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.
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Sponsored Why health insurance costs more each year and how expats in Thailand can save more money
Each year, many expats living in Thailand see their health insurance premiums go up and often without a clear reason. This can be frustrating, especially when you're trying to plan your budget. But by understanding why prices rise and learning...
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Burmese military in a shootout near Thai border
Burmese military exchanged gunfire with unknown opposition last night opposite the Three Pagodas Pass near the Myanmar-Thailand border. Local media reports that gunshots broke out around 10:30 pm when members of the 32nd Infantry Battalion of the Burmese army fired at as-yet-unidentified armed fighters. The exchange took place in Payathonzu, a town near the Thai border in the Burmese Karen…
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All hopes dashed as Indonesian submarine found, 53 people presumed dead
All hopes are being dashed as officials say they have found debris from a missing Indonesian submarine, signaling that there are no survivors. 53 people were on the German-made KRI Nanggala-402 submarine when it lost contact during a torpedo military exercise in the Bali Strait early last Wednesday morning. Yesterday, searchers announced they had found oil and some debris in an area…
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ASEAN leaders speak about Saturday’s Myanmar summit
In Jakarta on Saturday, leaders of the ASEAN countries met to convince Burmese junta leader Min Aung Hlaing to work with them towards progress. Full cover from The Thaiger of what was discussed at the meeting can be found here. During and after the meetings, nation leaders and representatives voiced their concerns and goals regarding the crisis in Myanmar. Tim…
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Summit: Burmese military open to ASEAN delegation visits
Today’s ASEAN summit in Jakarta has yielded progress regarding the situation in Myanmar with Burmese junta leader Min Aung Hlaing stating he’s not opposed to a special envoy being created and dispatched to Myanmar. The military leader also said he would consider several other steps proposed by the leaders of the Asian nations. With leaders or representation from most countries…
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ASEAN Summit on Myanmar – will it achieve anything? | VIDEO
Today the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will hold a special summit today to discuss the crisis in Myanmar. The meeting is being held at the current secretariat for the Bloc, in Jakarta. There will be huffing and puffing, a group photo, a few grand-standing leaders shaking their fingers at the Burmese chiefs, and then everyone will go home. And,…
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Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine re-approved in the US
The pause on the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine was officially lifted in the US yesterday by the Centre For Disease Control And Prevention and the US Food And Drug Administration. They will add a warning label about the risk of blood clots, but vaccination can resume today. The CDC’s Advisory Committee For Immunization Practices recommended unpausing the Johnson &…
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Search teams zero in on suspected location of missing Indonesian submarine on last day of its oxygen supply
Search teams say they are focusing on an area where the missing Indonesian submarine could be located. The area of interest is about 40 kilometres north of Bali, where oil has been found on the surface of the water. The head of the Indonesian military’s central information unit says the oil is near a dive point and where an object…
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Japan poised for Covid-19 state of emergency declaration
Japan was prepared to declare a state of emergency in four regions including Tokyo today, after 860 new Covid-19 infections yesterday. These are the highest numbers seen since January when the previous state of emergency went into effect. Infection numbers are rising again after restrictions were lifted last month. The dire situation in Japan of the Covid-19 fourth wave casts…
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Lumbini Airport aim to bring Buddhist Thais to Nepal
Nepal is hoping to attract Buddhist pilgrims from Thailand to the birthplace of Lord Buddha with the opening of the Lumbini Airport scheduled later this year. The area is an important Buddhist site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nepalese officials hope to attract Buddhist Thai travellers on sacred pilgrimage trips. The Nepal Tourism Board recently met with the Royal…
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PM Prayut will skip ASEAN summit addressing Myanmar situation, says he needs to deal with Covid situation
Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha will skip out of attending the Asean summit in Jakarta, Indonesia this Saturday, saying he needs to stay to deal with the country’s Covid-19 situation. The summit was to specially address the worsening situation in the neighbouring country of Myanmar, which saw a military coup February 1. The decision for PM Prayut to skip out is…
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Fake Pfizer vaccines seized in Mexico and Poland
A wave of fake Pfizer vaccines have been seized in Mexico and Poland where counterfeiting Covid-19 jabs has become a big business. The US pharmaceutical company confirms that the jabs that have been collected were not authentic and were selling on the black market for up to US $1,000 per vaccine. A Pfizer spokesperson said that they’re aware that anonymous…
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Thai chef pleads for justice after child kills her cat in New York park
A Thai-born chef, who now lives in New York, has launched a social media campaign calling for justice for her pet cat after the feline was attacked and killed by a child. Suchanan “Rung” Aksornnan says she was walking her cats, Ponzu and Kimchi, along with her dog, Tofu, and parakeet, Mango, in a Brooklyn park, when a boy ran…
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Myanmar summit Saturday tests ASEAN’s effectiveness
Leaders from the 10 countries of ASEAN will meet Saturday at a summit to discuss the crisis in Myanmar in what many see as a credibility test for the organisation. As the military junta in Myanmar have ramped up violence and lethal force against pro-democracy protestors, the country is descending into what the UN high commissioner for human rights referred…
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Indonesian submarine with 53 crew on board missing off Bali coast
The Indonesian navy is scouring the waters off Bali after losing contact with one of its submarines, with 53 crew members on board. The country’s defence ministry says the submarine was due to carry out scheduled torpedo exercises, when it requested permission to dive yesterday morning. “After permission was given according to the procedure, the submarine lost contact and could…
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India sees record Covid-19 infections, oxygen shortages
India is experiencing record infections and deaths due to Covid-19 and is now running dangerously low on oxygen supplies. The countries second wave of the virus includes a dangerous virus variant that is spreading quickly and has infected 3.5 million people just this month. In the last 24 hours, 295,000 new infections occurred with just over 2,000 deaths. Prime minister…
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Thailand launches Covid-19 vaccine passport for international travel
The Thai government has confirmed it is adopting a vaccine passport scheme, to provide vaccinated residents with proof of Covid-19 inoculation. The vaccine passport will be an official document which can be used by vaccinated people travelling abroad. Details of the scheme have now been published in the Royal Gazette, making it official. The Bangkok Post reports that the Royal…
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World’s most travel-friendly passport list – 2021
The Henley Passport Index, which rates which passports are the most travel-friendly, has just released the list for 2021, with Japan once again at the top of the list. But the Index noted that this year’s international travel freedom comparison is mostly theoretical as the current Covid-19 situation continues to limit most international travel. With a Japanese passport, travellers can…
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Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia – surprise spikes in Covid infections
For Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand, the Covid situation was ‘under control’. Everything was going fine and the countries were mulling re-opening borders to general travel. Well everything was going fine, until it wasn’t. In just 3 bewildering weeks, Thailand has gone from ‘let’s re-open Phuket’ to setting up thousands of field hospital beds. The daily infection totals over the past…
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1 person dead, thousands forced to flee as “super typhoon” strikes the Philippines
Super typhoon Surigae has hit close to coastal areas in the eastern provinces of the Philippines, with 1 person killed and tens of thousands forced to evacuate. It’s understood the deceased person is a 79 year old man, who was struck by a falling coconut tree and sustained a severe head injury. Over 109,000 people have been forced to flee…
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Australia and New Zealand welcome the first passengers in the southern travel bubble
Whilst travel bubbles remain a bureaucratic nightmare for most SE Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand have opened their first green lanes since April last year, nearly 400 days. For the two countries it allows family and friends to re-unite. For New Zealand it opens the gates for its largest chunk of tourists. In 2019 some 1.5 million tourists visited New Zealand…
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Bitcoin sheds nearly 15% of its ‘value’ in one day
After a meteoric, and probably unsustainable rise and rise over the past 12 months, Bitcoin has suffered a short and sharp mini-crash over the weekend, dropping nearly 15% of its value in less than an hour – a stark warning of the cryptocurrency’s unpredictable volatility. Bitcoin dropped in ‘value’ from about US$59,000 to US$51,000 before rebounding. Ethereum and Dogecoin also…
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Burmese prisoners granted amnesty on first day of Myanmar’s New Year
Over 23,000 Burmese prisoners and student political activists are enjoying freedom after being released yesterday in an amnesty on the first day of the country’s Lunar New Year celebrations. The state-owned MRTV reported that 23,407 prisoners were released under sections of a penal code. In the Yangon region alone, over 800 prisoners were released, while Mandalay saw around 2,800 released from…
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Myanmar junta leader to attend ASEAN summit, activists appalled
Myanmar’s junta or military leader, Min Aung Hlaing, is expected to attend an ASEAN summit in Jakarta where representatives of the bloc are expected to discuss Myanmar’s situation. Thailand’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Tanee Sangrat, made the announcement. “I can confirm that the Brunei Chair has proposed the date April 24 with the venue at the Secretariat in Jakarta. Several leaders…
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The Queen sits as a lonely figure as she bids farewell to her husband Prince Philip
Prince Philip was laid to rest Saturday afternoon, UK time, in a simple but soulful funeral ceremony honouring his lifetime of service to the UK, the Commonwealth and his wife of 73 years, Queen Elizabeth II. Clad in black, her head bowed in prayer, the elderly monarch set an example for the UK community during the Covid pandemic, socially distancing…
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Covid-19 vaccine CEOs say 3rd dose may be needed along with annual jabs
The CEO for the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines says it is likely that people will need a 3rd dose of the vaccine and to receive it annually. Albert Bourla, told CNBC, that the booster, or 3rd dose, will be needed less than a year after being fully vaccinated. “A likely scenario is that there will be likely a need for a…
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China grows 18.3%, the only major economy to grow in 2020
China’s economy set a record for growth in Q1, 2021, marking an 18.3% jump in year-on-year figures, the biggest quarterly growth in almost 30 years. China only started publishing growth statistics in 1992, and this drastic increase is the fastest growth recorded since then. The figures, however impressive, are mainly due to what is called a “low base effect” where…
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Is spraying disinfectant on the Thai-Burmese border effective?
Some controversy exists over the Royal Thai Army attempting to sterilize areas of the Thailand-Myanmar border by spraying disinfectant along the border region. The army sprayed areas set up as a temporary holding facility for many Burmese refugees. The move drew condemnation from critics who claimed the disinfectant was not effective and not worth the expense of implementation. A spokesperson…
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Vietnam passes Thailand as world’s top rice price
In undoubtedly only the second most important “r_ce war”, Vietnam has overtaken Thailand to become the highest-priced exporting rice in the world. First quarter prices were up nearly 19% over last year, reaching US $547 per tonne, with prices in March half a per cent higher than February’s rate. This run on pricing pushes Vietnamese rice past both Thailand and…
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Red paint in Burmese streets mark 700+ deaths
Marking over 700 deaths in the Burmese military crackdown, anti-coup protesters in Myanmar are splashing red paint across the streets of Yangon to represent the blood of those killed in the growing crisis. Myanmar has ground to a halt as the military junta attempt to silence opposition to their February 1 takeover with deadly force. 714 deaths have been verified…
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Travelling from the UK? Here’s some details on restrictions….
As the summer holiday is just around the corner, many in the UK are wondering if and how they will travel abroad during the Covid pandemic. Despite it being against the law to travel abroad for holiday and leisure in the UK, those who need to travel may want to know what requirements certain countries have in order to enter.…
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