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 Outdoor adventures in Thailand for adrenaline seekers
The Thaiger key takeaways Thailand provides a wide range of adventure activities, from whitewater rafting and rock climbing to ziplining, scuba diving, and skydiving, suitable for all skill levels. Macro and marine life exploration, Muay Thai camps, kiteboarding, ATV riding,...
-
Asia three most ‘sustainable’ cities. And plenty that aren’t.
Singapore, Seoul in South Korea and Hong Kong are the three Asian countries to come out on top of the list of the region’s most sustainable cities. The 2018 Sustainable Cities Index, conducted by Arcadis NV – an Amsterdam-headquartered global design, engineering and management consulting company – found that the three cities ranked highly in the scores given to ‘people’,…
-
KL driver gets an unexpected car wash in flooding tunnel
An alert driver quickly had to climb out of his car’s window to safety when water suddenly gushed into a road tunnel near Jalan Tun Razak in central KL during heavy rain last night (November 11). The flood waters consumed his car within minutes. According to Bernama, the man identified as 26 year old Teh, says he was really scared…
-
Indonesian rescue teams call off search for passengers of Lion Air flight
Indonesian authorities say they’re calling off the search for passengers of the Lion Air flight JT610, almost two weeks after the jetliner plunged into the Java Sea killing the 189 passengers and crew on board. Read The Thaiger editorial about the investigation HERE. Some 196 bags containing body parts have been recovered from under the water with 79 victims identified…
-
Lion Air plane damaged in minor ground collision – Jakarta
It’s been a bad few weeks for the Indonesian Lion Air team with they another bad headline for the budget airline yesterday. An Indonesian Lion Air plane was involved in another accident yesterday, even as the search continues for remains of victims of last week’s plane crash. Lion Air Flight 633, bound for Jakarta, was canceled last night, after a…
-
Thai 11 year old wins women’s world drone racing championships
Go Wanraya!! An 11 year old Thai girl, Wanraya Wannapong, has won the women’s title in the World Drone Racing Championships held last Sunday in Shenzhen, China. The event is organised by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale. The Thai drone ‘master’ beat 12 other women to become the youngest winner in the category, as reported in the Bangkok Post. She won a…
-
UPDATE: Investigation into Lion Air crash – one week later
A few key new facts have emerged in recent days as the search for the plane fuselage and the investigations continue… • Lion Air Flight 610 was intact with its engines running when it crashed at high speed into the Java Sea • Investigators have already determined that Flight 610 did not explode in the air and was in “good shape”…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Thailand drops a notch in the ‘ease of doing business’ world ranking
The World Bank has declared that Thailand’s ranking in ease of doing business has dropped to 27th, one place down from last year’s 26th place. Thailand’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) score, an absolute measure of the country’s progress toward global best practice, reached 78.45 this year, up from 77.39 last year. But some of the other countries above it…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Lion Air flight JT 610 – body parts found, no plane located yet
PHOTO: Indonesian National Disaster & Mitigation Agency Search and rescue efforts continue to find more bodies and debris in the wake of the Lion Air flight JT 610 that crashed yesterday morning just after 6.30am in the seas north of Jakarta, Indonesia. According to rescuers, a total of 24 body bags have now been taken to the Kramat Jati Police…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Unofficial confirmations that Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was aboard crashed helicopter
FILE PHOTO Although there haven’t been official verifications from authorities, it appears likely that Thai duty free supremo, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, was aboard his personal helicopter when it crashed soon after take off following a league match last night, UK time. Two leading media sources have led with news of Mr Srivaddhanaprabha being on the helicopter when it took off. The Leicester…
-
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,…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Mahatir drops in on an old friend
During the 1980s both men were the Prime Ministers of their respective countries. Now, both in their 90s, the two re-united yesterday for a casual catch-up. The two met in Bangkok yesterday to recall their long-standing friendship. The visitor was 93 year old Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad and the host Privy Council President, 99 year old General Prem Tinsulanonda. Mahathir…
-
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…
-
“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…
-
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…
-
Indonesia set to ban dog meat trade
PHOTO: Jakarta Post – Asia News Network “In Surakarta, Central Java, an estimated 1,200 dogs are slaughtered and eaten daily by dog-meat connoisseurs in the city.” Indonesia’s government has bowed to international pressure and decided to issue a regulation banning the trade in dog meat. The decree also addresses concerns over the spread of rabies and animal abuse following campaigns…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Blissful Break packages @ Mövenpick Hotel & Convention Centre KLIA
Just an hour or so away, with hundreds of flights a day into KL, here’s something a bit different for a weekend ‘out of town’ or a business break, in style. Mövenpick Hotel & Convention Centre KLIA is a new architectural icon which opened this year near the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. They’ve now unveiled a new package that allows…
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.