway.” Khao Sod reports that a Malaysian tourist has been charged with reckless driving causing death and injury after her car allegedly ploughed into six Thai road workers in Songkhla, southern Thailand, on Tuesday. The workers were from the Kamphaeng Phet Highway District Office doing routine maintenance along the…
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Don’t mention the ‘R’ word – world’s biggest economies at risk of recession
CARTOON: Financial Times Five big economies are at risk of recession – Germany, Italy, Mexico, Brazil and the UK. A recession is usually defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction in an economy. Locally Singapore and Hong Kong are teetering on technical recessions, both vital regional business hubs. The UK economy shrunk in the second quarter, and growth has flat…
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Police seeking arrest warrants for planners of August 2 Bangkok bombs
ORIGINAL PHOTO: Reuters Police now believe that three suspects in the August 2 Bangkok bombings plotted much the attacks in a neighbouring country. Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwon reported the latest in the investigations to the media today. Gen Prawit reported that the three suspects were actively involved and have fled back to their country. Without mentioning the country (presumably Malaysia), Prawit said…
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Flights departing Hong Kong airport today, mostly on schedule
ORIGNAL PHOTO: Manan Vatsyayana Flights are now departing Hong Kong airport mostly on schedule this morning after two days of pro-democracy protester chaos and a disruptive sit-in that paralysed the movement of passengers and aircraft. Protesters blocked travellers from getting to their flights yesterday afternoon, before battling with riot police outside the terminals. The airport is being cleaned up and graffiti…
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BTS are breaking up…
…temporarily. The announcement about BTS was made on Twitter by their South Korean management company and label Big Hit Entertainment. Don’t stress AMRY, they’ll be back together in a couple of months! Big Hit says the kings of pop need time to regroup and recharge their batteries. The announcement followed another dazzling display of their finely-tuned pop skills at the Lotte…
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Myanmar’s death toll from landslides and floods reaches 59
Vast regions of south and sout-eastern Myanmar are inundated with floodwaters that have already forced more than 80,000 to flee their homes. The death toll from a massive landslide has now hit 59. Rescue and recovery teams have worked right through the weekend, with additional downpours and deep mud hindering progress as the stench of decaying bodies worsened. There are…
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Airport shutdown tarnishes Hong Kong’s business image
PHOTO & VIDEO: Bill Barnett, c9hotelworks.com Thousands of supporters of the largely leaderless pro-democracy protest movement descended on the Hong Kong Airport terminal yesterday in an effort to get the message out to the world about their struggle and the harsh tactics used by police. They achieved that result whilst testing the resolve of Beijing, accusing the protest organisers of…
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Thailand’s longest wooden bridge under threat of collapse after rains soak west
The famous Mon (Uttamanusorn) Bridge in Kanchanaburi in Thailand’s west, the country’s longest wooden bridge, is being watched around the clock by the Thai army for fear that it may collapse under the force of strong currents in the Songkalia River and a huge amount of debris which is piling up against the bridge’s superstructure. Uttamanusorn Bridge (Thai: สะพานอุตตมานุสรณ์; lit:…
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Flights resume at Hong Kong airport as Beijing condemns ‘terrorism’
The Hong Kong Airport Authority started resuming flights from 6am this morning after more than 180 departures had to be cancelled from Sunday morning. Hundreds of passengers were left stranded after all departing flights and more than 70 arriving flights were cancelled in the early evening. There were chaotic scenes inside the airport as thousands of demonstrators descended on the…
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US-China trade war accelerates formation of RCEP trade bloc
The escalation of the trade war between China and the US might help push forward negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement. RCEP, once formed, will be the largest trading bloc in the world. Trade ministers from China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the 10 ASEAN member states met in Beijing last weekend for…
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Myanmar flood toll reaches 51 – 4,000 houses submerged
PHOTOS: Myanmar Times Burmese troops have been deployed to flood-hit parts of Myanmar to help with relief efforts after rising flood waters have left thousands stranded, mostly in the southern parts of the country. The death toll from the landslide has jumped to 51. This year’s monsoonal floods have tested the government’s ability to respond after a the fatal landslides…
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Floods and landslides in southern Myanmar – at least 41 dead
PHOTOS: SBS News The latest in the flood situation in southern Myanmar… • Continuous monsoon rain since the start of the month has resulted to flooding in several areas in Southern Myanmar – Ayeyarwady, Bago, Kayin, Mon, and Tanintharyi. • According to the Department of Disaster Management, a rain-induced landslide occurred in a village in Paung Township (Mon State) on…
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Typhoon Lekima leaves at least 30 people dead, 5 million more affected
PHOTO: China Daily/ANN At least 30 people are reported dead from the deadly typhoon in East China’s Zhejiang province. Another 20 people are missing and the death toll is expected to rise. Most of the deaths occurred in Yongjia county where torrential downpours caused a landslide that blocked rivers. The barrier lake bursted and flooded people away. Twenty two people…
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Myanmar court jails Australian publisher for 13 years over drugs charges
PHOTO: Soe Zeya Tun A Myanmar court yesterday sentenced 60 year old Australian media publisher Ross Dunkley to 13 years in jail after a police raid uncovered a stash of drugs at his home in Yangon in 2018. Ross has extensive links with the media industry across Southeast Asia, co-founding the English language newspaper The Myanmar Times when Myanmar was…
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Top six tips when visiting Royal Thai Consulate General in Penang
PHOTO: New Royal Thai Consular General in Penang An FOT (Friend of Thaiger) has returned from applying for a visa with the Royal Thai Consulate General in Penang, a popular port to the south of Thailand for ‘southern’ expats and tourists seeking visa upgrades, renewals or even for their first run. Thanks to Daren Jenner for the following tips if…
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Myanmar’s army controls vast business empire to fuel atrocities – UN report
PHOTO: Front of the Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited building UN investigators have slammed the Myanmar Government saying that tougher sanctions are needed against the country’s wealthy and powerful military officials as their web of economic interests has generated a fortune that helps fund atrocities. The report follows a US travel ban on Myanmar’s army chief last month, the strongest censure yet…
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The Philippines declares national dengue epidemic
PHOTO: Philippine Star The Philippines has now declared a national dengue epidemic reporting that the mosquito-borne disease has now killed at least 622 people in the country in 2018. More than 146,000 dengue cases have now been reported in the first seven months of the year, a number almost double last year, according to the The Philippines’ health department. Officials…
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Weekend RCEP meeting move closer to the world’s biggest trading bloc
PHOTO: Asia Nikkei Whilst the UK looks to walk away from the EU trade bloc and the US continues to ramp up the trade war with China, the formation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which would be the largest trade bloc in the world, continues to gather pace. The RCEP, initiated by ASEAN in 2012, is a proposed…
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US President shares “thoughts and prayers” over Texas shooting while a second mass shooting happens in Ohio
PHOTO: France 24 US President Donald Trump and wife Melania have sent “heartfelt thoughts and prayers” to the families and friends of victims in one of two mass murder gun attacks in the past 24 hours. About 20 people were killed and 26 injured in a shooting rampage at a Walmart and neighbouring stores in El Paso, Texas on Saturday…
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Hong Kong protesters defy China’s warnings with more rallies
Anti-government protesters kicked off another mass rally yesterday as they defy increasingly stern warnings from China over the unrest that has plunged the city into crisis. The semi-autonomous Chinese financial hub has seen two months of protests and clashes triggered by opposition to a planned extradition law. Emboldened by the early win for the proposed extradition laws to be withdrawn,…
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Southern insurgents likely behind the Bangkok bombings – Deputy PM Prawit
A meeting of Thai security and intelligence officials last night, chaired by Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan, has determined southern insurgents were likely behind the spate of ‘warning’ bombs that went off around the capital yesterday morning. At the same time they haven’t completely ruled out political motivations despite an attempt by Thailand’s army chief Gen. Apirat Kongsompong to politicise the…
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Dams, politics and greed are killing the mighty Mekong River
Original story by Piyaporn Wongruang – The Nation | PHOTO: Sophie et Fred Dr Chainarong Setthachua, a lecturer and ecology expert at Maha Sarakham University, was at a loss when asked to describe the ongoing Mekong crisis. “The most disastrous situation in history.” Little is being done by governments despite recent stories and stark photos of the dried-bed of a major…
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Two suspects held over last night’s ‘fake’ bomb, security ramped up at ASEAN meeting
PHOTO: A suspect leaving the area of the Royal Thai Police headquarters last night captured on CCTV “I condemn the mastermind behind this morning’s bomb blasts, which destroy people and the country’s image. I have asked officials to beef up security for members of the public and take urgent care of those affected by the explosions.’’ – Thai PM Prayut…
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Stormy weather for the Thai north and northeast later this week
The Thai Meteorological Department has issued warnings about possible impacts from a tropical storm expected to reach Vietnam tomorrow and Friday, August 1 and 2. The area of low pressure which formed west of the Philippines reaches southeast China from today. Should this system strengthen into a tropical storm, it will be given the name ‘Wipha’. The TMD reports that the…
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Southern rebel remains unresponsive in hospital following alleged torture
Thai security officials have confirmed that four more people were killed in a late-night attack on July 24 by Muslim insurgents on a military outpost in the southern province of Pattani. Militants struck the remote base throwing grenades and laying down nearly an hour of automatic fire. The attack is considered “payback’ for the alleged torture of Abdulloh Esormusor. Human Rights…
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Leonardo DiCaprio praises Thailand for efforts to increase the population of wild tigers
American actor, film producer, and environmentalist, Leonardo DiCaprio, has praised Thailand for its efforts to increase the population of wild tigers in the Huai Kha Kheng wildlife sanctuary in Thailand’s western forests. On Global Tiger Day (July 29), DiCaprio shared his enthusiasm for south east asian tigers. “In Thailand’s Huai Kha Khaeng wildlife sanctuary, tigers are roaring back thanks to a…
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Myanmar Jade mine landslide kills at least 19
At least 19 jade mine workers along with mine security guards were killed in a landslide on Sunday. Rescuers have been searching for survivors. The incident is reported to have happened early Sunday morning in the remote Hpakant township in the north of Myanmar. Two police officers were also injured but were rescued and sent to hospital. Authorities also reported…
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