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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The Thaiger key takeaways Valid passport, visa documents, health certificate, and vaccination records are essential for immigration and medical care in Thailand. Health insurance that meets visa requirements, like Cigna, provides protection, direct billing, and access to a wide hospital...
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Bangladesh moves towards relocating Rohingya refugees, UN denies involvement
Despite rights groups advising not to relocate Rohingya refugees anymore, Bangladesh is pressing on to move a 2nd group of refugees from Myanmar to the remote island of Bhasan Char in the Bay of Bengal this month. The new group consists of about 1,000 refugees and is in addition to more than 1,600 refugees that were moved earlier this month,…
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Japan suspends entry for non-resident foreigners amidst new Covid variant
Japan is suspending nonresident foreign nationals from entering the country starting tomorrow through late January as a precaution to stop the spread of a new and possibly more transmissible strain of the Covid-19 virus. Japanese citizens and foreign residents alike will also have to submit negative virus test results within 72 hours of departing to Japan from countries and territories…
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12 months ago a number of “mysterious” respiratory cases came to the notice of a Chinese doctor
A year ago nothing much was known about the coronavirus that has now decimated the world’s economy and killed 1,764,697 people (as of Saturday morning, December 27, 2020 Thai Time). Exactly 12 months later there are now 80,720,204 positive infections registered around the world. On December 27, 2019, there was little known about the mysterious new coronavirus. How infectious was…
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South Korea confirms Covid-19 outbreak in 32 Thai workers, 28 others awaiting results
South Korean officials have announced a Covid-19 outbreak in 32 Thai workers, with a further 28 waiting for test results. Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the development, with spokesman Tanee Sangrat saying the Royal Thai Embassy in Seoul has been in touch with the affected workers and is ready to help if needed. The Bangkok Post reports that…
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Thai social media gets nasty as old animosities resurface over the Burmese migrants
A Covid-19 outbreak in Samut Sakhon, centred around a seafood market and the local fishing industry’s Burmese migrant population, has unbottled a new wave of anti-Burmese sentiment in Thai social media, never bubbling far beneath the surface. The revelations of an outbreak of some 1,000+ positive infections has opened a long-standing wound between the two countries, including straight out online…
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Christmas across Asia: How Thailand’s neighbours celebrate
Those of us living in Thailand (and those who holiday here in more “normal” times), are familiar with what Christmas looks like in the Land of Smiles. But what about other Asian countries? Here’s a round-up of what the festive season looks like for some of our neighbours. Indonesia Despite being a primarily Muslim nation, Christmas is celebrated by many…
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Thai government urged to offer amnesty to illegal migrants and their employers
The Thai government is being urged to grant amnesty to undocumented migrant workers in the Kingdom and to extend the reprieve to their employers. The call has been picked up by a number of Thai media outlets, as well as Thai citizens concerned about the latest Covid-19 outbreak. Those calling for the amnesty say it would stop workers fleeing quarantine…
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Officials on the hunt for corrupt border guards blamed for Covid spread
The Thai PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha, has put the Deputy Defence Minister in charge of hunting down crooked border officials whose corruption is thought to be behind the latest Covid-19 outbreak. With most of the new infections detected in Burmese migrant workers in the central province of Samut Sakhon, it’s believed many have been smuggled into Thailand illegally, bypassing mandatory quarantine.…
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WHO calls for calm over new coronavirus variant
The World Health Organisation is calling for calm over the emergence of a new strain of Covid-19 in countries including Britain and South Africa. WHO emergencies chief Mike Ryan says virus mutation is to be expected and is not a cause for major alarm. His comments come as a growing number of countries impose travel bans on passengers from the…
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New Covid-19 variant prompts many countries to stop travel from the UK
A new strain of Covid-19 quickly spreading in southern England has prompted a number of countries to ban travel from the United Kingdom while other nations are mulling similar restrictions. The new coronavirus variant is said to spread more quickly than others. British PM Boris Johnson placed London and southeastern England on a Tier 4 lockdown. He announced that both Christmas…
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Netizens demand Minister of Public Health to resign after Covid surge
Today, Thai netizens are demanding the resignation of Thailand’s Minister of Public Health after the largest daily amount of Covid infections is being reported in Samut Sakhon Province. That number of infections, reported today, is now up to 576, 516 of which includes migrant workers who have been in the news recently after several were found to have entered Thailand…
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Government urged to let in 100,000 migrant workers from Myanmar despite Covid surge
The government in Thailand is being urged by larger Thai multinationals, and the construction and fisheries industry, to let in about 100,000 migrants from Myanmar, despite a recent surge in Covid-19 infections inside the kingdom. Officials say they will comply with the demands to let the migrant workers in, however, they will regulate their arrivals. Suebsakun Kidnukorn, an academic with…
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Sydney Covid outbreak sparks border clampdowns in other Australian states
A spate of Covid-19 cases on Sydney’s northern beaches has prompted other Australian states to impose strict restrictions on arrivals from the region. With 28 new cases confirmed along the city’s northern beaches, and fears that number will grow, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian is calling for vigilance. “Everyone in greater Sydney needs to be on high alert.” Thai…
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China’s Moon probe successfully returns to Earth this morning | VIDEO
China’s Chang’e-5 mission has arrived safely back on Earth after a successful 3 week mission to the Moon, collecting rocks and soil from the surface, and then retuning. It’s the first time since the 1970s a space mission like this has been completed. China becomes only the 3rd country in the world to successfully collect rocks from the moon. The mission…
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Chiang Rai officials insist province is now safe to visit
Officials in the northern province of Chiang Rai are assuring potential tourists from the rest of the Kingdom that it is safe to visit, saying the Covid-19 situation is under control. Chiang Rai hit the headlines in recent weeks, when a number of Thai nationals entered the province illegally from Myanmar. After bypassing health checks and quarantine, several subsequently tested…
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Malaysia coast guard busts record methamphetamine shipment, possibly smuggled from Golden Triangle
Malaysia’s coast guard made its largest bust, seizing more than 2 tonnes of crystal methamphetamine that was hidden in packets of Chinese tea. The shipment of illegal drugs, worth 105.9 million ringgit, or 789 million baht, is part of a large-scale drug trade across Southeast Asia, China and Australia. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency director general, Mohamad Zubil Mat Som,…
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Foreign media express anxiety over Thailand’s press freedoms
Foreign journalists in Thailand are expressing concern about what they are calling restrictions on press freedom. Speaking at a recent Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand forum, speakers said that the current laws are “proving to be an obstacle to reporting of the anti-government protests”, despite government assurances there have been no curbs on freedom of expression. The “Journalism Without Fear…
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US launches most complex vaccine distribution today as Covid soars
Today, the US is launching its largest and most complicated vaccine distribution process in its history after Covid has continued to wreak havoc on its citizens for months. The site of the distribution, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is filled with tractor trailers loaded with suitcase-sized containers of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine. US regulators authorised the vaccine from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech…
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Laos – the ‘battery’ of Asia and a ticking environmental time bomb
LAOS POWER FACTS: Number of power plants soon to be completed by the end of 2020: 53 hydropower plants under construction or in the planning stage, including those set to be completed this year; there will be more than 90 hydropower plants in Laos with a combined installed capacity of almost 14,000MW. Transmission lines that connect with neighbouring countries: 14 carry power to…
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Thai government threaten to boycott new Lao hydro electric dam project
Loas officials have announced the announcement of yet another Laos hydro electric dam and Thai authorities aren’t happy. The long list of Laos and Chinese dams along the Mekong River have hugely affected the life of communities downstream of the Mekong in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. And Laos. The Lao PDR has been described as South East Asia’s ‘battery’ and…
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US approves Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine
The US has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, a situation that now permits the rollout of the new mRNA coronavirus vaccine. President Donald Trump promised the first immunisations will now take place “in less than 24 hours”, hailing the development. “Through our partnership with FedEx and UPS, we have already begun shipping the vaccine to every state and zip code…
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Thai border officials capture 14 illegal Burmese migrants at Tak border areas
The Thai military has captured 14 illegal migrants from Myanmar, in 2 operations in the northern province of Tak yesterday. The first occurred in the district of Mae Sot, when officials arrested 11 Burmese nationals, 1 male and 10 females, who were in the process of crossing the Mei River into Thailand. All 11 have been sent to a Tak…
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US Supreme Court rejects state bid to overturn presidential election
The US Supreme Court has rejected a last ditch bid from the Texas’ state attorney general, supported by President Trump, to block ballots of millions of voters in key battleground states that voted for President-elect Joe Biden. The Supreme Court order was unsigned, and the court did not provide a vote count from the sitting judges, but there were no…
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Health officials say all Covid patients in Thailand have been accounted for
The head of Thailand’s Disease Control Department says all Covid-19 cases across 7 provinces where infected returnees from Myanmar travelled, have now been accounted for. Opas Karnkawinpong says Thailand now has a total of 49 cases linked to Thai nationals who crossed illegally from Myanmar, bypassing health checks and quarantine. “So far, 49 cases have been found to be related…
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Chiang Rai governor leads clean-up operation amid Covid fears
Chiang Rai governor, Prajon Prachsakul, has led a clean-up operation across public areas and tourist attractions such as shopping malls, Chiang Rai Airport, Singha Park and the border checkpoint at Mae Sai. It follows the recent discovery of a number of infected Thai nationals who had illegally crossed from Myanmar, bypassing health checks and quarantine. At least 34 illegal returnees…
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Cher calls for Thailand’s only gorilla to be rescued after 30 years in Bangkok shopping mall zoo
US singer Cher has taken to Twitter to expose the plight of a Thai gorilla known as Bua Noi, who has lived above a shopping mall for 30 years. With her mate having died several years ago, she is Thailand’s only gorilla. Cher’s mission to rehome Bua Noi comes just after her rescue of 36 year old Kaavan in Pakistan,…
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Thai medic claims Burmese coronavirus a different strain, spreads 20% faster
Dr Prasit Watanapa from the Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital says the coronavirus currently circulating in Myanmar is a different strain and is being transmitted 20% faster than the one detected in Wuhan at the start of the pandemic. The Wuhan strain is known as D614, whereas the more virulent strain currently found in Western countries is G614. Prasit…
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2 people suffer allergic reaction following Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in the UK
2 UK health care workers who received the new Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on Tuesday, the first group of people to receive the approved vaccine against Covid-19 in the western world, have suffered adverse reactions. The 2 cases were out of the 1000s who have already received the new vaccine. The National Health Service issued a warning yesterday that people “with a…
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Air Asia to focus on ASEAN expansion, as CEO expresses cautious optimism for 2021
Air Asia’s chief executive, Tony Fernandes, says the low-cost carrier is planning to expand its presence in Southeast Asia and is in talks to form 3 new airlines. He points out that people still want to travel, and that demand makes him hopeful air travel could be back to its pre-Covid numbers within 6 – 12 months. “At the right…
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Passengers from Chiang Rai-Bangkok flights considered “low-risk”
Passengers from 4 flights between Chiang Rai and Bangkok are considered at “low risk” of contracting Covid-19, according to a statement from the Public Health Ministry. However, the ministry is asking all passengers to self-monitor for the next 14 days, and report symptoms such as fever, a cough, sore throat, or a loss of taste or smell immediately. The 4…
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