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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British tourist freaks out after being told she’d overstayed her visa by 160 days
An ‘aggrieved’ tourist by the name of Auj-e Taqaddas, holding a British passport, assaulted a patient and calm immigration officer in Bali, Indonesia after being told she’d overstayed her Indonesian visa. A British tourist has been caught on camera screaming and slapping an immigration officer at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport today (Saturday) after being told that she had to…
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Earthquake toll rises to 91, state of emergency announced
PHOTO: Jakarta Post The death toll from the powerful earthquake to hit Lombok and Bali on Sunday evening has climbed to 91. The latest figures announced this afternoon by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in Jakarta. North Lombok island suffered the largest number of fatalities with 72 people killed, while Bali has so far recorded two fatalities. Most victims…
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132 aftershocks recorded in aftermath of 7-magnitude earthquake on Lombok
Around 132 aftershocks have shaken up Lombok Island following the 7-magnitude earthquake that left 82 people dead and hundreds of others injured when it hit the Indonesian holiday island last evening. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reports that the quake was centered in the slopes of Mount Rinjani. This is in a similar area as the shocks that hit Lombok on…
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Lombok earthquake kills 82 and injured hundreds
An earthquake has struck the Indonesian holiday island of Lombok killing 82 people (the toll is expected to rise) and wounded hundreds. The tremor was measured at a magnitude of 6.9, triggering panic among locals and tourists. The quake hit last night (Sunday) and shook up the neighbouring island of Bali. An initial tsunami warning, which was later cancelled, had…
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Will Bamboo Air grow as fast as the real bamboo?
A new player is about to enter the regional airline market. Based out of Vietnam, Bamboo Airlines is a fresh start-up under the patronage of Trinh Van Quyet who currently presides over a Vietnamese property empire and is betting billions on his new airline. The 43 year old property tycoon says his company has a market capitalisation of around US$200 million. He…
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Muslim father’s online petition inspires Thai anti-child marriage activists
In the wake of the ‘marriage of a 41 year old Malay man and an 11 year old Thai girl, Malaysia’s government and netizens are proposing ways to ban child marriages. Meanwhile, an online petition by a UK-based Malaysian Muslim father to ban child marriages has triggered an activist to begin a similar petition to ban them in Thailand too.…
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Human trafficking, especially prostitution, still rife in Thailand – New report
The Nation is reporting that human trafficking remains a serious issue in Thailand despite years of efforts to tackle the problem by the military government. A report released yesterday by rights groups. The report by Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF) and Anti-Labour Trafficking Project (ALT), focusing on the situation in 2016 and 2017, says that cases of labour trafficking…
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Mekong breaks its banks flooding seven Thai provinces
Persistent heavy rain and the overflow of water from the Mekong River and its tributaries has caused severe flooding in seven provinces in the north-east, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department director-general Chayapol Thitisak said this morning (Thursday). The seven provinces are Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan, Amnat Charoen, Ubon Ratchathani, Bung Kan, Sakon Nakhon and Roi-et are all under flood-alert after the…
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Chinese outbound tourism contributed US$ 115 billion in 2017
PHOTO: EPA-EFE “I prefer customised trips to group tours because I’ll have a more flexible schedule and can change it as I like. I’d also have more time to go shopping and find good local restaurants.” – 29 year old Chinese traveller Du Ni China Daily reports on the rise and rise of Chinese outbound tourism, a growing regional phenomenon…
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MH370 final investigation report tabled in KL
PHOTO: Channel News Asia The disappearance of the entire 73 metre-long plane, passengers and crew remains one of the world’s biggest aviation mysteries. A report has just been tabled concerning the fate of the 239 passengers travelling on flight MH 370 which vanished in 2014. Malaysian authorities say they can’t determine the cause of the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines…
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Rising Mekong threatens provinces in Thailand and Laos
PHOTOS: The Nation Authorities in Thailand’s northern and northeastern provinces are watching the rising water levels in the Mekong after torrential rains have hit large stretches of the country causing flooding in both residential and agricultural areas. The Mekong river flows through parts of China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department has instructed its…
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Nearly 100 Burmese arrested since start of June with fake visas
PHOTO: Thai Rath Thai Rath is reporting that a leading immigration spokesman has warned Burmese to double check their visas to ensure that they haven’t been duped with fake visa stamps. The warning comes as more people are being found with the fake stamps in Thailand on a daily basis. Pol Maj Gen Itthiphon Itthisanronchai, deputy immigration chief and acting as…
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South Korean medical team arrives in southern Laos with relief supplies
PHOTOS: Joint Press Corps-Yonhap The Korea Herald is reporting that a South Korean medical team has flown into in Laos yesterday with relief supplies following the deadly flooding that resulted from the collapse of a dam that was being constructed by a Korean builder. An emergency relief team composed of 15 medical personnel and five support staff arrived at Pakse…
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Thais and foreigners stranded on Lombok volcano following earthquake
In the wake of this morning’s Lombok earthquake, some 500 Thais and foreigners have been stranded on an active volcano on the Indonesian island. Lombok is situated about 100 kilometres from Bali. The shallow 6.4 magnitude quake that jolted the island triggered land and rockslides, preventing the tourists from heading back down the mountain. The Thai embassy in Indonesia was…
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Lao aid truck plunges off bridge – one dead, two injured
Aid continues to rush into southern Laos as international relief tries to grasp the full extent of the damage from the floods that occured last Monday night after a privately owned hydroelectric dam breached its walls. But as relief teams pour in, a man has been killed and two others injured when their truck loaded with provisions and donated items…
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Lombok earthquake – 10 people now confirmed dead, over 40 injured
PHOTO: Indonesian Search And Rescue Agency 10 people are now confirmed dead with 40 or more injured following this morning’s strong Lombok earthquake. Lombok is an Indonesian island, next door to Bali, although the epicentre of the quake wasn’t near the tourist areas. The tremor is said to have sent people running from their homes in panic. The initial 6.4…
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Questions over reliable death toll in the Laos floods – foreign media banned
PHOTO: Thai PBS In a sign of the times where social media is simply instantaneous, but often unreliable, the Lao PM Thongloun Sisoulith is warning members of the public to be aware and conscious about news and reports on the deadly flooding in southern Attapeu province. But some international news agencies are claiming that the Laos government is trying to…
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Myanmar tourism growth stalls in first half of 2018
(4 minute read) Myanmar has seen a slight contraction in tourist number during the first half of t2018. Tourist arrivals still reached 1,722,049 visits, a drop of 2%, according to the latest update by Hotel and Tourism Ministry. Thai tourists remain the top source market but China is catching up. Other tourists are coming from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India, Vietnam…
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DoubleTree by Hilton Penang invites you to Malaysia’s culinary capital
DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Penang is inviting food lovers to discover the amazing flavors of Penang with a journey of discovery into the island’s unique culinary scene. Part of Hilton Worldwide (NYSE: HLT), this stunning seafront resort is the perfect base from which to explore the gastronomic culture of Penang, which is often labeled the “Culinary Capital of Malaysia”. The…
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Rescuers search for 131 missing persons in Laos flooding
Laotian rescuers are continuing their search for 131 missing people. They have been missing since Monday’s fracture of the banks of the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy hydropower dam causing devastating floods to villages in the southern Laos province of Attapeu. The Laos PM Thongloun Sisoulith says, “Impact of this flooding is enormous.” The Vientiane Times is reporting that the disaster…
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16 billion USD wiped off Facebook shares
Facebook has had a horror day on the share market as it starts rolling out new privacy policies which are cutting into the company’s bottomline. Mark Zuckerberg, personally, lost 16 billion US dollars in the market rout. CNN reports that Facebook shares plunged 19% on Thursday after executives warned that revenue growth would slow as the company focuses on user…
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Thailand joins the relief effort as more than 6,000 people displaced in Laos flood
PHOTOS: The Nation Flooding in southern Laos is starting to subside as the search continues for missing people with more than 6,000 people displaced from their homes following the flash flood on Monday. The collapse of the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy Dam in the southern Lao province of Attapeu has left at least 26 people dead and an estimated 100 missing as…
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Marijuana across the Mekong – 350 kilograms seized
A routine naval patrol has foiled an attempt to smuggle 350 kilograms of marijuana across the Mekong into Nakhon Phanom from Laos last night (Tuesday). Rear Admiral Pisit Thongdeelert, commander of the Mekong Protection Unit for Nakhon Phanom, said a patrol vessel spotted a boat approaching the bank in Ban Na Nong Book in Tambon Chaiyaburi of Tha Uthen district.…
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Thai Airways Boeing 777 in emergency landing in Dhaka
PHOTO: News In Flight A Thai Airways plane has made an emergency landing at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA). The Boeing 777 is reported to have veered off the runway during landing but was steered back onto the runway by the pilots. The plane had burst six tyres according to newsinflight.com. TG321 landed around 12.18pm with 145 passengers –…
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Hundreds of houses flood as Laos dam breached
PHOTOS: BCEL One Heart The Nation is reporting that hundreds of households in Laos were heavily flooded on Monday night after a large amount of water overflowed a saddle dam section of Xe Pian dam following heavy rainfall in the country’s southern province of Attapeu. The disaster has reportedly claimed several lives, left hundreds of people missing and more than…
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“Japan will definitely win the war” – new memos revealed
PHOTO: A memo by Michio Yuzawa, a former Japanese vice home minister Interesting historical footnote today according to memos recently discovered which reveal the mindset of the Japanese prime minister at the time, just one day before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. The Japan Times reports that wartime Prime Minister Hideki Tojo stated that Japan would “definitely win the…
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Australia awards highest honours to Tham Luang cave rescuers
PHOTOS: Tim Shaw, 2CC Australian members of the Tham Luang cave rescue team, including Dr Richard Harris and Craig Challen, have been congratulated by the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull after receiving the Order of Australia and the Star of Courage at a function at Government House in the Australian capital Canberra today. Cave diving medical specialists, Richard Harris and…
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Malaysian Mahathir government to look at reducing voting age to 18 from 21
Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Minister and the youngest ever minister, says the Malaysian government is planning to reduce the voting age from 21 to 18 before the next elections in 2023. In an interview with Bloomberg in KL, the 25 year old Cabinet member said the government would ask the Attorney-General’s Office to look into…
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Rights groups call for laws to stop child marriages
“This isn’t just a marriage, but may be child abuse.” Defenders of Thailand’s children are calling for legal actions and amendments to laws to tackle the increasing number of “premature” marriages throughout the country. Activists say that such marriages harm the children. The comments follow the controversy of a 44 year old Malaysian man who ‘married’ an 11 year old…
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Data of 1.5 million patients stolen, including the Singapore PM
PHOTO: Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong The personal data of 1.5 million patients, including the Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong and a few ministers, has been stolen. Some 160,000 people also had their outpatient prescriptions stolen. In Singapore’s worst cyber attack, hackers have stolen the personal particulars of 1.5 million patients. Of these, 160,000 people, including PM Lee Hsien…
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