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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Croatian politicians deny culpability in border pushbacks
Standing in the Croatian parliament in front of a dozen TV cameras, Sandra Bencic asked the question of the day: “Do we want to live in a state in which lawless groups run around beating people up?” Bencic, who leads the left-wing green opposition party Mozemo (We Can), called on Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic to explain what is happening at…
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Let’s talk about sex, habibi!
Traditionally, in most Middle Eastern countries, “it” is expected to happen on the wedding night for the first time. “But for most women, this is also the first time they are naked in front of anyone and the first time they see a penis in real life,” Nour Emam, who runs Arab-English sex education courses, told DW. One doesn’t have…
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Is Europe ready for a post-COVID migration wave?
For the many in Europe who have weathered the waves of the coronavirus pandemic, being in a crowd once again is a surreal feeling. As European countries emerge from the peaks of the pandemic, the masks are off and lockdowns seem to be a thing of the past. With high vaccination rates, many European Union countries are facing a brave…
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Facebook suffers second massive outage in one week
Facebook has had a rough week, with a massive outage just days ago, and a whistleblower claiming that Facebook knowingly put financial profits over the well-being of their users. And yesterday, the global social media giant faced another hours-long major outage on its platform. A spokesperson for Facebook confirmed that the site went through a system tweak that caused an…
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Who is Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov?
It’s truly amazing that, in today’s Russia, Dmitry Muratov is still in charge of the newsroom of the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper — and has not been killed, forced into exile or branded a “foreign agent,” as has happened to many other representatives of his craft. “With this award, we will campaign for Russian journalism, which is now subject to…
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Burkina Faso: Justice for Thomas Sankara
Justin Sogbedji looked up in awe at the 5-meter tall statue of Thomas Sankara. Erected last year in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, the impressive monument attracts thousands of visitors every month. Sogbedji can’t seem to get enough pictures with Sankara’s statue. “Thomas Sankara is a fighter. Ever since my childhood, I liked what he did,” said Sogbedji, who moved to…
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Koreans celebrate their language but fear foreign encroachment
October 9, a national holiday to honor the Hangul, the Korean alphabet, is a red-letter day on the South Korean calendar. The holiday was established in 1970, and purists are now warning that the writing system, which will mark its 575th anniversary this year, is increasingly threatened by foreign words. The words, purists say, are being adopted as a result…
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The uphill battle facing Chad’s new transition council
Earlier this week, Chad officially swore in its interim parliament, the so-called National Transition Council (CNT). Chad’s military junta —which emerged after the death of longtime ruler Idriss Deby Itno — named the 93-member assembly. The CNT effectively replaces the former national assembly which existed under Deby’s regime. For now, Chad is ruled by a military junta. Deby, who was…
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India: West Bengal state prepares for festival season amid COVID fears
India’s federal government has warned states that the Hindu religious festival season could lead to another spike in coronavirus infections. SOURCE: DW News
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Kenya: Students make smart air purifier from bamboo
A cheap solution to what is, at times, an invisible problem. Klind Air is a smart air purifier made of bamboo. It was developed by these Kenyan students. David, Caroline and Tonny want to bring the product to market. The filter can be used at home, and in cars and offices. It also monitors indoor air quality. Indoor air pollution…
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Burmese UN envoy calls for international support for democracy in Myanmar
The Burmese UN envoy says he’s intent on seeking international support for democracy in his country. Kyaw Moe Tun was speaking to Japanese news agency NHK at the UN offices in New York. He was made UN envoy by the former Burmese government, which was ousted in a military coup in February, despite having been democratically elected. According to a…
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Thailand to be removed from UK red list from Monday
Thailand is being removed from Britain’s red list, meaning no more hotel quarantine for arrivals from the kingdom. Earlier this week, the UK ditched its advice against non-essential travel for 32 countries, but left Thailand and others on the red list. Now, that list will be cut to just 7 countries from Monday, with Thailand and 46 others coming off.…
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UN targets on Afghan resettlements ‘doable’ says EU, but without commitments
EU member states failed Thursday to commit to a United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) demand for governments to resettle 42,500 Afghans who need protection over the next 5 years. Speaking after a EU-hosted online forum, European Commissioner for Migration Ylva Johansson said the target is “doable” but that it requires EU member states to make pledges. “Countries will also take…
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Africalink on Air – 07 October 2021
South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu turns 90 +++ UN endorses world’s 1st malaria vaccine as ‘historic moment.’ What impact for Africa +++ Tanzania’s writer Abdulrazak Gurnah wins Nobel Prize for Literature +++ Nigeria’s president presents over 16 trillion Naira 2022 budget to the national assembly +++ Coups in Africa – what gains for young people? SOURCE: DW News
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Inside Europe 07.10.2021
Hidden cash and dodgy dealings: a Pandora’s box of offshore tax theft – Protectors or predators? Two institutions gone awry: the French Catholic Church and the British police – A spot of predictive virology looking ahead to another COVID winter- Turkey clamps down on social media – A Danish artist takes the money and runs – Two tales of two…
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Are Rwanda’s dads ready for paternity leave?
Compared to elsewhere in Africa, Rwanda has relatively generous maternity benefits. Women who are formally employed are entitled to full pay for 12 weeks after giving birth and if they have delivery complications, they can take an additional month off. Now a coalition of civil society organizations is pushing to extend paid parental leave to Rwanda’s men, who currently only…
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Why are tensions increasing between China and Taiwan?
China’s military flew tens of fighter aircraft as many as 149 times toward Taiwan in recent days, in what is the most recent attempt at putting pressure on the self-governing island by displaying Beijing’s military might. Even though all flights were in international airspace, they prompted Taiwanese defense forces to scramble jets in response and raised fears that any miscalculation…
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Vietnam to re-open popular tourist spots to vaccinated arrivals from December
From December, Vietnam will open a number of tourist hotspots to vaccinated travellers from “low-risk” countries. According to a Reuters report, the Vietnamese government hopes to follow this with a full re-opening, currently planned for June 2022. The authorities recently confirmed they would re-open the popular island of Phu Quoc to vaccinated tourists from November. The country has been living…
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UK ditches “non-essential travel” alert for 32 countries, Thailand remains on red list
The British government has amended its advice to avoid non-essential travel to 32 countries. The Bangkok Post reports that the move comes as countries around the world continue to make progress in fighting the pandemic. However, according to the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Thailand remains on the red list, along with South Africa, Brazil, and Mexico. “The Foreign,…
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EU summit: No firm timeline for Western Balkans accession
EU and Western Balkan leaders have wrapped up a one-day summit in Brdo Castle in Slovenia with promises for greater integration but didn’t commit to a solid timeline for the six countries to join the 27-member bloc. “The Western Balkans are part of the same Europe as the European Union. The EU is not complete without them,” EU Commission President…
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How the US invasion changed Afghanistan
On October 7, 2001, the US invaded Afghanistan to avenge the al-Qaida-orchestrated September 11 terrorist attacks. The primary aim of the US invasion was to hunt down Osama bin Laden and punish the Taliban for providing safe haven to al-Qaida leaders. It took little effort on part of the US to dismantle the Taliban regime. Bin Laden, however, managed to…
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COVID: How is India vetting its vaccines for children?
A COVID-19 vaccine developed in India will soon be available to adults and children over 12 years old. The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) recently approved Zydus Cadila’s needleless, three-dose vaccine for emergency use. The shot, known as ZyCoV-D, will be the first vaccine to be administered to adolescents in India. It is also the world’s first vaccine built…
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Pfizer Vaccine protection after 6 months: Covid 47%, Hospitalisation 90%
New data this week shows that the Pfizer vaccine which has proven to be 88% effective against Covid-19 dropped to just 47% efficacy six months after the second dose. The report published Monday in the Lancet public medical journal had originally been released in August before being peer-reviewed, and lays clear the need for booster shots as efficacy drops. Data…
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Will Myanmar junta leader be given a seat at ASEAN summit?
A summit of the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will take place later this month and delegates are debating whether to include Myanmar or not. The troubled nation is a member of the association, but other nations are debating whether to recognise and invite the military junta leader that overthrew the elected government in Myanmar in February…
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AirAsia Malaysia requiring all passengers to be vaccinated
AirAsia, the Southeast Asian budget airline carrier based in Malaysia, has announced that they will only allow passengers to travel on their flights if they have been fully vaccinated. It is unclear if this will apply to all regional AirAsia divisions, but it appears to be implemented first in Malaysia. The announcement made today said that the Malaysian unit will…
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Why Cuban baseball players fled their country
The Florida Marlins baseball stadium in Miami is located a mere 150 nautical miles (278 kilometers) from Cuba. Many young Cubans dream about playing for teams in the US top division, Major League Baseball (MLB). Baseball, after all, is Cuba’s number one national sport. A number of leading MLB players in the US today grew up playing the sport on…
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Extinction Rebellion protesters disrupt Paris Fashion Week show
Climate change activists from the Extinction Rebellion group have disrupted a Louis Vuitton catwalk show during Paris Fashion Week. According to an AFP report, a protester invaded a catwalk in the Louvre art gallery to slam the fashion industry for its negative impact on the environment. An activist carrying a banner that read, “”Overconsumption = extinction”, managed to climb onto…
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Africalink on Air – 05 October 2021
Impact of Facebook outage in Africa +++ The Gambia registers 30 presidential aspirants +++ Nigeria seeks to cash in on avocado farming SOURCE: DW News
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WhatsApp and Facebook outage sparks confusion in Africa
What would our life be without social media? Many users worldwide got a glimpse of how that would play out when Facebook and its Instagram and WhatsApp platforms crashed on Monday for about six hours. A massive global outage plunged many services, businesses and the people who rely on them into chaos. It also fueled lively debates on the reasons…
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Vietnam’s COVID woes trigger supply chain issues for EU firms
Optimism has been returning for European investors after Vietnam’s communist government began rolling back lockdown measures in mid-September, and the majority of restrictions in the southern business hub Ho Chi Minh City were lifted on October 1. Last year, Vietnam was heralded as one of the few global success stories amid the pandemic. The country of 96 million people recorded…
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