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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Laos to ban public from holding foreign currencies
The Central Bank of Laos plans to ban residents from holding foreign currencies to address problems such as inflation, and the depreciation of the Kip. The Laotian Times yesterday reported that the Governor of the Central Bank of Laos, Sonexay Sitphaxay, promised to solve foreign exchange problems during a press conference on May 27. The governor acknowledged public concern regarding…
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Shopee fires 50% of its Thai staff
E-commerce platform Shopee today announced 50% of its Thai staff are being fired alongside employees from Indonesia and Vietnam. The company, under the Singaporean tech group Sea, did not give a reason for the mass redundancies. DealStreetAsia reported that Shopee has informed all staff on the redundancy hit list to pack up their stuff and wait for an official termination…
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Malaysia’s Cabinet agrees to abolish mandatory death penalty
Malaysia’s Cabinet voted in favour of abolishing the mandatory death penalty. According to proposed changes to the law announced on Friday, the death penalty would not be abolished completely, but Malaysian judges would no longer be forced to issue the mandatory death penalty for 11 types of serious crimes, including drug offences, kidnapping, murder and terrorism. Malaysia’s parliament will still…
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UPDATE: Thai couple murdered in Taiwan
UPDATE: Last week, A Thai man murdered a Thai couple in Taiwan – the woman pregnant with twins – and stuffed their bodies into the trunk of a BMW in Taoyuan city near the capital Taipei. The prime suspect, a Thai man from Ubon Ratchathani, fled Taiwan to his home in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, on Thursday. By the time…
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China opens naval base in Cambodia, officials go swimming together to celebrate
Despite experts predicting that ASEAN nations would not pick sides between the US and China, Cambodia seems to be cozying up to its powerful Chinese neighbour, with officials even going for a dip in the sea together. Cambodia’s Minister of Defense Tea Banh and Chinese Ambassador Wang Wentian were spotted bathing in the sea together after the opening ceremony of…
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Malaysians flood back to Phuket
Daily AirAsia flights from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket are fully booked as Malaysians flock back to the island paradise in their thousands. The island is a popular beach getaway location for Malaysian families, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, or TAT. Alongside AirAsia, Scoot, Indigo, Emirates and Thai Airways also fly into Phuket from various locations in Malaysia. Other…
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Thai couple murdered in Taiwan by a Thai man
Thai police is expecting a call from Taiwan officials to help find a man accused of killing a Thai couple last week. The bodies of the couple were discovered in a parked car outside the Taoyuan high-speed train station on Friday. The killings are believed to be linked to a disagreement over money lending. The bodies of the couple were…
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Surprise! Additional luggage fees on a budget airline ruin family holiday
Yikes. How much were you charged recently for late checked baggage fees? All but some of the larger legacy or national airlines charge for checked in luggage these days and arriving at the airport check-in, without having paid for your checked luggage, when you booked the cheap seats online, will likely provide an unhappy surprise. So HOW unhappy? Have a…
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Meta downgrades commitment to Facebook News service, tech giants don’t want to pay for News
Meta, aka Facebook, are looking to review commitments to pay publishers for their news articles. The payments, said to be 100s of million US$ a year to mostly larger news publishers, have shown little return to the Facebook platform or gained them many extra users. Some of the larger publishers, both in the US and elsewhere, are going to have…
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Thailand seals the deal for emergency support loan from Japan
The Thailand deal for a long-term multi-billion baht loan with Japan was formally announced today. Last month the government made the announcement to approach Japan for the loan. On May 3, the Thai Finance Minister, Akom Termpittayapaisit, explained to Thai media that he signed the agreement on Covid-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support Loan with a representative from JICA Morota Takahiro.…
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Myanmar to execute 4 activists despite appeals
The Myanmar junta still intend to execute 4 activists despite appeals from around 200 civil society organisations pleading with the military government to drop the ruling. The UN Amnesty International, and 199 civil society organisations have all backed a statement calling for the Myanmar junta to reverse their decision over the 4 activists. “We, the following organizations and world citizens…
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Thai and Laotian officials discuss border trafficking
Thai and Laotian officials met in Bangkok today to discuss trafficking along their countries’ borders, among other subjects. Last week, the 2 countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to work together on a wide range of issues, among them drug and human trafficking. Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, and Laotian Deputy Prime Minister Chansamone Chanyalath, also discussed…
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50 years today – anniversary of an iconic photo
It’s June 8, 1972 and bombs come raining from the sky in a village called Trang Bang, just 50 kilometres northwest of Ho Chi Minh City (then it was called Saigon). 50 years ago, today, a photo was snapped featuring a 9 year old called Phan Thi Kim Phuc. The photo became not only an indelible image representing the worst…
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Canada launches vaccine campaign against monkeypox
Quebec is the first Canadian province to launch a vaccine campaign against monkeypox, specifically aimed at ‘high-risk’ people who have been exposed to the virus. Over 800 Quebecers have been vaccinated with the Imvamune smallpox vaccine so far, which can build immunity against monkeypox, according to Canadian public health officials. So far, 90 cases of monkeypox have been recorded in…
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Dengue fever breaks out in Singapore
Dengue fever has broken out in Singapore, as the number of cases has already climbed to more than double the number throughout all of 2021. The city-state’s peak dengue season usually begins on June 1. A spokesperson for Singapore’s Ministry of Health told CNN that on May 28 this year, Singapore already had about 11,670 cases. Throughout all of 2021,…
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Cambodia officially becomes ‘Covid-Free’
Cambodia now claims it is now completely free of Covid-19, according to a statement released by the country’s health ministry yesterday. The last recorded case has recovered and Cambodia has entered a state of “Covid Zero.” The southeast Asian nation – which has a population of 16.7 million – recorded a total of 136,262 cases, 133,206 recoveries and 3,056 Covid-19…
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French Thai kickboxer makes a dick of himself
French Muay Thai Kickboxer, Jimmy Vienot, unintentionally made a bit of an idiot of himself after his recent triumph over Petchmorakot Petchyindee at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok. The Frenchman, who defeated Petchmorakot on May 20, wanted, มวยไทย, meaning Muay Thai, inked on his arm, but the result came back not just wrong, but terribly wrong. Instead, a communication…
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Indonesia jumps ahead of Thailand with new 5 year digital nomad visa
Yes, remote workers have finally got a break with Indonesia’s announcement of a visa specifically for the digital nomad crowd. In the post-Covid world, with world office and work habits going through such profound changes, the option for a digital nomad visa, where remote workers could work in a south East Asian resort location rather than a dank office, will…
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Singapore hails Thailand a leading digital nation in ASEAN
The Digital Economy and Society Minister, Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, travelled to Singapore yesterday to sign a digital partnership agreement with Singapore’s Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong. Chaiwut, together with the Thai ambassador to Singapore, and the Thai PM’s secretary, met with Gan Kim Yong and agreed to promote 8 items on the MoU agenda, including digital transformation, e-commerce policies,…
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Indonesia opens office doors to remote workers with 5 year visa offer
Temping tourists to travel to Indonesia shouldn’t be a difficult task. After all, the largest archipelago in the world is rich with cultural gems, stunning beaches, and every kind of natural beauty. But the Indonesian government has decided against taking the scenic route, instead they are tempting the business community with an appetising 5 year visa. The nation’s Tourism Minister,…
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Three charged over rape of a mother of two on a train in Pakistan
Three men in Pakistan have been arrested over the rape of a woman on a train from Karachi to Multan on May 27. Pakistan’s railway ministry reported that the men asked the woman to move to a carriage with air conditioning, before they attacked her on the moving train. One of the accused is a ticket checker for the train.…
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Starving Rohingyas found in South Thailand national park
The chief of a national park in south Thailand announced yesterday (Saturday) that 59 Rohingya migrants had appeared on a beach there .The chief, Phanpong Kongkaeo, said his assistant alerted him that the 59 people appear to be starving and had no food or supplies with them. Phanpong said he has ordered food and drinking water for them. Tarutao National…
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United States CDC says over 700 cases of monkeypox worldwide
The United State’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention announced yesterday that it knew of over 700 cases of monkeypox worldwide. The CDC said there were 21 cases in the US. Today the number of cases, worldwide has reached nearly 900. Although 14 of the cases in the US are thought to be travel-linked, CDC officials say that at least…
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Japan facing rise in ‘Long Covid’ cases
Japan is seeing a number of people report having so-called ‘Long Covid’ symptoms, including fatigue, coughing and memory memory loss. Tokyo’s metropolitan government found that of the 2,039 people reporting Long Covid symptoms, 97% only had mild symptoms when they were infected with the coronavirus between January and April. 74% had no underlying disease, and more than 70% were aged…
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Gunman in Oklahoma shooting killed surgeon treating him for back pain
A gunman who shot 4 people dead at a hospital in the US state of Oklahoma wanted to kill the surgeon who’d operated on him. The perpetrator, Michael Louis, blamed Preston Phillips for back pain he was experiencing following the surgery, say local police. According to an AFP report, Louis stormed the Saint Francis hospital building in search of Dr…
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Heard’s lawyer says actress unable to pay Depp more than US$10 million in damages
Following a court ruling that, for the most part, went against her, Amber Heard’s lawyer says the Hollywood actress is unable to pay her ex-husband over US$10 million in damages. On Wednesday, the jury in a defamation trial held in the southern US state of Virginia found both Heard and Depp guilty of defaming each other, but ruled far more…
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Taiwan battles Covid infection spike as it continues to re-open borders
Taiwan is currently Asia’s Covid-19 hotspot, following years of keeping the Covid variants at bay. The island-nation’s relaxation of travel curbs has fuelled a record spike in new infections. Taiwan began the process of prying open its borders in March, initially allowing business and essential travellers to enter the island. They were welcomed with quarantine in a hotel or state quarantine…
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Shooting in Oklahoma kills 4
After a school shooting in Texas rocked global headlines last week and destroyed the lives of the victim’s families in Uvalde, Texas, there’s been another shooting in the neighbouring state of Oklahoma in the US. The shooter shot and killed 4 people in a medical building on a hospital campus in Tulsa yesterday before shooting himself dead. Tulsa Police Department…
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US sends advanced weapons to Ukraine, as Kyiv promises not to target inside Russia
The US Secretary of State says Ukraine has given an undertaking not to use long-range rocket systems to target inside Russia. Antony Blinken was addressing a news conference with NATO chief, Jens Stoltenberg, after the US agreed to supply Ukraine with the weapons. “The Ukrainians have given us assurances that they will not use these systems against targets on Russian…
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World Health Organisation says Covid-19 situation in North Korea likely deteriorating
The World Health Organisation says it has received no update on the Covid-19 situation in North Korea, but can only assume it’s getting worse. This contradicts claims from Pyongyang that the country is making “progress” against the virus. According to an AFP report, North Korea confirmed its first Covid-19 infections on May 12. However, last week, state media announced that…
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