Australia
- Crime News
Methamphetamine found in coconut milk cans, shipped from Thailand to Sydney
Thailand police are looking suspects who smuggled nearly a tonne of liquid methamphetamine in cans of coconut milk. The cans were shipped from Thailand to Sydney. Australian police seized the 600 litres of methamphetamine and arrested 2 people for taking the delivery. 86 boxes of cans of “coconut milk” were shipped from Thailand to Sydney last month, according to the…
- World News
Australia falls into a recession, global economies at a loss
“Our record run of 28 consecutive years of economic growth has now officially come to an end. The cause: a once-in-a-century pandemic.” Just about everyone hit from the coronavirus pandemic. Businesses closed. Many lost their jobs. Paychecks were cut. Economies across the globe slipped into recession and Australia is now added to that list. The country reported it has sunk…
- Economy News
Government’s economic task force meets to discuss job creation, “Phuket Model”
The government’s Covid-19 economic management team meets today, with a number of stimulus measures expected to be announced. Nation Thailand reports that officials plan to discuss job creation for graduates, along with yet more talks on how to safely welcome international tourists. Deputy PM and Energy Minister, Supattanapong Punmeechaow, says any measures announced are expected to be short-term. The government…
- World News
Facebook responds to proposed media laws in Australia with a threat to ban sharing of news posts
The media wars are heating up in Australia as a battle between Facebook and other tech platforms line up against traditional media providers and the Australian Government. Facebook is now threatening to block both the users and media organisations in Australia sharing news stories, if the Australian government’s plan to demand Facebook, Instagram, Google, etc to pay for content goes ahead.…
- World News
3 men saved after rescuers spotted a huge SOS in the sand on remote Pacific island
It reads like a Hollywood script (or the first episode of ‘I Dream of Jeannie’), but this time it was for real. And it worked. 3 men were rescued from a tiny western Pacific island after scrawling a giant SOS sign into the sand. It was able to be seen by rescue aircraft. The men had gone missing in the Micronesia…
- Covid-19 News
City of Melbourne wakes to first day of 6 week lockdown and curfew
Australia’s southern state of Victoria is now under a state of emergency and a state of disaster. The state government have given police greater powers to help enforce the latest restrictions in a draconian bid to reduce the community transmission of Covid-19. The capital of Melbourne is now in a 6 week lockdown to tackle the latest spike in virus…
- Business News
Trump threatens US TikTok ban
Donald Trump said yesterday that he plans to sign an executive order – perhaps as soon as today – banning the Chinese-owned short-video app TikTok from the US. Such a ban would mark the culmination of national security concerns over the safety of personal data handled by TikTok’s parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, which became 1 of only a handful of…
- Politics News
US, Australia take hawkish tone towards China in talks
Australian and US foreign and defence ministers have taken a hawkish tone against China in the latest round of annual talks between the two countries. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo set the tone for the talks saying to the the Australian ministers that the United States “knows the threats that you and the rest of the free world face”. “And…
- Covid-19 News
Medical expert says it may be weeks before Melbourne outbreak under control
As Australia’s second-largest city is in the middle of a second wave of the Covid-19 virus, a top medical expert says the outbreak will likely take weeks to control. Melbourne, in the southern state of Victoria, has been hit with a spike in new community-transmitted cases, recording 438 infections on Friday and even more over the weekend. Acting chief medical…
- Covid-19 News
Victoria’s capital, Melbourne, records 580 Covid-19 cases in past two days
Australia’s second biggest city, Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, has reported 363 new cases of Covid-19, after 217 cases were recorded yesterday. The recent spike in cases follows almost 2 and a half months of single-digit daily cases. The outbreak has been caused by inbound citizens, returning from overseas and defying quarantine regulations. Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews has announced that…
- Expats
In reversal, Australian embassy will provide visa extension letters
A number of embassies in Bangkok are saying that they won’t issue any further visa extension letters for their citizens when Thailand’s visa amnesty expires on July 31. Both the US and British embassies announced that their citizens in Thailand will have to decide “whether to stay or go,” and that such letters will “no longer be possible.” But at…
- Covid-19 News
Australia shuts down border between 2 most populous states over Covid-19 fears
Australian officials are closing borders indefinitely starting from tomorrow for its two most populous states over Covid-19 fears, Victoria and New South Wales. The move comes after authorities scramble to contain a coronavirus outbreak in the northern suburbs of the city of Melbourne, with some fearing that even these current containment measures may not work to stop the spread of…
- World News
HK man arrested for allegedly stabbing officer in security law protests
Police in Hong Kong arrested a man aboard a flight to London this morning on suspicion of stabbing a police officer during protests of the Chinese territory’s new security law. About 370 people were arrested during and after yesterday’s protests against the new laws, imposed by China to curb activities surrounding the anti-government protests that have racked Hong Kong for…
- World News
Australia and UK may offer a safe haven to Hong Kong citizens
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia is “actively considering” providing a safe haven for Hong Kong citizens to migrate to the country after controversial national security laws enforced by China have come into effect. Yesterday, hundreds of people were arrested after protesters took to the streets to protest the new laws introduced by China to suppress dissidents. When asked…
- World News
Australia uses national flower for new marketing logo
Australia is replacing its international marketing logo with the nation’s wattle flower to represent the country during trade missions and business exchange programs. Trade Minister Simon Birmingham is giving the green light to change the logo from the current one which displays two boomerangs surrounding the words “Australian Unlimited”. The new logo features the letters “AU” on top of a gold…
- Travel
Virgin Australia will fly again under new US ownership
Virgin Australia will reportedly grace the Australian skies again after a US company has bought it out. Bain Capital, a private equity group in the US, took over ownership after the struggling airline was unsuccessful in asking for Australian government bail out or loans. The second largest airline in Australia collapsed in April after struggling with long-term debt before the Covid-19…
- Covid-19 News
UK starts human testing on experimental Covid-19 vaccine
The UK is joining the race to develop a Covid-19 vaccine with volunteers already getting jabbed as the testing continues. But the new vaccine isn’t merely a weaker version of the actual virus- it ‘clones’ the virus so its receivers don’t actually get infected with Covid-19. Imperial College London is behind the new vaccine which uses synthetic strands of genetic code,…
- World News
Australian fugitive caught hiding in air vent on a ship
Australian police reported that a 31 year old man, who was facing alleged sexual assault charges in Sydney, attempted to leave Australia on a yacht… but ended up ditching the yacht and hiding in an air vent on a cargo ship. On Saturday, the man set off from New South Wales (a state in eastern Australia) in his own small yacht,…
- World News
Only 1 out of 4 Australians trust China’s actions
A recent survey has indeed concluded that Australians trust in China has collapsed with only 23% saying they trust the communist nation’s actions on the world stage. The number has significantly dropped by about 30% in the last two years with some pointing to the recent diplomatic stoush between the two nations. That battle has both countries sending threats over…
- World News
Dinosaur footprints resembling T-Rex found in Australia
Fossilised dinosaur footprints discovered in Australia have indicated that dinosaurs almost as large as the North American Tyrannosaurus Rex also roamed the lands down under. The footprints, measuring almost 80cm long, were discovered some 90 years ago by coal miners in Queensland and they appear to be older than the T. Rex fossils by about 90 million years. The difference…
- Covid-19 News
Australia on guard as Covid-19 cases jump in Victoria
Restrictions have been tightened once again in the Australian state of Victoria, as a surge in new Covid-19 cases has officials on high alert. A state of emergency has been prolonged by a further 4 weeks, and private homes can now have no more than 5 visitors at a time, down from the previous 10. Plans to increase the number…
- Covid-19 News
Australia to remain closed to nearly all but international students until next year
Australia’s trade minister said yesterday that the country is unlikely to reopen its borders to international arrivals until some time in 2021, but will look to relax entry rules for international students and other long-term visitors. The country has been largely successful in containing the spread of Covid-19, success which it attributes to curbs on international travel and tough social…
- Covid-19 News
They arrived! One Thai/Australian family’s battle to re-unite.
Common sense has prevailed and the uphill task faced by father Sam Kelly last week has had a favourable ending with his Thai wife, Kannika, and 2 children. Ronny and Adam, arriving safely this morning in Brisbane, Australia. His months-long battle with common sense and the vagaries of Thai officialdom has resulted in at least one family being re-united soon…
- Covid-19 News
Another family kept apart by Thai red tape and quarantine confusion
Sometimes you cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s and it’s still not enough to satisfy the paper-pushers, especially at this disruptive time in Thailand, and everywhere else. One Australian father has ended up separated from his family – he’s in Australia and his wife and 2 children are in Thailand being shuffled around Phuket and Bangkok in…
- Thai Life
Vale Ken Chung, Koh Samui hotelier and former Honorary Consul dies
RIP Ken Chung, a founder member of Skål International Koh Samui, and a former Charter President for the Rotary Club of Samui after having been involved with Rotary in Australia for many years prior. In 2003 Ken was appointed as the Honorary Consul of the Australian Embassy, a position he held with pride for more than 12 years. A kind…
- Covid-19 News
Coronavirus UPDATE – first deaths in New Zealand, Sri Lanka. Singapore cancels citizen’s passport.
Covid-19 cases around the world have now reached 723,732. A week ago (March 23) there was 378,000 cases in the world. There have been exactly 34,000 deaths recorded globally (as of 2.30pm Monday Thai time) with over 151,000 people recovered. The USA leads the world count with 142,735 cases followed by Italy with 97,689 cases and 10,799 deaths. Here are…
- Covid-19 News
QANTAS to shelve all international flights by the end of the month
QANTAS, Australia’s national airline announced it is halting all international flights later this month, after Australia’s other main carrier Virgin shut down overseas services due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. But QANTAS will maintain 60% of its domestic flights and Virgin Australia around 50%. QANTAS says international flights will be suspended by the end of this month for at least…
- World News
Thai airways cancels 32 flights to 12 countries
Reports from Thai Airways International say that due to the spread of the Covid-19 disease the national airline is obligated to announce the cancellation of international flights. In order to meet the traveling needs of decreasing passengers, the airline have announced cancelled flights to and from 12 countries, totalling 32 flights. These flights include… 1. Nepal, Kathmandu, 2 flights, TG…
- Covid-19 News
Coronavirus UPDATE: 2,700+ infected, 80 dead, 8 cases in Thailand
We bring you all this morning’s key updates in news about the spread of the Novel Coronavirus. Whilst there is plenty of speculation and rumours in social media, The Thaiger will only be publishing news that has been corroborated by authorised medical and scientific organisations or quoted with attribution in leading world media. As the story is developing quickly we…
- Covid-19 News
Coronavirus UPDATE: 15 Chinese cities are now in lockdown
Things are moving fast with the Wuhan novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak. Amid dramatic lockdowns of at least 15 Chinese cities, affecting millions, much remains uncertain about the coronavirus and its method of transmission, or the extent of its spread outside central China. International health authorities continue to scrutinise the virus’ spread and effects with the World Health Organisation meeting daily…
