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 See the best of Northern Thailand this winter on a budget
The Thaiger key takeaways Peak season brings higher prices, but smart planning and local know-how can help you experience Northern Thailand affordably. Chiang Mai, Pai, and Chiang Rai offer plenty of free or low-cost attractions, from temples and canyons to...
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India’s Covid-19 cases surpass 500,000
India reported more than 17,000 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, putting the country ‘s total above 500,000, as reported by the Federal Ministry of Health today, with infections occurring in major cities including the capital, New Delhi. India has the fourth largest virus outbreak worldwide in confirmed infections, and follows only the US, Brazil and Russia, according…
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Billions in illicit drugs burned in Thailand and Myanmar
In a joint operation, authorities in Thailand and Myanmar destroyed 25 tonnes of illicit drugs valued at more than 62 billion baht (US$2 billion) in Ayutthaya and Yangon. The move comes as drug cartels in the Golden Triangle boost supplies and seek new channels of distribution. The Golden Triangle, where Laos, northern Myanmar and Thailand meet, has been a hub…
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Unilever, Honda and Coca-cola boycott Facebook
One of the world’s largest advertising spenders has added its name to the campaign to convince marketers to ditch Facebook. Global consumer goods company Unilever announced on Friday that it will stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram, joining a growing movement to stop spending ad dollars on social media platforms. In a post on its website, Unilever referred to its…
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PM proposes limited regional travel at Asean summit
The Covid-19 crisis has severely restricted international air travel, but that didn’t stop a summit of Asean nations yesterday hosted by Vietnam and held by teleconference. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha called on fellow Asean members to begin discussion about reopening certain limited lines of interregional travel, to begin the recovery from the pandemic’s impact on the regional economy. No specific time…
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Despite recent denials, NokScoot is closing down
The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed another victim – regional budget airline NokScoot is closing down. The company’s board of directors decided yesterday to liquidate the airline, the decision to be announced in a general meeting of shareholders held in 2 weeks. The move will leave around 450 staff unemployed, except the few who will remain to work on the liquidation…
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Death sentence of Lao drug lord “Mr X” commuted to life
Bangkok’s Criminal Court handed down life imprisonment to Laotian drug ring leader Xaysana “Mr. X” Keopimpha, on charges of smuggling 1.2 million methamphetamine pills, known as “yaba,” into Thailand. He was initially sentenced to death, and the sentence was upheld by a lower court in December, but the penalty was commuted to life imprisonment because he cooperated with the court.…
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Brits banned from Singapore after lockdown ‘bar crawl’
A group of British men staying in Singapore were prohibited from working there again after breaking the local lockdown to go on a “bar crawl”. The men each received a fine of around S$9,000. They were all charged after a photo of them drinking together during the country’s “lockdown” went viral last month. A different party, comprising an American couple…
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Pakistan airlines cleans house after the pilot license cheating scandal
In the wake of a deadly Pakistan plane crash, the country’s flagship carrier, PIA, says they may let go more than 150 pilots after finding many have allegedly faked their own licenses. The government says that pilots both inside and outside the airline had allegedly allowed other people to take their exams in order to keep their flying licenses. Now, those…
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Virgin Australia will fly again under new US ownership
Virgin Australia will reportedly grace the Australian skies again after a US company has bought it out. Bain Capital, a private equity group in the US, took over ownership after the struggling airline was unsuccessful in asking for Australian government bail out or loans. The second largest airline in Australia collapsed in April after struggling with long-term debt before the Covid-19…
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Fight over “El Chapo’s” legacy leaves 16 dead in Mexico
The war to protect drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s legacy burst into a gun battle between rival Mexican gangs and left 16 dead on Thursday, authorities said. The 16 people, heavily armed and wearing bulletproof vests, died in a six-hour shootout near the rural town of Tepache in the northwestern province of Sinaloa. “A van with seven bodies was located” after the initial clash,…
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Hong Kong documentary sees scene removed after new law
A pro-democracy Hong Kong documentary saw a scene removed after a new law criminalized anything that is seen as “insulting” China’s national anthem. The director of the documentary, Evans Chan, says he had to delete the scene which featured an artist playing the national anthem, which reveals how the new law is already censoring artistic creativity. Hong Kong is considered a…
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Billionaire sheikh uses Evian water to fill up tanks
An Abu Dhabi billionaire has reportedly filled up his mansion’s water tanks with Evian water shipped from France. The sheikh by the name of Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who is the Emir of Abu Dhabi imported the famous water as part of renovations to Ascot Place, his 18th-century Berkshire mansion-valued at 60 million euros. A legal battle in London’s High Court…
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Large explosion lights up Tehran, Iran
A large explosion near the capital Iran has prompted investigations as its location is near a suspected site of the country’s past nuclear testing activities. The explosion near Tehran lit up the sky with witnesses saying it appeared to be near a major with a defence ministry spokesman saying the blast happened at a gas storage facility in a “public area”…
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Dixie chicks changes name due to racist connotations
After the US has exploded with protests and calls for racism to be seriously addressed, the country music group Dixie Chicks has chosen to drop “dixie” citing its racist connotations. The word “dixie,” was used to describe the confederate states in the US that supported slavery as it was derived from Jeremiah Dixon, whose name came to signify the 11…
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Second-deadliest Ebola outbreak officially over
After no new cases were reported for 42 days, the world’s second-deadliest Ebola outbreak has been declared officially over. 16,000 frontline workers in The Democratic Republic of Congo have battled against the country’s tenth outbreak for almost two years with a World Health Organisation official saying it was like a mission impossible as more than 2,200 lives were lost. The…
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Lightning takes more than 100 lives in India
Those in northern India may want to rethink venturing outside in times of heavy monsoon rains as recent lightning has reportedly taken the lives of more than 100 people. The strikes are common in India during this type of monsoonal weather which has also caused widespread damage to property and trees. The states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have seen 83…
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What happens to leftover Guinness from Covid-19 lockdowns?
Humans aren’t the only ones who become merrier when drinking Guinness, as apparently Christmas trees also enjoy the occasional splurge, and have been used to soak up the leftovers thanks to the Covid-19 lockdown imposed on many bars and pubs. The thousands of pints of Guinness, that weren’t drunk during the Covid-19 lockdown, are being used to fertilise Christmas trees…
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Antarctic penguins thrive around less icy waters
Penguins in the Antarctic seem to be much more well off when there is less ice in the sea and now biologists know why. The reason is simple: penguins are slow movers when walking, but much more agile when swimming. The times when less ice is in the waters, biologists say it has a ripple effect for the penguins. Less…
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Chinese citizens in Russia caught forging Covid-19 results
The Chinese Embassy in Moscow has caught several of its citizens trying to forge Covid-19 test results in order to be allowed to fly back to China. But the numbers of those producing counterfeit tests is unclear and the embassy has not revealed what cities or areas of Russia the hopeful returnees were residing. It is also unclear how many of…
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Australia reports largest rise of Covid-19 in two months
Australia’s second most populous state of Victoria has deployed ambulances and mobile test centres after recording the largest rise of daily Covid-19 infections in two months. 33 people have reportedly tested positive in the southern state for coronavirus in the past 24 hours, marking nine days of double digit new cases. Desperate to contain the outbreak, authorities are beginning a testing…
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Covid-free Mexican mother gives birth to triplets who test positive for Covid-19
Mexican health authorities are baffled after a healthy, Covid-free mother has given birth to triplets who tested positive for the virus. The babies’ father was also covid-free, making it the first reported case of its kind. The triplets, a girl and two boys, were tested last week, four hours after being born at 7 1/2 months. Initially, authorities thought the mother was…
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Harry and Meghan join speaking circuit
Prince Harry and wife Meghan (aka. The Duke of Sussex and Duchess of Sussex) have made a major move towards earning their own income by signing with a major US agency that sets up speaking engagements. The New York-based Harry Walker Agency reportedly has many A-list clients including Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton and Oprah Winfrey. The Duke and…
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Qantas cuts 6,000 jobs to recover huge revenue losses
Australia’s Qantas Group is cutting at least 6,000 jobs after a massive revenue loss due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The jobs losses will be spread across all parts of the business while continuing to stand down 15,000 employees in an effort to recover. The Qantas Group includes the Qantas ‘full service’ brand and the JetStar discount airline offshoot. 20 % of…
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UK starts human testing on experimental Covid-19 vaccine
The UK is joining the race to develop a Covid-19 vaccine with volunteers already getting jabbed as the testing continues. But the new vaccine isn’t merely a weaker version of the actual virus- it ‘clones’ the virus so its receivers don’t actually get infected with Covid-19. Imperial College London is behind the new vaccine which uses synthetic strands of genetic code,…
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Miner hits jackpot finding largest-ever tanzanite gems
One Tanzanian miner’s day just got a lot brighter after finding the largest Tanzanite gems in history. The finding has now made him US$3.35 million richer, and he plans to share his newfound wealth with those around him. Saniniu Laizer, the small-scale subsistence miner who made the discovery, said he will first have a party and then work on plans…
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Brazilian court rules President Bolsonaro must wear face mask
A judge in Brazil has ruled that the country’s controversial leader, President Jair Bolsonaro, must wear a face mask in public as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the country. Brazil is second only to the US in terms of the number of confirmed cases and deaths. To date, 53,874 people have died from the virus, with 1.2…
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Australian fugitive caught hiding in air vent on a ship
Australian police reported that a 31 year old man, who was facing alleged sexual assault charges in Sydney, attempted to leave Australia on a yacht… but ended up ditching the yacht and hiding in an air vent on a cargo ship. On Saturday, the man set off from New South Wales (a state in eastern Australia) in his own small yacht,…
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Update on Asia’s quest for a Covid-19 vaccine
Partnerships have formed between some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, as well as collaboration between countries as Asia’s best minds are working together in a bid to be the first to create a Covid-19 vaccine. Here is an update on four leading countries in Asia, in the search to find a cure for the notorious Covid-19 virus which was swept the…
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China’s second-richest is an ex-Google employee
Apparently, working for any kind of technology company in today’s world can reap massive wealth. That’s the case for one of China’s citizens who became the second richest person in the nation after previously working for Google. Colin Huang is valued at $45.4 billion by Forbes, placing him second in China after Tencent’s Pony Ma after his e-commerce company Pinduoduo…
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WHO says to keep breastfeeding, even with Covid-19
The World Health Organisation says those mothers who are suspected of, or indeed have Covid-19, should continue breastfeeding as its benefits outweigh transmission risks. In a press release yesterday, the organisation said “Recommendations on mother-infant contact and breastfeeding must be based on a full consideration of not only of the potential risks of Covid-19 infection of the infant but also…
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