World News
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All Thailand-Myanmar border checkpoints closed, massively affecting trade
Myanmar had closed down all of the checkpoints along the Thai-Myanmar border since April 23. Business owners have cried foul saying that they might lose up to 500,000 baht per day and wanted the Thai government to coordinate with Burmese authorities to solve the problem. After the car bomb exploding on the first Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge on April 23, Thai officials…
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Elon Musk buys Twitter, vows to ‘unlock’ platform’s ‘tremendous potential’
The world’s richest man has bought the world’s more divisive social media platform. Elon Musk succeeded in buying Twitter Inc, after the board approved his offer of US$44 billion cash on Monday. The purchase gives Musk total control of the social media platform, which has nearly 400 million users, including influential world leaders. Prior to the takeover, Musk had purchased…
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Ousted Burmese leader Suu Kyi appears in court on corruption charge
Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratically-elected former leader of Myanmar who was ousted in a military coup last year, has appeared in court on a corruption charge. The case is one of multiple cases being brought against her, with the threat of lengthy prison time if she’s found guilty. According to comments made to Reuters by an unnamed source close…
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Demand for Singapore picks up as Covid-19 entry restrictions are eased
Data compiled by economists at Maybank Investment Bank reveals an increase in Google searches for Singapore, following the city-state’s easing of Covid restrictions. In particular, an increase in demand has been reported among travellers in Malaysia, along with Indonesia, India, and Australia. According to a Bloomberg report, Singapore has jumped ahead of its neighbours in ditching travel restrictions and adopting…
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Freddie Mercury statue erected in South Korea
After an 8 year-long quest, a South Korean ‘Queen’ superfan fulfilled his dream of honouring his late hero Freddie Mercury by erecting a life-size statue of him on the popular Jeju Island in South Korea. Queen’s music was banned in South Korea in the 1970s by then-military dictator Park Chung-hee. The regime deemed the British rock band’s music “unsuitable” and…
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Car bomb explodes near Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge – VIDEO
A car bomb exploded over the weekend near the first Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, on the Myawaddy side of the Thai border, adjacent to Mae Sot district in Tak. Residents in Mae Sot reported they could clearly hear the blast, which happened late Saturday night. An ethnic anti-government Burmese group is suspected to have planted the explosive in a car parked…
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France’s Macron defeats Le Pen to secure second presidential term
France’s incumbent president Emmanuel Macron soundly defeated the far-right opposition candidate Marine Le Pen on Sunday, securing a second term with a majority of votes. Macron won 58.6% of the vote to LePen’s 41.4%. The margin is closer than their last face-off in 2017, when Macron won by more than 30 percentage points. This time the margin was significantly reduced,…
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“It was a human-made disaster”: 11 dead, 15 missing after tour boat sinks in Japan
A tour boat with 26 people on board sank off the coast of Hokkaido in Japan on Saturday. Authorities have confirmed the deaths of 11 passengers and rescue teams are still searching for the remaining 15 passengers. Given the near-freezing temperatures of the water, rescuers fear the death toll will wise. Scientists say the boat shouldn’t have been operating in…
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Car bomb and gun battle at immigration building on Thai/Myanmar border
A car bomb and a gun fight wreaked havoc in Myawaddy Township in Myanmar last night. The car bomb, suspected to have been left in a pickup truck, exploded at an immigration building near the border with Tak province in Thailand. The remains of the pickup truck suspected of carrying the bomb were found near a border checkpoint. After the…
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South Korea to allow eating at movie theatres, indoor gyms
Following South Korea’s move last week to lift several Covid-19 restrictions, the country’s PM announced on Friday that next week, people will be allowed to eat in many public spaces that were earlier prevented due to the country’s Covid restrictions. These include movie theatres, indoor gyms, religious centres, trains, and busses. The PM, Kim Boo-kyum, says the government will consult…
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Hong Kong to let in non-residents starting May 1, but with quarantine
After lifting suspensions on flights from 9 overseas locations on April 1, Hong Kong now plans to let in non-residents from all countries starting May 1. In the past month, average daily arrivals have risen in the territory to about 1,200 from a meagre 300, according to the Hong Kong government’s Covid website. The ban on non-residents has been in…
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UPDATE: Missing family from central Thailand flew to Istanbul, Turkey
THE LATEST After checking their database, Thai police have discovered that the family from central Thailand who went missing on April 10 flew to Istanbul, Turkey on that day. The family, who lived in Sukhothai, flew from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport. It is unclear whether they are still in Istanbul, or have moved to another spot. Police also found the couple’s…
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Surging violence at Al Aqsa mosque, Israel and Palestine
A new round of violence has broken out between Palestinians and the Israeli forces. Witnesses say this morning, young Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli police stationed at a gate outside the Al Aqsa mosque compound. The mosque is a sensitive spot between Israelis and Palestinians due to religious tensions. After the Palestinians threw rocks, the police, dressed in full riot…
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Queen of England gets personalised Barbie doll on 96th birthday
As Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 96th birthday and 70 years on the throne yesterday — i.e. “Platinum Jubilee” — toymaker Mattel delivered a plastic fantastic present: a special Barbie doll in the queen’s likeness. According to the company, the doll sports a replica of the Queen’s wedding day tiara, as well as blue and pink ribbons after those her…
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Wimbledon’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players is “crazy”, says Djokovic
World tennis champion Novak Djokovic has condemned Wimbledon’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players as “crazy.” Earlier this week, the oldest tennis tournament in the world announced that players from Russia and Belarus are banned from playing in this year’s competition from June 27 – July 10 because of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The decision has been described as “complete…
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Putin declares Mariupol ‘liberated’ despite Ukrainian troops, civilians holding out
Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed victory in the port city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine. He declared it “liberated” despite more than a thousand civilians and Ukrainian troops still inside a massive steel plant. Winning the largest battle in the war in Ukraine is the type of moral victory the Russian leader wants to deliver on the eve of…
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Cambodia reduces quarantine for unvaccinated visitors from 2 weeks to 1
Starting yesterday, visitors to Cambodia, who are not fully vaccinated, will only have to quarantine for one week, and not two. Cambodia’s health ministry said air travellers not fully vaccinated must take antigen tests on their last day of quarantine. The country has eased Covid-19 restrictions in the past month, and officially stopped requiring Covid-19 tests upon entry for vaccinated…
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European airlines assess mask rules for flights to United States
After US airlines stopped requiring people to wear masks on domestic flights last week, European airlines are assessing their mask rules for flights to the US. European carriers are now divided over policies on trans-Atlantic flights. British Airways told customers that the requirement to wear masks onboard depends on restrictions in the arrival destination. KLM, a Dutch airline, told passengers…
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Manhunt continues for escaped Rohingya refugees in Malaysia
Malaysian authorities are still on the hunt for 130 illegal Rohingya migrants, who escaped barefoot from a temporary immigration depot near the Kedah-Penang border on Wednesday, after a riot broke out at the facility early yesterday morning. The refugees were reportedly protesting overcrowding at the facility when the situation escalated into a riot. The undocumented migrants, still on the run,…
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Kyiv calls for negotiations to evacuate troops, civilians from Azovstal steel plant
After Ukrainian fighters holed up in the Azovstal steel plant ignored a Russian ultimatum to surrender or die on Wednesday, the government in Kyiv has proposed talks with Moscow to evacuate their troops and civilians from the surrounded steelworks factory. The move comes after a Ukrainian marine commander, Serhiy Volny, made a desperate plea to world leaders, asking them to…
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Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard saga continues
The legal saga between Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard continues in court. Depp filed a lawsuit against Heard after she wrote a column in 2018 describing herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse”. Even though Heard never named Depp explicitly, he is suing for implying he was a domestic abuser. Depp delivered a roughly three-hour testimony on…
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Rohingya refugees in Malaysia killed trying to cross highway
Cars hit and killed six Rohingya refugees on a Malaysian highway today. 582 Rohingya refugees had escaped a temporary immigration detention centre, when two men, two woman, and a boy and a girl were hit and killed trying to cross a highway in Kedah state. Before the escape, a riot had broken out in a detention centre in Penang state.…
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Pattaya Christian organisation to give food, support to Russians and Ukrainians
As various sectors of Thai society step forward to help stranded Russians and Ukrainians, a Christian organisation in Pattaya plans to provide mink, instant noodles, 5 kilogram bags of rice. The organisation, Hand to Hand Foundation, invites Russians and Ukrainians to come to their centre in Banlamung district from 2pm – 4m on April 21, April 26 and April 28.…
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Sri Lanka’s police shoot and kill protestor
Sri Lankan police shot and killed a protestor yesterday in an incident that quickly spread across social media. Police had opened fire on a crowd in the central town of Rambukkana, and at least three others were injured. Police said the protestor killed, a man, had refused to move from a railway line and had parked a fuel truck across…
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Pilots announce end of US mask mandate mid-flight, passengers divided
Midway through a flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles on Monday night, the pilot announced the end of America’s requirement to wear face masks on public transport, including on planes. The sound of cheering resonated through the plane and around one third of passengers instantly took off their masks, according to a witness. However, some passengers were outraged and scolded…
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Former leader Suu Kyi breaks silence, urges Burmese to ‘be united’
In rare comments, the former leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, has called on the Burmese people to be united. According to a Reuters report, the comments were confirmed by a source close to Suu Kyi’s legal proceedings. Suu Kyi, along with the democratically elected government, was ousted by a military coup on February 1 last year. The former…
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US mask mandate on public transport lifted following court ruling
A federal judge in Florida has ruled that a mask mandate on public transport in the US is unlawful, eliminating the disease prevention measure. According to a Reuters report, the mandate was extended last week until May 3, requiring passengers on trains, planes, in taxis, and at transit hubs to wear face masks. The lifting of the mandate comes as…
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Australia welcomes the return of cruise ships as 2-year Covid ban lifted
Cruise ships are returning to Australia, following the lifting of a 2-year Covid ban, according to an AFP report. The ban was implemented in March 2020 in a bid to prevent the importation of Covid-19. It ended this morning with the arrival of the Pacific Explorer into Sydney Harbour. At the base of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, crowds gathered to…
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Search for the missing continues as South Africa floods claim 443 lives
The search continues for dozens of people still missing following floods in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The death toll has now risen to 443 after heavy rains caused devastating floods and mudslides. According to a Reuters report, thousands have been left homeless, while homes have lost power and water. One of the country’s busiest ports, Durban, has had…
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Ukraine’s Zelensky defies Russia’s ultimatum to lay down weapons
As Russian forces plunder through the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky says the situation there is “inhuman”. Russian troops first encircled Mariupol last month. Yesterday (Saturday), Russia gave Ukrainian forces an ultimatum to lay down their weapons by 6am Moscow time (10am Bangkok time) today. In response, Zelensky hit back by warning Russia… “the elimination of our…
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