World News
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Sponsored How one hospital visit in Thailand could cost more than your whole trip
Thailand is a favourite spot for travellers who want to enjoy more while spending less. From cheap street food to low-cost hotels and fun attractions, it’s easy to stretch your budget here. But there’s one thing many people don’t think...
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The mystery of Myanmar’s missing airlines
PHOTO: Asian Wings Airways Any trip on a local airline usually means planes either full or mostly full. But some of Myanmar’s smaller local airlines have been struggling through this year’s wet season along with a drop in tourism to the country of around 6% for the past 12 months. At least three airlines appear to have thrown in the…
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11 year old Thai child bride sent back to Thailand
The 11 year old Thai girl, caught up in the middle of a ‘child marriage’ storm, has been sent back across the border to Thailand. The girl’s ‘marriage’ to a 41 year old Malaysian man caused a social media meltdown and strong negative response from human trafficking groups, human rights groups and the Malaysian government. A Malaysian social activist claims…
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Lombok earthquake toll climbs to 347
PHOTO: VOA News The death toll from Lombok’s devastating earthquake last Sunday evening rose alarmingly yesterday following the discovery of many bodies buried under rubble in the island’s northern towns. The death toll has now climbed to 347. Rescue networks report that around 200,000 people live in northern Lombok, a mountainous region away from the more touristy southern and western…
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Laos government inspecting all dams, shelving new hydro projects
PHOTO: EJAtlas The Laos government is announcing a full examination of safety standards applied to the construction of hydropower dams across the country. This follows the avoidable deadly disaster when a dam in the southern Attapeu province breached spilling millions of cubic litres of deadly floodwater downstream. Vientiane Times is reporting that the Laos cabinet made the announcement shortly after…
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Rescuers try to free people trapped in collapsed mosque – Lombok
PHOTO: Basarnas National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho says that on Monday at 3pm heavy equipment arrived in the Lading-lading village, Tanjung district, Lombok, to assist with the search for people thought to be buried under the debris from a collapsed mosque. Local devotees were busy with their evening prayers when the quake hit. At 7pm last…
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98 confirmed dead. Rescuers fear more as relief pours into Lombok.
International aid organisations are now seeking assistance some of the key groups get people onto the ground to start providing much-needed relief to the northern parts of the island. Following the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit Indonesia’s Lombok Island on Sunday evening, rescue workers are actively searching the province to rescue and aid victims. According to The Guardian, Katy Flay, who…
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British tourist freaks out after being told she’d overstayed her visa by 160 days
An ‘aggrieved’ tourist by the name of Auj-e Taqaddas, holding a British passport, assaulted a patient and calm immigration officer in Bali, Indonesia after being told she’d overstayed her Indonesian visa. A British tourist has been caught on camera screaming and slapping an immigration officer at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport today (Saturday) after being told that she had to…
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Earthquake toll rises to 91, state of emergency announced
PHOTO: Jakarta Post The death toll from the powerful earthquake to hit Lombok and Bali on Sunday evening has climbed to 91. The latest figures announced this afternoon by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in Jakarta. North Lombok island suffered the largest number of fatalities with 72 people killed, while Bali has so far recorded two fatalities. Most victims…
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Lombok earthquake kills 82 and injured hundreds
An earthquake has struck the Indonesian holiday island of Lombok killing 82 people (the toll is expected to rise) and wounded hundreds. The tremor was measured at a magnitude of 6.9, triggering panic among locals and tourists. The quake hit last night (Sunday) and shook up the neighbouring island of Bali. An initial tsunami warning, which was later cancelled, had…
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Laos Energy Ministry joins the investigation – Attapeu dam failure
The Vientiane Times is reporting that the Laos Ministry of Energy and Mines will join all private stakeholders in a government investigation to oversee the cause of the damage to saddle dam D at the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower project. The breach of the dam resulted in serious flooding and destruction in Sanamxay district, Attapeu province in the south of Laos.…
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Will Bamboo Air grow as fast as the real bamboo?
A new player is about to enter the regional airline market. Based out of Vietnam, Bamboo Airlines is a fresh start-up under the patronage of Trinh Van Quyet who currently presides over a Vietnamese property empire and is betting billions on his new airline. The 43 year old property tycoon says his company has a market capitalisation of around US$200 million. He…
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Muslim father’s online petition inspires Thai anti-child marriage activists
In the wake of the ‘marriage of a 41 year old Malay man and an 11 year old Thai girl, Malaysia’s government and netizens are proposing ways to ban child marriages. Meanwhile, an online petition by a UK-based Malaysian Muslim father to ban child marriages has triggered an activist to begin a similar petition to ban them in Thailand too.…
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Mekong breaks its banks flooding seven Thai provinces
Persistent heavy rain and the overflow of water from the Mekong River and its tributaries has caused severe flooding in seven provinces in the north-east, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department director-general Chayapol Thitisak said this morning (Thursday). The seven provinces are Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan, Amnat Charoen, Ubon Ratchathani, Bung Kan, Sakon Nakhon and Roi-et are all under flood-alert after the…
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Air traffic controllers didn’t follow standard procedures during MH370 flight – Report
PHOTO: News In Flight In the wake of the release of the final official report into the disappearance of Malaysian Airways flight MH370 yesterday, new details have emerged about a departure from ‘standard operating procedures’ at the time the Boeing 777 ‘vanished’ from radar. Air traffic controllers in KL and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, did not act according to…
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Chinese outbound tourism contributed US$ 115 billion in 2017
PHOTO: EPA-EFE “I prefer customised trips to group tours because I’ll have a more flexible schedule and can change it as I like. I’d also have more time to go shopping and find good local restaurants.” – 29 year old Chinese traveller Du Ni China Daily reports on the rise and rise of Chinese outbound tourism, a growing regional phenomenon…
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MH370 final investigation report tabled in KL
PHOTO: Channel News Asia The disappearance of the entire 73 metre-long plane, passengers and crew remains one of the world’s biggest aviation mysteries. A report has just been tabled concerning the fate of the 239 passengers travelling on flight MH 370 which vanished in 2014. Malaysian authorities say they can’t determine the cause of the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines…
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Nearly 100 Burmese arrested since start of June with fake visas
PHOTO: Thai Rath Thai Rath is reporting that a leading immigration spokesman has warned Burmese to double check their visas to ensure that they haven’t been duped with fake visa stamps. The warning comes as more people are being found with the fake stamps in Thailand on a daily basis. Pol Maj Gen Itthiphon Itthisanronchai, deputy immigration chief and acting as…
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Laos to work with Korean, Thai and Laos owners during investigation
PHOTO: Laos PM Thongloun Sisoulith By Souksakhone Vaenkeo – Vientiane Times As the mopping up continues in southern Laos, relief starts to pour in and the death tolls rises, the Laos government is no promising a ‘transparent and just’ investigation. “The government will work with the countries whose companies are stakeholders in the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower project to investigate the cause…
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South Korean medical team arrives in southern Laos with relief supplies
PHOTOS: Joint Press Corps-Yonhap The Korea Herald is reporting that a South Korean medical team has flown into in Laos yesterday with relief supplies following the deadly flooding that resulted from the collapse of a dam that was being constructed by a Korean builder. An emergency relief team composed of 15 medical personnel and five support staff arrived at Pakse…
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Thais and foreigners stranded on Lombok volcano following earthquake
In the wake of this morning’s Lombok earthquake, some 500 Thais and foreigners have been stranded on an active volcano on the Indonesian island. Lombok is situated about 100 kilometres from Bali. The shallow 6.4 magnitude quake that jolted the island triggered land and rockslides, preventing the tourists from heading back down the mountain. The Thai embassy in Indonesia was…
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Lombok earthquake – 10 people now confirmed dead, over 40 injured
PHOTO: Indonesian Search And Rescue Agency 10 people are now confirmed dead with 40 or more injured following this morning’s strong Lombok earthquake. Lombok is an Indonesian island, next door to Bali, although the epicentre of the quake wasn’t near the tourist areas. The tremor is said to have sent people running from their homes in panic. The initial 6.4…
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Three reported dead in Lombok earthquake – Indonesia
PHOTO: Nusa Tenggara Barat Disaster Mitigation Agency A shallow 6.4 magnitude earthquake has struck the Indonesian holiday island of Lombok this morning. At least three people are reported to have been killed. Lombok is 100 kilometres east of Bali. The United States Geological Survey reports that the quake hit at 6:47 am local time today. The epicentre is believed to…
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Questions over reliable death toll in the Laos floods – foreign media banned
PHOTO: Thai PBS In a sign of the times where social media is simply instantaneous, but often unreliable, the Lao PM Thongloun Sisoulith is warning members of the public to be aware and conscious about news and reports on the deadly flooding in southern Attapeu province. But some international news agencies are claiming that the Laos government is trying to…
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Myanmar tourism growth stalls in first half of 2018
(4 minute read) Myanmar has seen a slight contraction in tourist number during the first half of t2018. Tourist arrivals still reached 1,722,049 visits, a drop of 2%, according to the latest update by Hotel and Tourism Ministry. Thai tourists remain the top source market but China is catching up. Other tourists are coming from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India, Vietnam…
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Rescuers search for 131 missing persons in Laos flooding
Laotian rescuers are continuing their search for 131 missing people. They have been missing since Monday’s fracture of the banks of the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy hydropower dam causing devastating floods to villages in the southern Laos province of Attapeu. The Laos PM Thongloun Sisoulith says, “Impact of this flooding is enormous.” The Vientiane Times is reporting that the disaster…
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Aid and rescuers pour into southern Laos to help flood victims
PHOTO: The Nation Rescuers from Thailand and China are arriving at Laos’ flooded southern district of Attapeu to assist local soldiers in search and rescue efforts following the collapse of a saddle dam belonging to a major dam construction project that caused massive downstream flooding. The dam broke its banks on Monday night. Scores of Laotians remained on the missing…
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16 billion USD wiped off Facebook shares
Facebook has had a horror day on the share market as it starts rolling out new privacy policies which are cutting into the company’s bottomline. Mark Zuckerberg, personally, lost 16 billion US dollars in the market rout. CNN reports that Facebook shares plunged 19% on Thursday after executives warned that revenue growth would slow as the company focuses on user…
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Thailand joins the relief effort as more than 6,000 people displaced in Laos flood
PHOTOS: The Nation Flooding in southern Laos is starting to subside as the search continues for missing people with more than 6,000 people displaced from their homes following the flash flood on Monday. The collapse of the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy Dam in the southern Lao province of Attapeu has left at least 26 people dead and an estimated 100 missing as…
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Thai Airways Boeing 777 in emergency landing in Dhaka
PHOTO: News In Flight A Thai Airways plane has made an emergency landing at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA). The Boeing 777 is reported to have veered off the runway during landing but was steered back onto the runway by the pilots. The plane had burst six tyres according to newsinflight.com. TG321 landed around 12.18pm with 145 passengers –…
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Hundreds dead, thousands displaced – Laos dam bust.
(5 minute read) The heavy rains in northern, north-eastern Thailand and southern Laos have caused a partially man-made disaster affecting hundreds of Loas homes with hundreds of people still missing. Thousands of people have been displaced from their homes in Laos’ southern Attapeu province following the collapse of part of a hydroelectric dam under construction. The disaster came hours after…
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