Asia
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River of Dreams – Lawless ‘zones’ on Thailand-Myanmar frontier
Thailand and Myanmar are friendly and close neighbours separated only by a strip of water, so the story goes. Along the Moei River, a fantastic US$15 billion (500 billion baht) city of the future, Shwe Kokko Yatai New City, is under construction. Development is well underway in Myanmar’s Karen state, perhaps the most unpleasant place in the world today, where…
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Curse of Kim Jong-un’s dogs haunts peninsular politics
The curse of Kim Jong-un’s dogs continues to haunt peninsular politics. Kim’s pups were highly-ceremoniously dumped on an unwilling foster father, then South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, after talks in the north in 2018. “Here,” said Kim, more or less. “Take my puppies and raise them as if they were your own. They’re yours now. Take them and get lost.”…
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Air pollution threatens water supply in Tibetan Plateau for two billion people
The Tibetan Plateau – also known as “The Roof of The World” and the “Asian Water Tower” – is the world’s largest and highest plateau. As the third largest storage of ice in the world, it is the source of several important Asian rivers and a crucial source of water for up to two billion people. A new study reports that…
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Jakarta aims to bring more Thai tourists
With tourism in recovery across Southeast Asia, Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta is bidding to bring more Thai people next year. The head of the Marketing and Attraction Division under Jakarta’s Department of Tourism and Creative Economy espoused the draw of Indonesia’s largest city for international tourists and businesspeople to visit. Jakarta has always been the heart of Indonesia, the…
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Smuggled wildlife goods pouring out of India
The porous borders between Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Thailand, plus a growing private aviation market make fighting wildlife smuggling close to impossible, according to ThePrint. The emergence of cryptocurrencies has also led to an increase in all kinds of illegal trade. Some of the most smuggled wildlife goods out of India passing through Thailand are red sanders, ambergris,…
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Sold or stolen – South Korean adoptees seek truth
South Korean adoptees seek the truth as the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) begins to look into the stories of hundreds of adoptees taken to Europe and the United States. Thousands of South Korean “orphans” were adopted by Western families in the latter part of the 20th century, many of whom suspect that their origins were falsified or obscured…
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Thailand teaches Indonesia how to legalise cannabis
Government officials from Indonesia – a country famous for having some of the strictest drug laws in the world – flew to Thailand to learn about the kingdom’s liberal medical cannabis policies this morning. News that old-fashioned Indonesia is considering legalising medical cannabis comes as quite a shock given that lawmakers in the country approved a Draconian law that bans…
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Porsche sales in Thailand roaring thanks to nation’s entrepreneurs
Porsche Thailand managing director reckons the roaring sales of his luxury car in the kingdom is a combination of the nation’s budding entrepreneurs and modern technology. Peter Rohwer revealed Thailand is second to only Norway in the world for electrified Porsche Cayenne vehicles. Last year, 70% of the vehicles Porsche sold in Thailand were hybrid-powered Cayenne SUVs, reported Bangkok Post.…
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Thai Vietjet resumes Bangkok-Da Lat flights after 3-year break
Thai Vietjet resumed its international service between Bangkok and Da Lat Sunday, after almost three years of suspension since the Covid-19 outbreak. Passengers were greeted with a special dance “Blooming in the Sky” at Lien Khuong International Airport along with a lucky draw for air tickets from Thai Vietjet. The arrival of flight VZ940 was welcomed by leaders of the…
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Sex outside of marriage to carry one year jail sentence in Indonesia
Sex outside of marriage will result in a one-year jail sentence if lawmakers get their way tomorrow in Indonesia. In some of the most Draconian measures introduced in the Southeast Asian nation for decades, lawmakers are set to ratify changes to its criminal code tomorrow. Critics predict will send Indonesia back to the Dark Ages. The Semeru volcano erupted in…
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Big Joke ready to extradite Malaysian super-crook ‘Teddy’
Celebrity cop Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn is ready to extradite a Malaysian businessman, accused of massive frauds in multiple countries, to China. Big Joke announced Saturday that Teow Wooi Huat is to be deported to China under an extradition request made to Thailand by Chinese authorities. In an interview with Malaysian news source Bernama, Surachate said he expects the extradition…
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Province in Vietnam boosting tourism with its rich culture
One province in Vietnam aims to boost its tourism with its rich cultural heritage. Twenty-one ethnic minority groups reside in the coastal, northeastern province of Quang Ninh. This year, authorities launched several tourism initiatives to draw visitors to the province, and improve accessibility to tourism products tied to ethnic cultures. From November 4-6 this year, the Binh Lieu district’s District…
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Indonesia’s environmental protection plan- trust the billionaires
Indonesia’s environmental protection plan will take the revolutionary step of selling off “development” rights – not “protection” rights – to an entire archipelago of more than 100 coral islands next week. More or less anyone who happens to have enough cash washing around offshore is welcome to bid. The Widi reserve in Indonesia is described by Sotheby’s – those bastions…
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3 men were arrested for stealing Thai Internet connection & World Cup betting in Cambodia
Two Thai men and a Cambodian man were arrested in Cambodia after using Thailand’s Internet connection to broadcast the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar and operating a football betting syndicate. Under a Royal Thai Police (RTP)exercise to prevent the operation of football betting during the World Cup, officers across the country stumbled on criminals using an illegal link to watch…
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Japan is the No.1 tourist destination among Thais
A new study reveals that the top five tourist destinations among Thai tourists include Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. The study by Visa surveyed 2,000 Thai people about their most desirable holiday destinations. The top three deciding factors when choosing where to go include travel expenses (65%), weather (49%), and desire to visit new places (48%).…
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10,000 Angkor Wat residents facing mass eviction
The UNESCO world heritage site of Angkor Wat, the largest religious complex in the world, is facing a humanitarian crisis. About 10,000 people who live in and around the site have been told that they must move before the new year. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen describes it as “voluntary relocations,” but residents being pushed out of their homes and…
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North Korea aims to be world’s top nuclear power after missile test
After recent missile tests, Kim Jong-un says that he aims to make North Korea the biggest nuclear power on the planet according to state media reports. Yesterday the dictator of the isolated country promoted many military officers that worked to launch North Korea’s largest ballistic missile test to date. Kim previously vowed to respond to perceived nuclear threats from the…
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Bangladeshi-Burmese border conference offers model for Thailand
A Bangladeshi-Burmese border conference between security forces finishes today in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw. Does Thailand have anything to learn from the Bangladeshis who face perhaps greater problems dealing with the kakistocracy across the river? The situation on the border is tense, due to internal conflict in Myanmar, violations of airspace, terrorism, cross-border crime and the Rohingya refugee problem.…
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UK exports to Japan slump after ‘landmark’ free trade deal
UK exports to Japan have slumped after a “landmark” free-trade deal exacerbated an already awful situation. Sold as Britain’s first major free-trade agreement since Brexit, the deal with Japan has been an abject failure. Trade between Britain and Japan has actually declined since the deal was signed. Trade secretary at the time, Liz Truss – then still believed by some…
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Thai gangs traffic Kenyans to Myanmar scam factories
Thai gangs trafficked more than 60 Kenyans who have been rescued from Laos and Myanmar over the last few months after call-centre jobs turned out to be a cover for cybercrime, prostitution and even organ theft. According to Kenya’s foreign affairs ministry, at least one Kenyan has died as a result of a botched operation in Myanmar. A 31 year…
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Thai Airways increases flights to Singapore
Next month, Thai Airways will increase its Bangkok – Singapore roundtrip frequency from 21 times per week to 28 times per week. The extra flights will help meet the high demand during the festive season. Commencing December 12, THAI’s Bangkok – Singapore service will run four times every day as follows… Flight TG403 will leave Bangkok at 8am and land…
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Myanmar junta’s release of political prisoners may not be indicative of a changing mindset
Myanmar’s National Unity Government foreign minister is warning the international community over the recent military’s release of 402 political inmates. Daw Zin Mar Aung’s warning contradicted the ASEAN special envoy for Myanmar’s embracement of the act by saying such a move cannot be regarded as a change in the junta’s mindset. “I would like to warn the international community not…
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Thai visitors to Japan up fourfold
Thai visitors to Japan are up 26,000. The number of Thai people holidaying in Japan increased from 7,600 in September to 34,000 this month as Japan ended its Covid-19 restrictions and eased visa rules. At least a million Thais are expected to visit in 2023. President of the Thai-Japan Tourist Association Anake Srishevachart expects Japan to welcome more than 100,000…
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Thailand and Cambodian officials agree to remove mines in border areas
Thai and Cambodian officials have agreed to remove mines in shared border areas. Cambodian PM Hun Sen instructed provincial authorities to clear the mines after partaking in the 30th anniversary of the mine action exhibition. According to Phnom Penh Post, the PM called on all relevant authorities to work with the Thai side of the border before discussing border issues…
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Many children among 268 dead in Indonesian earthquake
The death toll continues to climb in the earthquake that devastated West Java in Indonesia, with many children at school losing their lives. With search teams still digging through the rubble of collapsed buildings, 151 people are still reported missing while 268 are confirmed dead. The quake itself, and the landslides caused by it wreaked havoc on the town of…
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Searches after Indonesian earthquake, death toll over 160
Searches continue for survivors of the massive earthquake in Indonesia. The death toll has now climbed to over 160 people. The quake struck in Cianjur, about 75 kilometres southeast of Jakarta, at a depth of 10 kilometres and lasted for about one minute. The earthquake measured 5.6 on the Richter scale with the epicentre in the mountains of West Java.…
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Earthquake kills at least 46 in Indonesia
A 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck West Java in Indonesia this afternoon, killing at least 46 people. Over 700 injuries have been reported so far. The death toll is likely to rise, according to the Indonesian Disaster Agency. The quake struck in Cianjur, about 100 kilometres southeast of Jakarta, at a depth of 10 kilometres and lasted for about one minute.…
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Asian international tourism slower than other regions
While tourism in Thailand is picking up, Southeast Asia has seen a much slower rate of return for international travellers than other parts of the world. Many popular holiday areas in Europe have seen a full recovery, and even record-breaking numbers in some. But Asia lags, flummoxed by the slow lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. Thailand began reopening efforts over a…
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Thai scientists develop flood-resistant rice
Thailand is one of the world’s largest rice exporters, but unpredictable weather conditions such as severe drought and heavy floods have driven Thai scientists to develop flood-resistant rice. Researchers are working on a new strain of rice that can survive floods and resist pests, and perhaps someday even taste better than Cambodian rice. The team of Thai scientists developing flood-resistant…
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Thai AirAsia plans Chiang Mai – Singapore route
Thai AirAsia plans a Chiang Mai – Singapore route, resuming flights between Chiang Mai and Singapore for the first time in more than a decade. Thai AirAsia CEO Santisuk Klongchaiya said… “Singapore is a complete tourism destination that has always been popular, with a high load factor average throughout the year. “The direct Chiang Mai-Singapore route will give people of…
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