World News
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10 months later, no action to catch Bea’s murderer – Phuket
PHOTO: Dimitrios ‘Dim’ Chairopoulo, wanted and believed to be living in Greece “We are all in desperate need of some answers so that justice can be served for the family.” It’s been over 10 months since the murder of a local Phuket beautician 43 year old Niramon ‘Bea’ Aewkaew. But her alleged Greek murderer Dimitrios ‘Dim’ Chairopoulos remains on the…
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Thailand signs 3 MoUs with South Korea during PM’s visit
PHOTO: Thai PBS World Thailand has signed three MoUs (Memorandum of Understanding) with South Korea during PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s official visit, taking place from November 24-27 for the 2019 ASEAN – Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit. Thai PBS World reports that the three agreements were signed yesterday, the first being between Thailand’s Ministry of Higher Education Science, Research and Innovation…
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Malaysia’s last Sumatran rhino dies
The last Sumatran rhino in Malaysia has died after a battle with cancer. The rhino, named Iman, died at the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary in Sabah on Saturday afternoon Malaysia’s cultural and tourism minister announced that it was “…with great sadness that the Sabah Wildlife Department announces the death of Iman, the last Sumatran rhinoceros in Malaysia.” “The death was natural and…
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British fugitive extradited to the UK after being nabbed in Thailand last month
A British fugitive, who caused 140,000 pounds (GBP) of damage in a ram-raid in Devon, UK , has been extradited back to Britain after 18 months on the run in Thailand, following an arrest late last month. 43 year old Dylan Taylor or Torquay was found guilty of burglary in June 2018. After he absconded to Thailand, he was sentenced…
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Nium partners with Visa for new instant money transfers in SE Asia
‘Nium’, a new digital cross-border payments platform, will now enable users to make real-time money transfers to Visa debit cardholders across Southeast Asia including Viet Nam. It is based on Visa’s real-time push payments solution called Visa Direct. Nium is the first fintech-based money transfer service provider in Southeast Asia to offer instant money transfer through recipients’ 16-digit Visa debit…
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Paralyzed Canadian hockey player moves legs after experimental Thai surgery
A Canadian hockey player paralyzed in a tragic bus crash has begun moving his legs after receiving experimental spinal surgery in Thailand. Ryan Straschnitzki was one of 13 injured when a truck ran a stop sign and collided with the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team’s bus in Saskatchewan in 2018. Sixteen others died in the incident. Straschnitzki was paralyzed from…
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Indian man posing as a pilot bought fake Lufthansa ID in Bangkok
PHOTO: DNA India “The passenger disclosed that he used to shoot YouTube videos on aviation and had obtained the Lufthansa fake ID card in Bangkok.” It was all going so well, until he was eventually caught. An Indian man who regularly pretended to be a pilot, in order to get free upgrades and impress women, has been arrested in Delhi…
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Four Cambodian monks to be deported after raising funds around Krabi
FILE PHOTO: Bigstock Police in Krabi have arrested four monks from Cambodia after complaints from Krabi locals that the monks were attempting to raise funds at different venues as they travelled around the south. Krabi Police chief Sompong Chingduang confirmed that the four were found to have entered Thailand a week ago without the correct paperwork. The monks will now…
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Severe drought predicted for Thailand and neighbouring countries
FILE PHOTO Experts are warning that over the next two to three months, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam can all expect severe drought conditions which will affect agricultural production. Of the four countries, Thailand and Cambodia are expected to suffer the most, according to the report. A statement issued by the Mekong River Commission confirmed that water levels in the…
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Indonesian suicide bomber wounds six, dozens arrested in Sumatra
Dozens of suspected militants have been rounded up after a suicide bomber killed himself and wounded six others in a police station attack in Indonesia. Around 45 suspects have been arrested since Wednesday’s bombing in Medan, Sumatra, while two bomb-makers were shot dead during a raid. A National Police spokesman told reporters in Jakarta that the pair resisted arrest and tried…
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US Senate gives unanimous approval to Hong Kong rights bill
PHOTO: FT.com In a move that makes clear its displeasure over Beijing’s crackdown on Hong Kong freedoms, the US Senate has unanimously backed a bill in support of protecting the rights of the Chinese Special Administrative Region. As the legislation was passed yesterday, Washington threatened to revoke the special status granted to Hong Kong in retaliation at China’s reaction to…
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Mekong nations face severe water shortages
Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam should expect severe to extreme drought until at least January 2020, threatening agricultural production, experts warn. Their main water source, the Mekong River, is at its lowest level in over half a century. Drought has already caused the Mekong to drop to its lowest level in at least 60 years, with exceptionally low flow in…
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The ‘flat-earth’ business is going global. Ummm, hang on…
PHOTO: ‘Earthrise’ taken by Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders in December 1968 – NASA Last week saw the running of the third annual Flat Earth International Conference, held in suburban Dallas, Texas. The conference attracted around 600 die-hard flat-earthers – people that actually believe that the earth isn’t spherical, it’s a flat plate floating in space. Actually many of the…
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Thailand and the US sign new defence treaty
PHOTO: Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper with the newly-signed defence alliance treaty yesterday in Bangkok – The Nation The US-Thailand Joint Vision Statement 2020 advances the 2018 US National Defence Strategy and Thailand’s 20 Year National Strategy objectives “by reaffirming our shared commitment to the long-standing defence alliance.” This statement was issued by the…
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Sexually transmitted dengue case reported in Spain
A senior Thai medical official is passing on information that it is possible to contract dengue fever through sexual contact after Spanish authorities reported a 41 year old patient was found to have contracted the disease from his homosexual partner. Deputy governor of the Department of Disease Control says that it was possible for dengue to be contracted through sexual…
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Thailand ranks in top five economies for salary increases
PHOTO: iglu A report in Thailand Business News says Thailand is among the top five countries in the world for salary increases. The Annual Salary Trends Report, carried out by ECA (Employment Conditions Abroad) International, looked at salary trends for 60 countries and forecasts a 2020 salary increase of 4.1% for Thailand, up from 3.9% this year. In general, Asian nations…
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Thailand’s beaches now more expensive than European resorts – report
PHOTO: Ministry of Villas The cost of a holiday in popular Thai beach resorts is now on par with, or even higher than those in Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and Egypt – all closer to home for Europeans with lower flight costs and less travel time. Diethelm Travel Group report that the cost of a five-star resort in Koh Samui,…
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“Be water” and “Blossom everywhere”: Hong Kong protesters’ attempts to outsmart police
As the protests that have brought Hong Kong to a standstill show no signs of ending, demonstrators are employing new tactics in an attempt to overcome the police. AFP reports that flash-mobs are springing up across different parts of the city since Monday, as 7½ million people attempt to create as much chaos as possible. Shops continue to be ransacked,…
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Thais warned on Hong Kong travel
Hong Kong’s Thai Consular Office has issued a warning to travellers and Thais living there, of violent demonstrations that may be dangerous and disrupt public transport. The office tells Thai people to preparefor inconvenience, avoid protest areas and be very cautious. “Don’t photograph protesters or police, and refrain from doing anything that might be provocative,” the office warns Thais in…
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Hong Kong’s stocks drop amongst jittery sentiment and continued violence
Hong Kong’s government has closed down kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools for the first time yesterday in the wake of escalating violence on Monday and Tuesday this week. Classes at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which was the scene of protests and serious damage this week amid fires and petrol bombs thrown by protesters, is also cancelling classes…
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A restart for resumption of Thai-EU trade talks scheduled
MONTAGE: The Thaiger Free trade talks between the EU and Thailand are about to start again after years in the wilderness following the 2014 military coup, and years of protracted negotiations before stretching back to 2005. The Thai Commerce Ministry is now preparing to resume free-trade talks with the European Union. The director-general of the Department of Trade Negotiations, Auramon…
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Storm Nakri weakens, but is dumping heavy rains on the Central Highlands in Vietnam
PHOTO: National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting “Vietnam Airlines and Jetstar Pacific have cancelled or delayed a number of domestic flights that criss cross the affected region.” Tropical storm Nakri has now crossed Vietnam’s coast around Binh Dinh to Khanh Hoa provinces. The slow-moving system is weakening as it moves north west. The storm is expected to further weaken into a tropical depression…
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China announces policies to lure foreign investors
PHOTO: Shanghai skyline – QANTAS Are the Chinese removing layers of ‘red’ tape? China is offering 20 new measures friendly to foreign investors, removing business restrictions to encourage a more “fair, transparent and predictable” business environment. China’s State Council released a guideline pledging to shorten negative lists and eliminate restrictions, opening up more sectors to foreign investors. The Nation reports…
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‘Nakri’ now upgraded to typhoon as it approaches Vietnam’s coast
PHOTO: en.sat24.com The former tropical storm Nakri has now strengthened to a Category 5 ‘typhoon’ as it moves across the South China Sea toward the Vietnamese coast. It is predicted to make landfall later today or Monday at the latest. Typhoon Nakri, packing wind speeds as high as 120kph at its epi-centre, was in the middle of South China Sea…
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Slow-moving tropical storm Nakri heads towards Vietnam coast
PHOTO: NOAA Tropical storm Nakri (you know it’s serious when they give it a name), packing wind speeds up to 95 kph, is marching slowly towards Vietnam’s eastern coast. Currently it’s heading westwards between The Philippines and Vietnam. The storm is forecast to make landfall along the central Vietnamese coast this weekend. The storm is not likely to affect weather…
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Leave something behind? Man forgets finger in Chinese taxi after dash to hospital
A man in China has been reunited with the severed finger he left in the back of a taxi after a mad dash to hospital in Wuhan. Thai Residents reports that the man, named only as Xu, is a construction worker who lost his finger in an accident at the site where he was working. After a local doctor told…
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Thai security officials search for attackers after 15 killed on Tuesday in Yala
The 4th Army continues to hunt down suspects responsible for Tuesday’s brutal gun attack on a security checkpoint in Yala’s Muang district. The attack left 15 village defence volunteers dead and five others injured. The attack is believed to be a retaliation for extrajudicial killings of two insurgent suspects in Pattani’s Sai Buri district last week, according to a source.…
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Absurdities of modern flying, and do we really need to be shown how to fasten a seat belt?
PHOTO: Groovy air-hostesses from the late 1960s when flying was more glamourous. “Now everyone can fly” and that’s brought us to where we are now. There used to be a time when flying was a pleasure, an expensive pleasure. The passengers were part of the ‘jet-set’, and they could smoke cigarettes and sit in wide, comfortable seats. They would dress…
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Malaysian PM confirms Anwar will be successor
PHOTO: Malaysian PM, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad inspecting some Malaysian silks on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Bangkok – Twitter The Malaysian PM, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has confirmed publicly that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, president of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People’s Justice Party) will be his successor. The 94 year old PM was speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald in…
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US accuses ASEAN nations of trying to “embarrass” Trump with meeting snub
PHOTO: All smiles for the official pics, but backroom tensions emerged between the US and other ASEAN delegations – Reuters An American diplomat, speaking anonymously, says the US is concerned by the ASEAN nations’ partial boycott of the ASEAN-US summit held in Bangkok yesterday. It was certainly an intentional rebuff to the US after sending a sub-par delegation to the…
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