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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Tourists from Middle East put off Thailand due to bureaucracy, costs of Covid tests
The Tourism Authority of Thailand says the high cost of Covid-19 tests, coupled with Certificate of Entry bureaucracy, is proving a deterrent for tourists from the Middle East. According to a Bangkok Post report, Chaiwat Tamthai from the TAT’s Dubai office says would-be tourists from the Middle East are in favour of the Phuket sandbox concept, but put off by…
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15 people fled hidden in truck to escape Covid-19 in Vietnam
A refrigerated truck travelling north from Southern Vietnam was discovered to be holding 15 stowaways trying to escape the Covid-19 surge. Vietnamese state media reported on the story of the 15 people, one of which was just 7 years old, attempting to escape from the south which has been overwhelmed with Covid-19 infections. According to reports from Ho Chi Minh…
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Pakistan: How ‘blood money’ laws allow murderers to be pardoned
In January 2018, Asma Rani, a medical student in her third year, was on a semester break in her hometown of Kohat in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Asma and her sister-in-law were on their way back to their house when two men opened fire. Three bullets hit Asma. Before her death, she identified her attacker as Mujahidullah Afridi, a…
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Will Malaysia’s ties with the EU improve under new government?
Changes of government are usually occasions for countries to reassess their foreign relations, but few analysts reckon Malaysia’s new government that came into office late last month will oversee any fundamental change in approach. That is a double-edged sword for the EU, which was beginning to build momentum with the previous government over a potential free-trade agreement between Malaysia and…
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Germany and the Middle East: A tale of morals and markets
On its homepage, Germany’s foreign ministry lists, “peace and security, the promotion of democracy and human rights, and commitment to multilateralism,” as the guiding principles of German foreign policy. Just a few lines later, however, there is another commitment whereby Germany, as a trading nation, has a particular interest in an effective external economic policy, “that helps companies to tap…
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Bangkok police arrest 12 year old and others at Din Daeng intersection for violating curfew
Bangkok police continue to wield the merciless hammer of law and order. They brought it down last night on a 12 year old, arresting the child for allegedly violating curfew at the Din Daeng intersection. The minor was riding his bike to observe a protest, says a group of lawyers and activists. At least 11 other people were also arrested.…
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The EU’s 4 persistent problems still dogging the bloc
The findings of a recent Eurobarometer survey, commissioned by the European Union itself, are clear: Citizens in the bloc believe that the main issues it should be addressing are climate change, the COVID pandemic, health care, the economic situation and social inequality. These are thus the themes that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will broach in her second…
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Cathay Pacific crew fired after refusing to get vaccinated
In what could be a global first, Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific has fired an unspecified number of crew after they refused Covid-19 vaccines. The carrier has defended the sacking of air crew who it says refused available vaccines without providing any medical justification, adding that it can’t operate without its crew being vaccinated. “The pandemic has had a huge…
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South Africa eases lockdown restrictions despite low vaccination rates
The road to Thulamahashe is full of potholes. The town is located close to Kruger National Park in the province of Mpumalanga, one of the poorest in the country. But the roads remain quite busy — especially on social grant payday, as hundreds make their way from the villages to the nearest town over. Carlos Mavanga is one of them.…
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Africa: COVID lockdowns blamed for increase in teenage pregnancies
“I’m five months pregnant by a young man who works in the barracks,” says 16-year-old Elsa. “He is a soldier and helps me buy food and other things for school, because my family could not afford to send me to school otherwise.” Elsa is one of many girls in Africa who have found themselves in a similar situation during the…
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Afghanistan: The Taliban are trying to silence the voices of journalists
Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, claiming to have full control of the country, they’re trying to present themselves as more tolerant than 20 years ago. Some even speak of a Taliban 2.0. In their first press conference in late August, the militant Islamists said, journalists would be allowed to continue working in Afghanistan. Three weeks later, this statement…
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Texas abortion ban has ‘vast psychological consequences’
When Sam realized she was pregnant, she knew exactly what she wanted to do. “I woke up with morning sickness a few weeks after a one-night-stand and immediately scheduled an appointment with Planned Parenthood,” said the financial advisor, who asked we use her nickname, in an interview with DW. The year was 1982 and Sam, who was 19 years old…
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Police say Din Daeng protests will end by next month
The daily protests at the Din Daeng intersection will end by October, says the Bangkok Metropolitan Police Bureau. The police did not specify how the protests would end. The daily demonstrations have been held since last month. They have been organised by locals, who call themselves “ThaluGas”, as well as protests by Ratsadorn Taliban, and Ramkhamhaeng for Democracy. There have…
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23 Rohingya rescued from human trafficking operation in Tak
Police and soldiers rescued 23 Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority that predominantly lives in Myanmar, from a human tracking ring based out of 2 locations in the northern Thai province of Tak. The rescue happened yesterday. The operation is a result of the police determining that human traffickers had smuggled multiple Rohingya from the Myanmar border into Thailand. At one…
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FBI releases 9/11 file documenting probe into Saudi Arabia’s possible role
The FBI has released a document pertaining to its investigation into any involvement by the Saudi Arabian government in the 9/11 terror attacks. The release was ordered by US President Joe Biden following demands from the victims’ families, but does not provide any proof of official Saudi involvement. According to a Nation Thailand report, in 2019, the Trump administration responded…
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German election: What’s at stake for India?
At the end of October 2019, German Chancellor Angela Merkel embarked on one of her last major international visits before the pandemic struck. Accompanied by a dozen key government officials, as well as a high-profile business delegation, Merkel traveled to India with the specific goal to “deepen and consolidate” a relationship that has undoubtedly grown in importance since she became…
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Italy: Palermo puts migrant children center stage
When the Rainbow Choir reunited for its first rehearsals after the pandemic last summer, the sense of excitement was palpable. “Louder,” bellowed the ensemble’s maestro, snapping his fingers as he paced around the room. The young singers needed little encouragement — grinning in unison, they soared through another verse of an Italian movie soundtrack. Run by the Teatro Massimo, Palermo’s…
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Super Typhoon Chanthu and Tropical Storm Conson hit SE Asia
Thailand is not alone in the massive storms and flooding it has experienced over the past week or two. Southeast Asia is looking down the barrel of two major storm systems, Super Typhoon Chanthu lumbering towards Taiwan and Tropical Storm Conson advancing on Vietnam, both expected to make landfall this weekend. Super Typhoon Chanthu The super typhoon will batter…
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Is Africa ready to produce a malaria vaccine?
There’s a ray of hope in the fight against tropical diseases: German pharmaceutical company BioNTech said it wants to develop vaccines against malaria and tuberculosis. Clinical trials are expected to start by the end of 2022. The vaccines will use use BioNTech’s messenger RNA technology that’s already proven effective against COVID-19. BioNTech also said it wants to produce the vaccines…
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Angela Merkel in Poland: Bidding good-bye to a difficult partner
After Angela Merkel was elected chancellor of Germany in the fall of 2005, Warsaw was one of the first capitals she visited, along with Paris and Brussels. Poland had joined the European Union a year earlier. Germany was full of hope as it eyed its new partner on the right bank of the Oder River. Sixteen years later as Merkel…
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PM Prayut lays out 10-year plan at China-ASEAN Expo
To kick off the 18th annual China-ASEAN Expo taking place in Nanning, China from September 10 to September 13, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha gave a speech by video conference discussing a post-pandemic Asia. In his remarks, PM Prayut praised the Chinese government and pledged to focus the ASEAN-China relationship on public health, economic recovery, and sustainability. The Thai prime minister gave…
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9/11 through African eyes
Kenya Zainab Aziz I knew about the attack immediately because I was a journalist, working for the national broadcaster in the capital, Nairobi. In my heart and mind I was thinking of the people inside those buildings. I was shocked, even before I knew the details. The attack gave me flashbacks to the US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania…
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Indian farmers vow to turn up the heat on Modi’s government
Thousands of farmers gathered at a grain market outside the Indian capital New Delhi this week in protest against new market-friendly agriculture laws that they say threaten their livelihoods. It came after another rally on Sunday involving tens of thousands of farmers vowing to remain defiant against the government over the controversial measures. These rallies proved some of the biggest…
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Japan: Does Suga’s demise mean a return to revolving door politics?
Yoshihide Suga’s failure to stay on as prime ministerof Japan much beyond a single year has triggered concern that the nation is edging back towards an era of political uncertainty and upheaval. Tokyo has been unsettled by the prospect of a revolving door of leaders, each with insufficient time to implement effective change. Suga took over from Shinzo Abe on…
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Young Slovenian Obama scholar spearheads the fight for water and equal rights
Sunday, July 11, was a typical summer’s day in Slovenia, with temperatures hovering just below 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit). In the evening, as a storm brewed over the capital, Ljubljana, Nika Kovac, the leader of the campaign against the Water Act, was listening to the first unofficial results of the referendum. “The most important thing we have done with…
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Egypt: New ruling on hymen repair stirs up controversy
During a recent live Facebook broadcast in Arabic, Dr Ahmed Mamdouh, director of the Sharia Research Department of Egypt’s highest religious authority, the Dar al-Ifta, said that “in some cases, patching is required and legitimate for a girl who has been raped or deceived and wants to repent and turn a new page.” This new fatwa — the name given…
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DW correspondents able to leave Afghanistan
Just over a week after international coalition forces pulled out of Afghanistan, DW’s correspondents and their families have managed to leave the country via Pakistan. DW had asked all employees in Afghanistan to go to Kabul as soon as possible when it became clear that the Taliban would take control over the country. The situation for journalists in Afghanistan had…
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Vietnam to trial sandbox re-opening to foreign tourists on Phu Quoc island
Vietnam will trial a sandbox project on Phu Quoc, re-opening the island to vaccinated foreign tourists by the end of the year. The plan has been confirmed by the Vietnamese PM, Pham Minh Chinh, according to a TTR Weekly report. The government hopes to attract 2 – 3 million foreign tourists through the Phu Quoc sandbox, although officials have not…
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The lone hero of Abidjan’s cleanup
Djo Drigbé is 37 years old and has one mission: to see the city of Abidjan clean. He removes trash from beaches, streets, and gutters. He is unemployed and doesn’t receive any salary for his work. Donations guarantee a meal for his family. Drigbé lives with his partner and son. His dedication has drawn admiration. Drigbé dreams of working for…
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Afghan families flee to Pakistan over Taliban forced marriage fears
Khalid Shinwari, 25, has taken a sigh of relief after managing to flee Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and reaching Pakistan in recent days. A father of three, Shinwari’s family first moved to Pakistan during the Afghan civil war of the 1990s that brought the Taliban to power. “My father then thought that Pakistan would be a safe place to come to, given…
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