World News
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Sponsored Where to travel in Thailand in August [2025]
There’s no better way to experience Thailand than through its cuisine. In the rainy season, flavours bloom alongside the landscape, steam rises from market pots, the snap of chilli echoes through alleyways, and rain makes every bite more vivid. “I...
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The ‘war on drugs’ is a complete failure
Authorities are losing the war against methamphetamines – pills and crystal meth. The demand for both crystal meth and ‘yaba’ is escalating as is the production to meet the increasing demand. The much-publicised ‘Wars on Drugs’ being waged from time to time in south east asian countries are doing little dent the rising popularity and production of the drugs, whilst…
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Pattani mosque still a popular pilgrimage for Malaysians
32 were killed there 14 years ago in a Thai army attack. PHOTO: New Straits Times The Kresek mosque in Pattani, the locations where 32 suspected Muslim insurgents were killed in a stand-off 14 years ago, continues to be a popular place for visitors from Malaysia. This is reported in the New Straits Times of Malaysia. The mosque’s Imam, Zakaria…
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“Pilots were very funny, very smart, very nice guys” – Lion Air boss
PHOTO: Indonesian media agency Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency says it’s located the crashed Lion Air plane’s landing gear, wheels and a large section of the fuselage. Investigators have also found the flight data recorder, the “black box,” from Lion Air Flight JT610. The data recorder, more than anything else, will likely provide vital information about the plane’s functions…
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Questions arise about costs of military helicopters
In the wake of the tragic crash of King Power supremo Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s personal helicopter last Saturday evening (UK time), an unintended story has emerged about the costs of the model of his helicopter, the same model used by the Royal Thai Army. Srisuwan Janya, a ‘transparency activist’, according to Khaosod English, has dug into the accounts books and found that…
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Myanmar prepares for the repatriation of 2,000 Rohingya
PHOTO: Myanmar foreign secretary Myint Thu A leading Myanmar official says that his country is poised to accept a first group of 2,000 Rohingya refugees from camps in Bangladesh this month, despite widespread doubts over the proposal. The Myanmar government have repeatedly dragged their feet when its come to international demands for them to assist in the repatriation of Rohingya…
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No plane, no flight data recorder – search & recovery continue off Jakarta
The plane involved in the Lion Air flight JT610 crash off Jakarta was Boeing’s newest and most advanced jets, loosely based on the original Boeing 737 but including the very latest technology and construction materials. It was just two months old and with a minuscule 800 hours under its belt (for a commercial jet). Aviation officials, Boeing engineers and investigators…
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Black box recovered as probe begins into cause of Vichai crash
UK Air accident investigators have begun the slow process of ascertaining the cause of the helicopter crash on Saturday that took the lives of King Power chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four other people. The sombre inquiry coincided with the opening of a book of condolences at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium, where fans flocked to leave tributes to the man…
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Speculation grows over the causes of Lion Air crash
“As the aircraft was preparing for takeoff, the engine died several times” – Passenger on the same 737 Max 8 plane the day before on a flight to Bali. In the wake of yesterday’s fatal crash of a brand new Lion Air Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, speculation has begun to try and imagine what could have happened to the…
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Indonesian searchers trying to locate the black box – Lion Air flight JT610
Authorities have scouring the waters north of Java Island, off the coast of Jakarta, for bodies and debris from Lion Air flight JT610. The flight went missing this morning shortly after take-off on a routine one-hour flight from Jakarta to Pangkalpinang in Bangka Belitung. The Lion Air flight lost contact with air traffic controllers at 6:33 am, briefly after take…
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Missing Lion Air 737 – UPDATE
SCREENGRAB: Flightradar24 • Flight JT610 was a Boeing 737-800 MAX, the latest version of the manufacturer’s workhorse 7373 single-aisle jet. • The aircraft was almost brand new. It was delivered to Lion Air on August 13 this year. • Preliminary flight tracking data from Flightradar24 shows the aircraft climbed to around 5,000 feet before losing height, then regaining height, before…
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Lion Air flight missing after scheduled take off from Jakarta
SCREENSHOT: Twitter/Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, Crisis Center Penanganan Jatuhnya Pesawat Lion Air JT 610 A Lion Air Boeing 737 with 188 passengers on board, has crashed into the sea shortly after take off from the Jakarta. This is what we know… • Flight JT 610 was on a scheduled flight to Pangkal Pinang, the main town in the Bangka Belitung Islands. It…
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Leicester fans mourn Thai boss killed in helicopter crash
PHOTO: Fox Sports Fans have been laying out flowers, football scarves, prayers and tributes outside the Leicester City club grounds after Saturday’s helicopter accident, in tribute to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the Thai Leicester club owner fans credit for an against-all-odds Premiership victory in 2016. “Leicester City was a family under his leadership. It is as a family that we will grieve…
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The new-Boracay opens with a whole new set of rules
It’s open again. Boracay Island, forced to close after being described by Philippine President Duterte as a ‘cesspool’, has undergone a major makeover of infrastructure and opens with new rules to help control tourist growth in the future. Tourists flooded back onto the island today as the island re-opened. Suffering the same problems as Maya Bay and southern Thai islands,…
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Leicester City club owner and King Power founder, Vichai’s helicopter crashes
A helicopter owned by the Thai Leicester City football club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha has crashed in a ball of flames in the car park of the club yesterday following a Premier League match. At this stage it’s not known who was in the helicopter at the time. The Premier League club has not confirmed whether its owner was on board at…
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Superyacht going cheap – 1MDB investigators auction off seized boat
The bidding process for the billion-baht superyacht ‘Equanimity’ will begin on Monday and run until November 28. 1Malaysia Development Bhd’s (1MDB) counsel Ong Chee Kwan has confirmed the matter after meeting High Court (Admiralty Court) Judicial Commissioner Khadijah Idris in chambers yesterday. “Those who are interested to bid need to pay US$1 million as deposit,” he said. Also present were…
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Malaysian flight MH370, or is it a pile of rocks?
An amateur UK sleuth claims this satellite image from Google Earth shows the outlines of what could be the doomed MH370 jet off the coast of Thailand and Myanmar. The object he has presented as evidence appears to be shaped “like a large passenger plane”, sparking an unlikely theory it could be the missing jet itself. “I’ve got a feeling it…
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Malaysia commits to helping Thailand sort out deep south
by Supalak Ganjanakhundee Malaysia say it’s willing to help Thailand end the ethno-religious conflict in the deep South using peaceful means. Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad spoke yesterday, suggesting the root cause of the problem was not religion but injustice. Gratefully remembering the time when Thailand helped Malaysia end the communist insurgency in northern Malaysia in the late 1980s, he said…
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“A genocide is still underway” – UN report
PHOTO: Dhaka Tribune “A genocide is still underway against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims.” A UN fact-find mission on the Rohingya ‘situation’ in Myanmar, says it has presented a report at the Security Council calling for the matter to be referred to the International Criminal Court. The Chair of the committee, Marzuki Darusman, says, “Beyond the reported mass killings, the conflict included the…
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Thai, Malaysian PMs pledge push for southern peace
PHOTO: Benar News Malaysia and Thailand have agreed to expand the scope of bilateral cooperation to contain an insurgency along their shared border after changing peace negotiators. The two premiers have promised to help solve the conflict. Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has assured his visiting Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad that the peace dialogue in the deep South will continue and…
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The Great Bridge of China – the world’s longest sea-bridge opens
The world’s longest sea-crossing bridge, linking Hong Kong to mainland China, has opened today. The opening is of immense economic and political significance for China, Hong Kong, the greater Pearl Delta and the region. The Chinese President Xi Jinping presided over the ceremony in Zhuhai, next door to Macau, at the China end of the 54.7 kilometere-long bridge (Phuket, as…
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Chinese ‘fake moon’ to replace street lights described as ‘lunacy’
by The Star – Asia News Network A Chinese city’s plans to launch a man-made moon to replace street lights has been met with incredulity online. Or maybe it’s just an attempt to steal the monthly Full Moon party at Koh Phangan? (With a fake moon they could hold an event every night!) Chengdu, in southwest China’s Sichuan province, announced last…
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South Korea leads the way with entrepreneurship in Asia
by DataLEADS – Asia News Network South Korea tops the region in ‘entrepreneurship environment’ with a score of 54%, in the recently released Global Entrepreneurship Index. The country jumped three spaces up from the last year. The tech giant has been ahead of producing new technologies and introducing new products to customers. It is closely followed by Singapore and Japan with…
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The Boracay renovation re-opens on October 26
Fewer hotels, no smoking or partying on the beaches. And construction works will still be going on. Welcome to the new Boracay. The Philippines’ tourist magnet will reopen on October 26 after phase one of the island’s rehabilitation is completed. But work is on-going improving roads, constructing sewage systems and some beaches still remain in a ‘critical condition’. Some hotels won’t…
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Giving peace a chance – Malaysian PM visits Thailand next week
PHOTO: The Nation This year’s Malaysian election has opened up new opportunities for peace negotiations over the long-running border clashes and insurgency in southern Thailand. New Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad, who will visit Thailand next week, says he is keen to solve the conflicts in southern Thailand coupled with the upcoming general elections in Thailand, which “provide a new window…
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No caving to Similan tour operator pressure
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plants Conservation is refusing to bow to pressure from tour operators in Phang-nga for it to ease current restrictions on the number of visitors to the Similan Islands. Songtham Suksawang, director of the National Parks Division of the department, says the decision to limit the number of daily visitors to the island at…
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Invacio going global: AI company based in Phuket taking their message to the UN
Invacio, an artificial intelligence company based in Phuket, is attending a development event in Geneva, Switzerland. Invacio Research Analytics a group subsidiary of Invacio founded by William J D West and led by Linleeya West (Thai – Swiss Educated) will be attending this auspicious event, organised at the UN headquarters in Geneva. Linleeya West sees this as a great opportunity…
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Thai-flag footwear NOT ok
Thai social media is all in a lather today after photos of the latest fashion footwear in Paris were posted depicting Thai flags on the shoe designs. Well, so they thought. Not only were they outraged and angry, they are demanding apologies and jail for the perpetrators. But a legal spokesperson in Thailand points out that these are foreigners parading…
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Anwar one step closer to taking over from Malaysian PM
Former Malaysian deputy PM Anwar Ibrahim has made his political comeback by winning a by-election at Port Dickson, Malaysia. The results aren’t official but based on exit polls. The result, a strong mandate in a seven-contestant poll, puts him one step closer to taking over the reigns from Mahathir Mohamad, the current Malaysian PM, who committed to handing over the top…
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UPDATE: British Embassy statement on income letters
Officials knew about problems back in May and say that US nationals will also be affected. The British Embassy in Bangkok has responded to requests for clarification by Thaivisa on the issuing of letters regarding income. They said that they had a meeting with immigration in May and told Thaivisa that they are “not verification experts”. They have also claimed…
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Singapore Airlines takes off tonight for the world’s longest flight
The world’s longest commercial flight takes off from Singapore tomorrow morning, with the national airline resuming its non-stop route to New York for the first time since 2013. Singapore Airlines previously flew Airbus A340s on the route, but the four-engine aircraft proved to be fuel guzzlers and made the non-stop flight economically unsustainable. The flight will cover a 16,700 kilometres and…
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