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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Expedia report shows rise in international travel searches, focus on big cities
The latest Expedia Travel Recovery Trend Report shows an increase in international searches, with a focus on big cities and longer search windows. The online travel portal says the global rollout of Covid-19 vaccines is helping to rebuild traveller confidence. The company released its first trend report in May, in order to help travel companies reconnect with travellers. The latest…
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EU and Poland battle it out over the rule of law
This Monday (August 16) Poland faces yet another European Commission deadline in Warsaw’s years-long fight with Brussels over the restructuring of its national judicial system. This time, Warsaw could face stiff financial penalties if it fails to heed the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and immediately halt the work of a new Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court deemed illegal…
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Iran’s ‘hostage diplomacy’ traps foreign nationals
The 67-year-old German-Iranian activist Nahid Taghavi is still in detention after being arrested in the Iranian capital in October 2020. Last week, an Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced her to 10 years and eight months detention on charges of engaging in political activity. Such courts are used to try people suspected of wanting to overthrow the government, the proceedings usually take…
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Philippines finds its first Lambda infection
Thailand’s southeast Asia neighbour the Philippines has announced today that it has found its first case of the Lambda variant of Covid, says the Philippines’s health ministry. WHO has designated the Lambda variant as a “variant of interest”. The VOI was first found in Peru last December. Laboratory studies have shown the Lambda variant has mutations that resist vaccine-induced antibodies.…
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Opinion: Europe’s migrants are part of the solution
Twenty-three million, an estimated 5% of the European Union’s nearly 450 million residents, were born outside of its borders. This figure is perhaps most noticeable in culture and sports. England’s Euro 2020 football squad only had three players that did not have a migration background. And at the Eurovision Song Contest in May, two refugees took part. One of them…
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Tenacious Unicorn Ranch: Sanctuary and target
The Tenacious Unicorn Ranch has become a haven for transgender individuals but not everyone is a fan. Now, residents are arming themselves as death threats mount. SOURCE: DW News
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Turkey: Anti-foreigner sentiment boils over in Ankara riots
It all began on Tuesday evening when a street fight erupted between two groups of youths in Altindag, a district of the Turkish capital, Ankara. In the violent confrontation between some Syrian migrants and a group of Turkish locals, two Turks were stabbed. A few hours later, one of them, 18-year-old Emirhan Yalcin, died in hospital. The event sparked a…
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Greece: Abandoned to the flames on Evia
The sun loungers have been abandoned in the seaside resort of Rovies. In parts of this village, the flames blazed their way right down to the beach. Just a few days ago, Evia’s hills were covered in thousands of its characteristic pine trees. All that’s left of them now are black stumps, split open by the heat, standing in a…
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India: Chhattisgarh conducts survey to map Maoist presence
Indian security forces this year have stepped up operations against ultra left-wing guerrillas deep in the forests of the mineral-rich central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, which has regularly seen clashes between the rebels and security forces in recent years. The Maoists, also known as Naxals, have waged an armed struggle against government forces for decades. They are considered India’s biggest…
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The dying art of papier-mache in Kashmir
His family has been in the business of papier-mache art for well over a century, but for Akhtar Hussain Mir, his trade is gradually disappearing before his eyes. Mir learnt the art at the age of 10 but now, five decades later, he feels disheartened as the craft is slowly vanishing from the Himalayan Valley of India-administered Kashmir and little…
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Meet India’s last maker of hand-made national flags
Mohammad Arif, a 70-year-old flag maker, told DW about how plastic flags are harmful for the environment and it’s better to use cotton flags in their stead. SOURCE: DW News
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Confusing tweet implies New York Times launching porn service
A bit of corner-cutting shorthand in a tweet caused an uproar on Twitter and beyond yesterday with the announcement that the New York Times, the 3rd largest newspaper in the United States, was branching out into pornography. A former New York Times employee wrote a poorly phrased tweet about a new newsletter program the historic newspaper is launching. Mat Yurow,…
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Lebanon: Dollars shield some from hyperinflation crisis
Long queues outside gas stations, empty shelves in pharmacies and often more than 20 hours of power outages a day — the situation in Lebanon was grim even before the Central Bank decided to lift the subsidies for fuel imports this week. Signs of the crisis are easy to spot everywhere in Lebanon: The elderly woman who asks for money…
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Former Burmese junta leader Than Shwe infected with Covid-19
As the current Burmese military junta, mired with mass civil unrest stemming from their coup February 1, struggles with the increasingly rampant Covid-19 pandemic, Than Shwe, leader of the previous military junta has been hospitalised with Covid-19. The former strongman leader, now 88 years old, is said to be in stable condition after being diagnosed with the virus. Than Shwe…
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Red Shirt leader urges pro-democracy protesters not to resort to violence
Nattawut Saikuar, the Red Shirt leader, is cautioning young protesters that violent interactions with authority figures may play right into the authorities’ hands. Earlier today, Nattawut broadcasted live on Facebook to share his message of non-violence. He urged the protesters to think through their behaviour carefully. He also announced a car rally demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.…
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Victims of Belarus police violence: ‘they said we should just die’
At a press conference earlier this week, broadcast by state television, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko rejected allegations that those who were arrested for protesting the outcome of the presidential election in August 2020 had been tortured. Only 47 people work in Minsk’s Okrestina prison, Lukashenko said during his exchange with journalists and handpicked citizens. “And they are supposed to have…
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Angolan bets on rabbits in economic crisis
Octávio Simão has been farming rabbits for six years after tough economic conditions forced him to try something new. Many said his enterprise was foolish, but rabbit farming sustains his family today. At 25, he has a degree in Business Management. Simão raises over 100 rabbits consisting of four breeds. The rabbit breeder sells 10 to 20 rabbits a day.…
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Philippines extends travel ban from Thailand, 9 other countries
The Philippines is planning to extend its ban on travellers from Thailand and 9 more countries. The extension will go the end of this month out of Delta/Covid concerns, the presidential spokesperson said today. Philippine officials are rushing to control a spike in Covid cases that have stayed constant at around 12,000 infections for the second day in a row…
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Infestation of Mealybugs leads to China banning Thai longan
China has banned the Thai longan, a fruit that comes in small yellow orbs and when peeled resembles an eyeball, minus the iris or pupil thus its Cantonese name which translates to “dragon eye”, although it could also be argued the fruit looks like a skinless testicle. The anatomically questionable fruit has been banned because of an infestation of mealybugs.…
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Venezuela: Uncertainty around government-opposition talks
A new round of talks to defuse Venezuela’s prolonged national political crisis will kick off in Mexico City on Friday. Norway will mediate the negotiations between Nicolas Maduro’s government and the opposition coalition led by Juan Guaido. The focus will be on regional elections as well as international sanctions facing the country. Besides the lifting of these sanctions, Maduro’s government…
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Algeria and Tunisia wildfires reinforce the tone of IPCC findings on Africa
The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report outlines the severity of the global climate crisis. According to the UN body, the crisis poses not only a policy problem but a global political challenge. Some analysts have been quick to question the difference between the latest IPCC assessment and those over three decades, But experts in Africa see a…
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How Mekong River is turning into a new flashpoint in Indo-Pacific
For several years, US politicians have adopted the Japanese slogan of a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” calling for international law to apply over disputes in the South China Sea, in which China is accused of acting aggressively. Earlier this month, during the East Asia Summit foreign ministers’ meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for “a free and open…
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Afghanistan: Taliban offensive puts Iran in a bind
Iran has been beefing up its military presence along its border with Afghanistan since early May when US-led foreign troops began their total withdrawal from the war-torn nation and the Taliban started an aggressive offensive against Afghan government forces. Since last weekend, Iranian border guards have been on constant alert as Taliban fighters stand guard on the other side of…
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Tanzania’s famous female firefighter
She needs special equipment to work. Pili Kaku loves what she does. She’s a member of the Tanzania Fire and Rescue Service. Kaku is trained to save lives. She pays attention to the grievances of people. This gives her more motivation. Fighting fires is a challenging job. Many women are not interested in it. Kaku is drawing the attention. She…
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AfricaLink on Air – 11 August 2021
Ethiopia calls “all capable” citizens to fight in Tigray war +++ Zambian election: Youth unemployment may swing vote +++ Kenya forces vaccines on Civil Servants +++ Cameroon: Aid agencies drawn into conflict SOURCE: DW News
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Tigray: War at the expense of women
As the death toll rises and crimes abound, the civil war in Tigray is becoming ever more of a humanitarian disaster — particularly for women, who are being raped en masse. SOURCE: DW News
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Niger: Convincing displaced people to return home
More than 130,000 people have fled the Diffa region. Baroua was a Boko Haram target. Niger encourages people to return home. The government plans to resettle 18 more towns. Those who return to Baroua will start from scratch. It’s not only about security guarantees. Going back to Baroua means economic uncertainties. Children will have to attend schools in another city.…
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Thailand: Growing COVID crisis heats up political tension
As Thailand continues to battle its most severe wave of COVID infections yet,frustration is mounting over the government’s poor handling of a delta variant-fueled surge, a sluggish vaccine rollout and the heavy toll that the pandemic restrictions are having on the battered economy. High-risk areas including the capital Bangkok and its surrounding provinces have been in lockdown since mid-July, while…
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COVID: Why Indonesia is unable to rein in the pandemic
Medical facilities on Indonesia’s largest and most populated island, Java, are starting to absorb the blow of surging COVID cases over the past month, with more medical oxygen and hospital beds being made available. However, hospitals elsewhere in Indonesia are reporting low oxygen supplies as cases increase. Java, home to Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, has much better health care facilities compared…
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Madagascar’s worst drought in decades
It has not rained in Madagascar for months and parasites have affected staple crops, leading to rising food prices and leaving families with nothing to eat. In its latest Hunger Hotspots report for 2021, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) says acute food insecurity in southern Madagascar “is expected to push 14,000 people into catastrophic acute food insecurity by…
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