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 Moving to Thailand? Here are the health documents you should prepare before you go
The Thaiger key takeaways Valid passport, visa documents, health certificate, and vaccination records are essential for immigration and medical care in Thailand. Health insurance that meets visa requirements, like Cigna, provides protection, direct billing, and access to a wide hospital...
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Booking.com predicts bumpy recovery for travel in Asia-Pacific region
Online travel agency Booking.com says travel in the Asia-Pacific region will be slow to recover as a number of countries adopt a more cautious approach to re-opening. Laura Houldsworth, MD for Asia-Pacific, says while some countries in Southeast Asia are starting to re-open, with various levels of paperwork and restrictions, most North Asian destinations still have significant entry restrictions in…
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US government tells citizens to avoid travel to Hong Kong, New Zealand – and Thailand
Americans are being told to avoid travel to Thailand, Hong Kong, and New Zealand, due to the rise in Covid-19 infections in each country. According to a Reuters report, the travel advisory was issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has raised its travel alert for Thailand to “Level Four: Very High”. In total, the US…
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UKRAINE UPDATES: Russia allows civilians to flee — to Russia, as 95% of its amassed forces now in Ukraine; China to provide humanitarian aid
Here’s the latest headlines from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine… • Russian sate media has announced a new ceasefire proposal, which would allow civilians to flee key cities via humanitarian corridors. But the Ukrainian government has denounced the plan as “immoral,” as civilians in Kyiv would be offered safe passage north to Belarus, while those in Kharkiv would have a corridor…
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Philippines to raise the minimum age of sexual consent from 12 to 16
The age of sexual consent in the Philippines is being raised from 12 to 16 years old. President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a bill raising the minimum age in an effort to protect adolescents from rape and sexual assault. The bill says statutory rape is when an adult has sexual contact with a person 16 years old or younger, unless the…
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Global oil prices hit 14-year high as Western nations consider import ban on Russian oil
Global oil prices have risen more than 6%, surging to the highest prices since 2008 on Monday, as the US and European allies consider an import ban on Russian oil. Meanwhile, fears of a global oil supply shortage are being further compounded by the delay of Iranian crude’s potential return to global markets, as the Kremlin demands a guarantee that…
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Thai police ask Canadian court not to grant bail to Jimi Sandhu murder suspect
Police in Thailand are asking a Canadian court to refuse a bail application for a man wanted for murder on the southern island of Phuket. Canadian national Matthew Dupre is 1 of 2 suspects wanted for the murder of Indian gang member Jimi Singh Sandhu, who was gunned down outside his Rawai villa on February 4. Dupre and his alleged…
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Amidst boycott of Russia, Putin threatens Ukrainian ‘statehood’
Amidst a boycott of Russia by several international corporations, Russian president Vladimir Putin threatened the existence of Ukrainian statehood yesterday. “The current (Ukrainian) authorities must understand that if they continue to do what they are doing, they are putting in question the future of Ukrainian statehood”. The most recent high profile boycott of Russia involves Mastercard and Visa suspending operations…
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UPDATE: Shane Warne’s death, “blood found in villa”
UPDATE: Thai Police have reported a “large amount of blood” found in the room of Shane Warne at the rented villa he was staying at in Koh Samui. Despite the latest revelations Police don’t believe there was any foul-play involved in Mr. Warne’s demise. New photographs have emerged of the room where Mr. Warne was staying at the Samujana Villas…
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Vaccinated Travel Lanes between Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia starting March 15
A network of new Vaccinated Travel Lanes is starting to open up around South East Asia as the government’s find ‘safe’ ways to reopen their borders whilst still maintaining some precautions. The Omicron variant continues to surge in many of the regional Asian countries despite similar surges and declines already over in many countries in the EU, the US, UK…
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Russians in Phuket granted 1 month extension to stay
Despite Russia banning Facebook in the country just 2 days ago, the Russian Consulate in Phuket has posted on its own Facebook page yesterday to announce that Russian citizens in Phuket can stay at least month longer than the original date on their visa. To do this, Russian travellers must go to Phuket immigration with their original letter from the…
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Russian embassy warns Thais “don’t fight with Ukrainians”, threatens prosecution
Yesterday, the Embassy of Russia in Bangkok posted on Facebook urging Thais not to join the Ukrainian military. The post was originally in Russian, but viewers can see a translated version in English. The embassy alleges that under international law, such ‘merceneries’ who join Ukrainian forces are not qualified as combatants, and have no status as prisoners of war. It…
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Shane Warne’s death, “he had chest pains and asthma”
Thai Police have made some further comment relating to the death of legendary Australia cricketer, Shane Warne’s, death on Friday afternoon. One of Cricket’s finest bowlers of all time, and ‘Aussie icon’, died aged 52, a day after arriving on Koh Samui for an extended vacation with friends. He died of a suspected heart attack after taking an afternoon nap.…
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Malaysian minister announces vaccinated travel lane with Thailand, Cambodia
Malaysia’s Transport Minister announced today that the country’s government is preparing to start a Vaccinated Travel Lane with Thailand and Cambodia as early as the middle of this month. The minister said the VTL will follow the same model as the VTL between Singapore’s Changi International Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport. In the VTL, travellers who enter Malaysia take…
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Russia threatens up to 15 years for ‘fake news’ on military actions in Ukraine
Russia amended its criminal code yesterday and passed a law making the spread of ‘fake’ information a criminal offense. Intentionally spreading so-called fake information about the country’s military actions in the Ukraine can now be punishable with fines, and up to 15 years imprisonment. Russia’s lower house of parliament outlined a ‘sliding scale’ of penalties for people who have discredited…
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Shane Warne dies in Thailand – friends tried CPR for 20 minutes – OBITUARY
Thai Police have made a statement today that they don’t suspect foul play in yesterday’s death of legendary Australian cricketer Shane Warne. The 52 year old, who had only arrived on Koh Samui for a vacation with fiends on Thursday, died of a suspected heart attack sometime early on Friday. “No foul play was suspected at the scene based on…
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Thailand ‘worried’ about Ukraine violence, humanitarian crisis, representative tells UN
After Thailand backed a UN resolution against Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, the country’s Permanent Representative said it is ‘worried’ about the ongoing violence and humanitarian crisis in the Ukraine. At a special session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, the representative said the violence will impact the rest of the world as well. “…will cause wider impacts for…
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Travel in 2022 – how Russia is reshaping the world’s travel industry
Russians were the most visible travellers heading to Thailand post February 1, 2022, when the Thailand Pass Test & Go option was rebooted. Even with its 2 days of pre-booked SHA+ quarantine and PCR tests, along with US$50,000 Covid insurance (which has since been reduced to $20,000), the Russian travellers were delighted to jump on a plane and take the…
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Australian cricket legend Shane Warne dies in Koh Samui villa
The legendary Australian cricketer and leg-spinner, Shane Warne, has died of a suspected heart attack whilst holidaying on Koh Samui, Thailand. He was aged 52. During his career Warne took 708 Test wickets in 145 cricket matches during a 15 year international career. . His take of wickets was the second most of all time. He was found “unresponsive” in his…
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Vietnam considers treating Covid-19 as an endemic
With Covid-19 cases on the rise, Vietnam’s PM Pham Minh Chinh has urged the Health Ministry to begin the process of preparing the country to live with Covid-19 and approach it as an endemic. During a cabinet meeting, he directed authorities to explore how other countries had handled the shift. As they confront the virus and the impact of the…
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West Papua rebels shoot and kill eight technicians
Gunmen in a mountainous district of Indonesia’s Papua shot and killed eight technicians at a tower owned by a telecoms company on Wednesday. Today, West Papua’s main rebel militia claimed responsibility. One technician had managed to escape and tell authorities about the attack. Police began to track down the attackers, when the West Papua National Liberation Army took responsibility. The…
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Bangkok criminal court won’t let activist study on scholarship in Germany
A student activist facing lèse majesté charges won’t be allowed to study in Germany with a scholarship for a post-graduate program. Ravisara, nicknamed Dear, was charged when she read a statement in German in front of the German Embassy in Bangkok in 2020. When Dear applied to leave the country for a prestigious scholarship program, The Bangkok South Criminal Court…
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Woman arrested on charges of trafficking to UAE, one of six suspects
Police in Chachoengsao, a province east of Bangkok, arrested a woman suspected of tricking another woman into working as a prostitute in the United Arab Emirates. She is one of six suspects in the case. The alleged victim told authorities she was invited to work as a masseuse at a spa in Dubai. The woman who invited her was called…
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UKRAINE UPDATES: 2nd round of peace talks ends without ceasefire, Zelensky asks for meeting with Putin, planes
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its second week, here are the major stories circulating today… • Russian and Ukrainian negotiators agree to organise humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians, though little concrete progress has been made after the second day of peace talks between representatives from Kyiv and the Kremlin. The second round of talks in four days took place in…
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Second round of Ukraine – Russia talks ends with agreement on humanitarian corridors
A second round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Belarus has ended with an agreement to form humanitarian corridors. According to a Xinhua report, the talks ended yesterday, with both sides discussing military issues, the possibility of a future political settlement, and the ongoing humanitarian issues. Mykhailo Podoliak, advisor to the Head of the President’s Office of Ukraine,…
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United States will invite ‘non-political’ Myanmar representative to summit
A spokesman for the US State Department announced yesterday that the United States supports ASEAN’s decision to invite a ‘non-political’ representative from Myanmar’s junta-ruled government to a summit in Washington this month. The spokesman said that it too will invite a ‘non-political’ representative from Myanmar, in order to hold the country accountable for not following a consensus about human rights…
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UKRAINE UPDATES: Russia captures key port city, 1 million refugees have fled
This is the first of The Thaiger’s daily update briefs on, not only the ongoing battles across Ukraine, but the key milestones covering the rest of the international perspective relating to the story. These will be updated twice a day and also be part of a new daily program on The Thaiger YouTube channel. • As the Russian invasion of…
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China asked Russia not to invade Ukraine… until after the Olympics
In early February, China asked Russia to delay its invasion of Ukraine until after the Winter Olympics in Beijing, according to a New York Times report, which quoted a European official and officials from the Biden administration, who cited a report from a Western intelligence agency. The intelligence report showed that high-level Chinese officials had some degree of knowledge regarding…
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Much of Australian state under water as 200,000 people ordered to flee flood
A devastating storm that started last week has killed 13 people so far in the Australian state of New South Wales. Emergency services have ordered 200,000 people to flee, warning of dangerous wind and rain across 400 kilometres of the coast. A meteorologist predicts there will be 50-150 milimetres of rain in and around Sydney, which he warned will cause…
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China asked Russia not to invade Ukraine — until after the Olympics, Biden officials say
In early February, China asked Russia to delay its invasion of Ukraine until after the Winter Olympics in Beijing, according to a New York Times report, which quoted a European official and officials from the Biden administration, who cited a report from a Western intelligence agency. The intelligence report showed that high-level Chinese officials had some degree of knowledge regarding…
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Famous actor released from jail in Myanmar following sentencing for anti-coup influence
The famous Burmese model and actor detained by the Myanmar junta for his role in the mass anti-coup protests has been pardoned and released. 25 year old Paing Takhon, who is also famous in Thailand, was arrested last year for his influence in the country’s pro-democracy movement following the February 2021 military coup. He had been charged for dissent against…
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