World News
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Many expats feel worried that their pre-existing health problems will stop them from getting insurance in a new country. This fear is common, especially when medical care can be expensive. But the good news is, some insurance, like the plans...
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New Hong Kong to Shenzhen high speed train launches today
It’s the first day of the new HK to Shenzhen high speed train service. At 7am the first hundreds of passengers departed the former British colony for mainland China at speeds up to 200 kph. The project, costing US$11 billion, is seen by some as a new, convenient and speedy track into mainland China and beyond. Others see it as…
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‘Stereotype’ problems for single Thai women travelling out of Thailand
A Thai woman has gone online to describe her experiences of being locked in a Johur Bahru immigration jail for three days. She said that Thai women travelling abroad alone, especially to other places in Asia, are often assumed to be working in the sex industry. The woman made her comments on the Pantip website under the name “Fernchiu” and said…
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Top 10 Museums in Asia
Asia has a lot of museums but many are a reminder about rough days in the past, moments in time remembered so they’re not repeated. Some of these Top 10 museums are just downright creepy. But they’re all interesting. Trip Advisor’s readers have ranked the Top 10 Asian museums. Thailand didn’t make it into the Top 10 but has a…
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Plastic straws to be banned in some Malaysian territories from January 1
Plastic straws are to be banned in all the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan in Malaysia from January 1 next year. Businesses which are still found to be using plastic straws in 2019 risk having their business licences terminated. Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Adnan Mohd Ikhsan says, “The ban on plastic straws is in addition to the…
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Soi Dog congratulates the Hanoi people’s committee ban on dog and cat meat trade
Barely 24 hours after urging citizens to stop eating dogs and cats, Hanoi’s authorities have announced that the sale of dog meat will be banned from the central districts of the city from 2021. The director of the city’s Department of Animal Health, Nguyen Ngoc Son, told Lao Dong Newspaper on Wednesday (September 12)… “Following a direction from the city’s…
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Japanese billionaire buys a ticket to the moon
Elon Musk, fresh from being sued by Vernon Unsworth for his slanderous comments during the Tham Luang cave rescue mission, has now announced that he is sending Japanese tourists up with his company Space X’s first moon mission. Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa will be Earth’s first moon tourist. It is not known how much he paid for the return trip…
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Thai fined $6,000 for defaulting on Singapore national service obligations
by The Straits Times – Asia News Network PHOTO: Ong Wee Jin A Thai national, registered as a Singaporean when he was just a year old, but never lived in Singapore, has been fined S$6,000 for defaulting on his national service obligations in the Lion City. 24 year old Ekawit Tangtrakarn, an application engineer, committed the enlistment offence before he ceased…
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Singapore #1, Thailand #6 – Asia’s most innovative nations
by DataLEADS/Asia News Network Singapore, South Korea and Japan are the most innovative countries in Asia whereas Pakistan and Bangladesh are the least innovative, according to the Global Innovation Index 2018 report. Thailand comes in number 6 out of the 17 ranked countries. The report analyses the energy innovation landscape of the next decade and identifies possible breakthroughs in fields…
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More than 60 dead as Mangkhut continues into southern China
The world’s strongest tropical storm this year, Typhoon Mangkhut, continues its path of destruction across Southeast Asia, reaching mainland China yesterday (Sunday) after pummeling Hong Kong and killing dozens in the Philippines. The storm, originating in the Pacific Ocean and first hitting Guam and the Marshall Islands, has been deadly with its high power winds hitting rural communities in The…
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Air Asia cancel flights into southern China
Air Asia has announced the cancellation of 32 regional flights through southern China scheduled on Sunday as there was potential the flights could be affected by Typhoon Mangkhut. Flights affected are routes landing in Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen, China. The affected return flights are Phuket-Macao, Don Mueng-Hong Kong, Don Meuang-Macao, Don Meuang-Shantou, Chiang Mai-Hong Kong, Utapao-Macao, Phuket-Hong Kong, Chiang…
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Typhoon Mankhut batters Hong Kong and Macau
Swaying buildings, scaffolding being torn off buildings under construction, collapsed walls, smashed windows and flooding. That’s the result after Typhoon Mangkhut slammed into Hong Kong and Macau today around lunchtime. Heavy rain and strong winds have delivered storm surges of up to three metres in coastal regions such as Heng Fa Chuen in eastern Hong Kong Island and Tai O…
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Mangkhut will hit China coast around noon today
Typhoon Mangkhut will pass over the coast of southern China and be closest to the Pearl Delta, one of the most densely urbanised regions in the world, around noon today. So far, it’s been recorded as she strongest storm this year. It’s just barreled through the northern Philippines and is now headed for China. It brought ferocious winds and torrential…
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Mangkhut claims two lives as it heads towards Hong Kong
Super Typhoon Mangkhut, the biggest storm of the year, smashed through The Philippines on Saturday, claiming its first victims when two women were killed after a rain-drench hillside collapsed on them and another drowned in Taiwan. The storm made landfall on the northern Philippine’s island around 2.30am this morning. The massive storm cut a swathe of destruction when it struck…
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Asian families travel twice as much as Western families
by The Star – Asia News Network, KL When it comes to vacations, Asian travellers take twice as many family trips as their Western peers. The Agoda Family Travel Trends 2018 survey found that over 34% travellers took more than five family trips in the past year. Asia dominates this multi-holiday trend with a remarkable 77% of travellers from Thailand and 62% from…
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Mangkhut bearing down on the northern tip of Luzon, The Philippines
The Philippines continues to evacuate thousands as soldiers and emergency workers continue to prepare shelter and emergency provisions. ‘Super’ Typhoon Mangkhut is threatening more than four million people in the northern island of Luzon. ‘Mangkhut’ is expected to make landfall on the island very early tomorrow (Saturday). Current wind speeds are up to a staggering 285 kilometers per hour (180…
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The Philippines and northern Vietnam prepare for typhoons
More than 4 million people in The Philippines are poised for the arrival of destructive typhoon-force winds caused by ‘Super’ Typhoon Mangkhut. The massive storm peaked on Wednesday and became, officially, the strongest storm of 2018 with winds up to 285 kph. Countries across east and southeast Asia, including The Philippines, Vietnam and China are issuing emergency alerts and ordering…
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28 million ASEAN jobs threatened by AI over the next decade
PHOTO: Krungsri Finnovate by Viet Nam News – Asia News Network, Hanoi Innovations in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, coupled with its increased uptake, will have a big impact on the workforce across ASEAN countries over the next decade, according to a new study by Cisco and Oxford Economics. “Technology and the Future of ASEAN Jobs” claims that innovations in digital technology will…
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One ASEAN – no roaming charges
Vietnam talks up future ASEAN initiatives including an ASEAN University of information and communication technology during the World Economic Forum in Hanoi. By Vietnam News – Asia News Network. Hanoi Vietnam’s acting minister of information and communications, Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng, says that Vietnam, as an emerging economy, should be able to take advantage of the fourth industrial revolution, even though the country missed…
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Saving ancient stone – restoration of the Angkor heritage sites
by China Daily – Asia News Network August is probably not the best time for tourists to travel to Angkor Was (Angkor Archaeological Park) in northern Cambodia – the rainy season brings particularly muggy conditions. But for Yuan Mengxi, an assistant researcher at the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage, her trip last month was perhaps one of her most exciting although…
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Businessman arrested in Thailand not linked 1MDB
PHOTO: File photos In an exclusive story, the New Sunday Times in Malaysia is reporting that the businessman arrested in Thailand by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over the SRC International case, is not linked to former Malaysian PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak and financier Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low. A highly-placed investigator told the New Sunday…
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Mekong water level drops but surrounding areas remain submerged
Even though the levels of the Mekong River in Nong Khai’s Phon Pisai district continue to drop, farmlands,20 homes and a school remain submerged, as the river continues to block the drainage of floodwater from a swollen creek. Most of the families have moved to stay with relatives while others have sought shelter in tents set up by the Tambon…
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QANTAS passengers heap praise on pilot for turn-around
Passengers flying on a QANTAS non-stop flight from Perth to London have heaped praise a pilot’s decision to turn around just two hours into the 17 hour flight. The Boeing 787-9 series Dreamliner took off from Perth on Saturday evening. But QF9 was forced to return to Perth just two hours into the flight to London. The disruptive passenger was reportedly handcuffed,…
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Disruptive passenger causes mega-route QANTAS flight to return
PHOTO: KarryOn A QANTAS flight has been forced to turn back after just two hours in the air. It was on the Australian airlines’ new non-stop ‘mega route’ from Perth to London – 17 hours in the air in a Boeing Dreamliner 787 – 900. The service is the first direct flight from Australia to London. The flight usually takes 17 hours…
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Thailand accepts the Chair for ASEAN 2019
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that Thailand will assume the ASEAN chairmanship next year. ASEAN has ten member states. Find out more about ASEAN HERE. At a press conference today, the Director-General of the Department of Information and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ms. Busadee Santipitak indicated that the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Don Pramudwinai…
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Malaysia’s President-elect condemns caning of two women
from Asia News Network The Malaysian president-elect, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, has criticised the caning of the two women convicted of lesbian sex, saying that it lacked due process and understanding. “I’m a practising Muslim, but I don’t share that interpretation and certainly that sort of action to publicly cane without proper due process and understanding,” Anwar said during a…
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Kuala Terengganu Syariah High Court carries out caning punishment of two woman
PHOTOS: The Star, Asia News Network Two women have been caned six times each as punishment after pleading guilty to same-sex relations by the Kuala Terengganu Syariah High Court. The Star reports that 150 people were present in the courtroom watching as a lady officer from Kajang Women’s Prison carried out the sentence with a cane measuring about a metre.…
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Reuters reporters jailed for seven years in Myanmar
PHOTO: Reuters journalist Wa Lone followed by Kyaw Soe Oo arriving in court in Yangon. They were sentenced to seven years in jail today for breaching state secrets law – Reuters Reuters reports that a Myanmar judge today found two Reuters journalists guilty of breaching a law on state secrets and jailed them for seven years, in a landmark case…
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Who dares stamp out the practice of child marriage in southern Thailand?
When an 11 year old married a 41 year old at a mosque near the Golok river on the border between Thailand and Malaysia, no locals thought much of it. Child brides are legal in Malaysia, if Islamic sharia law grants approval for the marriage. The 11 year old was the 41 year old Malaysian’s third wife. At the time…
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Myanmar rebukes UN over Rhakine genocide report
By Khine Kyaw , Yangon Myanmar has responded to the UNs Fact Finding Mission that concluded genocide had been committed in Rakhine, saying the Myanmar Government did not recognise the mission and accused the writers of the report of intending to create a rift between the civilian government and the military. “We have already dissociated ourselves from the resolution of…
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Call centre gang in Vietnam raided – 16 Thais arrested
Tourist Police Bureau deputy commissioner Pol Maj Gen Surachate Hakparn has announced a trans-national raid in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Thai PBS reports that sixteen Thai and two Taiwanese nationals were arrested in a raid on a condominium by Thai and Vietnamese police where a so-called “call centre” gang had been operating. Pol Maj Gen Surachate said the raid was…
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