World News
World news, global politics, business, technology, and culture—stay updated with breaking stories, international trends, and major events. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for global news.
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Sponsored See the best of Northern Thailand this winter on a budget
The Thaiger key takeaways Peak season brings higher prices, but smart planning and local know-how can help you experience Northern Thailand affordably. Chiang Mai, Pai, and Chiang Rai offer plenty of free or low-cost attractions, from temples and canyons to...
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NASA reveal 10 year time-lapse of the sun – VIDEO
The sun makes life on Earth possible. Without it, we wouldn’t be here, and it’s a constant fixture in our daily lives. But has anyone wondered what the sun actually looks like? Is there a way to find out without being blinded? Well, astronomers have come up with ways to observe it without scorching their retinas. One such tool is…
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India’s Covid-19 cases surpass 500,000
India reported more than 17,000 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, putting the country ‘s total above 500,000, as reported by the Federal Ministry of Health today, with infections occurring in major cities including the capital, New Delhi. India has the fourth largest virus outbreak worldwide in confirmed infections, and follows only the US, Brazil and Russia, according…
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Billions in illicit drugs burned in Thailand and Myanmar
In a joint operation, authorities in Thailand and Myanmar destroyed 25 tonnes of illicit drugs valued at more than 62 billion baht (US$2 billion) in Ayutthaya and Yangon. The move comes as drug cartels in the Golden Triangle boost supplies and seek new channels of distribution. The Golden Triangle, where Laos, northern Myanmar and Thailand meet, has been a hub…
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Unilever, Honda and Coca-cola boycott Facebook
One of the world’s largest advertising spenders has added its name to the campaign to convince marketers to ditch Facebook. Global consumer goods company Unilever announced on Friday that it will stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram, joining a growing movement to stop spending ad dollars on social media platforms. In a post on its website, Unilever referred to its…
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‘Family Guy’ white actors will no longer voice non-white roles
Mike Henry from ‘Family Guy’ announced he will no longer voice the role of Cleveland Brown, while the creators of ‘The Simpsons’ announced they would stop using white actors to play non-white roles as well. Mike Henry said in a tweet that he will no longer play the part of Cleveland Brown, a black character who has appeared on the “edgy”…
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Despite recent denials, NokScoot is closing down
The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed another victim – regional budget airline NokScoot is closing down. The company’s board of directors decided yesterday to liquidate the airline, the decision to be announced in a general meeting of shareholders held in 2 weeks. The move will leave around 450 staff unemployed, except the few who will remain to work on the liquidation…
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Death sentence of Lao drug lord “Mr X” commuted to life
Bangkok’s Criminal Court handed down life imprisonment to Laotian drug ring leader Xaysana “Mr. X” Keopimpha, on charges of smuggling 1.2 million methamphetamine pills, known as “yaba,” into Thailand. He was initially sentenced to death, and the sentence was upheld by a lower court in December, but the penalty was commuted to life imprisonment because he cooperated with the court.…
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Brits banned from Singapore after lockdown ‘bar crawl’
A group of British men staying in Singapore were prohibited from working there again after breaking the local lockdown to go on a “bar crawl”. The men each received a fine of around S$9,000. They were all charged after a photo of them drinking together during the country’s “lockdown” went viral last month. A different party, comprising an American couple…
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Unilever drops “fair” from skin lightening cream’s branding
Unilever has announced it is dropping the word “fair” from its “Fair & Lovely” skin lightening cream after many have described the branding as racist. Sunny Jain, president of Unilever’s. beauty and personal care division says… “We recognise that the use of the words ‘fair’, ‘white’ and ‘light’ suggest a singular ideal of beauty that we don’t think is right,…
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Virgin Australia will fly again under new US ownership
Virgin Australia will reportedly grace the Australian skies again after a US company has bought it out. Bain Capital, a private equity group in the US, took over ownership after the struggling airline was unsuccessful in asking for Australian government bail out or loans. The second largest airline in Australia collapsed in April after struggling with long-term debt before the Covid-19…
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Fight over “El Chapo’s” legacy leaves 16 dead in Mexico
The war to protect drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s legacy burst into a gun battle between rival Mexican gangs and left 16 dead on Thursday, authorities said. The 16 people, heavily armed and wearing bulletproof vests, died in a six-hour shootout near the rural town of Tepache in the northwestern province of Sinaloa. “A van with seven bodies was located” after the initial clash,…
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Hong Kong documentary sees scene removed after new law
A pro-democracy Hong Kong documentary saw a scene removed after a new law criminalized anything that is seen as “insulting” China’s national anthem. The director of the documentary, Evans Chan, says he had to delete the scene which featured an artist playing the national anthem, which reveals how the new law is already censoring artistic creativity. Hong Kong is considered a…
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London police attacked after responding to illegal event
After responding to an illegal music event in London, twenty-two police officers were attacked by crowds defying the ban on parties during the Covid-19 pandemic. A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the scenes as “appalling,” adding: “Violence against the police will not be tolerated.” Police said they were targeted when responding to residents’ complaints about noise and violent behaviour.The…
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Large explosion lights up Tehran, Iran
A large explosion near the capital Iran has prompted investigations as its location is near a suspected site of the country’s past nuclear testing activities. The explosion near Tehran lit up the sky with witnesses saying it appeared to be near a major with a defence ministry spokesman saying the blast happened at a gas storage facility in a “public area”…
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Dixie chicks changes name due to racist connotations
After the US has exploded with protests and calls for racism to be seriously addressed, the country music group Dixie Chicks has chosen to drop “dixie” citing its racist connotations. The word “dixie,” was used to describe the confederate states in the US that supported slavery as it was derived from Jeremiah Dixon, whose name came to signify the 11…
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Second-deadliest Ebola outbreak officially over
After no new cases were reported for 42 days, the world’s second-deadliest Ebola outbreak has been declared officially over. 16,000 frontline workers in The Democratic Republic of Congo have battled against the country’s tenth outbreak for almost two years with a World Health Organisation official saying it was like a mission impossible as more than 2,200 lives were lost. The…
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The futuristic Segway will soon be a thing of the past
The Segway vowed to revolutionise how people got around, one of the main attractions being its futuristic look and feel when travelling on the 2-wheeled personal transporter. When first released in 2001, Segways took the market by storm and proved especially popular with tourists and police officers. In recent years they’ve been primarily seen at airports, shopping malls, military bases…
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What happens to leftover Guinness from Covid-19 lockdowns?
Humans aren’t the only ones who become merrier when drinking Guinness, as apparently Christmas trees also enjoy the occasional splurge, and have been used to soak up the leftovers thanks to the Covid-19 lockdown imposed on many bars and pubs. The thousands of pints of Guinness, that weren’t drunk during the Covid-19 lockdown, are being used to fertilise Christmas trees…
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Antarctic penguins thrive around less icy waters
Penguins in the Antarctic seem to be much more well off when there is less ice in the sea and now biologists know why. The reason is simple: penguins are slow movers when walking, but much more agile when swimming. The times when less ice is in the waters, biologists say it has a ripple effect for the penguins. Less…
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Chinese citizens in Russia caught forging Covid-19 results
The Chinese Embassy in Moscow has caught several of its citizens trying to forge Covid-19 test results in order to be allowed to fly back to China. But the numbers of those producing counterfeit tests is unclear and the embassy has not revealed what cities or areas of Russia the hopeful returnees were residing. It is also unclear how many of…
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5.9 magnitude earthquake hits New Zealand’s Milford Sound
A 5.9 magnitude earthquake hits Milford Sound in New Zealand, with over 3,000 people reportedly feeling the earth shake. The quake struck 25 kilometres west of the Milford Sound in the nation’s southwest region. Citizens in Alexandra, Gore, Haast, Lumsden, Milford Sound, Queenstown, and Wanaka, felt the quake which occurred at a depth of 5 kilometres. Here’s the epicentre…
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Covid-free Mexican mother gives birth to triplets who test positive for Covid-19
Mexican health authorities are baffled after a healthy, Covid-free mother has given birth to triplets who tested positive for the virus. The babies’ father was also covid-free, making it the first reported case of its kind. The triplets, a girl and two boys, were tested last week, four hours after being born at 7 1/2 months. Initially, authorities thought the mother was…
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Harry and Meghan join speaking circuit
Prince Harry and wife Meghan (aka. The Duke of Sussex and Duchess of Sussex) have made a major move towards earning their own income by signing with a major US agency that sets up speaking engagements. The New York-based Harry Walker Agency reportedly has many A-list clients including Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton and Oprah Winfrey. The Duke and…
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Qantas cuts 6,000 jobs to recover huge revenue losses
Australia’s Qantas Group is cutting at least 6,000 jobs after a massive revenue loss due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The jobs losses will be spread across all parts of the business while continuing to stand down 15,000 employees in an effort to recover. The Qantas Group includes the Qantas ‘full service’ brand and the JetStar discount airline offshoot. 20 % of…
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Pakistani plane crash “due to pilot error”
A preliminary report over last month’s Pakistani plane crash reveals the pilots made errors that caused them to crash the plane, resulting in the loss of 98 lives. The pilots were reportedly distracted as they were chit-chatting about the coronavirus and didn’t even bother to lower the plane’s landing gear. Furthermore, they tried to land the aircraft when they were…
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Miner hits jackpot finding largest-ever tanzanite gems
One Tanzanian miner’s day just got a lot brighter after finding the largest Tanzanite gems in history. The finding has now made him US$3.35 million richer, and he plans to share his newfound wealth with those around him. Saniniu Laizer, the small-scale subsistence miner who made the discovery, said he will first have a party and then work on plans…
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Brazilian court rules President Bolsonaro must wear face mask
A judge in Brazil has ruled that the country’s controversial leader, President Jair Bolsonaro, must wear a face mask in public as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the country. Brazil is second only to the US in terms of the number of confirmed cases and deaths. To date, 53,874 people have died from the virus, with 1.2…
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Australian fugitive caught hiding in air vent on a ship
Australian police reported that a 31 year old man, who was facing alleged sexual assault charges in Sydney, attempted to leave Australia on a yacht… but ended up ditching the yacht and hiding in an air vent on a cargo ship. On Saturday, the man set off from New South Wales (a state in eastern Australia) in his own small yacht,…
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Music festival sparks fears of second wave in France
In France, thousands of people gathered to party at the annual Mid-Summer Music Festival. Those who attended were advised to use face masks and social distance from each other. This was largely ignored as people danced and sang along to bands and DJs in crowds in the streets, with many not even wearing face masks. Many spectators who witnessed the crowded street party…
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China’s second-richest is an ex-Google employee
Apparently, working for any kind of technology company in today’s world can reap massive wealth. That’s the case for one of China’s citizens who became the second richest person in the nation after previously working for Google. Colin Huang is valued at $45.4 billion by Forbes, placing him second in China after Tencent’s Pony Ma after his e-commerce company Pinduoduo…
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