US
- Covid-19 News
Virus kills 630 in a single day in US state of New York
The Covid-19 coronavirus killed 630 people over 24 hours in New York state, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday, the worst day yet for the US state hit hardest by the pandemic so far. Infections in the state doubled in just six days. Cases worldwide have doubled in the last week to over 1.2 million. As of 11:04 Thai time today…
- Covid-19 News
Train engineer attempts to destroy USNS Mercy hospital ship
US Federal prosecutors report an engineer deliberately ran a train off the tracks at high speed near the Port of Los Angeles in an attempt to destroy the USNS Mercy hospital ship. The Pacific Harbour Line train derailed yesterday off the end of the track and crashing through multiple barriers, eventually coming to rest about 227 metres from the docked naval…
- Covid-19 News
Coronavirus UPDATE: Bangkok NOT being locked down, sobering forecast for US
Across the world the total number of Covid-19 cases has reached 858,000 (8am Thai time), registering 42,114 deaths and 177,141 people fully recovered. In the US, the number of cases has reached 187,729 – nearly 24,000 new cases in the past 24 hours and 726 people dying over the past day. Here is our page for all the latest Covid-19…
- Crime News
Former US gangster arrested after Chon Buri 7-11 robbery
A man with a rather colourful past is now in police custody in the Bang Lamung district of Chon Buri province. The suspect, a former US gangster, who speaks five languages, allegedly robbed a 7-eleven shop of 5000 baht using a BB gun last week. 37 year old “Roger” Phayungsak Wasuwat, was taken by police to the convenience store branch…
- Covid-19 News
US Covid-19 cases exceed 100,000 people, South Korea leads the world with testing
The US has kicked the number of cases of Covid-19 coronavirus over 100,000 people. As testing continues to expand rapidly, the US is seeing daily spikes of 10,000+ in recent days (18,294 in the past 24 hours). On March 20 there were 19,000 active cases recorded for the US. The numbers are expected to continue to rise steadily in the coming…
- Covid-19 News
US surpasses China with most coronavirus cases
The United States has overtaken China and now has the highest number of cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus in the world, with 85,505 at 9:10am (Thai time). That number is expected to spike. China has 81,782 cases, and Italy 80,589. But the death toll in the US lags behind China’s 3,291 and Italy’s 8,215. The turning point comes as US…
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 UPDATE: World cases exceed 300,000, Italian hospitals overwhelmed
In the past week, the number of Covid-19 coronavirus cases has nearly doubled. Same with the number of deaths. This morning (10am Thai time) more than 308,000 people are now infected with the novel coronavirus worldwide, and that’s only the people who have been tested and identified. The most worrying rises have been in the US, Spain, Italy, Germany and…
- Covid-19 News
Your democracy is killing you and how China suppressed Covid-19
OPINION On January 25, 2020 the Chinese government started locking down around 930 million citizens over the following few weeks, starting with the city centres of Hubei province, the probable ground zero of the outbreak, and spreading outwards. Most of these Chinese citizens are still quarantined in their homes. About two weeks later, in the second week of February, the…
- World News
China expels American journalists in tit-for-tat response
The Chinese government is revoking the press credentials of US journalists working for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. It’s the biggest crackdown on American journalists in the past two decades. The move comes as the two superpowers feud over the narrative on the Covid-19 virus and both try to politicise the issue. US…
- Covid-19 News
US announces temporary ban on flights coming from Europe
The US President Donald Trump has announced today a month-long suspension for travellers out of Europe. The only exception if people travelling from the UK to the US. In an official televised address to the US TV audience from the White House, President Trump noted he was overseeing “the most aggressive and comprehensive effort to confront a foreign virus in…
- Covid-19 News
Coronavirus UPDATE: China stabilises, Asian markets recover slightly, Italy goes into ‘lockdown’
More than 4,000 people have now succumbed to the Covid-19 coronavirus as it continues spreading around the globe. As of 12pm today, 4,027 have died from the virus, there are 114,422 cases confirmed around the world and 64,081 people have fully recovered. Whilst most of the cases and deaths are still in mainland China but the numbers of new cases…
- Covid-19 News
Coronavirus UPDATE: China cases ease, 42 cases now in Thailand
The total confirmed cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) is now 85,217, with 2,924 people having succumbed to the disease. 39,554 people have fully recovered, approaching 50% of total cases. In Thailand there are now 42 confirmed cases with 28 people listed as “recovered”. The latest Thai victim is a 21 year old salesman whose job is said to have exposed him to foreign…
- World News
World’s biggest band launch their new album “Map of the Soul: 7” BTS
From the first determined drum stroke in the new BTS music video (below) you get the sense that these guys mean business for their new album. The music video for their first official single ON kicked over more than 70 million views in its first 2 days since launch. The world’s biggest band BTS – in terms of album sales,…
- Covid-19 News
Coronavirus UPDATE: Chinese keep arriving in Thailand, UK man spreads virus to 11 others
The world death toll from the coronavirus outbreak continues to climb. Official figures put the Chinese figure at 1,016 deaths, up 108 from the day before, 1,018 worldwide. Outside of China there has only been 2 deaths reported – one in The Philippines and another in Hong Kong. The number of cases of infection has also grown to 43,104. That’s up…
- Covid-19 News
Coronavirus UPDATE: Thai cases up to 19, US declares coronavirus a public health emergency
Total confirmed worldwide cases: 11,374 Total confirmed cases in China: 11,221 Total conformed cases in Thailand: 19 Total deaths: 259 And, as the weeks wear on, it is clear that most people are recovering from their symptoms and getting on with their lives. No one, outside of China, has died from the coronavirus infection. Many countries have now issued strict…
- Covid-19 News
Coronavirus UPDATE – 6,057 confirmed cases, 132 dead, Wednesday 11.30am
The Coronavirus has now infected a confirmed 6,057 people who are undergoing treatment, and the death toll has reached 132. 125 of those deaths are isolated to Hubei Province in central China. The largest city of Hubei is Wuhan, the epicentre of the current outbreak which first came to light in mid-December last year at a fresh meat market. Germany…
- Covid-19 News
Coronavirus UPDATE – 5,578 confirmed cases, 131 dead
We awake to the latest news today on the spread of the Coronavirus where 5,578 people are now confirmed as infected and undergoing treatment, and the death toll reaching 131. 125 of those deaths are isolated to Hubei Province in central China (graph below). The largest city of Hubei is Wuhan, the epicentre of the current outbreak which first came…
- Covid-19 News
Coronavirus UPDATE: 107 dead, more cases in Singapore and 1 in Cambodia
The death toll in China from the respiratory illness called the Wuhan Coronavirus or the Novel Coronavirus, has now reached 106, according to Channel News Asia. There are no deaths reported outside China and the vast majority of deaths are in the province of Hubei (76) where Wuhan is the capital. The number of total confirmed cases has risen to…
- Covid-19 News
Coronavirus UPDATE: 81 dead, Beijing 50 year old dies, more cases in the US
The death toll in China from the respiratory illness called the Wuhan Coronavirus or the Novel Coronavirus, has now reached 81. There are no deaths reported outside China and the vast majority of deaths are in the province of Hubei (76) where Wuhan is the capital. The coronavirus has now infected nearly 3,000 people, and the numbers are expected to…
- 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…
- World News
Fortress Wuhan. Chinese authorities lock down the source of the coronavirus.
Wuhan, a city of more than 10 million in the central Chinese province of Hubei, is effectively in lock down following a decisive attempt to isolate the source of the Novel Coronavirus. Wuhan has ‘temporarily’ closed its airport, rail station and main roads out of the city. All city public transport services are all suspended too, as authorities scramble to…
- World News
US Treasury mulls putting Thailand on its ‘watchlist’ as a currency manipulator
Thailand’s trade surplus with the US has now exceeded US$20 billion. Bloomberg reports that this could trigger the Thai currency to be added to the US Treasury’s watchlist of “currency manipulators”. According to US Census Bureau data, the surplus reached US$20.05 billion in the 12 months up to the end of November 2019. That exceeds a $20 billion upper limit…
- World News
Washington says Myanmar may be stocking chemical weapons
PHOTO: Reuters Myanmar is ignoring a convention banning chemical weapons and may have a stockpile left over from the 1980s… this claim coming out of Washington. A senior US State Department official told the annual meeting of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons that Myanmar may still have weapons at a “historic” facility where mustard gas was once…
- Thailand News
Thailand and the US sign new defence treaty
PHOTO: Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper with the newly-signed defence alliance treaty yesterday in Bangkok – The Nation The US-Thailand Joint Vision Statement 2020 advances the 2018 US National Defence Strategy and Thailand’s 20 Year National Strategy objectives “by reaffirming our shared commitment to the long-standing defence alliance.” This statement was issued by the…
- World News
US downgrades delegation to ASEAN summits
The US is downgrading its participation in two Asia-Pacific summits in Bangkok next week, a move sure to disappoint Asian partners worried by China’s expanding influence. US President Donald Trump is expected to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Chile in November, but the most senior official from his administration, when Thailand hosts the annual East Asian Summit…
- Economy News
Thai exports will suffer from Trump decision
US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the US will suspend 1.3 billion dollars worth of duty-free trade for certain items from Thailand, claiming that Thailand has not taken steps to protect labor rights. In a letter to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence, Trump said he had suspended duty-free treatment because Thailand…
- Health
US pushing for delay to Thai ban on glyphosate in order to protect imports
The US is urging Thailand to delay its forthcoming ban on glyphosate, saying it will have a significant impact on the country’s import of soybean, wheat, coffee, apples, grapes and other produce from the US and elsewhere, which totals around 51 billion baht annually. The Nation reports that the US Agricultural Department made the request after Thailand announced a ban…
- Economy News
Focus back on US-China trade talks – Asian markets rise
“A large percentage of the market thinks China may roll the dice and take advantage of what they think is Trump’s weakened political state.” Asian markets rise today as investors resume their focus on the next round of China-US trade talks this week. But hopes for success are being tempered by mixed messages from both sides of the table. There has been…
- World News
North Korea has “no intention” to continue nuclear talks with the US
PHOTO: It’s good to come to talks prepared with your very own note light and human lightstand – AP North Korea says it has “no intention” to continue nuclear talks unless the US takes steps to “end hostilities”… this just a day after negotiations broke down in Sweden. The discussions in Sweden followed months of stalemate following a February meeting…
- World News
US will slap tariffs on EU following Airbus trade ruling
PHOTO: Airbus factory in Toulouse, France – Manatour.fr The US is making more trade waves, in addition to its long-running trade war with China. Now it’s taking on the largest trade bloc in the world – the European Union. Aircraft and agricultural items from Europe will now be subject to US tariffs in the latest round of a long legal…
- Thailand News
Not 12 billion baht, only 4.2 billion! Price tag for Army helicopters.
The Royal Thai Army has clarified spending on eight AH-6i light attack reconnaissance helicopters, weapons and associated equipment from the US, after it was claimed yesterday to have a price tag of 12 billion baht. The Army spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree called the media together to explain that it paid 4.2 billion baht for the eight helicopters and equipment from the…
- World News
China’s exports fell last month in lead up to next month’s trade talks
China’s exports fell 1% on-year last month amid the bruising trade war with the US that is disrupting markets in the world’s top two economies. The drop comes after a surprise 3.3% rebound in July despite the year-long battle with the US and weakening global demand. But economists cited by Bloomberg had forecast a 2.2% rise ahead of the release of…
- Economy News
What goes up must come down – the battle of the baht
Newton’s law looms over the Thai baht. Meanwhile, the Thai baht continues to be the best performing currency in Asia. The Thai currency is riding a 6-year high against the USD and, this year, has surged 8% against the US currency. But the strong baht is causing knock-on effects to the rest of the Thai economy, battering exports and stifling tourist…
- World News
Hurricane Dorian downgraded to Category 1 storm
“Dorian should remain a powerful hurricane as the eye of the storm moves near or along the coast of North Carolina.” Hurricane Dorian has weakened to a Category 1 storm this morning as it approached the coast of North Carolina, according to US meteorologists. At the same time, the death toll rises during the mop-up in the Bahamas which felt…
- World News
Vietnam Airlines gets go-ahead for direct US flights
Vietnam Airlines is the first carrier in the country to secure a coveted license to fly direct to the US, according to the Vietnamese national carrier. The approval has for months been sought by Vietnamese carriers eager to exploit a fast-growing market for air travel among Vietnam’s booming middle class. Domestic and regional air travel has mushroomed among Vietnamese travellers, and…
- Business News
US-China tit-for-tat rattles Asian markets after Trump’s ‘tariff tantrum’
US President Trump has caused widespread panic in Asian financial markets today after Fridays “tariff tantrum” where he used Twitter to announce new levels of tariffs on Chinese imports after China announced their response to his previous ramping up of the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing. Asian shares have headed southward today after the President escalated tariffs in…
