World News
World news, global politics, business, technology, and culture—stay updated with breaking stories, international trends, and major events. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for global news.
-
Sponsored
Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?
Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
-
UPDATE: Body of foreigner found dead in Phuket is US man
UPDATE: The foreigner’s body that was found in waters off Yanui Beach in Phuket’s main city district yesterday morning has been named as US citizen John Joseph Sheridan. The 74 year old’s body was discovered floating in the water after he apparently fell on sharp rocks and bled to death. Fisherman found Sheridan, from Pennsylvania, floating on the rocky part of the shore…
-
Sri Lanka former president’s stay in Singapore extended
After fleeing to Singapore on July 14, Sri Lanka’s former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa will now be able to stay in the country until August 11, Reuters reported today. Gotabaya fled Sri Lanka after over 100,000 protestors stormed the presidential palace, demanding that he and the country’s PM resign. Since Gotabaya fled, Sri Lanka’s parliament elected former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe as the…
-
UPDATE: Latest information about Philippines earthquakes – four dead
Here’s the latest from this morning’s series of earthquakes in the northern Philippines. The most prominent shake today was a 7.1-magnitude earthquake that rocked the northern Philippines Wednesday morning, Filipino time. The tremor shattered windows of buildings in the central Abra province and shook office buildings more than 300 kilometres to the north in the capital of Manila. Four people…
-
New studies show Covid-19 started in Wuhan market, not lab
Two new studies suggest rumours of a lab leak or unnatural starts to Covid-19 are likely wrong, as a Wuhan animal market appears to be the epicentre of the pandemic’s beginnings. The studies were published Tuesday in Science, an academic journal, and point to a natural transition from animals to humans as the start of Covid, not any sort of…
-
Australian passengers queuing up outside airport terminals as unions threaten more delays
The world’s travel woes have made their way to Australia. Long queues and equally long delays at Australian airports are set to get worse as baggage handlers across the east coast initiate industrial action at a lunchtime meeting today. The strike threatens to impact baggage handling for up to 20 airlines including Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Etihad, and Air Canada. With cancellations…
-
Thai astronomer involved in bringing amazing James Webb Space Telescope images to us
All those amazing pictures we’ve seen from the new James Webb Space Telescope do have a small Thai connection. One Thai astronomer, Dr Nicha Leethochawalit of the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, was among the first astronomers to use the new space telescope to discover the oldest and farthest galaxy ever detected. She was part of the Grism Lens-Amplified…
-
Three killed during graduation ceremony in the Philippines
A former city mayor from the restive southern Filipino province of Basilan, along with her executive assistant and a university security guard, were killed in a shooting in the Philippine capital Manila. The incident occurred at the Ateneo de Manila University before a graduation ceremony that was to be presided over by the Philippines Supreme Court chief justice. Rose Furigay…
-
US leads international outcry over execution of 4 Burmese anti-government activists
The US State Department has reacted to the murder of four democracy activists in a state-sanctioned execution, promising that there would be “further measures” to punish the military junta. US State Department spokesperson Ned Price called on countries to refuse to recognise the junta as Myanmar’s rightful government refuses to sell sales of military equipment to the military-controlled nation. “All…
-
Untold stories of Herculean cave rescue in Thailand
The heroic story of the Thai cave rescue has been told a number of times. We’ve read and heard about the Two British cave divers, John Volanthen and Richard Stanton, and their Herculean efforts to rescue the 12 boys and their football coach from the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai Province in northern Thailand. But what about the untold stories, the…
-
Burmese junta executes 4 democracy activists
In the first executions in Myanmar in decades, the military junta killed four democracy activists they accused of terrorist activities. The executions came after a conviction in January that took place behind closed doors. The four men stood accused of creating pro-democracy militias that fought against the military junta after it seized power last February from the democratically elected government.…
-
Project proposal for Vietnamese city to become more walkable
Ho Chi Minh City officials are on a mission to make the Vietnamese city more walker friendly. In a proposed new pedestrian street project, the city will block 22 streets to traffic on weekends. The project will be spread into three phases between 2022 and 2025. In the first phase from 2022 and 2023, streets around the International Square roundabout…
-
Monkeypox declared a Global Health Emergency by WHO
Monkeypox has been found in 74 countries around the world, including Thailand and now Cambodia, and the World Health Organisation (WHO)has now officially declared it a Global Health Emergency. The warning is the highest rating the WHO can assign, after nearly 17,000 people worldwide have been afflicted with the disease. The chief of the WHO held a press conference where…
-
Nigerian monkeypox fugitive arrested in Cambodia
The first monkeypox case in Thailand has now become the first monkeypox case in Cambodia. A Nigerian man on the run after disappearing on Tuesday when diagnosed with monkeypox in Phuket has been apprehended in Cambodia. The deputy governor of Phnom Penh confirmed that 27 year old Osmond Chihazirim Nzere was arrested yesterday in the Cambodian capital city. The man…
-
Man extradited from Thailand to Australia to face murder charge
A man charged with the murder of another man in 2014 has been extradited from Thailand to Australia. The man, 33 year old Antonio “Tony” Bagnato, carried out the murder of 25 year old Bradley Dillon along with others. The suspects shot Dillon in the back three times and stabbed him repeatedly at a car park in Leichhardt, a suburb…
-
Japan keeps hitting new records in Covid-19 cases
Japan keeps hitting new records in its number of Covid-19 cases. Yesterday (Friday), there were over 190,000 cases in the island nation. On Thursday, there had been 186,246 cases. Last week, Japan hit a record of 110,600 cases. This news comes as Japan faces a seventh wave of Covid, caused by the BA.5 Omicron sub-variant. BA.5 makes up nearly 100%…
-
Singapore hangs a fifth person in four months
Singapore has hanged its fifth person in the past four months. Malaysian 64 year old Nazeri bin Lajim was hanged at 6am at Changi Prison. He was sentenced to death in 2017, five years after he was arrested with two bundles containing heroin. It is understood that his family members were at the prison to claim his body and make…
-
Group closing in on Thailand ministers involved in Pegasus spyware scandal
The group behind the ground-breaking report revealing Thai democracy activists were targeted by the Israeli spyware Pegasus program, insists they are closing in on those behind the attacks. Citizen Lab, iLaw, and DigitalReach, revealed Monday that 30 activists and academics from Thailand had their Apple iPhones hacked between 2020 and 2021 by Pegasus’ advanced software program. Today the digital security…
-
Oldest giant male panda on earth dies in Hong Kong
Wildlife lovers have a reason to mourn, now that the oldest giant male panda on earth has died today in Hong Kong. The panda, named An An, was 35 years old when he passed away today at Ocean Park. The giant panda believed to have lived the longest was a female panda who died at 38 years old in 2016.…
-
Woman carries sharp knife onto Vietnam Airlines flight
A Vietnamese woman managed to get a sharp knife through airport security and aboard a domestic Vietnam Airlines flight on Monday. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has launched an investigation into the incident. An elderly lady is pictured peeling fruit with a sharp 20 centimetre knife on Vietnam Airlines flight VN208 from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi…
-
A push for Thai travel to Malaysia
Travel agents in Thailand are pushing for more Thais to make their way to Malaysia. According to the president of the Thai Travel Agents Association, Malaysia’s adventure tourism was growing among young people before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. The TTAA travelled to Malaysia this week with almost 100 outbound tour firms. Due to a large number of Malaysian travellers in…
-
Sri Lanka former PM now president, some protesters still aren’t happy
Sri Lanka’s parliament yesterday elected former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe as the country’s new president. He won 134 votes from a possible 223. This news comes after protesters set fire to Ranil’s house on July 9, and also stormed the presidential palace in Colombo. After over 100,000 enraged protesters stormed the palace, former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country and has…
-
Three Asian countries have the most useful passport
For years, Europe has had the most powerful passports for travelling, but as the world emerges in the post-Covid-19 era, three countries in Asia hold the top spots now. Japan holds the top spot, with Japanese passport holders having easy access to 193 different countries. Singapore and South Korea are tied for second with 192 countries easily accessed with a…
-
Labour minister warns Thai women of trafficking in UAE ‘jobs’
Thailand’s labour minister is warning women about sex trafficking in some fake job opportunities in the United Arab Emirates. The minister, Suchart Chomklin, said yesterday that many Facebook ads invite women to apply for jobs in a spa massage, marketing, personnel management, and gambling websites in the UAE. Surchart said that these ads offer high returns and payment for airfares,…
-
Indonesian ferry sinks, 13 people aboard still missing
In Indonesia, a local ferry capsized due to bad weather, and search and rescue teams are still looking for 13 missing people that were aboard the boat. The vessel, the KM Cahaya Arafah, was travelling off the coast of Ternate Island in North Maluku, in the southeast of the country near Papua, on its way to Halmahera to the east,…
-
US thug gets 5 years for brutal assault of Thai model in subway
The serial offender who launched a violent attack on a Thai model in a New York City Subway will be jailed for five years after pleading guilty. Thug Kevin Douglas admitted second-degree robbery for the brutal assault of Bew Jirajariyawetch while she waited at the 34th Street-Herald Square station for a train home on November 22 last year. Douglas struck…
-
Government angry Thailand came last in ‘Land of Smiles’ poll
Thai and foreign netizens have been left stunned after seeing Thailand ranked at the bottom of a Land of Smiles poll conducted by Gallup Global Emotions 2022. The controversial poll even upset the Thai government who hit back, saying the topic wasn’t even included in the official survey report. Singaporean media platform, Southeast Asia Stats, posted a “Southeast Asian Country…
-
Thai Vietjet launches new route between Thailand and Japan
Budget airline Thai Vietjet has commenced services between Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport and Fukuoka Airport, located on the north shore of Japan’s Kyushu island. The route is the airline’s only service linking Thailand and Japan. The airline will operate the route three times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays with an approximate flight duration of 5 hours 30 minutes. The…
-
Myanmar guilty of war crimes says Amnesty International
Amnesty International today accused the Myanmar military of committing war crimes by laying antipersonnel landmines in and around villages in Kayah (Karenni) State. The non-governmental organisation revealed they have conducted an investigation in conflict-affected parts of the state and concluded the antipersonnel landmines are inherently indiscriminate and therefore contravene international law. The landmines have been laid in and around villages…
-
British hero hails US film director’s depiction of Thai cave rescue
Cave hero Richard Stanton believes movie director Ron Howard was the perfect choice to capture the raw emotion of the dramatic rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded grotto in Thailand. The Oscar-winning filmmaker has retold the climactic tale from four years ago of the cave rescue in a new movie, “Thirteen Lives,” which premiered last…
-
UK airport has to suspend flights because of ‘melting runway’
An airport in the UK has been forced to suspend flights. Not because of the supply chain issues, Covid-19 positive staff calling in sick, or increased fuel prices, but because the runway was suffering under the unseasonably high temperatures. Train speed restrictions were also introduced in sections of the country to protect railway tracks against extreme heat. Luton Airport, one…
Broke? Find employment in Southeast Asia with JobCute Thailand and SmartJob Indonesia. Rich? Invest in real estate across Asia with FazWaz Property Group or get out on a yacht anywhere with Boatcrowd. Even book medical procedures worldwide with MyMediTravel, all powered by DB Ventures.