World News
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Sponsored 12Go introduces Japan Rail Passes to enhance travel accessibility for international travellers
For those who have travelled throughout Thailand, 12Go is a well-known provider of various trips, though the platform itself has a much wider reach. Ranging from buses to planes, 12Go is undoubtedly a leading booking platform for travel throughout the...
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Bangkok and Nonthaburi to get 2 extra holidays during ASEAN summit
November 4 and 5 have been approved as official holidays for Bangkok and Nonthaburi as a result of the 35th Asean Summit and Related Summits being held at Impact Arena Muang Thong Thani in Bangkok. Deputy government spokeswoman Traisulee Traisoranakul confirmed yesterday that the measure was being taken in an effort to alleviate traffic problems in both areas during the…
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Saudi Arabia eases visa restrictions for US and European visitors
PHOTO: aawsat.com American and European passport holders, along with those from most Asian countries, can now apply for Saudi Arabian tourist visas either online or on arrival, provided they meet certain criteria. Prior to this, the only foreigners allowed to visit Saudi Arabia were usually those travelling on business, resident workers and their family members, or Muslim pilgrims on pilgrimage…
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Buddhists call for boycott of Hilton & Waldorf Astoria Hotels with the opening of Siddhartha Lounge
OPINION: The Buddhist Times Since its creation in 1996, Buddha-Bar Paris has been using the name and image of Buddha in it’s Bars and Hotels throughout the world. Typically the franchises use large statues of Buddha in their Bars and around dance floors and in restaurants similar to a Buddhist temple. What makes the use of Buddha’s image in these bars…
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1000s flock to Hong Kong’s Chater Garden for pro-democracy rally
PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG Last night, Chater Garden, located near government headquarters in the Central district of Hong Kong, was the scene of the city’s first approved rally since the face mask ban came into being about 10 days ago. So far, the face mask ban has been largely ineffectual. A day after an explosive device was detonated during protests,…
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Thousands of Japanese rescuers looking for survivors of Typhoon Hagibis
by Shingo Ito and Sara Hussein Thousands of rescue workers are searching for survivors from the fury of Typhoon Hagibis, two days after the storm slammed into Japan. As of the time of this post, the storm had killed at least 35 people. (Video from Sky News below…) Hagibis crashed into the country Saturday evening, but brought hours of torrential…
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Typhoon Hagibis kills 11 in Japan, rescue underway with up to 100 missing
“Hagibis smashed into the main Japanese island of Honshu around 7pm Saturday as one of the most violent typhoons in recent years, with wind gusts of up to 216 kilometres per hour (134 miles per hour).” by Hiroshi Hiyama and Natsuko Fukue Japan’s military is racing to help people trapped by flooding after powerful Typhoon Hagibis as it ripped across…
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‘Unprecedented’ Typhoon Hagibis slams into Japan
Powerful typhoon Hagibis has made landfall in Japan as torrential rain and winds have already lashed the country causing floods and mudslides. “The eye of Typhoon Hagibis made landfall shortly before 19:00 (1000 GMT) in Izu Peninsula”, southwest of Tokyo, said the Japan Meteorological Agency. Powerful Typhoon Hagibis roared towards Japan’s coast on Saturday, killing one person and bringing “unprecedented”…
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Future Future leader Thanathorn denies interfering in Hong Kong issues
PHOTO: Thai PBS World The leader of Thailand’s Future Forward party, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, says the reaction to him being photographed with Joshua Wong, leader of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, is totally overblown and taken out of context. The picture, taken at a Hong Kong event organised by The Economist magazine where Thanathorn had been invited to speak, went viral on…
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Trade talks resume between China and US but hopes fade
Expectations are low as trade talks between China and the US resume today. US President Donald Trump has taken an aggressive stance with China and says he will decide the outcome of the talks. “They want to make a deal. The question is do I want to make a deal.” With $250 billion worth of Chinese imports facing an increase…
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BTS first foreign artists to perform solo concert in Saudi Arabia tonight
PHOTO: BTS performing in front of 60,000 fans during their “Love Yourself” tour in Hong Kong – SCMP No band has ever commanded a concert stage, alone, in Saudi Arabia. Remarkable but true. But South Korea’s BTS is breaking down yet another barrier with tonight’s stadium concert in the Kingdom. Aside from being their first ever concert in Saudi Arabia,…
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Tourists rush to climb Australia’s Uluru before ban kicks in on October 26
by Holly Robertson Large numbers of tourists are rushing to scale ‘Uluru’, aka. Ayers Rock, ahead of a looming ban on climbing the enormous natural monolith in the centre of Australia, sacred to indigenous Australians. Critics have been lashing the last-minute climbers as “ignorant”, saying they’re going against the wishes of the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land, the Anangu.…
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Asian markets stumble over trade concerns, Brexit sentiment sinks pound
Asian markets fell after hefty losses in New York yesterday, owing to growing China-US tensions in the next round of trade talks, while the British pound continues to be beaten down by fears the UK is on the verge of crashing out of the EU. The downbeat mood comes as investors fret over signs the global economy is slowing down.…
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Hong Kong won’t rule out accepting help from China over protests
PHOTO: AFP Following more violent protests in Hong Kong, Chief Executive Carrie Lam says China stepping in to end the crisis is not out of the question. Angry demonstrations have rocked the city for four months now, having started out as protests against a proposed extradition bill that could have seen criminals sent to China for trial. The Hong Kong…
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Johnson & Johnson told to pay US$8 billion over drug side effect
A US jury has ruled that US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson will pay US$8 billion in damages, plus interest, for failing to warn that a psychiatric drug could cause breast growth in men. Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals were blamed as plaintiff Nicholas Murray told the Philadelphia court that the drug Risperdal, prescribed to treat schizophrenia…
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Focus back on US-China trade talks – Asian markets rise
“A large percentage of the market thinks China may roll the dice and take advantage of what they think is Trump’s weakened political state.” Asian markets rise today as investors resume their focus on the next round of China-US trade talks this week. But hopes for success are being tempered by mixed messages from both sides of the table. There has been…
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Samsung Electronics flags 56% fall in third quarter profits
“Samsung took advantage of the US trade ban against Chinese rival Huawei.” PHOTO: CNBC Samsung Electronics says it expects operating profits to drop more than 50% in Q3 amid a continued slump in the global chip market. Operating profits for July to September was expected to reach 7.7 trillion won (US$6.4 billion), down 56.2% from a year earlier – this from…
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North Korean boat collides with Japanese fisheries patrol vessel
A North Korean boat has collided with a Japanese fisheries patrol vessel in the Sea of Japan, off the central coast, tipping around 20 North Koreans overboard. Japan coast guard spokesman Kazuma Nohara told AFP that they were dispatching rescue boats and aircraft to the area, but we don’t know any more details about it at this stage. The North Korean boat…
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Singapore Government issues travel advisory warning for Hong Kong
“Singaporeans are advised to defer non-essential travel to Hong Kong, given current developments.” PHOTO: AFP The ongoing protests in Hong Kong, and the Administration’s attempts to negotiate or quell the disturbances, is starting to reach far and wide with some countries now reviewing their travel advisories to China’s Special Administrative Region. This from the Singapore Government that describes the protests…
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North Korea has “no intention” to continue nuclear talks with the US
PHOTO: It’s good to come to talks prepared with your very own note light and human lightstand – AP North Korea says it has “no intention” to continue nuclear talks unless the US takes steps to “end hostilities”… this just a day after negotiations broke down in Sweden. The discussions in Sweden followed months of stalemate following a February meeting…
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Time to re-submit Brexit plan – EU to UK
“As they stand, “the UK proposals do not provide a basis for concluding an agreement,” a European Commission spokeswoman underlined Friday.” by Marc Burleigh British PM Boris Johnson has been on the phone to EU leaders yesterday to sell his proposals for a managed Brexit. But he says he is hitting a wall of pressure to revise his offer, and…
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Hong Kong leader should resign, says Malaysian PM
PHOTO: AFP Mahathir Mohamad, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, says Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam should quit as pro-democracy protests continue to rock the city. Activists are becoming increasingly violent as they voice their anger at what they see as increased interference from Beijing. The protests have now been running for four months and show no signs of ending soon.…
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Thailand’s Justice Minister to re-open Japanese tourist murder case
PHOTO: Chiang Rai Times Somsak Thepsutin, Thailand’s Justice Minister, says a 12 year old unsolved murder case will be re-opened. In 2007, Tomoko Kawashita, a 25 year old Japanese tourist, was found in Wat Saphan Hin National Park in Sukothai, central Thailand, with her throat slit and evidence that she had been raped. No match was ever found for the…
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Six more countries now get visa-on-arrival into Myanmar
Around Thailand the possibilities for foreigners travelling is growing with visa-free arrivals, waived fees, no paperwork and quick processing at Immigration ports. Now, the Myanmar government is introducing new regulations to facilitate easier access as another step towards opening up the country to the world, and tourism. Starting this week, tourists from six countries – Australia, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain…
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Ban on Hong Kong protester face masks – Carrie Lam
“Although the ordinance carries the title emergency, Hong Kong is not in a state of emergency.” by Jerome Taylor and Jasmine Leung Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam has announced a ban on protesters wearing face masks, invoking colonial-era emergency powers, in a bid to quell months of violent anti-government unrest. Carrie Lam said she had made the order under the…
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Competing in ESports in grades-obsessed Singapore
“Players from nine countries will compete in six titles at the SEA Games – Mobile Legends, Arena of Valor, Dota 2, Starcraft II, Tekken 7, and Hearthstone.” by Sam Reeves / Martin Abbugao Very un-Singaporean indeed. In a country highly focused on academic achievement, Singapore’s Galvin Kang Jian Wen (centre, above) did something almost unthinkable – he stopped studying as…
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Transformers-inspired robot rolls out green message in Vietnam
PHOTOS: AFP There is more to this towering robot resembling a character from the “Transformers” movies than the auto-parts it’s made from – it speaks Vietnamese and is made from unused motorbike parts. “Hello everyone … I am from Vietnam,” Robot One announces as it swivels side to side in a Hanoi workshop. A team of IT programmers and students…
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Hong Kong police call for curfew amid riots
PHOTO: AFP Pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong have been clashing with police since the shooting at close range of an 18 year old protester earlier this week. Activists have gone on the rampage, setting fires and throwing petrol bombs, while police responded with tear gas, as four months of protests show no signs of dying down. The police themselves are…
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US will slap tariffs on EU following Airbus trade ruling
PHOTO: Airbus factory in Toulouse, France – Manatour.fr The US is making more trade waves, in addition to its long-running trade war with China. Now it’s taking on the largest trade bloc in the world – the European Union. Aircraft and agricultural items from Europe will now be subject to US tariffs in the latest round of a long legal…
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Critics sound alarm as Singapore’s ‘fake news’ law start today
“Singapore ranks very poorly in the Reporters Without Borders’ press freedom index – 151st out of 180 countries, surrounded by countries like Russia, Bangladesh, Rwanda and Iraq.” by Catherine Lai Singapore’s new law to combat “fake news” came into effect today despite criticism from tech giants and activists, who are labelling the tough rules as a “chilling” attempt to stifle…
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China celebrates 70 years of communism, while Hong Kong police shoot pro-democracy protester
PHOTO: AFP Shortly after a huge military parade in Beijing, celebrating 70 years of communist rule in China, police shot a pro-democracy activist in Hong Kong as protests in the troubled city grew. Demonstrations have gripped Hong Kong for four months now, but this was the first such injury from a live round and marks a significant escalation in protests…
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