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.
-
Thailand: Is royal reform a far-fetched dream?
The youth-led, pro-democracy movement in Thailand began coalescing in mid-2020 and at its peak saw hundreds of thousands of protesters calling for the government’s resignation and a more transparent and accountable monarchy. The demonstrators — who in recent months have focused their complaints on Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha’s handling of the pandemic as Thailand struggles with surging COVID-19 cases —…
-
Coronavirus lambda variant spreads across Latin America
Classified as a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization (WHO) on June 17, the lambda, or C.37, variant of the coronavirus has already been detected in some US states and at least 29 nations — many of them in Latin America. In Peru, where it was identified in August 2020, the lambda variant accounted for more than 80%…
-
China flood disaster: Passersby harass German reporter
“Are you that BBC guy?” a passerby asked Mathias Bölinger, a German journalist who has been reporting for DW and other broadcasters from the flooded regions in China. Ever since the BBC aired an investigative TV report on the origins of the coronavirus pandemic — a report Beijing considers “fictitious” — the British broadcaster has had a credibility problem in…
-
Tunisia: A political crisis fueled by economic woes
Tunisian President Kais Saied had barely announced his decision to dismiss Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and freeze parliament for 30 days when he began justifying it on Sunday evening, arguing that he had acted in accordance with the constitution. The president, a lawyer, said he based his decision on Article 80 of the Tunisian constitution, which grants the president the…
-
Iran: Drought, water shortages spark protests
People in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province are desperate. Suffering from drought and water shortages since March, they’ve taken to the streets in the last couple of weeks to express their anger with the government and its poor management of water resources. According to official sources, at least four men, including one policeman, have died in the protests. Authorities claim they…
-
Ivory Coast heavyweights meet in bid for reconciliation
Tuesday’s meeting between Ivory Coast’s current president, Alassane Ouattara, and his rival, the recently returned Laurent Gbagbo after he was acquitted of committing war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC), has raised tensions in the Ivorian capital Abidjan. But amid the uneasiness, there seems to be a sense of optimism among many citizens. “President Gbagbo and President Alassane, they…
-
Myanmar’s economy to shrink by 18% due to military coup and Covid-19
The civil unrest following the February military coup, paired with the a spike in Covid-19 infections, is expected to cause Myanmar’s economy to contract by 18% this year, according to the World Bank. Since the military takeover, ousting the country’s elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi of the National League for Democracy, it’s estimated that more than 900 people have been killed…
-
Noor Mukadam and the brutalization of women in Pakistan
Noor Mukadam, a 27-year-old woman and daughter of Pakistan’s former ambassador to South Korea, was killed in Islamabad on July 20 in a brutal manner. The alleged killer, Zahir Zamir Jaffer, was reportedly her acquaintance, and according to police reports, beheaded Mukadam after shooting her. Violence against women is widespread in Pakistan, but the recent spate of women killings has…
-
The ‘infodemic’ – interview with Helen Petousis-Harris about Covid misinformation
Helen Petousis-Harris is a NZ vaccinologist and associate professor in the Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care at the University of Auckland. She’s been at the forefront of the dis-information ‘infodemic’ since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year and a voice of reason in Ted Talks, worldwide interviews and lectures. Today she speaks to Tim Newton…
-
Indian landslide kills 9, injures 3
Yesterday, 9 people died and 3 were injured after their car was struck by falling boulders in Himachal Pradesh, a northern Indian state. The landslide also sent rocks crashing down on a bridge that crossed the Bapsa river Jairam Thakur, the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh characterised the incident as “heart wrenching”. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi offers his “heartfelt…
-
Indonesia extends Covid-19 disease control measures for another week
Covid-19 restrictions in Indonesia are being extended to August 2 as the highly transmissible Delta variant continues to rapidly spread. Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced the extension yesterday, adding that the government will gradually adjust restrictions. Since the start of the pandemic last year, Indonesia has reported 3.1 million Covid-19 cases and 83,279 coronavirus-related deaths. With a recent spike in…
-
The 77 Percent — Who is to blame for the rising insecurity in Northern Nigeria?
Host: Zaharadeen Umar SOURCE: DW News
-
The Netherlands gears for future with flood-control project
“We were really lucky,” says Jan Heymans from the Dutch village of Neer on the Maas river. “The new flood wall was completed just a few months ago. Without it, everything here would have been flooded.” With massive steel gates and 10-cm-thick (4-inch-thick) glass panels at the top, the wall was able to resist the heavy rainfall from Germany and…
-
Opinion: The Cuban authorities are afraid of us
No one in the queue speaks. A woman looks down at her shoes, while a young man drums his fingers on the wall. Some time has passed since Cubans took to the streets in a protest unprecedented in the last 62 years, and the outrage is still very palpable. As images of police brutality, more testimonies from mothers whose children…
-
West Africa’s liver cancer cases linked to hepatitis
The World Cancer Research Fund collects data on the prevalence of cancer types across the globe. When it comes to liver cancer, 8 West African nations are in the top 25 countries with highest prevalence of liver cancer. These include Liberia, Guinea, Ghana Burkina Faso and Senagal. In fact, liver cancer is the most common cancer in the Gambia, with…
-
DR Congo faces major challenges in COVID-19 vaccine rollout
Almost every day, there are huge traffic jams in front of the district hospital in Goma, a major city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Cars, motorcycle cabs and pedestrians clog the road as friends and relatives come to pick up the deceased to bury them. For several weeks, an increasing number of COVID-19 patients have been among the dead…
-
The EU and North Macedonia: More ‘trauma’ before membership?
North Macedonia was officially included in the agenda for EU enlargement in 2005; the promissory note that Brussels offered Skopje on the conditions of good behavior and reforms is now older than the country’s new name. Yet with a track record of steady reforms, Skopje has seen the process slowed down to a virtual halt, which has not only raised…
-
Swedish prison hostage situation resolved with pizza
Have you ever just had a really strong food craving? In a Swedish prison this week, 2 inmates were able to take 2 guards hostage and refused to release them until their demand was met: pizza. The pair of inmates incarcerated in Hallby high-security prison outside of Eskilstuna on murder charges were able to force their way into a secure area…
-
Pegasus spyware: Mexico one of the biggest targets
It was Saturday afternoon when Marcela Turati discovered that she was one of the 25 journalists in Mexico who had been allegedly targeted by Pegasus spyware technology, just hours before an international network of researchers released information about the surveillance project that sent shockwaves around the world. At first, Turati was stunned and couldn’t believe it — but it soon…
-
Tokyo Olympic Games: 41 Thai athletes compete for gold
The pandemic-delayed 2020 Olympics are finally set to get underway in Tokyo on July 23, under heavy Covid-19 restrictions as Japan still battles the virus. But as the Olympic Games are gearing up to begin, Thailand has sent 41 hopeful athletes to compete for the gold medal in Tokyo. Thailand will be competing in 15 events in the Tokyo Olympics:…
-
Egypt: ‘Facebook Girl’ may be free, but oppression remains rife
This week’s Muslim holiday, Eid al-Adha, brought great news to around 40 detainees in Cairo’s prisons: that they were free to go. Among them were three popular journalists and three human rights activists. However, these releases don’t yet mean they have been acquitted: All 40 still have to appear in court at trials slated for at some time later this…
-
Thailand: Critics fear crackdown under COVID emergency powers
Repeated extensions of Thailand’s emergency legislation have granted Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha sweeping powers to curb the spread of COVID-19, but critics have warned that these present a risk to civil liberties. “The emergency decree… has granted the prime minister broad powers… and has threatened the right to freedom of expression and access to information which is an integral component…
-
Poland and Hungary lash back against EU rule of law report
Bad faith, blackmail, political attack, double standards: Such were the terms used in reactions from government politicians in Poland and Hungary after the European Union presented its second report on the state of the rule of law in EU member states in Brussels on Tuesday, July 20. The report describes the situation in Poland and Hungary in particular as highly…
-
Nestle’s “Negrita” cookie to get new, non race based name
The multinational food and drink giant Nestle announced yesterday it plans to change the name of a high-selling cookie in Chile, the country on South America’s western edge. The cookie formerly known as “Negrita” will henceforth be called “Chokita”. Negrita translates to “little black person” in Spanish. The packaging also used to include the image of a black woman. It…
-
Kenya: Elephant herds seen from a unique angle
The sunrise at Amboseli National Park is breathtaking. A hot air balloon is prepared for a fascinating experience. Tourists will view animals from a different angle. The balloon can fly up to 20 meters. And the elephants remain undisturbed. The unique view delights everyone. Amboseli National Park has over 3,000 elephants. There has been no single case of elephant poaching…
-
AfricaLink On Air – 21 July 2021
News+++Tanzania arrests opposition leader+++Fighting domestic violence in Niger+++Kidnapped Nigerians freed+++Slow Niger Delta clean up angers locals+++Sexual harassment on Rwanda’s mines+++Veritcal farming grows in Kenya SOURCE: DW News
-
Nigeria cracks down on separatists as security issues mount in the north
Activist Sunday Adeyemo, known popularly in Nigeria as Sunday Igboho, was arrested in neighboring Benin on Monday evening, according to media reports. He was about to take a flight to Germany at the time. A senior Benin police official confirmed the arrest, saying Igboho “will be extradited to Nigeria as soon as the two countries have agreed on conditions.” It…
-
Tokyo Olympics unable to heal Japan-South Korea rift
Hopes that Japan and South Korea might finally be able to build new bridges through a summit of their leaders on the sidelines of the Tokyo Olympic Games have been dashed after Seoul announced that President Moon Jae-in would not be going to the opening ceremony on Friday. The northeast Asian neighbors have long been at loggerheads over differing interpretations…
-
Pegasus spyware allegations leave Indian democracy hanging by a thread
The Indian government has found itself at the heart of a spyware scandal that has sent seismic waves across the entire political world. A collaborative investigation, based on information accessed by non-profit Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International and shared with a host of publications, into the Pegasus spyware has revealed a list of potential targets for surveillance. More than 300…
-
Teenager arrested after student allegedly killed with an axe at Singapore school
High school students in Singapore have been left reeling after the murder of a 13 year old boy on campus. A 16 year student is in custody, charged with murder, after the horrifying event at River Valley High School. Coconuts reports that the unnamed student, who appeared in court via video link, has been sent for a psychiatric assessment. Singapore’s…
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.