World News
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Sponsored New in July: Save 10% for life on family health plans in Thailand
Cigna has a special offer this July for families in Thailand. When you sign up three or more people on a family health plan, you will save 10% on your premiums for life. This deal helps you get affordable, high-quality...
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South east Asia’s budget airline dilemma
South east Asia’s low-cost carriers are staggering as demand plunges, and countries are ever-wary about re-opening their borders, raising questions whether they will be needing any new planes in the short to medium term. Malaysia’s AirAsia Group and Vietnam’s VietJet are publicly canvassing their cashflow and funding problems. Indonesia’s Lion Air has shelved a planned flotation this year. But prior…
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Hong Kong facing prospect of curfew amid rise in Covid-19 cases
Medical experts are warning that a curfew may have to be imposed after Hong Kong has seen nearly 500 new cases of Covid-19 in the last week. Yesterday alone saw 73 new cases with 66 being community transmitted. However, officials say they have only identified the sources of transmission for around 30 of those reported cases. A restaurant at the…
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Medical expert says it may be weeks before Melbourne outbreak under control
As Australia’s second-largest city is in the middle of a second wave of the Covid-19 virus, a top medical expert says the outbreak will likely take weeks to control. Melbourne, in the southern state of Victoria, has been hit with a spike in new community-transmitted cases, recording 438 infections on Friday and even more over the weekend. Acting chief medical…
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Cambodian officials deny knowledge of Wanchalearms disappearance
“We know nothing.” Cambodian authorities continue to deny any knowledge of the disappearance of Thai activist in exile Wanchalearm Satsaksit. They claim that Wanchalearm failed tot make any further visa renewal request after his current visa expired at the end of 2017. They say that no Cambodian agencies have any additional information about his whereabouts or disappearance other than what…
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Sa Kaeo police nab 6 illegal migrants, Thai driver
6 illegal Cambodian migrants were caught at a checkpoint in the western border province of Sa Kaeo this weekend. Such checkpoints are proliferating, designed to stop illegal border crossings and the potential risk imported Covid-19 cases. Sa Kaeo Sa Kaeo has been a particular hotspot, with many illegal migrants attempting to cross the border to work in Thailand. ThaiBorder Control,…
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US surpasses 140,000 Covid-19 deaths as outbreak escalates
US deaths from Covid-19 surpassed the 140,000 mark yesterday as cases have continued to rise in 43 of the 50 states over the past 2 weeks. As of today the tally stands at 142,877. Since late June the US has seen a resurgence in new cases and now, 6 weeks later, deaths are also on the rise, according to a…
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Victoria’s capital, Melbourne, records 580 Covid-19 cases in past two days
Australia’s second biggest city, Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, has reported 363 new cases of Covid-19, after 217 cases were recorded yesterday. The recent spike in cases follows almost 2 and a half months of single-digit daily cases. The outbreak has been caused by inbound citizens, returning from overseas and defying quarantine regulations. Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews has announced that…
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Transit passengers must have health certificate before buying ticket: CAAC
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has ordered the implementation of new regulations for any international flights entering Thailand – All passengers must have a medical certificate showing that they are free of Covid-19 before booking their ticket. The move follows China’s decision to temporarily ban Thai Lion Air from flying the Bangkok-Guangzhou route and Thai AirAsia X from flying…
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Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia battling new Covid-19 cases in SE Asia
Indonesia, The Philippines and Singapore are leading the way in South East Asia, contributing the most number of new cases of the coronavirus in the past week (worldometers.info). In the past 24 hours The Philippines (1,841), Indonesia (1,462) and Singapore (327) have added the highest number of new Covid-19 cases in the ASEAN region. In The Philippines the numbers have…
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Hong Kong Disneyland closes the gates, again
Whilst Disney World theme parks in Florida reopened to the public this week, after being closed for four months because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Hong Kong Disney theme franchise closed up again. Less than a month since it reopened Hong Kong Disneyland shutdown following a new coronavirus outbreak in the city. The theme park shuttered at the end of January…
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Chinese aviation bans flights from 2 Thai carriers for bringing Covid-19 into China
The Civil Aviation Administration of China announced yesterday that it’s banning flights by Thai AirAsia X and Thai Lion Air to the mainland from July 20-27 as a punitive measure for allegedly bringing Covid-19 patients into the country. Today both airlines announced that no one disembarked while in Bangkok. After the CAAC announced that 11 travellers aboard Thai Lion Air’s…
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Thailand to allow medical tourism within 2 weeks
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced today that Thailand’s medical tourism and wellness programs will go ahead despite the controversy swirling around 2 Covid-19 cases this week – in Bangkok and in Rayong. CCSA spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin says the Ministry of Public Health will announce a list of hospitals that pass its criteria next week, and the first…
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Thai Immigration police nab human trafficker
Immigration police have arrested a 55 year old “employment agent” who allegedly trafficked illegal migrant workers from neighbouring countries into Thailand. The Immigration Bureau’s commissioner identified the suspect as Petcharat Sathon at a press briefing. Officers arrested her at a hotel in the eastern province of Sa Kaeo, near the Cambodian border. She’s been charged with smuggling migrant workers into…
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A recovering China faces worst floods in decades
As China is still reeling from economic impacts of Covid-19, a new struggle has ensued as the nation is now seeing the worst flooding in decades which have destroyed the homes and livelihoods of millions. The devastating floods have impacted 38 million people. According to the Ministry of Emergency Management, some 2.24 million people have been displaced, with 141 people…
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Crystal meth making a comeback after travel restrictions eased
Thailand’s lockdown due to the Covid-19 crisis may have put a damper on drug smuggling activities, but that’s all over now. The secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board says traffickers are smuggling large quantities of crystal meth (“ice”) to unload stocks which had become stalled the country due to travel restrictions. He told a press briefing that…
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Singapore drops into an official recession
Singapore, an early success story in Covid-19 containment, has now dropped into technical recession after an official second quarter report of negative growth. The Singaporean economy plunged 41.2% quarter-on-quarter, with the country’s trade-dependent economy battered by the Covid-19 crisis in the South East Asian region. Finance authorities are flagging that they expect Singapore’s GDP to shrink between 4 – 7% this…
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Myanmar puts a hold on international flights until at least October
According to Myanmar’s National Tourism Development Central Committee vice-president, Myanmar’s airports are unlikely to re-open to international commercial flights until at least October this year. There is no guarantee, however, that even if the country opens its skies to international flights, there will be any takers other than airlines offering repatriation flights. Border closures around the world have grounded entire fleets…
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Chinese professor freed after criticisms of president landed him in 6 day detention
A Chinese professor, who criticised President Xi Jinping’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, has been reportedly freed after spending 6 days in detention. Xu Zhangrun, a law professor at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, was reportedly taken by a group of more than 20 people from his home after publishing an essay overseas that claimed the Chinese president was “destroying the structure…
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3 new cases from repatriation flights and state quarantine-Covid-19 update (July 13)
Today, Thailand reports 3 new confirmed cases from people on repatriation flights and in state quarantine centres. No additional deaths been reported, bringing the total amount of cases currently to 3,220 and 58 deaths (although a man has died of a heart attack whilst at a quarantine facility). According to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, the Kingdom currently has…
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US man dies from Covid-19 after attending ‘coronavirus party’
“They don’t look really sick. But when you check their oxygen levels and their lab tests, they’re really sicker than they appear.” A 30 year old American has died from the coronavirus after attending a “Covid-19” party in the state of Texas that was hosted by an infected person. Jane Appleby, chief medical officer at the Methodist Hospital in San…
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30 year old Texan dies after attending a “Covid party”
A 30 year old man has died from Covid-19 after attending, what are termed as, a “Covid-19 party”. The ‘party’ was hosted by an infected person. Doctors are wanting to urge people to appreciate the underlining risks to younger people. The dead man was from Texas. Medical officials who attended to the man say he thought the virus was a…
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Covid-19 UPDATE: All the latest news from the world – July 12
Today the total number of Covid-19 patients in the world has reached 12,847,288 with 567,734 people dying due to the effects of the virus. 7,483,246 people are registered as ‘recovered’ from their bout of Covid-19. The numbers of new cases, worldwide, is accelerating. The current hotspots are the US, Brazil, India, South Africa and Mexico – presenting with the highest…
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Hong Kong shutters schools again amid new virus transmissions
Hong Kong’s education minister says that all schools will close again from Monday after a spike in locally transmitted Covid-19 infections. The move will bring forward the start of the summer holidays, after the city recorded an “exponential growth” of locally transmitted cases in the past few days. The city recorded 38 new confirmed cases yesterday alone, 32 of which…
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Quotas for returning Australians to be halved amid Melbourne outbreak
As Australia struggles with a new Covid-19 outbreak in Melbourne, Australian PM Scott Morrison has announced that from this Monday he’s cutting the number of Australians allowed to reenter the country by half – from 8,000 to only 4,000 daily. He says the move is needed to devote resources to countering the “very concerning” domestic virus surge. Authorities there have…
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Combined force arrests 107 illegal Cambodian migrants within a day
Immigration officials in Sa Kaeo province, together with border police and the Thai military, have arrested 107 illegal immigrants since yesterday. Sa Kaeo lies about 200 kilometres east of Bangkok at the Cambodian border. The commander of the Burapha Armed Forces (Tigers of the East) – the nickname of the military clique attached to the 2nd Infantry Division, the Queen’s…
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Mayor of Seoul dead in apparent suicide after harassment allegations
Seoul’s mayor has died in an apparent suicide the day after a former assistant made allegations of sexual harassment against him. Park Won-soon, a former human rights lawyer and potential presidential candidate, was found dead earlier yesterday on a mountain in the South Korean capital. The death is by far the most dramatic end to a #MeToo case in the…
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US ambassador vows to help Thailand combat human trafficking
The US ambassador to Thailand is pledging to help Thailand achieve its goal to be upgraded from Tier 2 to Tier 1 in the annual US Trafficking in Persons Report. The report divides countries into tiers based on their compliance with standards outlined in the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. Tier 1 comprises countries whose governments fully comply…
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Covid-19 UPDATE: Friday, July 10
Today the total number of Covid-19 patients in the world has nearly reached 12.4 million with over 557,000 people succumbing to the effects of the disease. Nearly 7.2 million people are registered as ‘recovered’ from their bout of Covid-19. The numbers of new cases, worldwide, is accelerating. The current hotspots are the US, Brazil, India, South Africa and Mexico –…
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Desperate Thais stuck in the UK make plea to return home
A Thai doctor based in the UK is appealing to the Thai government to allow Thai citizens currently stranded in the country to return home. Ekaphum Chamnanrabiabkij is a practising doctor in Bicester, in the English county of Oxfordshire, and has become something of a spokesman for his stranded compatriots who find themselves locked out of Thailand during the Covid-19…
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State quarantine for Thais entering Singapore, while harder hit nations get a pass
Singapore’s government will continue to require that all Thai arrivals to the city-state undergo a 14 day mandatory state quarantine before being allowed to enter the country and mingle with the general population. Singapore, which has 45,298 total cases, says that Thais must serve their “Stay Home Notice” at dedicated government quarantine facilities. Arrivals from China, which has seen a total…
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