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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Border securty tightened as Myanmar virus cases surge
A significant surge in Covid-19 infections in neighbouring Myanmar has prompted authorities in the northern border province of Tak to tighten border security. More than 200 new cases have been confirmed since early last week, compelling Myanmar to shutter schools nationwide. Authorities say all border passes in the Mae Sot district and roads to the central city districts will be…
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TikTok CEO quits amid pressure to sell
Kevin Mayer, the high flying CEO of TikTok, quit today under US pressure for the platform’s Chinese owner Bytedance to sell popular video app, which Washington says is a national security threat. In a letter to employees, Mayer said his decision to leave comes because the “political environment has sharply changed.” Mayer, a former Disney executive, joined TikTok as CEO…
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US surpasses 6 million Covid-19 cases whilst the world trend is ‘down’
The US has surpassed the 6 million mark for the total number of Covid-19 cases. Brazil (3.7 million) and India (3.3 million) are the countries with the 2nd and 3rd highest number of cases. Around the world there is now a total of 24,331,524 Covid-19 cases, 829,664 deaths with 16,872,542 recorded as ‘recovered’. Of note, both the trend in new cases…
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Myanmar’s Rakhine state is new Covid-19 hotspot as country sees record cases
In a shock announcement, Myanmar reported 70 new confirmed Covid-19 cases today, the highest 1 day tally since the virus was first detected in the country in March. According to the Ministry of Health and Sports, there were no local transmissions between July 16 and August 16, and about 200 infections detected since then. The majority of cases are in…
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Which country in the world is the most confident to re-open its borders for tourism?
You’ll be surprised by the answer. Cooped up in our offices and homes, we’re all yearning to travel again. Whilst the suitcase is gathering dust, travellers around the world are wondering when and how they’re going to be able to return to their favourite holiday destinations. A comprehensive international survey has come up with some surprising results about the confidence…
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Hong Kong resumes travel bubble discussions with Thailand and Japan
Hong Kong’s commerce chief, Edward Yau, says the Special Administrative Region is once again chatting to Thailand authorities, and Japan, regarding the possible formation of “travel bubbles”. The talks were suspended last month as Hong Kong battled a third wave ‘spike’ of the Covid-19 virus. Now, the idea of mutually beneficial travel agreements is back on the table, subject to a…
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14 dead, 75 injured in southern Philippines suicide bomb attacks
More violence in the southern Philippines as Islamic militants exploded powerful bombs in the region yesterday. At least 14 soldiers and civilians were killed, and another 75 injured, despite all the additional security – Islamic State militants have made threats in recent weeks. At least 5 soldiers and 4 civilians were killed as a result of the first attack near…
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Bali’s borders closed to international tourists the end of 2020
Planning a trip to Bali? Think again. Bali’s borders are closed for foreign tourists for the rest of the year. The Indonesian island was set to lift restrictions on September 11, but the Bali governor says it is still not safe to have people entering and leaving due to the coronavirus pandemic. Thailand has also pushed international tourist travel until…
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Singapore lifts restrictions, travellers from New Zealand and Brunei allowed
Some major border restrictions are lifting in Singapore. Those in New Zealand or Brunei who want to spend a holiday in Singapore can do so starting September 1. There will no requirement for those travellers to do a 2 week quarantine. Those in Singapore will also be allowed to travel to both New Zealand and Brunei. Yes, it’s a travel bubble…
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Thai expats show their support for local pro-democracy protests
The protests have been popping up around Thailand, and overseas. Support of the pro-democracy demands by students and activists has spread beyond the borders of Thailand. A group, calling themselves ‘Thais Rise Up” in Scotland says they are holding their own rally at the end of this week in Edinburgh with same demands – to call for the dissolution of the…
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Report: US President Trump’s sister slams him as “cruel” and “a liar” in secret recordings
In a shock revelation, secretly made recordings reveal that Maryanne Trump Barry, the older sister of US President Donald Trump, described him as “cruel” and a “liar”, whose lack of principles meant he could “not be trusted.” The recordings, obtained by the Washington Post, were published yesterday. They are the latest unflattering insider account to target the president, but instead…
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Ailing Kremlin critic Navalny “stable” after move to Berlin
Outspoken Russian opposition leader and frequent critic of President Vladimir Putin Alexei Navalny is in stable condition after arriving in Berlin by air ambulance yesterday, following a suspected poisoning. According to the the head of Cinema for Peace, the German NGO that chartered the flight after the plane touched down at Tegel airport in Berlin: “Navalny’s condition is stable.” 1…
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Russian opposition leader, Putin critic in a coma after suspected poisoning – VIDEO
The spokeswoman for leading Russian opposition figure and fierce Putin critic Alexei Navalny says he is unconscious in hospital, suffering from suspected poisoning. The outspoken anti-corruption campaigner fell ill during a flight and the plane made an emergency landing. Doctors say he’s in a coma and they’re trying to save his life. His team suspects something was put in his…
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BTS release their first all-English track ‘Dynamite’, and it’s a disco bop!
The world’s most popular music group, BTS, have released their most anticipated track since the septet launched back in 2013. Really… most anticipated? Well, the song’s retro-vibed bop has obliterated the record for the biggest YouTube premiere, looking almost certain to eclipse the 100 million view mark in 24 hours. BTS’s long struggle to the top of, firstly South Korea’s…
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Human Rights Watch condemns latest Bangkok protest arrests
New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch is strongly condemning the arrests of 7 pro-democracy campaigners and 2 anti-establishment rap performers in Thailand. In a strongly worded statement ,calling for their immediate release, Human Rights Watch says the arrests violate pledges made by the Thai government to respect human rights at a time of swelling protests against its rule. According to…
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Appeals court upholds Lao drug kingpin’s life sentence
The Appeals Court today upheld the lower court’s sentence of life imprisonment for Lao drug kingpin Xaysana “Mr. X” Keopimpha for colluding to possess large quantities of methamphetamine pills in 2015 and 2016. The ruling was handed down at the Criminal Court today. Xaysana and 2 accomplices, Chumphon Phanompai and Ratchapon Ratsaponpakorn, were arrested and charged with collusion in the…
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SE Asia’s most popular islands still ‘on hold’ as they wait to re-open to international tourists
Foreign tourists may be allowed back on to Boracay’s famed beaches in the Philippines as early as October. Meanwhile the Indonesian beach resort of Bali has shelved any immediate plans to re-open the island. In Thailand, the beaches of Phuket remain largely empty whilst the provincial government tries to promote the island as a “safe and sealed” destination to limited…
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Malaysian man in Bangkok tests positive for coronavirus
Just short of 2 weeks after a trip to Bangkok, a man returned home to Malaysia and then tested positive for the coronavirus. Thai health officials are investigating to determine who was in contact with the man while he was in the country and if there are any local infections. Deputy director-general of the Disease Control Department Tanarak Plipat said the…
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Indonesia participates in Phase 3 clinical trials for Chinese C-19 vaccine
Indonesians have been getting involved in Phase 3 of testing for a Covid-19 vaccine developed by a Chinese company. The partnership between the Indonesian state-owned Bio Farma and Chinese company Sinovac BioTech started in early July. Now Indonesia has recruited 1,620 volunteers for the critical part of the vaccine trial. The first 20 Indonesians rolled up their sleeves for the candidate…
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Aussie hailed as hero after fighting off shark to save wife
An Australian man saved his wife from a shark attack yesterday by punching the shark until it released her. Police say the couple were surfing at a beach near Port Macquarie, 4 hours north of Sydney, yesterday morning when she was bitten twice on her right leg. Paramedics treated the 35 year old at the beach before she was later…
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Joint operation nabs 29 illegal Cambodian migrants in a Kaeo
Officials in the eastern border province of Sa Kaeo, with help from other law enforcement agencies, arrested 29 illegal migrant workers from Cambodia last night in the Ta Prayha subdistrict. Led by the deputy commander of the Burapha Forces, an elite squadron also known as the Tigers of the East, a large team located the group, who were on foot…
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New Zealand, Australia struggle with new coronavirus outbreaks
New Zealand reported 7 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 over the previous 24 hours, as a lockdown in the country’s biggest city, Auckland, was extended yesterday in response to the country’s first coronavirus outbreak in months. The new cases bring New Zealand’s total infections since the beginning of the outbreak to 1258; the number of currently active cases stands at…
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Thailand is on top of the tourism shopping list for Asian travellers, when the borders open
“Fear & Possibilities in a Post Coronavirus World”. That’s the name of a new study jointly prepared by Blackbox Research, Dynata, and Language Connect. For ‘fear’ and ‘possibilities’, there are plenty of both as Thailand and Asia emerge from 6 months of battling and containing Covid-19, with more knowledge and better handling of outbreaks. The global study indicates that residents of…
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Cambodian transgender woman arrested for human trafficking in Sa Kaeo
Police in the eastern Sa Kaeo province, near the Cambodian border, have arrested a Cambodian transgender woman and charged her with procuring girls under 18 and arranging “swinging” parties for customers via Twitter. Officials from the Provincial Administration’s law enforcement operations centre made the arrest during a raid on a room at a resort in the province’s city district last…
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Top virologist says Covid-19 likely to mutate, making current tests useless
A prominent Thai virologist is warning that the Covid-19 coronavirus is mutating and could return in a different, more contagious, or potentially, more dangerous or less dangerous, form. Thiravat Hemachudha, director of the Health Science Centre of Emerging Diseases at Chulalongkorn University, says that Thailand “should begin preparing for possible ‘genetic code alterations’ of the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19.”…
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Auckland cluster grows with 13 new Covid-19 infections reported
Health officials in New Zealand announced yesterday that the new coronavirus cluster in Auckland has risen to 17 cases, raising the prospect of an extended lockdown in the country’s biggest city. National health chief Ashley Bloomfield said there are 13 new confirmed infections, all linked to 4 family members found on Tuesday, ending New Zealand’s record of 102 days without…
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Flights into Thailand – “It’s an indefinite ban”
A ban on international scheduled flights into Thailand remains in force “while the pandemic situation remains critical in many countries.” “It’s an indefinite ban.” This was further confirmation from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand yesterday in response to clarification of the country’s ban on allowing foreign tourists back into Thailand. CAAT director Chula Sukmanop and the Centre for Covid-19 Situation…
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Priceless ivories stolen a second time, recovered in Myanmar
A pair of priceless, centuries old engraved ivory tusks was stolen from a local hermitage of the Ban Loy Tong Ku hill tribe village in the Umphang District Isaan’s Tak province last night. Locals residents reported the incident to the Border Patrol Police after they reportedly saw the 2 thieves riding a motorcycle and heading towards the Thai-Myanmar border. The…
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Malaysia returning vehicles left behind by Thais
Malaysia is returning vehicles left behind by Thais who left when Kuala Lumpur imposed a lockdown to combat the spread of Covid-19. The first batch was returned yesterday via the Sungai Kolok immigration checkpoint. They were handed over to Thai authorities about 5pm. The chief of Sungai Kolok district in the southern border province of Narathiwat said Thais living in…
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Joe Biden appoints Kamala Harris as running mate in race for the White House
Joe Biden has chosen Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate in the race for the White House, making her the first woman of colour to run for vice president. The appointment of Senator Harris comes at a time of significant racial unrest in the US, with Harris widely seen as the candidate who will help win the hearts and…
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