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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Air Asia boss: Recovery in 3 months if countries ditch quarantine, testing
The chief executive of the Air Asia Group says the aviation sector could return to normal in about 3 months, if governments ditch quarantine and PCR testing. Tony Fernandes says if countries can re-open without such requirements, demand will rise significantly. According to a Bangkok Post report, Air Asia has sold over 300,000 tickets to Langkawi since the island re-opened.…
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US parents split over COVID vaccines for young children
Louise*, mother of a first-grader in Washington DC, was so keen on getting her daughter vaccinated against COVID-19 that she didn’t mind going a bit out of her way. Friday around lunchtime she found out that a rec center across town had around 300 open spots for kids aged 5 to 11 the following day. She immediately signed up ―…
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AfricaLink on Air – 10 November 2021
Nnamdi Kanu-Nigerian separatist leader’s trial adjourned after lawyer walks out++Ethiopia detains 72 World Food Programme truck drivers in war-hit north++Zambia plans to abolish dowry. SOURCE: DW News
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Belarus border residents rattled by migrant crisis on their doorstep
The Kamenets district near the well-known national park Belovezhskaya Pushcha is a rather deserted area on the Belarusian-Polish border. There’s only one border crossing here to get to neighboring Poland legally. But, the Pestschatka checkpoint hardly sees any traffic nowadays due to coronavirus restrictions in Belarus. Residents of the surrounding Belarusian villages, however, have been watching their country’s western border…
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What does India want to achieve through Afghanistan talks?
India on Wednesday hosted senior diplomats and security officials from Afghanistan’s neighbors, with the notable exceptions of China and Pakistan, to discuss how to deal with the Taliban. The Delhi Regional Security Dialogue for Afghanistan was attended by representatives from India, Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Afghan representatives were not invited. Officials from Pakistan and China declined…
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North Korea teeters on the brink of famine as winter approaches
The last of the harvest was gathered shortly before the first snow fell in North Korea this year, but the yield was significantly less than the amount needed to feed the isolated nation’s 26 million people. This June, a report issued by the South Korea-based Korea Development Institute estimated that the North gathered just over 4.4 million tons of crops…
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US journalist Fenster faces charges of terrorism and sedition
Danny Fenster, the American journalist that was taken into custody as he attempted to leave Myanmar in May, has had additional charges of terrorism and sedition levied against him today. He is now facing a maximum sentence of life in prison for those charges, a grave turn from the original 6 years he was facing for the accusation of promoting…
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Germans launch fundraiser to rescue stranded Afghans
The German civil society organization Mission Lifeline — known for its role in helping rescue refugees from drowning in the Mediterranean — has launched a fundraiser aimed at assisting vulnerable Afghans obtain passports to facilitate their emigration. Citing German government sources, the German Press Agency (dpa) reported that in early October about 25,000 people in possession of German visas were…
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Singapore delays intellectually disabled drug trafficker’s execution due to Covid infection
A highly-controversial case involving an intellectually disabled, Malaysian drug trafficker has captivated Singapore and the world, as the court has delayed carrying out the death penalty due to Covid-19. Singapore has normally been a society that doesn’t protest the use of the death penalty, but since the drug trafficker, Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, has an IQ of just 69, the case…
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Officials to get tough on people smugglers, use MoUs to bring workers in legally
The labour minister says people smugglers face arrest and having their assets seized as part of a crackdown on migrant workers being brought into Thailand illegally. Since Thailand’s re-opening to international tourists, border officials have seen an increase in the number of illegal migrants attempting to cross into Thailand to secure work. Suchart Chomklin says the criminals running people-smuggling operations…
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The UN says more than 3 million people in Myanmar need life-saving aid
The UN is urging Myanmar’s military leaders to allow unimpeded access to more than 3 million people who need life-saving aid. Martin Griffiths, the UN humanitarian chief, says since the February 1 coup, the numbers of those at-risk of losing their lives will only rise. The ongoing violence has not showed signs of slowing, and Griffiths says if a peaceful…
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How will EU react to Poland-Belarus border crisis?
The European Union is once again scrambling to respond to a crisis on its external borders, what officials have called a “hybrid attack” orchestrated by the Belarusian regime to push migrants toward the bloc’s external border. After the situation escalated dramatically on Monday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “The Belarusian authorities must understand that pressuring the European…
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After assassination attempt, what next for Iraq?
Early Sunday morning, a booby-trapped drone exploded very near the Baghdad residence of Iraq’s prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi. A car outside the residence was badly damaged and doors and windows blown out, as seen on footage posted by Washington Post reporter Mustafa Salim on Twitter. Al-Kadhimi himself appeared to have been only slightly hurt. Shortly afterwards, he appeared on television…
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Miao Po-ya: Meet Taiwan’s first-ever openly LGBTQ council member
Miao Po-ya is the first-ever openly LGBTQ member to join a local council in Taiwan. She is breaking barriers by winning the support of young people as well as the older generation, which tends to favor traditional gender norms. SOURCE: DW News
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South Korean elections marred by corruption allegations and mudslinging
Four months ahead of the South Korea’s presidential elections, accusations of scandal, abuse of power and corruption are dominating the debate, instead of discussions on policies and plans for the future. President Moon Jae-in must step down at the end of his single, five-year term in March, and clearly hopes to pass the baton on to Lee Jae-myung, a former…
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Indonesia to administer Covid-19 boosters once 50% are fully vaccinated
Indonesia has announced its plans to start offering Covid-19 booster shots to members of the public, as soon as 50% of its population is fully vaccinated. According to Reuters, the nation’s health minister made this announcement yesterday, and reported that he expects the program to get started by the end of this month. Indonesia was at one point Asia’s Covid-19…
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PM Prayut emphasises importance of Thailand-US partnership
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha held a meeting with members of the US Congress yesterday, in which he stressed the importance of the relationship between Thailand and the United States. He also made it clear that he wanted to pursue further cooperation and partnership with the US as the two countries move forward. Members of the US Congress paid a visit to…
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Cambodia leads Asia for highest percentage of fully-vaccinated population
Cambodia is topping the list in Asia for the country with the highest percentage of fully-vaccinated individuals in its population. The country’s 16 million-plus population has seen around 82% receiving at least 2 doses of a Covid-19 vaccine since November 3, according to ourworldindata.org. The percentage of those fully-vaccinated has beat out Singapore, Brunei and South Korea by 1%. And,…
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Deepavali holidaymakers leave popular Malaysian cities full of rubbish
Popular tourist spots in Malaysia are resembling rubbish dumping grounds as the recent 4 day Deepavali holiday, ended in mounds of litter. The Deepavali, or Diwali, holiday last week saw the Penang Island City council cleaning up an estimated 5,256 tonnes of garbage. Xavier Sebastian, the city council urban services department director, told the Straits Times that the increase was…
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Malaysia and Singapore confirm travel bubble for vaccinated travellers
From November 29, vaccinated passengers can fly between Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Singapore’s Changi Airport, without having to quarantine. Bloomberg confirms that both countries have agreed a travel bubble arrangement for what is one of the world’s busiest air corridors. It’s understood the agreement could also be extended to land crossings in the near future. Vaccinated travellers will not…
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Afghanistan: People struggle to make ends meet amid economic turmoil
Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in mid-August, the conflict-stricken nation has been dealing not only with political turmoil but also a severe economic crisis and increasing poverty. The Taliban takeover saw billions of dollars in central bank assets frozen and international financial institutions suspend access to funds. Some $9.5 billion (€8.2 billion) in central bank reserves remain blocked…
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Pakistan: How patriarchy is raising the risk of deadly breast cancer
Pakistan has one of the highest rates of breast cancer in Asia, and trends suggest this is likely to increase unless more is done to remove barriers on early screening. An estimated 40,000 women die each year in Pakistan due to breast cancer, and 83,000 are diagnosed with the disease, according to the Shaukat Khanum Research Center in Lahore. Health…
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Thai Red Cross urges government to formalise humanitarian assistance to Myanmar
Thailand’s Red Cross organisation is calling on the government to formalise humanitarian aid to Myanmar refugees. The request was made at the 3rd Thai foreign policy webinar series on “ASEAN’s Future and Crisis in Myanmar.” The Surin Pitsuwan Foundation, Chiang Mai University’s School of Public Policy, Thai PBS and Asia News Network, all jointly hosted the webinar. Former editor of…
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46 Cambodian nationals arrested after trying to illegally cross Thai border
At least 46 Cambodian nationals have been arrested for allegedly illegally crossing over the Thailand border in Sa Kaeo province. Police there say the arrests are happening daily as the Cambodian nationals are trying to find work in Bangkok and neighbouring provinces. And, with the Covid-19 pandemic, the allegedly illegal border crossers are paying as much as 20,000 baht to…
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Tension in Ethiopia as TPLF fighters advance
When Adam* returned to his home after a haircut on the morning of Saturday, November 6, he saw his parents and sister being forced into a police van. With them were two other families living in the compound – all of them of Tigrayan origin. Before leaving, Adam’s mother was able to lock the house, he said, taking with her…
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Tension in Ethiopia as Tigrayan forces advance
When Adam* returned to his home after a haircut on the morning of Saturday, November 6, he saw his parents and sister being forced into a police van. With them were two other families living in the compound – all of them of Tigrayan origin. Before leaving, Adam’s mother was able to lock the house, he said, taking with her…
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WHO: Global pandemic exposed unpreparedness and inequality
A new report by the World Health Organisation Global Preparedness Monitoring Board says that the Covid-19 pandemic exposed the world’s lack of preparedness, accountability, and equality. The first year of Covid-19 showed that so many countries failed to be serious about preparedness and taking action on scientific data, while national Covid-19 responses ignored the interconnectedness of the world, revealing massive…
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How realistic is Bangladesh’s climate prosperity plan?
At the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called on wealthy nations to fulfill their pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions and provide the promised $100 billion (€86 billion) annually in financial aid to less wealthy countries to help them adapt to climate change and mitigate further rises in temperature. Only a tiny fraction of…
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UN Security Council calls for ceasefire in Ethiopia
For the first time in six months, the UN Security Council (UNSC)called for an end to the intensifying conflict in Ethiopia on Friday, and for unhindered access for humanitarian aid to tackle the world’s worst hunger crisis in a decade in the war-torn Tigray region. “Today the Security Council breaks six months of silence and speaks again with one united…
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The era of tech whistleblowing is here — but will it lead to lasting change?
Whistleblower Frances Haugen says she hates attention so much she stopped throwing birthday parties years ago. She never wanted the world to know her name. And the idea of stepping in front of thousands of people gives her anxiety. And yet, the data scientist decided to give up her anonymity to expose wrongdoing at tech giant Facebook, she told some…
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