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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Starting a new life abroad is exciting—new culture, new lifestyle, and new chances to grow. But living far from home also means taking steps to protect your health in unfamiliar surroundings. Without the right coverage, even small health issues can...
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High-risk drivers to get full access to Tesla’s driver assistance system
High-risk drivers in North America are now allowed full access to Tesla’s controversial driver-assistance system in a move that has some questioning the company’s intentions. Previously, the feature was only approved for buyers who were considered safe drivers, whatever that means, in North America, but now it is available to all. CEO Elon Musk says the Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta…
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‘Fake’ seed blamed for Thailand’s disgrace in rice Olympiad
“Fake” seed has been blamed for Thailand’s embarrassing second place in last week’s international rice Olympiad in Phuket. Following national humiliation at the hands of Cambodian farmers, a government investigation into the disaster blamed “fake seed” for the disgrace. Natthakit Khongthip, the man carrying the can for the catastrophe, on Thursday described the offending seed behind Thailand’s national as “inauthentic.”…
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Thai Airways increases flights to Singapore
Next month, Thai Airways will increase its Bangkok – Singapore roundtrip frequency from 21 times per week to 28 times per week. The extra flights will help meet the high demand during the festive season. Commencing December 12, THAI’s Bangkok – Singapore service will run four times every day as follows… Flight TG403 will leave Bangkok at 8am and land…
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Afghanistan’s public floggings remain popular entertainment
Afghanistan’s public floggings have regained their popularity with spectators since becoming more commonplace in recent months. Twelve people, including three women, were flogged in front of a rapt crowd of thousands of onlookers at a football stadium in Afghanistan this week. The convicts had been found guilty of crimes including adultery, robbery and homosexuality, a Taliban official told the BBC.…
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Myanmar junta’s release of political prisoners may not be indicative of a changing mindset
Myanmar’s National Unity Government foreign minister is warning the international community over the recent military’s release of 402 political inmates. Daw Zin Mar Aung’s warning contradicted the ASEAN special envoy for Myanmar’s embracement of the act by saying such a move cannot be regarded as a change in the junta’s mindset. “I would like to warn the international community not…
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Thai visitors to Japan up fourfold
Thai visitors to Japan are up 26,000. The number of Thai people holidaying in Japan increased from 7,600 in September to 34,000 this month as Japan ended its Covid-19 restrictions and eased visa rules. At least a million Thais are expected to visit in 2023. President of the Thai-Japan Tourist Association Anake Srishevachart expects Japan to welcome more than 100,000…
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Walmart manager commits deadly shooting in US
A Walmart manager committed a deadly shooting in the US. The gunman, 31 year old Andre Bing, shot and killed six people and injured six others on Tuesday before turning the gun on himself. The incident happened in the break room of a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia. Survivors said the gunman walked into a break room and opened fire. One…
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Elon Musk sees net worth plummet by US$100 billion after Tesla shares hit record low
Elon Musk has reportedly seen his fortune cut by over US$100 billion this year, but he is still the richest person in the world. According to Fortune, the CEO of Tesla has a net worth of between US$170 billion to $182 billion, edging him slightly ahead of Bernard Arnault, the founder of luxury goods giant LVMH. Arnault reportedly has a…
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Brazil’s far-right president challenges election results
Brazil’s far-right president is challenging the country’s election results, which saw him lose in October. President Jair Bolsonaro’s party, the Liberal Party, has argued that ballots from some machines were compromised during the second round and that the electoral court should reject them. Several news outlets reported today that Brazil’s supreme court justice has now given the party 24 hours…
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Airlines argue that flights only need one pilot
If we’ve learned anything from Elon Musk’s tumultuous slash-and-burn takeover of Twitter it’s that gutting essential workers can wreak havoc on a business. Or many in the airline industry have learned nothing. Airlines and international regulatory agencies are calling for the International Civil Aviation Organization to drop the requirement of two pilots per flight. They argue that commercial flights can…
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Bangladeshi terrorists who hacked American blogger to death escape
Two Bangladeshi terrorists who hacked an American blogger to death in 2015 managed to escape a crowded court in Dhaka on Sunday. Police said that bikers sprayed them with chemicals before taking away the convicts. The Islamist militants had been on death row for killing Bangladeshi-American blogger Avijit Roy. Roy referred to himself as an engineer by profession and a…
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Unswerving Covid-19 policy kills off Shanghai F1 GP
China’s dictatorial Covid-19 policy has killed off Shanghai’s return to the Formula 1 calendar next year. F1 has not visited China since 2019 and was due to return for the fourth time in 2023 on April 16. The key sticking point is that F1 staff would not be given exemptions from quarantine requirements in the event of being infected. F1 refuses…
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Record-breaking twins born from 30 year old frozen embryos
Twins Lydia and Timothy Ridgeway entered the Guinness Book of Records for being overdue babies – by a staggering 30 years! OK, they weren’t technically inside a mother’s womb for three decades waiting to be born. They were 30 year old frozen embryos, which broke a world record for the longest-frozen embryos to ever result in a live birth. CNN…
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Thailand and Cambodian officials agree to remove mines in border areas
Thai and Cambodian officials have agreed to remove mines in shared border areas. Cambodian PM Hun Sen instructed provincial authorities to clear the mines after partaking in the 30th anniversary of the mine action exhibition. According to Phnom Penh Post, the PM called on all relevant authorities to work with the Thai side of the border before discussing border issues…
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Indonesian earthquake death toll reaches 268 with 151 still missing
The death toll from the latest Indonesian earthquake has risen to 268, with 151 still reported missing. The quake which hit the island of Java, has injured 1,083 people according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency. The quake hit the city of Cianjur on Monday afternoon, with one woman saying her home started shaking like it was dancing. According to…
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Many children among 268 dead in Indonesian earthquake
The death toll continues to climb in the earthquake that devastated West Java in Indonesia, with many children at school losing their lives. With search teams still digging through the rubble of collapsed buildings, 151 people are still reported missing while 268 are confirmed dead. The quake itself, and the landslides caused by it wreaked havoc on the town of…
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Volcano eruption in Tonga confirmed the largest ever recorded
Just as Indonesia copes with the devastation of the 5.6 magnitude earthquake that struck yesterday, scientists in New Zealand announced their findings about another natural calamity in January. The scientists confirmed that a volcano eruption in Tonga in January was the largest ever recorded using modern equipment. The massive eruption took place deep in the ocean when the Hunga Tonga-Hunga…
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Searches after Indonesian earthquake, death toll over 160
Searches continue for survivors of the massive earthquake in Indonesia. The death toll has now climbed to over 160 people. The quake struck in Cianjur, about 75 kilometres southeast of Jakarta, at a depth of 10 kilometres and lasted for about one minute. The earthquake measured 5.6 on the Richter scale with the epicentre in the mountains of West Java.…
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Iran’s football team declines to sing its own anthem at World Cup
Iran’s football team declined to sing its national anthem at the FIFA World Cup in a move that appears to be a display of solidarity with their fellow countrymen, who are protesting against Iran’s theocratic dictatorship. Before yesterday’s match against England, the Iranian players stood silent as their national anthem was played before the game kicked off. This bold gesture…
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The evolution of Thanksgiving in a multicultural America
If you have American friends, you’ve probably heard of Thanksgiving. You probably know that it’s a day when Americans gather with their extended families, and eat a big feast of turkey and other foods. How has this iconic American holiday evolved? How are Thanksgiving traditions changing in an increasingly multicultural America? Controversial origins The story behind Thanksgiving is a touchy…
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Earthquake kills at least 46 in Indonesia
A 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck West Java in Indonesia this afternoon, killing at least 46 people. Over 700 injuries have been reported so far. The death toll is likely to rise, according to the Indonesian Disaster Agency. The quake struck in Cianjur, about 100 kilometres southeast of Jakarta, at a depth of 10 kilometres and lasted for about one minute.…
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North Korea leader brings 9 year old daughter to missile launch
North Korea leader Kim Jong Un brought an unexpected guest to a missile launch – his nine year old daughter. Kim took his daughter Ju Ae to the launch of a “new type” of intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday. Before the rather unusual daddy-daughter day out, Ju Ae’s existence had not previously been confirmed. Kim said the test was meant…
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Asian international tourism slower than other regions
While tourism in Thailand is picking up, Southeast Asia has seen a much slower rate of return for international travellers than other parts of the world. Many popular holiday areas in Europe have seen a full recovery, and even record-breaking numbers in some. But Asia lags, flummoxed by the slow lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. Thailand began reopening efforts over a…
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Nike defends sweatshops accusation in Thailand
Sportswear giant Nike defended itself over accusations it is running sweatshops in Thailand, paying its factory workers 42 baht an hour to make England 2022 World Cup replica jerseys while they make fortunes of profit. Controversy surrounding the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar just won’t go away. On Friday, The Thaiger broke a story of an alleged match-fixing scandal…
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British man to have leg amputated after being stung by scorpion
A British man launched a Just Giving page to raise funds for his father stuck in a Thai hospital after being stung by a scorpion. The father faces losing his leg. Alan Stephenson, from Bilton in Warwickshire, was stung by what he suspects was a scorpion while he was exploring Thailand earlier this month. He felt a sharp pain but…
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Two Thai women died hiking the Himalayas
High up in the Himalayas, two Thai women met their demise while hiking in the extreme cold. The two women, aged 49 and 37, were part of a group hiking the famous Annapurna trail in Nepal when they fell ill and died. They were reported dead after descending to a base camp to the northwest of the Nepalese capital city…
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Royal Thai Air Force airbus sets flight record
A Royal Thai Air Force Airbus A340-500 completed what appears to be the longest flight ever operated by the aircraft. The record-breaking flight took place with much less fanfare than Singapore Airlines’ commercial record in 2018. The flight from Bangkok to Charlotte, North Carolina, took 18 hours and 14 minutes and covered 14,555 kilometres. The flight landed on Wednesday, November…
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Thai scientists develop flood-resistant rice
Thailand is one of the world’s largest rice exporters, but unpredictable weather conditions such as severe drought and heavy floods have driven Thai scientists to develop flood-resistant rice. Researchers are working on a new strain of rice that can survive floods and resist pests, and perhaps someday even taste better than Cambodian rice. The team of Thai scientists developing flood-resistant…
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King Maha Vajiralongkorn, Queen Suthida meet Xi, Peng Liyuan
The hugely expensive and profitable (for some) APEC Summit has ground to its uninspiring conclusion. World leaders have bidden each other tearful farewells until their next free feed at the corruption buffet. Backslapping over, the leader of the communist world took time out from his oppressive commitments to take tea and selfies with Thailand’s Royal Family, as reported by Xinhua,…
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APEC leaders attend a royal meeting with the King, Queen, Princess
With Bangkok full of top-level officials from around the world at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit this week, a special royal appearance was made. His Royal Majesty King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana treated leaders from the APEC meeting to an audience with them last night. The meeting took place on the grounds of the Grand Palace in…
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