World News
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Can we defeat dengue? Mosquito trials raise hopes.
“We have seen a remarkable reduction of dengue cases after the release.” by Jenny Vaughan If you’ve ever experienced a bout of Dengue Fever, this will be welcome news. And if you live and work in the tropics in south east Asia, Dengue looms as a constant threat. Hundreds dead in the Philippines; a threefold increase of cases in Vietnam;…
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Can we defeat dengue? Mosquito trials raise hopes.
“We have seen a remarkable reduction of dengue cases after the release.” by Jenny Vaughan If you’ve ever experienced a bout of Dengue Fever, this will be welcome news. And if you live and work in the tropics in south east Asia, Dengue looms as a constant threat. Hundreds dead in the Philippines; a threefold increase of cases in Vietnam;…
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Malaysia demands Indonesia acts on smog-belching fires
“An official in Sarawak state on Borneo is demanding Indonesia send face masks and medical supplies to Malaysia for those affected by the pollution.” Malaysia is stepping up pressure on neighbouring Indonesia to tackle huge blazes tearing through its rainforests and smothering Southeast Asia in smog, as fires typically started to clear land for crops send diplomatic tensions soaring. Burning…
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Burmese kids dodging cows and cow dung to play rugby
by Richard Sargent – PHOTOS: AFP It’s a case of dung and dragons. Sidestepping cowpats and garbage, Myanmar’s only home-grown junior rugby side train on the outskirts of Yangon, preparing to take on children from the city’s well-heeled international schools. When the Little Dragons aren’t running barefoot on the litter-strewn dirt, the makeshift field on the outskirts of Yangon is sometimes used…
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iPhone 11 launch – Apple cuts prices, new services
by Glenn Chapman “The new iPhones are jam-packed with new capabilities and an incredible new design.” – Tim Cook Apple unveiled its iPhone 11 models last night (Thai time) with a price cut for the most basic models while also laying out plans for streaming and gaming services as it bids to weather the slump in the global smartphone market.…
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Smoke haze affecting neighbouring countries to Sumatra and Borneo islands
PHOTO: Malaysia’s Kuching on Borneo this week “Hundreds of schools shut as forest-fire haze blankets SE Asia.” Huge fires are raging across vast swathes of Indonesia’s rainforests – some of the world’s biggest – with toxic smog shutting hundreds of schools. Massive jungle areas in Sumatra and Borneo island are ablaze as thousands of personnel battle to quell the fires, frequently…
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Pound lifted by British PM’s latest defeat, Asian equities struggle
The British pound bounced today after UK PM Boris Johnson again failed to get MPs to back a snap election, while Asian equities drifted as investors await a key European Central Bank meeting and developments in the China-US trade talks. Just before Westminster lawmakers broke up for five weeks they inflicted yet another defeat on the new PM, who has…
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Myanmar adopts NASA’s malaria-predicting tech
“Several drug-resistant strains of Malaria are taking hold across south east Asia and it is feared these could migrate to Africa where more than 90% of cases globally occur.” NASA is developing a new technique to forecast malaria outbreaks in Myanmar from space, as the emergence of new drug-resistant strains in Southeast Asia threatens efforts to wipe out the deadly…
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China’s exports fell last month in lead up to next month’s trade talks
China’s exports fell 1% on-year last month amid the bruising trade war with the US that is disrupting markets in the world’s top two economies. The drop comes after a surprise 3.3% rebound in July despite the year-long battle with the US and weakening global demand. But economists cited by Bloomberg had forecast a 2.2% rise ahead of the release of…
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Morning peak chaos in Tokyo after typhoon Faxai passes through
by Kyoko Hasegawa, PHOTOS: AFP “Authorities said more than 2,000 people had taken refuge in shelters opened to accommodate those complying with the evacuation advisories.” A powerful typhoon that battered Tokyo overnight with ferocious winds and driving rain caused is causing commuter this morning, with trains halted and more than 100 flights cancelled. Typhoon Faxai, packing winds of up to…
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Suicide bomber explodes bomb at Philippine army base, Jolo Island
PHOTO: AFP/Ted Aljibe “No group has yet claimed the attack, which came a day after an IS-claimed bombing wounded eight at a market on the island of Mindanao.” A suicide bomber, dressed in a traditional Muslim woman’s abaya gown, has died after detonating a bomb outside a military camp in the southern Philippines. No other casualties were reported, authorities said.…
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“If you want to shoot me, get on with it,” British grandmother
A British woman facing the firing squad in Indonesia told British reporters from her Bali prison “if you want to shoot me get on with it”. She faces execution for drug smuggling. The 62 year old drug mule grandmother has abandoned any further legal battles to avoid a date with the firing squad. Lindsay Sandiford was sentenced to death for attempting…
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450 vaping-related cases now reported in the US, 3 deaths, possible links to THC
…and US health officials are trying to isolate the possible causes and if they can link the cases to any particular chemical or product vapers use. Vaping is currently illegal in Thailand with tourists prevented bringing in vaping-related products and refills, and crackdowns on local sellers frequent. Meanwhile, US health officials say they’re now aware of at least 450 possible…
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iPhone shares the spotlight with new services at Apple’s annual showcase
by Glenn Chapman The iPhone will be front and center at Apple’s upcoming media presentation even as the California tech giant steps up its efforts in content and services for its devices. In its trademark, tight-lipped style, Apple disclosed little about its plans for Tuesday’s event at its headquarters in the Silicon Valley city of Cupertino. For years now, Apple…
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Tortured ‘Joker’, spurned Polanski, win top prizes at Venice film festival
“Joaquin Phoenix has remade Batman’s arch-enemy as a “Method psycho, a troublemaker so intense in his cuckoo hostility that even as you’re gawking at his violence, you still feel his pain”. “Joker”, a daring take on the comic book villain starring Joaquin Phoenix, won the Golden Lion for best film at the Venice film festival with Roman Polanski controversially taking…
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The China Syndrome, south east Asia’s tourism dilemma
PHOTO: Lunar New Year celebrations in Bali – Jakarta Post “When China sneezes, the rest of south east asia catches a cold.” From quiet markets in Malaysia, empty rooms in Hanoi’s hotels and barren beaches in Bali, China’s economic slowdown and weakening yuan are sending shockwaves felt across south east Asia’s vacation belt. Thailand is just one of many countries…
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Bill withdrawal my decision, not Beijing’s, says Hong Kong leader
PHOTO: CNN Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam insists that the withdrawal of a controversial extradition bill was her decision, not Beijing’s. The bill was the spark that ignited months of protests in the territory, with clashes between activists and police frequently turning violent. Lam says that while the decision to withdraw the bill is hers, she has Beijing’s full…
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Hurricane Dorian’s death toll in Bahamas 43. Expected to rise.
“You can smell the death in the air,” Bahamas resident. The death toll from Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas has risen to 43, according to US media outlets yesterday, and was expected to grow “significantly.” US network CNN and Bahamas newspaper The Tribune cited Health Minister Duane Sands as confirming the new toll, up from 30. “Forty-three is the official…
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India’s moon mission control loses contact with spacecraft during landing
India’s moon mission control has lost contact with the unmanned spacecraft moments before it was due to land on the Moon early this morning (Thai time), in a blow to the country’s ambitious low-cost lunar program. India was hoping to become just the fourth country after the US, Russia and China to successfully land on the Moon. But as Indian…
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Foreign companies looking to relocate factories in Vietnam
At this stage in the US-China trade wars, Vietnam is one of the key economic winners from the ongoing fallout. Many companies are shifting their factories to Vietnam, underlining the potential for the strong development of industrial real estate, as reported in Viet Nam News. Savills Vietnam, a property agent, has released its white paper on Vietnam’s industrial real estate…
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American woman charged with trafficking ‘baby in bag’ at Manila airport
“The baby, who is now in the custody child welfare services, was born to a Filipino mother in the nation’s south and then flown to Manila.” Philippine authorities have charged an American woman with trying to smuggle a six day old baby out of the country in a bag she wore around her waist as she tried to board a…
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Air Asia flight, from Maldives to Bangkok, returns to Male after engine explodes
A Thai AirAsia Airbus A320-200, flying as FD-178 from Male in the Maldives to Bangkok’s Don Mueang, had just taken off out of Male’s runway 18 when an engine started making “banging noises” and streaks of flames were coming from the engine, prompting the crew to stop the climb at 5000 feet, shut down the engine and return to Male…
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Indonesia’s forest fires causing air pollution in southern Thailand
Residents in Thailand’s southern provinces of Songkhla and Satun are being warned to protect their health by wearing face masks or staying indoors as the two provinces are blanketed with smoke from forest fires on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island. The 16th regional environment office reports that dust particles of less than 2.5 microns, were measured at 55 microns/cubic metre during the…
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‘Deepfake challenge’. Who is really speaking in that video?
“…new tools are “urgently needed to detect these types of manipulated media.” Technology firms and academics are joining together to launch a “deepfake challenge” to improve tools to detect videos and other media manipulated by AI (Artifical Intelligence). The initiative includes US$10 million from Facebook and aims to curb what is seen as a major threat to the integrity of…
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Vietnam Airlines gets go-ahead for direct US flights
Vietnam Airlines is the first carrier in the country to secure a coveted license to fly direct to the US, according to the Vietnamese national carrier. The approval has for months been sought by Vietnamese carriers eager to exploit a fast-growing market for air travel among Vietnam’s booming middle class. Domestic and regional air travel has mushroomed among Vietnamese travellers, and…
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Hong Kong’s Carrie Lam asks for dialogue after rejected concessions
by Jerome TAYLOR | Yan ZHAO, Hong Kong, China | AFP Hong Kong’s leader Thursday urged pro-democracy protesters to end their demonstrations after her surprise decision to bow to one of their key demands was condemned as too little, too late. Carrie Lam, the city’s pro-Beijing chief executive, surprised many on Wednesday when after three months of rallies she suddenly…
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Copycat – Chinese company announces first cloned kitten
Cats usually have nine lives. This one had ten. ‘Garlic’ the British short-hair died late last year. Garlic’s friend Huang Yu was devastated. So he ordered a new Garlic, a clone, an exact copy of his beloved dead cat. Born on July 21, the new fluffy and purring Garlic was created by Chinese firm Sinogene, China’s first successfully copied cat.…
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Bangkok is the world’s most visited city again, fourth year in a row
Bangkok is again the world’s most-visited city for the fourth consecutive year, beating out Paris and London. The rankings are compiled annually by Mastercard. Welcoming around 22.7 million international visitors, Bangkok ranked as the top destination for global travellers this year. Many of Bangkok’s visitors originate from these top five destinations, listed in order: Mainland China, Japan, South Korea, India…
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UK PM’s call for general election rejected by British MPs
In a dramatic day of British politics, the House of Commons has passed a bill that rules out the new PM Boris Johnson’s plan to pull out of the EU next month without a blueprint of how trading terms will continue with the UK out of the bloc. That bill now goes to the unelected House of Lords for assent.…
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Chief Executive of Hong Kong insists she’s going nowhere
PHOTO: Scmp.com/Nora Tam The Asean Post reports that Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam says she has no intention of resigning, despite a leaked audio recording where she says she wants to do just that. “For a chief executive to have caused this huge havoc to Hong Kong is unforgivable. If I have a choice, the first thing is to…
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