World News
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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?...
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Muslim father’s online petition inspires Thai anti-child marriage activists
In the wake of the ‘marriage of a 41 year old Malay man and an 11 year old Thai girl, Malaysia’s government and netizens are proposing ways to ban child marriages. Meanwhile, an online petition by a UK-based Malaysian Muslim father to ban child marriages has triggered an activist to begin a similar petition to ban them in Thailand too.…
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Human trafficking, especially prostitution, still rife in Thailand – New report
The Nation is reporting that human trafficking remains a serious issue in Thailand despite years of efforts to tackle the problem by the military government. A report released yesterday by rights groups. The report by Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF) and Anti-Labour Trafficking Project (ALT), focusing on the situation in 2016 and 2017, says that cases of labour trafficking…
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Mekong breaks its banks flooding seven Thai provinces
Persistent heavy rain and the overflow of water from the Mekong River and its tributaries has caused severe flooding in seven provinces in the north-east, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department director-general Chayapol Thitisak said this morning (Thursday). The seven provinces are Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan, Amnat Charoen, Ubon Ratchathani, Bung Kan, Sakon Nakhon and Roi-et are all under flood-alert after the…
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Air traffic controllers didn’t follow standard procedures during MH370 flight – Report
PHOTO: News In Flight In the wake of the release of the final official report into the disappearance of Malaysian Airways flight MH370 yesterday, new details have emerged about a departure from ‘standard operating procedures’ at the time the Boeing 777 ‘vanished’ from radar. Air traffic controllers in KL and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, did not act according to…
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MH370 final investigation report tabled in KL
PHOTO: Channel News Asia The disappearance of the entire 73 metre-long plane, passengers and crew remains one of the world’s biggest aviation mysteries. A report has just been tabled concerning the fate of the 239 passengers travelling on flight MH 370 which vanished in 2014. Malaysian authorities say they can’t determine the cause of the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines…
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Rising Mekong threatens provinces in Thailand and Laos
PHOTOS: The Nation Authorities in Thailand’s northern and northeastern provinces are watching the rising water levels in the Mekong after torrential rains have hit large stretches of the country causing flooding in both residential and agricultural areas. The Mekong river flows through parts of China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department has instructed its…
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Nearly 100 Burmese arrested since start of June with fake visas
PHOTO: Thai Rath Thai Rath is reporting that a leading immigration spokesman has warned Burmese to double check their visas to ensure that they haven’t been duped with fake visa stamps. The warning comes as more people are being found with the fake stamps in Thailand on a daily basis. Pol Maj Gen Itthiphon Itthisanronchai, deputy immigration chief and acting as…
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Laos to work with Korean, Thai and Laos owners during investigation
PHOTO: Laos PM Thongloun Sisoulith By Souksakhone Vaenkeo – Vientiane Times As the mopping up continues in southern Laos, relief starts to pour in and the death tolls rises, the Laos government is no promising a ‘transparent and just’ investigation. “The government will work with the countries whose companies are stakeholders in the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower project to investigate the cause…
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Thais and foreigners stranded on Lombok volcano following earthquake
In the wake of this morning’s Lombok earthquake, some 500 Thais and foreigners have been stranded on an active volcano on the Indonesian island. Lombok is situated about 100 kilometres from Bali. The shallow 6.4 magnitude quake that jolted the island triggered land and rockslides, preventing the tourists from heading back down the mountain. The Thai embassy in Indonesia was…
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Lao aid truck plunges off bridge – one dead, two injured
Aid continues to rush into southern Laos as international relief tries to grasp the full extent of the damage from the floods that occured last Monday night after a privately owned hydroelectric dam breached its walls. But as relief teams pour in, a man has been killed and two others injured when their truck loaded with provisions and donated items…
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Lombok earthquake – 10 people now confirmed dead, over 40 injured
PHOTO: Indonesian Search And Rescue Agency 10 people are now confirmed dead with 40 or more injured following this morning’s strong Lombok earthquake. Lombok is an Indonesian island, next door to Bali, although the epicentre of the quake wasn’t near the tourist areas. The tremor is said to have sent people running from their homes in panic. The initial 6.4…
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Three reported dead in Lombok earthquake – Indonesia
PHOTO: Nusa Tenggara Barat Disaster Mitigation Agency A shallow 6.4 magnitude earthquake has struck the Indonesian holiday island of Lombok this morning. At least three people are reported to have been killed. Lombok is 100 kilometres east of Bali. The United States Geological Survey reports that the quake hit at 6:47 am local time today. The epicentre is believed to…
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Myanmar tourism growth stalls in first half of 2018
(4 minute read) Myanmar has seen a slight contraction in tourist number during the first half of t2018. Tourist arrivals still reached 1,722,049 visits, a drop of 2%, according to the latest update by Hotel and Tourism Ministry. Thai tourists remain the top source market but China is catching up. Other tourists are coming from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India, Vietnam…
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DoubleTree by Hilton Penang invites you to Malaysia’s culinary capital
DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Penang is inviting food lovers to discover the amazing flavors of Penang with a journey of discovery into the island’s unique culinary scene. Part of Hilton Worldwide (NYSE: HLT), this stunning seafront resort is the perfect base from which to explore the gastronomic culture of Penang, which is often labeled the “Culinary Capital of Malaysia”. The…
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Rescuers search for 131 missing persons in Laos flooding
Laotian rescuers are continuing their search for 131 missing people. They have been missing since Monday’s fracture of the banks of the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy hydropower dam causing devastating floods to villages in the southern Laos province of Attapeu. The Laos PM Thongloun Sisoulith says, “Impact of this flooding is enormous.” The Vientiane Times is reporting that the disaster…
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Aid and rescuers pour into southern Laos to help flood victims
PHOTO: The Nation Rescuers from Thailand and China are arriving at Laos’ flooded southern district of Attapeu to assist local soldiers in search and rescue efforts following the collapse of a saddle dam belonging to a major dam construction project that caused massive downstream flooding. The dam broke its banks on Monday night. Scores of Laotians remained on the missing…
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Thailand joins the relief effort as more than 6,000 people displaced in Laos flood
PHOTOS: The Nation Flooding in southern Laos is starting to subside as the search continues for missing people with more than 6,000 people displaced from their homes following the flash flood on Monday. The collapse of the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy Dam in the southern Lao province of Attapeu has left at least 26 people dead and an estimated 100 missing as…
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Marijuana across the Mekong – 350 kilograms seized
A routine naval patrol has foiled an attempt to smuggle 350 kilograms of marijuana across the Mekong into Nakhon Phanom from Laos last night (Tuesday). Rear Admiral Pisit Thongdeelert, commander of the Mekong Protection Unit for Nakhon Phanom, said a patrol vessel spotted a boat approaching the bank in Ban Na Nong Book in Tambon Chaiyaburi of Tha Uthen district.…
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Thai Airways Boeing 777 in emergency landing in Dhaka
PHOTO: News In Flight A Thai Airways plane has made an emergency landing at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA). The Boeing 777 is reported to have veered off the runway during landing but was steered back onto the runway by the pilots. The plane had burst six tyres according to newsinflight.com. TG321 landed around 12.18pm with 145 passengers –…
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Hundreds dead, thousands displaced – Laos dam bust.
(5 minute read) The heavy rains in northern, north-eastern Thailand and southern Laos have caused a partially man-made disaster affecting hundreds of Loas homes with hundreds of people still missing. Thousands of people have been displaced from their homes in Laos’ southern Attapeu province following the collapse of part of a hydroelectric dam under construction. The disaster came hours after…
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“Japan will definitely win the war” – new memos revealed
PHOTO: A memo by Michio Yuzawa, a former Japanese vice home minister Interesting historical footnote today according to memos recently discovered which reveal the mindset of the Japanese prime minister at the time, just one day before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. The Japan Times reports that wartime Prime Minister Hideki Tojo stated that Japan would “definitely win the…
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Australia awards highest honours to Tham Luang cave rescuers
PHOTOS: Tim Shaw, 2CC Australian members of the Tham Luang cave rescue team, including Dr Richard Harris and Craig Challen, have been congratulated by the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull after receiving the Order of Australia and the Star of Courage at a function at Government House in the Australian capital Canberra today. Cave diving medical specialists, Richard Harris and…
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Malaysian Mahathir government to look at reducing voting age to 18 from 21
Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Minister and the youngest ever minister, says the Malaysian government is planning to reduce the voting age from 21 to 18 before the next elections in 2023. In an interview with Bloomberg in KL, the 25 year old Cabinet member said the government would ask the Attorney-General’s Office to look into…
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New tropical storm warning for north and north-east until Tuesday
The Thai Meteorological Department have issued another warning for people in the north and in north-east of the country to brace for intense rains or heavy rains in some areas, today and Tuesday due to another tropical depression. The depression is situated in the Bay of Tonkin, near Hainan Island heading towards the Chinese mainland and Vietnamese coast. It was…
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Data of 1.5 million patients stolen, including the Singapore PM
PHOTO: Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong The personal data of 1.5 million patients, including the Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong and a few ministers, has been stolen. Some 160,000 people also had their outpatient prescriptions stolen. In Singapore’s worst cyber attack, hackers have stolen the personal particulars of 1.5 million patients. Of these, 160,000 people, including PM Lee Hsien…
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“Myanmar must be held accountable” – Fortify Rights Report
The Fortify Rights report is out. It names names and specifies responsibilities for the ongoing persecution of Myanmar’s Rohingya. The Nation’s Wasamon Audjarint and Sandy Leegumjorn compile this report about the document and its implications for Myanmar’s military. The international community must hold Myanmar accountable for the military-planned genocide of the Rohingya minority, a report unveiled yesterday said, describing the killings…
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Vaping pilot causes 737 to plunge 6,000 metres
A vaping co-pilot in the cockpit of an Air China flight has caused the plane to plunge 6,000 meters (19,600 feet) after mistakenly flicking the wrong switch. A senior official from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) told reporters Friday that, without notifying the pilot, the unnamed co-pilot was trying to turn off air recycling fans to prevent the…
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Busan, South Korea – Best Destination in Asia, according to Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet have announced their Top Ten Asian destinations for 2018. Only one entry for Thailand – Chiang Mai. The South Korean portside city of Busan has won the top gong as the best destination in Asia 2018 by the influential travel blog. Busan is described as a “confluence of scenery, culture and cuisine.” It’s long been domestically lauded as…
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Malaysian polygamist, who married 11 year old Thai girl, must face trial
A former UN committee member on the Rights of the Child, Sanphasit Koompraphant, is urging the police of both Malaysia and Thailand to take legal action against the 41 year old Malaysian man immediately who has ‘married’ an 11 year old Thai girl in Narathiwat province. He says the marriage has clearly violated the laws. He was responding to a report…
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Thai and Chinese clash over damming of the Mekong
The Mekong River is shared my six countries and is the world’s twelfth longest river. But running through six going economies is causing a host of challenges and conflicts as to how to manage the river. Hydro-electric power is just one of the issues. Chinese experts who insist that hydropower projects on the Mekong River will benefit all stakeholders met…
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