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.
-
Sponsored What do you need before moving from the US to Thailand?
The Thaiger key takeaways The most common medical emergencies for expats in Thailand include motorcycle accidents, tropical diseases, and food or water-borne illnesses. Air pollution and heat-related conditions like heatstroke also pose serious seasonal health risks, especially in northern and...
-
Meet Meta, the newly rebranded parent company of Facebook
Don’t forget to like our posts and follow us on Facebook, er, Meta! Facebook, the social network recently under fire for knowingly ignoring the harm their algorithms were doing, has announced a parent company rebrand to their new name: Meta. Founder Mark Zuckerberg says the name change is to represent a move beyond the social network to a virtual reality…
-
Malaysia and Singapore talk travel bubbles
Talks are underway between the Malaysian and Singaporean governments, which could pave the way for vaccinated travel lanes between both countries. According to a TTR Weekly report, Malaysia’s Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister has confirmed the talks are taking place. Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri says once the deal is done, the Malaysian PM, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, will announce…
-
Emirates confirms daily flights between Dubai and Sydney from November
As Australia prepares to re-open its borders, Dubai-based airline, Emirates, is increasing the frequency of Sydney flights to operate a daily service. According to a TTR Weekly report, the move is in response to travel demand to and from Australia. The vaccine rollout is gathering pace, with the state of New South Wales having already met its target and Victoria…
-
Somalia: Renewed clashes dim hopes for a credible election
After weeks of heated disputes between the outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo and his Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble over the disappearance of a female spy agent, the two men finally agreed to move on. According to a deal signed by Farmajo and Roble, “speeding up elections is a top priority.” As things stand, Somalia currently has no legitimate national…
-
Record drug bust in Laos follows pandemic’s methamphetamine boom
The large haul of methamphetamine was seized by Laos police in what the United Nations considers Asia’s largest single drug bust on record follows the methamphetamine boom in Southeast Asia – particularly in Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia. Despite border closures and other restrictions during the pandemic, those in the illicit methamphetamine trade have not only survived, but have managed…
-
Alec Baldwin could face criminal charges for shooting on set
In the tragic accident on the set of his new movie “Rust” where a prop gun fired killing the cinematographer and injuring the director, the local district attorney said criminal charges against Alec Baldwin are not out of the question. The Santa Fe district attorney said of the possibility of Baldwin facing charges, “all options are on the table; No…
-
55 million meth pills seized in Laos in biggest SE Asian bust ever
One for the record books – police in Laos have made the largest drug bust in East and Southeast Asia’s history, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Police in Laos stopped a shipment and seized over 55 million meth pills and more than 1.5 tonnes of crystal methamphetamine yesterday. The bust was confirmed by 2 security…
-
World’s first unisex condom invented by Malaysian gynaecologist
Using materials applied in dressing injuries and wounds, a Malaysian gynaecologist has invented the world’s first unisex condom. The unique Wondaleaf Unisex Condom uses medical-grade materials and is like an extended condom with adhesive flaps to attach to the body around the sexual organ to provide coverage and avoid skin to skin contact. The adhesive can be reversed, so a…
-
Chinese travel to Thailand may resume late next year
Chinese authorities may let their citizens travel to Thailand again in about one year, according to predictions from the Association of Thai Travel Agents. While China has made the elite list of 46 countries allowed to enter Thailand without quarantine in the Test & Go scheme starting November 1, harsh travel restrictions in China will prohibit Chinese tourists, an important…
-
Thai PM expected to embark on first overseas trip since start of pandemic
The Thai PM is expected to attend the COP26 climate summit in Scotland, his first overseas trip since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a Pattaya News report, there are reports Prayut Chan-o-cha will travel to Glasgow for the conference, which kicks off at the end of this month. Over 120 world leaders are expected to attend the…
-
Africa looks to kick-start COVID vaccine production
As countries around the world hit COVID vaccine milestones, many African states remain worryingly behind in their initial rollout plans. But two major companies are looking to change that. Moderna and BioNTech — who have both manufactured effective mRNA vaccines — are now engaged in a race-of-sorts to boost production capacities in Africa. Until now, Africa has largely relied on…
-
Kashmir: Artisans fight for survival amid dying art of pottery
As the paddy harvest season is nearing its end with the onset of winter, Dilshada Bilal, 35, is busy producing earthenware including fire pots and electric cooking heaters. Her modest workshop in the village of Larm-Ganjipora in southern Kashmir’s Anantnag district has a potter’s wheel, an oven, and storage space for her work. She lives a few meters away in…
-
Madagascar hunger crisis exacerbated by global warming
The impacts of global warming are getting worse around the world. An example is Madagascar, an island nation which is currently experiencing its worst drought in 40 year. For months, aid organizations have been sounding the alarm over this forgotten crisis, since hundreds of thousands of people in Madagascar are malnourished and suffer from hunger; and many have been so…
-
Crude oil price fluctuations expose Africa’s fossil fuel dependence
As fuel prices skyrocket around the world, it has become clearer that African countries will remain exposed to the detrimental impacts of sporadic fluctuations — at least until the global shift to renewable energy is realized. The economies of many African nations are fueled by petroleum, leaving the continent particularly vulnerable to volatile international fuel price fluctuations. In most countries,…
-
Are Southeast Asian nations fulfilling their climate commitments?
Southeast Asia is among the most at risk regions in the world to the impacts of global warming, with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) warning in its most recent report that the region is facing rising sea levels, heat waves, droughts and increasingly intense rainstorms. “Recent studies estimate that up to 96% of the ASEAN region is likely…
-
Myanmar no-show a focus as ASEAN summit gets underway
The exclusion of Myanmar military leader Min Aung Hlaing from the ASEAN summit is looming over the annual regional meeting, with PM Prayut Chan-o-cha pointing to international focus on ASEAN’s response to the situation. As reported by Reuters, Prayut noted that the role of the regional association in addressing the matter is of “paramount importance”, with action taken to “have…
-
EU climate chief: ‘We need to be more ambitious’
European Union climate chief Frans Timmermans told DW that he would have preferred to have all leaders present at the COP26, the landmark climate summit due to take place in Glasgow from October 31. The presidents of Russia and China are among those intending or likely to send envoys to the conference instead of attending in person. Critics fear that…
-
Australian government to lift ban on overseas travel for vaccinated citizens
Over 18 months after it was implemented, a ban on Australian citizens travelling overseas will soon be lifted. According to an AFP report, the government has confirmed that fully vaccinated Australians will no longer need permission to leave the country. Officials have also confirmed that Australian borders will re-open to skilled workers and foreign students by the end of the…
-
Cambodia confirms partial reopening to international tourists from November 30
The Tourism Ministry in Cambodia has confirmed that the country will reopen partially to vaccinated travellers from the end of next month. The country’s prime minister also reportedly ordered that quarantine be waived for air arrivals from Thailand. The first areas in Cambodia set to reopen to overseas travellers are the popular tourist destinations of Sihanoukville and Koh Rong, as…
-
Burkina Faso’s silent refugee crisis
Jacob Ouermi does not like to talk about what his family has gone through. He, his wife Elisabet Simpore and their seven children lived in a village in northern Burkina Faso — until the violence started. “People were kidnapped, so we fled and didn’t take anything with us,” said Ouermi, sitting on a narrow wooden bench in the shade of…
-
Bangladesh: Gang violence in Rohingya refugee camps prompt fear
Growing conflicts among armed criminal gangs inside the overcrowded Rohingya refugee camps in southern Bangladesh have alarmed authorities. At least six people were killed and 20 wounded in an attack at a Rohingya camp in Cox’s Bazar on Friday, police said — the latest incident of violence in the refugee settlement. The gang shot and stabbed people attending an Islamic…
-
In pictures: A rare look into Amazon tribe’s funeral rites
When the chief dies, the endangered Indigenous people in Brazil’s Xingu region gather for a unique ritual. A Reuters photographer was the only journalist invited to the funeral ceremony in September. SOURCE: DW News
-
Why Iran fears chaos in Afghanistan
Iran is hosting a meeting of Afghanistan’s neighbors plus Russia on Wednesday to discuss the current situation in the war-ravaged country. The conference, organized by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, will see the foreign ministers of Iran, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Russia holding talks in the Iranian capital Tehran on Afghanistan’s political future and the formation of a new…
-
A Rasta president for The Gambia?
The Gambia is going to the polls in December, to vote their new president. And among those who wants to be president is independent candidate, Rasta man Bankole Yao Jojo Ahadzie, aka Banky. It is the first presidential and parliamentary election since the departure of Yahya Jammeh, who ruled for 22 years. SOURCE: DW News
-
India: Escaping child marriage to land a dream tech job
Ashwini Doddalingappanavar grew up in a small south Indian village. Her parents wanted her to get married as a young teenager, but she knew she wanted a different life. She now inspires other girls to achieve their goals. SOURCE: DW News
-
Japan: Princess Mako marries commoner amid controversy
Japanese Princess Mako has quietly married a commoner without traditional wedding celebrations and said their marriage “was a necessary choice to live while cherishing our hearts.” The couple’s marriage document was submitted by a palace official Tuesday morning and made official, the Imperial Household Agency said. There was no wedding ceremony, reception banquet or other marriage rituals for the couple.…
-
US President Biden to join ASEAN summit as leaders poised to discuss key regional issues
US President Joe Biden is taking part in Tuesday’s virtual summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, marking the first time the US has joined at a presidential level since his predecessor, Donald Trump, attended a meeting in 2017. Reuters reports that the US embassy in Brunei has confirmed Biden will lead the US delegation for the ASEAN-United States summit…
-
Why Dubai plans to build infrastructure in Kashmir
The government of Dubai, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, recently inked an agreement with India to ramp up infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government said the deal will see Dubai building infrastructure in the troubled region including industrial parks, IT towers, multi-purpose towers, logistics centres, a medical college and a speciality hospital. “The world…
-
Central African rebel commander faces war crimes charges
Mahamat Said is facing more than a dozen charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC), including torture, persecution, enforced disappearance, and cruel treatment, over his alleged role in war crimes during the Central African Republic’s civil war. Judges will make a decision within the coming weeks on whether or not to confirm the charges against the ex-rebel commander, potentially bringing…
-
Ho Chi Minh launches 3-stage reopening plan, international on January 1
Shortly after announcing plans to restart tourism tentatively beginning with Phu Quoc Island, the Vietnamese government launched a road map to reopen Ho Chi Minh City to international travellers at the beginning of next year. The megacity and financial hub of Vietnam has a 3-stage plan for tourism recovery with strict Covid-19 safety measures in place. The plan is designed…
Broke? Find employment in Southeast Asia with JobCute Thailand and SmartJob Indonesia. Rich? Invest in real estate across Asia with FazWaz Property Group or get out on a yacht anywhere with Boatcrowd. Even book medical procedures worldwide with MyMediTravel, all powered by DB Ventures.