World News
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Starting a new life abroad is exciting—new culture, new lifestyle, and new chances to grow. But living far from home also means taking steps to protect your health in unfamiliar surroundings. Without the right coverage, even small health issues can...
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Currency investors factor in no-deal Brexit as pound flounders
The world’s stock markets and economists think leaving the EU won’t have a sterling outcome. That’s the way the protracted Brexit negotiations are playing out in a slow, drawn out and economically painful rout of the GBP. The British pound hit a two year low of $1.212 against the USD on Tuesday, just another blow for the currency following several…
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Dams, politics and greed are killing the mighty Mekong River
Original story by Piyaporn Wongruang – The Nation | PHOTO: Sophie et Fred Dr Chainarong Setthachua, a lecturer and ecology expert at Maha Sarakham University, was at a loss when asked to describe the ongoing Mekong crisis. “The most disastrous situation in history.” Little is being done by governments despite recent stories and stark photos of the dried-bed of a major…
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Two suspects held over last night’s ‘fake’ bomb, security ramped up at ASEAN meeting
PHOTO: A suspect leaving the area of the Royal Thai Police headquarters last night captured on CCTV “I condemn the mastermind behind this morning’s bomb blasts, which destroy people and the country’s image. I have asked officials to beef up security for members of the public and take urgent care of those affected by the explosions.’’ – Thai PM Prayut…
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Stormy weather for the Thai north and northeast later this week
The Thai Meteorological Department has issued warnings about possible impacts from a tropical storm expected to reach Vietnam tomorrow and Friday, August 1 and 2. The area of low pressure which formed west of the Philippines reaches southeast China from today. Should this system strengthen into a tropical storm, it will be given the name ‘Wipha’. The TMD reports that the…
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Human traffickers leave 6 Rohingya starving in abandoned building in Hat Yai
PHOTOS: Workpoint News Six Rohingya were left to die in an abandoned building located in Hat Yai, Songkhla. Members of the group eventaully left the building in search of food and officials are now searching for more hiding in the area. They had been waiting there for 5 days. Thai Police were notified by nearby villagers yesterday trying to assist…
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Leonardo DiCaprio praises Thailand for efforts to increase the population of wild tigers
American actor, film producer, and environmentalist, Leonardo DiCaprio, has praised Thailand for its efforts to increase the population of wild tigers in the Huai Kha Kheng wildlife sanctuary in Thailand’s western forests. On Global Tiger Day (July 29), DiCaprio shared his enthusiasm for south east asian tigers. “In Thailand’s Huai Kha Khaeng wildlife sanctuary, tigers are roaring back thanks to a…
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Myanmar Jade mine landslide kills at least 19
At least 19 jade mine workers along with mine security guards were killed in a landslide on Sunday. Rescuers have been searching for survivors. The incident is reported to have happened early Sunday morning in the remote Hpakant township in the north of Myanmar. Two police officers were also injured but were rescued and sent to hospital. Authorities also reported…
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Thai police in the Laos capital searching for gold thieves
Khon Kaen provincial police headed over the Laotian border to the Laos capital Vientiane after learning that a pair of Thai gold shop robbers had fled over the border, according to sanook.com. The robbers fled to Vientiane with gold ornaments and jewellery valued around 10 million baht they stole from the Khon Kaen gold shop on July 27. Police say that…
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“The Great Hack” makes you think twice about how you use social media
It’s a documentary about Cambridge Analytica. You know, that dodgy company you’d never heard of until The Guardian and New York Times did some real reporting and dug into the deep, deep hole we’ve dug for ourselves by leaping into social media without reading the fine print. It’s a Netflix production as the online streamer continues to become a mainstream…
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Bangkok hosts ASEAN Foreign Ministers meetings from today
The 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting starts today. Representatives from more than 30 countries will attend the meetings. The regional talkfest is being held at Centara Grand and Bangkok Convention Centre. Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai will chair the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and co-chair the Post Ministerial Conferences with the Dialogue Partners and other meetings. Other meetings include the…
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Xayaburi Dam owners say they’re not responsible for dry Mekong River
PHOTO: The Laotian Times CK Power, operators of the new Xayaburi Dam in Laos, are denying their dam tests (running from July 15 until tomorrow) are responsible for the low water flows in the Mekong River. The tests were a lead up to full scale production of electricity from October this year, most of which will head to Thailand. Fingers…
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Over 600 foreigners arrested in southern Thailand for overstays and illegal entry
PHOTO: Manager 686 people have been arrested in southern Thailand, mostly foreigners, on a variety of offences of working illegally or being involved in human trafficking. Thailand’s Region 6 immigration reported that the people were arrested between July 1-25. Immigration reported… • 436 people have been arrested as illegal migrant workers and had illegally entered Thailand • 49 had no…
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Philippines tourism surges, despite last year’s Boracay closedown
The Philippines Department of Tourism is reporting that 2018 closed with a 7.68% increase in tourist arrivals. Last year’s six month closure of tropical paradise Boracay, from May to October, seems to have little affect on the overall growth of the country’s tourism. The island closed down last year for a ‘makeover’, mainly to tackle pollution after the country’s president…
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Satun fisherman arrested trying to ship 216 kilos of marijuana south to Malaysia
PHOTOS: The Nation A fisherman has been arrested trying to smuggle 216 kilograms of marijuana into Malaysia. The fishing boat had been modified for the purpose of hiding and smuggling the drugs. Officials received a tip-off earlier this week that a large batch of marijuana was being stored in Satun’s Tambon Tammalang district. Officials had learnt that a large shipment…
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UPS says Thailand and Indonesia cargo traffic are winners in trade war
Supply chains are quickly adapting to the US-China trade war and Thailand, Indonesia and Japan are the biggest growth markets in Asia for UPS, according to the American international package delivery and global logistics service. UPS’s COO Jim Barber says there is no question that cargo volume from China to the US has significantly decreased but, with some manufacturers moving…
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Man tries to fly across the English Channel, went for a swim instead
PHOTO: Facebook/ Frank Zapata 40 year old Frank Zapata, a former jet ski racing champion, decided to cross the English Channel. Some take the tunnel, some take a boat, some even swim. But Frank decided he’d fly, on a Flyboard. He would need to refuel half way across in his attempt. So he took off yesterday on his Flyboard but…
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Road incidents still the biggest killer in Thailand
“A third of the victims were men and most were between the ages of 15 and 24.” Road accidents in Thailand accounted for 20,169 deaths last year. Most of those killed were students and young people. The figures are from the Public Health Ministry, the Royal Thai Police and Road Accident Victims Protection. Motorcycles accounted for 70% of the fatal crashes, followed…
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A year after the Laos dam collapse homeless survivors wait for help
PHOTO: World Rainforest Movement A year ago, a dam at the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy hydroelectric project in southern Laos collapsed under pressure of rising monsoon waters, sending floods downstream and killing over 70 people, though the official toll is lower. 12 months on, thousands are still waiting in temporary camps in the impoverished state. A report by International Rivers…
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Worries over drug-resistant Malaria strains spreading from Cambodia
Drug-resistant forms of malaria-causing parasites are spreading across south east Asia leading to “alarmingly high” treatment failure rates of frontline medication. Scientists say that a strain of Malaria, known as KEL1/PLA1, has evolved and picked up new genetic mutations which may make it more resistant to drugs. They are warning that strains of malaria, resistant to two key anti-malarial medicines, are…
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Cambodian authorities crackdown on registration of foreigners
Cambodian authorities are cracking down on foreign residents staying in the Kingdom. Sar Kheng, the Cambodian Interior Minister, says all accommodation owners must now report foreigners who stay in their residences, citing a strengthening of immigration law enforcement. The Interior Ministry says that most residential and accommodation owners have respected the 2010 law but some residence owners still did not understand…
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Mekong River drops to lowest level in a century around Thai, Lao, Myanmar border
Water levels in the Mekong River are now at the lowest point in a century as of July 19, lower than a record set in April 1973. South East Asia’s Stimson Centre claims that, based on recent satellite images, the drastic lowering of the water level in the river has exposed many islets and sandbars adding. The Centre’s report refers…
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Thai PM has “grave concerns”, orders army to be on standby over drought in north
PHOTO: Thai army water trucks are on standby to help northern farmers Acknowledging the severity of the potential crisis looking over northern and north-eastern provinces, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is instructing the armed forces to provide help to areas affected by drought, a situation which may be made worse by the test run of the new Xayaburi dam on the Laos…
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“That’s one small step for man” – Armstrong steps on the moon 50 years ago
Where were you when Neil Armstrong fist stepped on the moon? The momentous, and enormously complex project, proposed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, came to fruition on July 21, 1969 when Neil Armstrong, then Buzz Aldrin, stepped onto the lunar surface. It was an expensive endeavour with five other missions to follow that would also walk men on…
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One small step for man – 50 years ago today
On this day, a mere 50 years ago, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the powdery surface of the moon. It was the first time humans had stepped anywhere other than the ‘pale blue dot’ of Earth. Everyone alive at the time can recall ‘where they were’ at this historic moment. It was a triumph of American ambition and engineering. Some 300,000…
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Former BRN negotiator slams Thailand as being insincere at peace talks
PHOTO: thailandchatter.com A similar number of people have been killed in the Southern Insurgency in Thailand as in the conflicts at the Gaza Strip and West Bank in Palestine over the past 15 years. But the religious and realestate conflict at the southern Thai border with Malaysia has had a lot less international media coverage. One of the Malay negotiators,…
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Singapore’s exports crash in June, the biggest drop in 6 years
Edited from The Straits Times – Asian News Network Singapore’s exports have crashed by double digits for the fourth straight month. June’s figures show shipments in the key electronics sector sinking by 32%. This is the biggest year-on-year drop since shipments sank 33.2 per cent in February 2013. It is also sharply below analysts’ expectations of a 9.6% plunge, according…
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PTT’s expansion plans in Myanmar
PTT Oil and Retail Business (PTTOR) is poised to invest in the Burmese retail market and the construction of a tank depot for oil and liquefied petroleum gas as well as related facilities in Myanmar. The Thai petro-chemical company’s chairman Attapol Rerkpiboon says the first gas station will open in Q4 this year. It recently signed agreements with the subsidiaries…
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Dengue alert declared in The Philippines
PHOTO: Philippine Star Dengue cases have doubled in Thailand this year. And in The Philippines a similar situation is unfolding. Health authorities in The Philippines are declaring a national dengue alert after a spike in cases leaving more than 450 people dead since the start of 2019. Around 100,000 dengue cases were reported across The Philippines in the first six…
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Vietnam pushing to be leading digital economy in ASEAN by 2030
Excerpts from Viet Nam News – Asia News Network Vietnam wants to be the leading digital economy in ASEAN by 2030. A draft project on national digital transformation by Vietnam’s Authority of Information Technology Application (AITA) is being submitted for approval in November. The project aims to develop the Vietnamese economy based on digital technologies. Speaking at a conference this week to review MIC’s…
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Heading south at speed: The China–Laos railway
by Selina Ho, NUS Laos is dependent on China to bankroll the US$7 billion project, raising concerns of being caught in a debt trap The Kunming-Vientiane link will eventually connect with a railway line to Bangkok, and southward down the Malay peninsula to Singapore The Laos section of the project is now half complete Construction on the China–Laos railway began in…
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