World News
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Sponsored Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?
Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
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Thailand to face Timor in first round of Suzuki Cup
Thailand’s mens national football team will face Timor Leste in the opening match of the AFF Suzuki Cup next month in Singapore. The Timor Leste team was originally set to face Brunei, but the Brunei team had to pull out as Covid-19 made them unable to prepare for the tournament. The AFF Suzuki Cup is a contest amongst the ASEAN…
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Government defends lèse majesté law against UN criticism
Following criticism from a number of United Nations member states, the Thai government has defended the country’s controversial lèse majesté law. The law, or section 112 of the Criminal Code, prohibits insulting, defaming, or criticising the Thai monarchy and carries a penalty of up to 15 years in jail. Reuters reports that yesterday, a number of UN member countries voiced…
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Air Asia boss: Recovery in 3 months if countries ditch quarantine, testing
The chief executive of the Air Asia Group says the aviation sector could return to normal in about 3 months, if governments ditch quarantine and PCR testing. Tony Fernandes says if countries can re-open without such requirements, demand will rise significantly. According to a Bangkok Post report, Air Asia has sold over 300,000 tickets to Langkawi since the island re-opened.…
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US parents split over COVID vaccines for young children
Louise*, mother of a first-grader in Washington DC, was so keen on getting her daughter vaccinated against COVID-19 that she didn’t mind going a bit out of her way. Friday around lunchtime she found out that a rec center across town had around 300 open spots for kids aged 5 to 11 the following day. She immediately signed up ―…
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Belarus border residents rattled by migrant crisis on their doorstep
The Kamenets district near the well-known national park Belovezhskaya Pushcha is a rather deserted area on the Belarusian-Polish border. There’s only one border crossing here to get to neighboring Poland legally. But, the Pestschatka checkpoint hardly sees any traffic nowadays due to coronavirus restrictions in Belarus. Residents of the surrounding Belarusian villages, however, have been watching their country’s western border…
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Benin liberalizes abortion law
Claudia can still remember when her mother forbade her to ever consider having an abortion. She was a 16-year-old school student in Cotonou, Benin’s economic hub. “She said, ‘If you get pregnant, you have to have the child’. She would never have allowed me to get an abortion,” Claudia, who is now 28, told DW. Claudia says that for many…
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What does India want to achieve through Afghanistan talks?
India on Wednesday hosted senior diplomats and security officials from Afghanistan’s neighbors, with the notable exceptions of China and Pakistan, to discuss how to deal with the Taliban. The Delhi Regional Security Dialogue for Afghanistan was attended by representatives from India, Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Afghan representatives were not invited. Officials from Pakistan and China declined…
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North Korea teeters on the brink of famine as winter approaches
The last of the harvest was gathered shortly before the first snow fell in North Korea this year, but the yield was significantly less than the amount needed to feed the isolated nation’s 26 million people. This June, a report issued by the South Korea-based Korea Development Institute estimated that the North gathered just over 4.4 million tons of crops…
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Germans launch fundraiser to rescue stranded Afghans
The German civil society organization Mission Lifeline — known for its role in helping rescue refugees from drowning in the Mediterranean — has launched a fundraiser aimed at assisting vulnerable Afghans obtain passports to facilitate their emigration. Citing German government sources, the German Press Agency (dpa) reported that in early October about 25,000 people in possession of German visas were…
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British Foreign Secretary arrives in Thailand for talks with government officials
The UK’s Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, has arrived in Thailand, where she will meet with PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and other government officials. Thailand is her second Southeast Asia stop, following a visit to Malaysia in which she met with PM Ismail Sabri and Foreign Affairs Minister Saifuddin Abdullah. The UK is seeking to strengthen its ties with Southeast Asia and other…
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Singapore delays intellectually disabled drug trafficker’s execution due to Covid infection
A highly-controversial case involving an intellectually disabled, Malaysian drug trafficker has captivated Singapore and the world, as the court has delayed carrying out the death penalty due to Covid-19. Singapore has normally been a society that doesn’t protest the use of the death penalty, but since the drug trafficker, Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, has an IQ of just 69, the case…
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Officials to get tough on people smugglers, use MoUs to bring workers in legally
The labour minister says people smugglers face arrest and having their assets seized as part of a crackdown on migrant workers being brought into Thailand illegally. Since Thailand’s re-opening to international tourists, border officials have seen an increase in the number of illegal migrants attempting to cross into Thailand to secure work. Suchart Chomklin says the criminals running people-smuggling operations…
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How will EU react to Poland-Belarus border crisis?
The European Union is once again scrambling to respond to a crisis on its external borders, what officials have called a “hybrid attack” orchestrated by the Belarusian regime to push migrants toward the bloc’s external border. After the situation escalated dramatically on Monday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “The Belarusian authorities must understand that pressuring the European…
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Interview: UN genocide advisor says Ethiopia’s warring parties must talk
Alice Wairimu Nderitu of Kenya is the United Nations special adviser on the prevention of genocide. She is also an experienced mediator in the field of peacebuilding and violence prevention, having led as mediator and senior adviser in reconciliation processes. DW: The situation in Ethiopia is deteriorating at an alarming rate and there have been calls for action from the…
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After assassination attempt, what next for Iraq?
Early Sunday morning, a booby-trapped drone exploded very near the Baghdad residence of Iraq’s prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi. A car outside the residence was badly damaged and doors and windows blown out, as seen on footage posted by Washington Post reporter Mustafa Salim on Twitter. Al-Kadhimi himself appeared to have been only slightly hurt. Shortly afterwards, he appeared on television…
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Miao Po-ya: Meet Taiwan’s first-ever openly LGBTQ council member
Miao Po-ya is the first-ever openly LGBTQ member to join a local council in Taiwan. She is breaking barriers by winning the support of young people as well as the older generation, which tends to favor traditional gender norms. SOURCE: DW News
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Indonesia to administer Covid-19 boosters once 50% are fully vaccinated
Indonesia has announced its plans to start offering Covid-19 booster shots to members of the public, as soon as 50% of its population is fully vaccinated. According to Reuters, the nation’s health minister made this announcement yesterday, and reported that he expects the program to get started by the end of this month. Indonesia was at one point Asia’s Covid-19…
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How a Syrian refugee went searching for his parents along Poland-Belarus border
Syrian refugee Haval Rojava* has not seen his parents in 12 years. The 33-year-old Kurdish man has been living in Austria since 2009, working as a self-employed hairstylist and creating a new life for himself. His brother lives in Austria as well, and they have two sisters living in Germany. But Rojava has been hit by anxiety attacks since losing…
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PM Prayut emphasises importance of Thailand-US partnership
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha held a meeting with members of the US Congress yesterday, in which he stressed the importance of the relationship between Thailand and the United States. He also made it clear that he wanted to pursue further cooperation and partnership with the US as the two countries move forward. Members of the US Congress paid a visit to…
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Cambodia leads Asia for highest percentage of fully-vaccinated population
Cambodia is topping the list in Asia for the country with the highest percentage of fully-vaccinated individuals in its population. The country’s 16 million-plus population has seen around 82% receiving at least 2 doses of a Covid-19 vaccine since November 3, according to ourworldindata.org. The percentage of those fully-vaccinated has beat out Singapore, Brunei and South Korea by 1%. And,…
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Malaysia and Singapore confirm travel bubble for vaccinated travellers
From November 29, vaccinated passengers can fly between Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Singapore’s Changi Airport, without having to quarantine. Bloomberg confirms that both countries have agreed a travel bubble arrangement for what is one of the world’s busiest air corridors. It’s understood the agreement could also be extended to land crossings in the near future. Vaccinated travellers will not…
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These EU countries have managed to keep COVID numbers down
For the first time during the coronavirus pandemic, Germany’s nationwide seven-day incidence rate has crossed the 200 threshold. On Monday, it stood at 201.1. The rate, which indicates the number of new COVID-19 infections diagnosed per 100,000 people over a seven-day period, had previously peaked at 197.6 in December 2020. In other words: The fourth wave has crashed on Germany’s…
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Afghanistan: People struggle to make ends meet amid economic turmoil
Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in mid-August, the conflict-stricken nation has been dealing not only with political turmoil but also a severe economic crisis and increasing poverty. The Taliban takeover saw billions of dollars in central bank assets frozen and international financial institutions suspend access to funds. Some $9.5 billion (€8.2 billion) in central bank reserves remain blocked…
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Pakistan: How patriarchy is raising the risk of deadly breast cancer
Pakistan has one of the highest rates of breast cancer in Asia, and trends suggest this is likely to increase unless more is done to remove barriers on early screening. An estimated 40,000 women die each year in Pakistan due to breast cancer, and 83,000 are diagnosed with the disease, according to the Shaukat Khanum Research Center in Lahore. Health…
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46 Cambodian nationals arrested after trying to illegally cross Thai border
At least 46 Cambodian nationals have been arrested for allegedly illegally crossing over the Thailand border in Sa Kaeo province. Police there say the arrests are happening daily as the Cambodian nationals are trying to find work in Bangkok and neighbouring provinces. And, with the Covid-19 pandemic, the allegedly illegal border crossers are paying as much as 20,000 baht to…
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Thailand to welcome British Foreign Secretary as part of Southeast Asia visit
The British Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, will visit Thailand as part of a Southeast Asia trip that will also see her travel to Malaysia and Indonesia. According to a Reuters report, the purpose of the week-long trip is to strengthen the UK’s economic and security ties in the region. The UK is increasingly looking to countries beyond Europe as it…
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Tension in Ethiopia as TPLF fighters advance
When Adam* returned to his home after a haircut on the morning of Saturday, November 6, he saw his parents and sister being forced into a police van. With them were two other families living in the compound – all of them of Tigrayan origin. Before leaving, Adam’s mother was able to lock the house, he said, taking with her…
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Tension in Ethiopia as Tigrayan forces advance
When Adam* returned to his home after a haircut on the morning of Saturday, November 6, he saw his parents and sister being forced into a police van. With them were two other families living in the compound – all of them of Tigrayan origin. Before leaving, Adam’s mother was able to lock the house, he said, taking with her…
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How realistic is Bangladesh’s climate prosperity plan?
At the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called on wealthy nations to fulfill their pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions and provide the promised $100 billion (€86 billion) annually in financial aid to less wealthy countries to help them adapt to climate change and mitigate further rises in temperature. Only a tiny fraction of…
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COVID-19 means disruption, change for new set of ‘boomerang kids’
Not much had changed in the room where Faissal Sharif spent his childhood, in a small village in a remote part of the central German state of Hesse. Various posters, his old bed, a desk covered by a thin layer of dust — it was all still there. He set out to explore the world at the age of 18,…
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