World News
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Sponsored Living on a budget in Thailand? Here’s how to stay healthy without breaking the bank
Thailand is a popular place for people who want to enjoy a good life at a lower cost or even on a budget. Many expats, retirees, and digital nomads choose to live here because daily expenses are cheaper than in...
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Thailand drops a notch in the ‘ease of doing business’ world ranking
The World Bank has declared that Thailand’s ranking in ease of doing business has dropped to 27th, one place down from last year’s 26th place. Thailand’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) score, an absolute measure of the country’s progress toward global best practice, reached 78.45 this year, up from 77.39 last year. But some of the other countries above it…
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Myanmar prepares for the repatriation of 2,000 Rohingya
PHOTO: Myanmar foreign secretary Myint Thu A leading Myanmar official says that his country is poised to accept a first group of 2,000 Rohingya refugees from camps in Bangladesh this month, despite widespread doubts over the proposal. The Myanmar government have repeatedly dragged their feet when its come to international demands for them to assist in the repatriation of Rohingya…
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No plane, no flight data recorder – search & recovery continue off Jakarta
The plane involved in the Lion Air flight JT610 crash off Jakarta was Boeing’s newest and most advanced jets, loosely based on the original Boeing 737 but including the very latest technology and construction materials. It was just two months old and with a minuscule 800 hours under its belt (for a commercial jet). Aviation officials, Boeing engineers and investigators…
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Black box recovered as probe begins into cause of Vichai crash
UK Air accident investigators have begun the slow process of ascertaining the cause of the helicopter crash on Saturday that took the lives of King Power chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four other people. The sombre inquiry coincided with the opening of a book of condolences at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium, where fans flocked to leave tributes to the man…
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Lion Air flight JT 610 – body parts found, no plane located yet
PHOTO: Indonesian National Disaster & Mitigation Agency Search and rescue efforts continue to find more bodies and debris in the wake of the Lion Air flight JT 610 that crashed yesterday morning just after 6.30am in the seas north of Jakarta, Indonesia. According to rescuers, a total of 24 body bags have now been taken to the Kramat Jati Police…
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Indonesian searchers trying to locate the black box – Lion Air flight JT610
Authorities have scouring the waters north of Java Island, off the coast of Jakarta, for bodies and debris from Lion Air flight JT610. The flight went missing this morning shortly after take-off on a routine one-hour flight from Jakarta to Pangkalpinang in Bangka Belitung. The Lion Air flight lost contact with air traffic controllers at 6:33 am, briefly after take…
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Missing Lion Air 737 – UPDATE
SCREENGRAB: Flightradar24 • Flight JT610 was a Boeing 737-800 MAX, the latest version of the manufacturer’s workhorse 7373 single-aisle jet. • The aircraft was almost brand new. It was delivered to Lion Air on August 13 this year. • Preliminary flight tracking data from Flightradar24 shows the aircraft climbed to around 5,000 feet before losing height, then regaining height, before…
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Lion Air flight missing after scheduled take off from Jakarta
SCREENSHOT: Twitter/Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, Crisis Center Penanganan Jatuhnya Pesawat Lion Air JT 610 A Lion Air Boeing 737 with 188 passengers on board, has crashed into the sea shortly after take off from the Jakarta. This is what we know… • Flight JT 610 was on a scheduled flight to Pangkal Pinang, the main town in the Bangka Belitung Islands. It…
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Unofficial confirmations that Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was aboard crashed helicopter
FILE PHOTO Although there haven’t been official verifications from authorities, it appears likely that Thai duty free supremo, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, was aboard his personal helicopter when it crashed soon after take off following a league match last night, UK time. Two leading media sources have led with news of Mr Srivaddhanaprabha being on the helicopter when it took off. The Leicester…
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The new-Boracay opens with a whole new set of rules
It’s open again. Boracay Island, forced to close after being described by Philippine President Duterte as a ‘cesspool’, has undergone a major makeover of infrastructure and opens with new rules to help control tourist growth in the future. Tourists flooded back onto the island today as the island re-opened. Suffering the same problems as Maya Bay and southern Thai islands,…
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Leicester City club owner and King Power founder, Vichai’s helicopter crashes
A helicopter owned by the Thai Leicester City football club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha has crashed in a ball of flames in the car park of the club yesterday following a Premier League match. At this stage it’s not known who was in the helicopter at the time. The Premier League club has not confirmed whether its owner was on board at…
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Superyacht going cheap – 1MDB investigators auction off seized boat
The bidding process for the billion-baht superyacht ‘Equanimity’ will begin on Monday and run until November 28. 1Malaysia Development Bhd’s (1MDB) counsel Ong Chee Kwan has confirmed the matter after meeting High Court (Admiralty Court) Judicial Commissioner Khadijah Idris in chambers yesterday. “Those who are interested to bid need to pay US$1 million as deposit,” he said. Also present were…
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Mahatir drops in on an old friend
During the 1980s both men were the Prime Ministers of their respective countries. Now, both in their 90s, the two re-united yesterday for a casual catch-up. The two met in Bangkok yesterday to recall their long-standing friendship. The visitor was 93 year old Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad and the host Privy Council President, 99 year old General Prem Tinsulanonda. Mahathir…
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Malaysia commits to helping Thailand sort out deep south
by Supalak Ganjanakhundee Malaysia say it’s willing to help Thailand end the ethno-religious conflict in the deep South using peaceful means. Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad spoke yesterday, suggesting the root cause of the problem was not religion but injustice. Gratefully remembering the time when Thailand helped Malaysia end the communist insurgency in northern Malaysia in the late 1980s, he said…
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“A genocide is still underway” – UN report
PHOTO: Dhaka Tribune “A genocide is still underway against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims.” A UN fact-find mission on the Rohingya ‘situation’ in Myanmar, says it has presented a report at the Security Council calling for the matter to be referred to the International Criminal Court. The Chair of the committee, Marzuki Darusman, says, “Beyond the reported mass killings, the conflict included the…
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Thai, Malaysian PMs pledge push for southern peace
PHOTO: Benar News Malaysia and Thailand have agreed to expand the scope of bilateral cooperation to contain an insurgency along their shared border after changing peace negotiators. The two premiers have promised to help solve the conflict. Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has assured his visiting Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad that the peace dialogue in the deep South will continue and…
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Indonesia set to ban dog meat trade
PHOTO: Jakarta Post – Asia News Network “In Surakarta, Central Java, an estimated 1,200 dogs are slaughtered and eaten daily by dog-meat connoisseurs in the city.” Indonesia’s government has bowed to international pressure and decided to issue a regulation banning the trade in dog meat. The decree also addresses concerns over the spread of rabies and animal abuse following campaigns…
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Chinese ‘fake moon’ to replace street lights described as ‘lunacy’
by The Star – Asia News Network A Chinese city’s plans to launch a man-made moon to replace street lights has been met with incredulity online. Or maybe it’s just an attempt to steal the monthly Full Moon party at Koh Phangan? (With a fake moon they could hold an event every night!) Chengdu, in southwest China’s Sichuan province, announced last…
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South Korea leads the way with entrepreneurship in Asia
by DataLEADS – Asia News Network South Korea tops the region in ‘entrepreneurship environment’ with a score of 54%, in the recently released Global Entrepreneurship Index. The country jumped three spaces up from the last year. The tech giant has been ahead of producing new technologies and introducing new products to customers. It is closely followed by Singapore and Japan with…
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The Boracay renovation re-opens on October 26
Fewer hotels, no smoking or partying on the beaches. And construction works will still be going on. Welcome to the new Boracay. The Philippines’ tourist magnet will reopen on October 26 after phase one of the island’s rehabilitation is completed. But work is on-going improving roads, constructing sewage systems and some beaches still remain in a ‘critical condition’. Some hotels won’t…
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Blissful Break packages @ Mövenpick Hotel & Convention Centre KLIA
Just an hour or so away, with hundreds of flights a day into KL, here’s something a bit different for a weekend ‘out of town’ or a business break, in style. Mövenpick Hotel & Convention Centre KLIA is a new architectural icon which opened this year near the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. They’ve now unveiled a new package that allows…
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No caving to Similan tour operator pressure
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plants Conservation is refusing to bow to pressure from tour operators in Phang-nga for it to ease current restrictions on the number of visitors to the Similan Islands. Songtham Suksawang, director of the National Parks Division of the department, says the decision to limit the number of daily visitors to the island at…
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Invacio going global: AI company based in Phuket taking their message to the UN
Invacio, an artificial intelligence company based in Phuket, is attending a development event in Geneva, Switzerland. Invacio Research Analytics a group subsidiary of Invacio founded by William J D West and led by Linleeya West (Thai – Swiss Educated) will be attending this auspicious event, organised at the UN headquarters in Geneva. Linleeya West sees this as a great opportunity…
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Thai-flag footwear NOT ok
Thai social media is all in a lather today after photos of the latest fashion footwear in Paris were posted depicting Thai flags on the shoe designs. Well, so they thought. Not only were they outraged and angry, they are demanding apologies and jail for the perpetrators. But a legal spokesperson in Thailand points out that these are foreigners parading…
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South East Asia tops travellers’ lists
by DataLeads – Asia News Network The Asia Pacific region accounts for 30 per cent of the world’s international tourism receipts. The region outperforms all other regions in terms of growth, with international tourist arrivals increasing an average 7% per year compared to the world average of 4%. China remains one of the leading destinations in Asia. It attracted the highest number…
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UPDATE: British Embassy statement on income letters
Officials knew about problems back in May and say that US nationals will also be affected. The British Embassy in Bangkok has responded to requests for clarification by Thaivisa on the issuing of letters regarding income. They said that they had a meeting with immigration in May and told Thaivisa that they are “not verification experts”. They have also claimed…
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Singapore Airlines takes off tonight for the world’s longest flight
The world’s longest commercial flight takes off from Singapore tomorrow morning, with the national airline resuming its non-stop route to New York for the first time since 2013. Singapore Airlines previously flew Airbus A340s on the route, but the four-engine aircraft proved to be fuel guzzlers and made the non-stop flight economically unsustainable. The flight will cover a 16,700 kilometres and…
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AirAsia integrates AI to become a travel technology company
by The Star – Asia News Network AirAsia is integrating Google Cloud’s machine learning and AI (artificial intelligence) technologies into every aspect of its business, as part of its transformation into a travel technology company. Speaking at the Google Cloud Next London event, AirAsia group CEO Tony Fernandes said, “It’s a huge mission, but we’ve never done anything easy.” “We are…
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Where in the world are ‘wellness’ tourists going?
Getting well and staying well are the fastest growing segment in the world travel industry. So where do the weary and health conscious head to recharge their batteries? A new global survey has revealed the desires, demands and preferred destinations of wellness travellers. Wellness travellers say that mental health as a priority and many list the Maldives as a dream…
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18 years of internet growth in Asia
Sourced from DataLEADS – Asia News Network The internet continues to grow swiftly in all parts of the world. Asia continues to show impressive growth trends in the last eighteen years although there are still many pockets in south east asia that need improved access to the www. To say that access to the internet has made a profound change to…
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