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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Sponsored Is private health insurance in Thailand worth it? Real costs vs risks explained
Thailand has a strong healthcare system with both public and private options. Public hospitals offer affordable care, but many people, including expats, choose private health insurance for faster service, modern facilities, and more treatment choices. To decide if private health...
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Two more Thai marine parks declared ASEAN heritage parks
PHOTO: bluestars.info “The two marine parks are Thailand’s fifth and sixth to be given the status of ASEAN heritage parks.” Two southern Thailand national parks have been recognised as ASEAN heritage parks at this week’s 15th ASEAN environment ministers’ meeting in Siem Reap, Cambodia, the home of Angkor Wat. Warawut Silpa-archa, Thailand’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, told reporters the…
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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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Chinese media is slamming NBA over Hong Kong comments
Sport, world politics and the mess in Hong Kong. Put the three together and you have an explosive mix. The NBA’s entire future as it expands in China is now under a serious cloud. Chinese state media is slamming the NBA for their “about-face” after the basketball association said it would not apologise for a tweet by the Houston Rockets…
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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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Second Trump whistleblower comes forward with “first-hand information”
“Biden wrote in The Washington Post that Trump was “frantically pushing flat-out lies, debunked conspiracy theories and smears against me and my family, no doubt hoping to undermine my candidacy.” MONTAGE: Wall Street Journal A second whistleblower has come forward, this one with first-hand information about events that triggered an impeachment investigation into US President Donald Trump. The original whistleblower…
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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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Protesters still wearing masks and city subway grinds to a halt – Hong Kong
by Jerome Taylor and Jasmine Leung Pro-democracy protesters have been marching through Hong Kong today in defiance of a ban on face masks as much of the city grinds to a halt with the subway suspended and swathes of shops and malls shuttered following another night of violence. The latest act of resistance follows a night of widespread chaos as…
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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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Raffles reopens historic Grand Hotel d’Angkor in Cambodia
Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor, one of the most iconic heritage properties in south east Asia, reopened its doors to guests this week after a six-month closure for renovations and refurbishments. One hundred and twelve of the landmark property’s 119 rooms and suites have been fully refurbished, buttressing the intrinsic appeal of a property renowned for its classic facade, its expansive…
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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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‘Impeachment nonsense’ is to blame for Wall Street rout – US President Trump
“Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index signaled that September was the worst month for US manufacturing in more than a decade.” October’s history as an irritating month for world stocks reared its head again after only two days as markets plunged on fears, both real and imagined. The Dow Jones industrial average gave up all its September gains and then…
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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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Four bodies recovered, two missing after bridge collapse in Taiwan – VIDEO
“The petrol tanker burst into flames at some point after it hit the water, sending a thick plume of black smoke into the air.” Four bodies have been recovered from under a collapsed bridge in Taiwan as searches continued for two people still missing when the structure smashed onto fishing boats moored underneath. The National Fire Agency reports that two…
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Indonesia’s burning issue – controlling the palm oil giants
PHOTOS: Donny Sophandi and AFP A brutal Indonesian forest fire season blanketed some of south east Asia in choking smog is renewing scrutiny of the country’s major palm oil and paper companies. Activists are accusing them of breaking promises to halt logging. The monster plantation blazes sent a pall of acrid smoke over the region for weeks, closing schools and…
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China celebrates 70 year anniversary, Hong Kong protesters have their own plans
by Laurent Thomet and Helen Roxburgh China celebrates 70 years of its Communist Party history today with a parade of tanks, missiles and troops, a muscular display of its rising superpower status since 1949. Authorities in Beijing have closed roads, banned the flying of kites, and shut some bars as they tightened security for an event celebrating China’s journey, from…
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Thousands rally in Indonesia to protest legal-reforms
“The protests are among the biggest student rallies since mass street demonstrations in 1998 toppled the Suharto dictatorship.” Thousands have rallied across Indonesia today in fresh demonstrations sparked by a raft of divisive legal reforms, including banning pre-marital sex and weakening the anti-graft agency. At least two students have died and hundreds more have been injured as unrest swept across…
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China’s manufacturing sector improves during September
PHOTO: China Daily “Caixin said confidence among goods producers was still subdued as worries persisted over the outcome of China-US trade negotiations.” China’s manufacturing sector showed unexpected signs of improvement during September with two indexes showing that manufacturing activity edged up, despite ongoing trade pressures with the US. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the Purchasing Managers’ Index rose…
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Hong Kong stocks open lower, another weekend of strife ahead
PHOTO: AFP More protests in Hong Kong over the weekend, and threats of interruptions to communist China’s 70th anniversary celebrations starting tomorrow, is weighing heavily on investors this morning. Hong Kong stocks opened lower this morning, extending losses at the end of last week, a day before mass pro-democracy protests planned in the city on communist China’s 70th anniversary. The…
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Hong Kong clashes heat up ahead of 70th anniversary party for China
by Yan Zhao & Jasmine Leung “Democracy activists in the financial hub had vowed to ramp up their nearly four-month-long campaign ahead of tomorrow’s National Day celebrations.” Fierce clashes have again broken out between protesters and riot police in Hong Kong as thousands march through the sections of the strife-torn city. It was a day of global protests aimed at…
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