World News
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Sponsored Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?
Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
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More than 5,000 Singapore students aged 5 to 6 signed up for vaccinations
A representative from the Early Childhood Development Agency told Singapore media The Straits Times that more than 5,000 children from age 5 to 6 have been registered for their Covid-19 vaccines yesterday. The report followed the announcement by Singapore’s Education Minister Chan Chun Sing that about 80,000 students or more than one-third of the Primary 1 to 6 cohorts had…
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Djokovic battles ‘misinformation’ in bombshell Twitter post, as countries investigate his whereabouts, claims
In a 6 page Twitter post, embattled tennis player Novak Djokovic attempted to set the record straight on his whereabouts after testing positive for Covid-19 last month — admitting to breaking self-quarantine and blaming his agent for an error on his Australian travel declaration form — as authorities in Australia and Serbia investigate his claims. “I want to emphasise that…
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Indonesia joins hands with Japan to promote clean energy
The bilateral relationship between Japan and Indonesia has taken the next step towards clean energy as the two nations agreed to cooperate on decarbonisation technologies such as hydrogen, ammonia, and carbon capture and storage (CCS), according to Reuters, citing the Japanese industry ministry. The memorandum of cooperation (MOC) was signed on the same day while Japanese Industry Minister Koichi Hagiuda…
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Famous African rat Magawa that tracks down landmines in Cambodia dies
The famous African mine detection rat named Magawa, who has saved hundreds of lives by finding over 100 landmines in Cambodia, died over the weekend, according to his organisation, APOPO, which trains fellow rats like Magawa to track landmines. A hero is laid to rest. He will leave a lasting legacy in the lives that he saved as a landmine…
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Couple stranded in Singapore for 18 months rescued by New Zealand navy
A couple stranded in Singapore for 18 months due to their health and dwindling finances, which had made it difficult for them to survive in the most expensive country in Asia, were rescued by the New Zealand navy during a rare merciful mission last year. Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the pair were unable to fly to New Zealand, claiming…
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Air passengers from Thailand to be banned from transiting in Hong Kong over Omicron spread
There are unconfirmed reports that air travellers from Thailand and a number of other countries are to be banned from transiting through Hong Kong. The ban applies to all Group A countries, which have been designated high-risk for Covid-19. Group A includes a number of popular transit routes, such as Singapore, Australia, and several European countries, as well as Thailand.…
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Vindicated in visa court case, Djokovic seeks historic victory in a different court
World Number 1 player Novak Djokovic tweeted a picture of himself standing with his team on a tennis court in Melbourne, Victoria late Monday evening, writing he was “pleased and grateful” that a judge overturned his visa cancellation. Game. Set. Match! Judge Anthony Kelly of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia had earlier ordered Djokovic’s release from an immigration detention…
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American man becomes first to get a genetically-modified pig heart transplant
A 57 year old American man in Baltimore has become the first human to get a heart transplant from a genetically engineered pig after undergoing seven-hour experimental surgery. The day before the surgery, the patient David Bennett told reporters “it was either die or do this transplant,” that the experimental surgery is a “shot in the dark,” but it’s his…
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Laos PM visited Vietnam’s capital for three days to enchance bilateral relations
Laos Prime Minster, Phankham Viphavanh, has visited Hanoi for three days to meet with Vietnam’s Pham Minh Chinh on Saturday to enhance bilateral relations between the two nations, according to official reports. The two leaders then discussed ways to improve economic cooperation and agreed to increase connections between their economies, particularly through land-road, railway, aviation, and marine port projects, including…
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Myanmar’s Suu Kyi slapped with jail terms
Myanmar’s deposed leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been sentenced to four years in jail for three charges brought by a Naypyidaw court under the military junta this afternoon, according to reports. The court ruled that 76 year old Suu Kyi, who was detained since the military took power in early February 2021, was found guilty of two offences linked…
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Australian government mulls deportation of unvaccinated tennis star Djokovic after judge orders his release
The Australian government has exceeded a four-hour time limit to decide whether to deport Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, after a federal judge ordered his release from detainment on Monday afternoon, allowing the tennis star to remain in the country — at least for tonight. The world No. 1 tennis player has been detained since Thursday for allegedly breaking the…
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Hospitals in the Philippines prepare more beds amid surge in infections in Manila
Officials in the Philippines have ordered hospitals to prepare more beds and resources, in response to a surge in infections in Manila. According to a Reuters report, the capital leads the way with record case numbers, with nearly 60% of 28,707 infections reported in the Manila region. Acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles says health authorities have also been ordered to…
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1-year ceasefire declared in Myanmar by junta leader
After nearly a year of deadly conflict between the Burmese military junta that overthrew the government and citizen protesters and rebel insurgent groups, Burmese junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing has declared a ceasefire in Myanmar after meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. The Prime Minister met with the junta leader on Friday after months of the Association of…
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France Saturday: 105,000 protest vaccine, 303,669 get Covid-19
French President Emmanuel Macron made waves recently when he came out hard against unvaccinated people saying that he would make life harder for them and “piss off” those who refused inoculation as it hurts the society as a whole. Yesterday, over 100,000 people came out to protest the government restricting the rights of people who refuse a vaccine all across…
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Child abducted 33 years ago finds family with map shared on TikTok
After being kidnapped in 1989 and sold in a child trafficking ring, a man in China was reunited with his family 33 years later with the help of TikTok and a hand-drawn map. Li Jingwei drew a rudimentary map of land features he remembered from his village as a child, memories of a 4 year old preserved for decades. After…
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Malaysia in talks with Brunei to open Vaccinated Travel Lane
Malaysia’s envoy to Brunei said both countries are willing to reopen borders by establishing a Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) system which allows travellers with minimum restrictions on quarantine or none at all. Although nothing is set in stone and discussions between the two Southeast Asian countries is ongoing. The High Commissioner, Dato’ Raja Reza Raja Zaib Shah, on Wednesday told…
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Cambodia’s PM arrives in Myanmar to meet with junta despite strong opposition
Despite the strong opposition to his visit to Myanmar, Cambodia’s PM Hun Sen arrived in the capital of Naypyidaw to meet with the military junta and leader Min Aung Hlaing. On the same morning, several bombs exploded in major cities like Yangon and Mandalay, according to local media outlet Khit Thit. Last night, many netizens from Myanmar stormed Hun Sen’s…
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Duterte orders the arrest of unvaccinated people who violate stay-at-home rule
Amid a surge in Covid-19 infections in the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte is coming down hard on the unvaccinated. The government recently tightened restrictions in Manila and several provinces, including banning unvaccinated people from leaving home unless for exercise or to purchase essentials. According to an AFP report, Duterte has gone as far as to sanction the arrest of anyone…
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France detects new Covid variant “IHU,” believed to be highly transmissible
While the world is grappling with new spikes in Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant, scientists in France have discovered another variant. The newly-discovered variant, called B.1.640.2, was found in 12 patients near Marseille and features 46 mutations, making it vaccine-resistant and contagious. Also known as “IHU,” the strain was detected by scholars at the IHU Mediterranee Infection on…
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US CDC’s travel advisory changed to “level 4” after Covid situation considered “unknown”
The US’s CDC may have stirred another controversy, at least for Singapore, following its declaration of the Southeast Asian country as an “unknown” threat level, advising Americans not to travel to the country. The travel advisory is now at a level 4: Do not travel. But the “unknown” parked concern and reports say Singapore was in talks with the US…
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Two children killed, 24,000 displaced in Indonesia’s Sumatra island flood
Flooding and landslides are common in Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia during the months-long rainy season, as all of them have suffered from natural disasters over the past few weeks. Environmentalists in Indonesia blame the government’s deforestation to grow oil plantations on Sumatra island for the floods that killed at least two children and displaced…
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At least 20 civilians killed and 40 houses razed in latest army attack in Myanmar
In an alleged attack by Myanmar’s military forces in late-December, at least 20 civilians were slain and nearly 40 houses were razed in the country’s northeastern region of Sagaing, according to local media. Sagaing is where one of the first armed rebellions rose up following the junta’s bloody crackdown on anti-coup protesters. Last month, the military tookover Natchaung village in…
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Vietnam welcomes over 1,700 travellers on the first three days of international flights resumption
Following the resumption of 11 flights by the Civil Aviation Administration last weekend, Vietnam welcomed a total of 1,753 travellers on the first three days from January 1 to 3. According to CAAV, the travellers have landed at Tan Son Nhat, Noi Bai, Da Nang, and Can Tho international airports. In the first phase of restoration, the flights were operated…
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Philippines president says he will never apologise for deaths during his “war on drugs”
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte says he’ll never apologise for the deaths during his bloody war on drugs campaign where, according to government data reported by Reuters, around 6,200 drugs suspects were killed in police sting operations since Duterte took power in June 2016. “I will never, never apologise for the deaths… Kill me. Jail me. I will never apologise for…
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Cambodian PM will not be allowed to meet Myanmar’s ousted leader, junta says
Cambodia’s PM Hun Sen is barred from meeting the former State Counsellor and ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi by the Myanmar military junta when he visits the country this weekend, according to a military spokesperson today. As the spokesperson for General Zaw Min Tun, from the military information team, says that only representatives from the political parties will have…
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Travellers who break Philippines quarantine rules face US$1,000 fine or 6 months in jail
The Philippines has issued a warning to incoming travellers that those who break quarantine rules might face fines of up to 50,000 Philippine pesos (US$1,000) or six months in prison as it prepares to deal with the new strain of Omicron in the wake of a spike in Covid-19 cases. During a television interview yesterday, President Duterte’s spokesperson, Karlos Nograles,…
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China’s Evergrande Group agrees to demolish 39 apartment blocks on Hainan Island
China’s Evergrande property mess just became a whole lot worse. Now shares in the indebted property group have been suspended after the developer was told to demolish 39 buildings in Hainan, the island off the southern coast of China in the South China Sea. To be clear, that is a demolition order for 39 under-construction buildings that have been built…
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Indonesia to roll out booster vaccine doses amid rise in Omicron cases
Health officials in Indonesia will begin the rollout of booster vaccine doses as the Omicron variant spreads in the country. According to a Reuters report, the Indonesian health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin says booster doses will be administered to the general public from January 12. Health workers in the country already received booster doses in July and the programme is…
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2 Sinovac plus Pfizer booster less effective against Omicron variant
While Sinovac said they are still awaiting enough data to show the level of efficacy, a study at Yale University in the US shows that 2 doses of the Chinese-made vaccine with a booster shot of Pfizer look to be less effective against the Omicron variant of Covid-19 than the previous variants. The study was a collaboration between several institutions…
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Covid is starting to have economic effects, without government lockdowns or border closures
Over the past 2 years (and it is nearly 2 years since the first case of Covid-19 was identified outside of China on January 14, 2020 in Thailand), the economic impact of the virus spreading has been caused almost entirely by governments acting to limit the spread – lockdowns, restrictions and border closures. Now, the latest variant of Covid, Omicron,…
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