World News
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How much travel insurance should cost you in Thailand (By trip length)
When planning a trip to Thailand, travel insurance is a smart investment that can save you from unexpected costs. Whether it’s medical expenses, lost luggage, or trip cancellations, the right coverage can provide peace of mind and financial protection against...
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Laos-China high-speed railway to bring increased trade opportunities
The high-speed railway from Laos to China is full steam ahead as Laotian authorities say they hope it will increase trade opportunities for the region. The link, known as the Vientiane-Boten railway was opened late last year on December 3, as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Now, the railway operates daily to offer more economical travel, cutting travel…
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1 in 5 foreigners undocumented in South Korea
Data supplied by the Justice Ministry today revealed that one out of five foreigners in South Korea is living in the country illegally. The report states that about 400,000 foreigners are living undocumented in the Southeast Asian country, its highest in two years. It is believed the number of illegal foreigners staying in Korea rose from 388,000 last December to…
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Cambodian politician leads apocalyptic cult
A Cambodian politician has started an apocalyptic cult. The president of the League for Democracy Party, Khem Veasna, claims that he is a reincarnation of the Hindu god Brahma. The so-called “Brahma” has now “prophesised” that massive biblical-level floods will swallow up all of the Earth, except for his farm in Siem Reap province. Quite a few people believe Khem,…
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China locks down 21 million people in Chengdu
The city of Chengdu in China, home to over 21 million people, will go into lockdown at 6pm today to control another Covid-19 outbreak. The country’s President Xi Jinping has committed to a ‘Covid Zero’ approach, despite the detrimental economic effects of lockdowns. Residents of the capital of Sichuan province must stay home at all times, except for mandatory Covid…
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Study: Balinese monkeys use stones to get their rocks off
Monkeys in Thailand need to step up their game. A, er, handy new study of monkeys in Ubud, Bali discovered that local macaques monkeys frequently rub or tap themselves with stones as a form of masturbation. The study was published in this month’s academic journal Ethology (because publishing it elsewhere might get you on a sex offender registry) and showed…
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Groups of 8 or more dining in Hong Kong required to Covid test
A new Covid-19 regulation that came into effect yesterday in Hong Kong is drawing ire from groups of diners and restaurants. The new rule requires all members of any group of eight or more dining in restaurants to present a photo of a negative Covid test taken within 24 hours of dining or a text message confirmation of a negative…
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Royal Caribbean offers cruises to Thailand & other Asian locations in 2023
Royal Caribbean has announced a new series of Asian cruises on their ship ‘Spectrum of the Seas,’ setting sail in 2023 and 2024. Beginning in Singapore, travellers can set off on cruises for 5, 7, 9 or 12 nights, visiting various locations in Asia including Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Taiwan and Japan. Guests can choose from cruises which make stops…
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US plays mischief-maker in Taiwan Strait to infuriate China
To no one’s surprise, the United States provided further evidence of playing mischief-maker in other nations’ affairs yesterday when two US warships passed through the Taiwan Strait. It comes less than a month since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan and made a number of crass comments to infuriate China. Washington says the two guided-missile cruisers, the USS Antietam…
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Popular Phuket-Penang route relaunched by Firefly Airlines
A popular route for expats is back in operation now Firefly Airlines recommenced its flight route between Phuket and Penang. On Friday, the trip resumed for the first time in over two years since being grounded, like so many other flights and routes, by the Covid-19 pandemic. The flight will run four times per week connecting the two popular island…
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VIDEO: Brazillian footballer thanks the wrong girlfriend in an interview
A Brazilian football player might have put a foot in his mouth this week when he was asked in an interview if he wanted to give a tribute to someone. The goalkeeper, Kainan, gave a seemingly noble reply. He said… “To my girlfriend, who’s working now, Thank God, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. Grazi, a hug to you!” But Kainan’s…
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Moderna suing Pfizer for using their tech in Covid vaccines
After Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine brought in US$22 billion so far this year compared to Moderna’s US$10.4 billion, Moderna is suing Pfizer, claiming they copied technology in developing their vaccines. Moderna, a decade-old company that had been pioneering mRNA technology long before Covid-19, had said at the start of the pandemic that they wouldn’t enforce related patents to help the world…
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UPDATE: Burmese junta releases statement on charges for former UK ambassador
UPDATE The Burmese junta said in a statement yesterday that it has charged a former UK ambassador to the country with immigration offenses. This news comes after anonymous sources reported yesterday that the former ambassador Vicky Bowman and her husband had been detained in Yangon. Local media reports that the two had been detained on Wednesday night, and are being…
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Former UK ambassador and husband reported detained in Myanmar
The former UK ambassador to Myanmar and her husband have been detained in Yangon, two anonymous sources reported today. A spokesperson for the Burmese junta did not answer calls from Reuters seeking comment on the situation. A British embassy spokesperson has said the embassy is concerned about the arrest. She said… “We are in contact with the local authorities and are…
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Hong Konger stuck in Myanmar pleads for help after being kidnapped in Thailand
A man from Hong Kong has contacted an anti-trafficking NGO pleading for help. He says he is currently detained and being forced to work as a scammer in Myanmar after he was kidnapped in Thailand. The man, 30 year old John, says he has been trapped for three months so far, and “escape is not an option.” John said he…
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Domino’s Japan delivers pizza to summit of Mt. Fuji
A Domino’s Japan delivery driver went to extreme lengths to deliver a pizza to a hungry hiker at the summit of Mt. Fuji, the country’s tallest peak at 3,776 metres. The delivery fee amounted to the equivalent of almost 1,000 baht, which seems modest considering it took the Domino’s guy almost six hours to walk up the active volcano to…
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Thailand lends Cambodia 983 million baht for road project
The Thai Cabinet approved a 983 million baht loan for Cambodia to improve its roads on condition they use construction materials and advisory engineers from Thailand. The Deputy Spokesperson of the PM Office, Trisuree Trisaranakun, reported yesterday that the Cabinet agreed to support Cambodia’s road repair project. The enterprise would improve the NR67 Road, which connects Siem Reap province with…
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Former Malaysia premier starts 12 years in the slammer
A federal court in Kuala Lumpur yesterday rejected an appeal by the former prime minister of Malaysia, that he had done no wrong, and sentenced him to a 12-year jail term for playing a part in a multi-million dollar graft. It was reported he was sent to Kajang prison, south of the Kuala Lumpur capital. Najib Razak, who served as…
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Tourism Malaysia visits Songkhla and Bangkok to lure Thais
As Thailand has lured more and more Malaysian tourists across the border for short-haul holidays, Malaysia started marketing tourism to Thai people as soon as the borders began to open again after the Covid-19 pandemic. Thailand added more train services across the border at Padang Besar into the country and Malaysia welcomed tours sent by Thai travel agents. Malaysia overtook…
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Cambodia aims for 1 million tourists in 2022, has 740k already
As Southeast Asia reopens and scrambles to attract international tourists, Cambodia has announced triumphant numbers from the Ministry of Tourism, declaring over 740,000 tourists from abroad between January to the end of July this year. The swell of tourists is about 22.5% of the number of travellers pre-pandemic, but a 560% increase over figures for the first half of 2022.…
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UPDATE: 110 Thais on one flight denied entry into South Korea
UPDATE The Thai tourists who were denied entry into South Korea have filed a lawsuit against a tour company who they say is responsible for the whole nightmare. Despite forking out loads of cash for the package ‘holiday,’ 71 Thai tourists were detained at the South Korean border for four days and deported back to Thailand. Yesterday, eight Thais on…
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Terrorists kill at least 20 in Somalia hotel attack
Terrorists have shot and killed at least 20 people in a hotel in Somalia’s capital city of Mogadishu on Friday, and have wounded at least 50 others. Two security officials were among those injured at the attack at the Hayat Hotel, one of whom was an intelligence chief. The Al Qaeda-affiliated group Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in…
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Baldwin deflects blame, expects no charges over gun accident
In a rare interview regarding the tragic gun accident on the set of his film “Rust” which left the cinematographer dead, Alec Baldwin deflected blame and said he didn’t believe anyone would be criminally charged over the incident. The accident happened when a prop gun that Baldwin was to fire toward the camera somehow was loaded with live ammunition which…
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ISIS member involved in plot that killed Americans gets sentenced for life
Justice was served yesterday for one of the bloodthirsty savages of ISIS. The ISIS member, 34 year old former British national El Shafee Elsheikh, had been part of a plot to take hostages, which led to the killings of four Americans in Syria. Those slain included journalist James Foley and aid worker Kayla Mueller. ISIS members notoriously beheaded Foley in…
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Unpaid Cambodia casino workers swim home to Vietnam
In Cambodia, about 40 Vietnamese workers fled alleged slave labour conditions in a casino, swimming to freedom across the border. The staff fled the Golden Phoenix Entertainment Casino, located in the border province of Kandal in Cambodia, making a daring escape past security and through a river to reach freedom in Vietnam. The few dozen Vietnamese employees said they were…
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“Drink more booze” Japan urges youth with new contest
Japan’s alcohol sales have gone way down since Covid-19 restrictions, and the government is desperate to bring them up again. Numbers show that Japan’s young drink quite significantly less than its old. While about 30% of people in their 40s to 60s drink regularly, only 7.8% of people in their 20s do. Meanwhile, sales at Japan’s pubs were cut in…
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Sri Lanka’s exiled president to head home after Thailand stay
Sri Lanka’s exiled president is planning to finally head home next week after staying in Thailand. The ousted leader, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has been on quite a journey ever since 100,000 angry protesters forced him to flee Sri Lanka on July 14. He first travelled to the Maldives and then to Singapore, where he was granted a temporary residence but without…
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China not cod-ing about its zero Covid policy as it tests fish
China was not cod-ing when it said it remains committed to its zero Covid-19 policy. This week fish caught off the coast of Xiamen, in southeastern Fujian province, were given nucleic acid tests alongside the fishermen who hauled in the catch. China’s overzealous zero Covid strategy was made fun of by a Chinese media outlet, Sohu (搜狐新闻), who posted a video on…
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Monkeypox victims told to avoid animals after pet dog is infected
The World Health Organisation appealed to those infected with monkeypox to avoid exposing animals to the disease after the first reported case of a human-to-dog transmission emerged. The British-based medical journal, the Lancet, last week reported an Italian greyhound, living with two men in Paris, had caught monkeypox. Rosamund Lewis, the WHO’s technical lead for monkeypox made it known that…
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Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla diagnosed with an unfortunate infection
If you’ve ever heard the advice “never get a haircut from a bald barber” you know that even something completely natural can tarnish the image of a brand in people’s minds. So, much like being judged for being an overweight fitness instructor, it’s a bit awkward for Albert Bourla that people now know he’s been infected by Covid-19, considering he…
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Aung San Suu Kyi receives additional 6-year prison sentence
Deposed Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi received an additional jail term sentence, this time six years for corruption, adding to the 11 years she has already. Suu Kyi was jailed by the military junta that overthrew the government on February 1, 2021, as she tried to introduce democracy. She was sentenced previously to 11 years in jail for breaking…
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