World News
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Sponsored Thailand health insurance that covers chronic conditions: What expats need to know
The Thaiger key takeaways Managing chronic conditions in Thailand requires health insurance that covers specialist visits, medications, tests, and hospital stays. Cigna offers high-coverage plans with access to top hospitals, direct billing, and telemedicine support for convenient long-term care. Expats...
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Malaysia and Singapore confirm travel bubble for vaccinated travellers
From November 29, vaccinated passengers can fly between Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Singapore’s Changi Airport, without having to quarantine. Bloomberg confirms that both countries have agreed a travel bubble arrangement for what is one of the world’s busiest air corridors. It’s understood the agreement could also be extended to land crossings in the near future. Vaccinated travellers will not…
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These EU countries have managed to keep COVID numbers down
For the first time during the coronavirus pandemic, Germany’s nationwide seven-day incidence rate has crossed the 200 threshold. On Monday, it stood at 201.1. The rate, which indicates the number of new COVID-19 infections diagnosed per 100,000 people over a seven-day period, had previously peaked at 197.6 in December 2020. In other words: The fourth wave has crashed on Germany’s…
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Afghanistan: People struggle to make ends meet amid economic turmoil
Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in mid-August, the conflict-stricken nation has been dealing not only with political turmoil but also a severe economic crisis and increasing poverty. The Taliban takeover saw billions of dollars in central bank assets frozen and international financial institutions suspend access to funds. Some $9.5 billion (€8.2 billion) in central bank reserves remain blocked…
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Pakistan: How patriarchy is raising the risk of deadly breast cancer
Pakistan has one of the highest rates of breast cancer in Asia, and trends suggest this is likely to increase unless more is done to remove barriers on early screening. An estimated 40,000 women die each year in Pakistan due to breast cancer, and 83,000 are diagnosed with the disease, according to the Shaukat Khanum Research Center in Lahore. Health…
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46 Cambodian nationals arrested after trying to illegally cross Thai border
At least 46 Cambodian nationals have been arrested for allegedly illegally crossing over the Thailand border in Sa Kaeo province. Police there say the arrests are happening daily as the Cambodian nationals are trying to find work in Bangkok and neighbouring provinces. And, with the Covid-19 pandemic, the allegedly illegal border crossers are paying as much as 20,000 baht to…
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Thailand to welcome British Foreign Secretary as part of Southeast Asia visit
The British Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, will visit Thailand as part of a Southeast Asia trip that will also see her travel to Malaysia and Indonesia. According to a Reuters report, the purpose of the week-long trip is to strengthen the UK’s economic and security ties in the region. The UK is increasingly looking to countries beyond Europe as it…
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Tension in Ethiopia as TPLF fighters advance
When Adam* returned to his home after a haircut on the morning of Saturday, November 6, he saw his parents and sister being forced into a police van. With them were two other families living in the compound – all of them of Tigrayan origin. Before leaving, Adam’s mother was able to lock the house, he said, taking with her…
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Tension in Ethiopia as Tigrayan forces advance
When Adam* returned to his home after a haircut on the morning of Saturday, November 6, he saw his parents and sister being forced into a police van. With them were two other families living in the compound – all of them of Tigrayan origin. Before leaving, Adam’s mother was able to lock the house, he said, taking with her…
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How realistic is Bangladesh’s climate prosperity plan?
At the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called on wealthy nations to fulfill their pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions and provide the promised $100 billion (€86 billion) annually in financial aid to less wealthy countries to help them adapt to climate change and mitigate further rises in temperature. Only a tiny fraction of…
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COVID-19 means disruption, change for new set of ‘boomerang kids’
Not much had changed in the room where Faissal Sharif spent his childhood, in a small village in a remote part of the central German state of Hesse. Various posters, his old bed, a desk covered by a thin layer of dust — it was all still there. He set out to explore the world at the age of 18,…
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UN Security Council calls for ceasefire in Ethiopia
For the first time in six months, the UN Security Council (UNSC)called for an end to the intensifying conflict in Ethiopia on Friday, and for unhindered access for humanitarian aid to tackle the world’s worst hunger crisis in a decade in the war-torn Tigray region. “Today the Security Council breaks six months of silence and speaks again with one united…
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The era of tech whistleblowing is here — but will it lead to lasting change?
Whistleblower Frances Haugen says she hates attention so much she stopped throwing birthday parties years ago. She never wanted the world to know her name. And the idea of stepping in front of thousands of people gives her anxiety. And yet, the data scientist decided to give up her anonymity to expose wrongdoing at tech giant Facebook, she told some…
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Who are the Tigray fighters, and why is Ethiopia at war with them?
Since early November 2020, the Ethiopian government and Tigray fighters have been exchanging fire in a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives and has left more than 400,000 people facing famine, according to a recent UN estimate. The conflict has escalated rapidly since June, when fighters began to retake most of Tigray and expand into neighboring regions. The fighters…
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Yazidis still displaced in their own country
A wide gravel road extends into the distance and blurs into the horizon. To the left is a sea of corrugated metal containers and electric poles — beyond that, nothing. This is where the Mam Rashan camp ends. The refugee camp in the Nineveh district of the autonomous Kurdistan region is like a small town. Over 1,500 Yazidi families live…
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Paxlovid by Pfizer reduces Covid-19 hospitalisation, death by 89%
Hot on the tail of Merck winning approval for use in the UK for its anti-viral Molnupiravir pill treatment, Pfizer announced yesterday that clinical trials show their new drug, Paxlovid, to be highly effective in treating Covid-19. The pharmaceutical giant was quick to point out that their pill was developed with the specific goal of fighting Covid-19, unlike the Merck…
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Africalink 05.11.21 – 16 UTC – MP3-Stereo
Ethiopia rebels ‘join forces to defeat Abiy government +++ Preparations are in top gear in Cameroon for tomorrows celebration of Paul Biya’s 39 years in power, but his opponents see it as a mockery. +++ Nigeria state votes in key test for the presidential race++++Sports SOURCE: DW News
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Deputy minister in Vietnam prosecuted in fake medicine scandal
A deputy health minister in Vietnam is being prosecuted, accused by security officials of looking the other way for a ring that was busted trading fake medication. 59 year old Truong Quoc Cuong is the current head of drug and cosmetics management in Vietnam after becoming a deputy minister in 2016. The Ministry of Public Security in Vietnam is run…
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American woman convicted of mother’s murder deported from Indonesia to USA to face charges
An American woman who was convicted of murdering her mother in Indonesia, has been deported to the US to face charges in her home country. Heather Mack, from Chicago, Illionois, was convicted back in 2015, for killing her mother in Bali. Her boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, was also charged. Police say the couple stuffed her mother, Sheila von Wiese Mack’s dead…
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Covid-19 subsiding in Philippines drops capital region to Alert Level 2
As Covid-19 infections start to slow in the Philippines, Metro Manila and the capital region will reduce their restriction rating to Alert Level 2 out of 5. The easing will be in effect until November 21 as vaccination rates are increasing and daily infections are subsiding. The country is still reporting close to 2,000 infections per day, though yesterday say…
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Pop megastars ABBA release first album in 40 years
Some said it would never happen. In fact, they themselves frequently said it would never happen. But pop fans around the world are rejoicing over the return of Swedish supergroup, ABBA. Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid have reunited for the release of Voyage, their first album in 40 years. It will be followed by an “avatar” concert planned for March…
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EU-funded hijab campaign sparks outrage
Young European Muslims say a decision to cancel a newly launched EU online campaign to promote acceptance of hijab is “an attack on human rights.” “Attacks on this vital campaign take place in a wider environment of a shrinking of civic space, where government actors routinely censor and limit the freedom of speech when it doesn’t fit their political agenda”…
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Opinion: Ethiopia at risk of Balkanization
Jeffrey Feltman’s visit to Ethiopia on Thursday is the West’s last desperate attempt to rescue the tottering country. The US special envoy for the Horn of Africa will try topersuade Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to agree to a ceasefire and peace talks. The hope is to bring an end to the war between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray…
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Kashmir: Migrant worker killings spur exodus, halt industries
A recent spate of killings of migrant laborers in India-administered Kashmir has triggered a widespread emigration out of the region, shaking supply chains and bringing some industrial activity to a halt. Fears of a demographic change among the Muslim-majority population are behind the killings in the region, which largely depends on a workforce coming from mainland India. “The industrial output…
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COVID: How India is vaccinating isolated tribes in insurgency-hit areas
Minpa village, an isolated settlement in Sukma district in Chhattisgarh state, has just over 650 residents. Located nearly 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the state capital Raipur, the village has no electricity, no potable drinking water supply and no road connectivity. One has to embark on an arduous journey to reach the place as it is located in the dense…
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Burmese junta adds third charge for American journalist Fenster
The managing editor of Frontier Myanmar, American journalist Danny Fenster, has been held for months by the Burmese junta and has now been charged with a third criminal offence. He had originally been arrested in May when attempting to leave the country. After being held for nearly 6 months, Fenster is still on trial, accused of promoting dissent against the…
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Cape Verde: Turning wastewater into useful energy
This university student wants to avoid wasting water. Patrick Gomes invented a portable sewage tank. The equipment filters wastewater by decantation. But the “RECYCLE BE” project is not just for purifying water. “RECYCLE BE” works autonomously. It seeks to solve water scarcity in Cape Verde. The ecological tank is a sustainable alternative to septic tanks. The environmental impact is lower…
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COP26: Saudi Arabia’s climate strategy: Greenwashing or genuine transformation?
It was a regular hot and sunny day in late October in Riyadh, when Dalia Samra-Rohte, delegate of the German Industry for Saudi Arabia, and Germany’s ambassador to the kingdom, Dieter Lamle, were busy planting a crown-of-thorns sapling in Bödeker Park. It won’t be growing tall alone — earlier this year, the Saudi kingdom revealed plans to plant 7.5 million…
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Chinese travellers forced to stay home as rest of Asia re-opens to tourism
With Asian countries re-opening to foreign arrivals, there will be one significant tourism market missing for now – the Chinese. In China, according to a Reuters report, international air travel is currently at just 2% of pre-pandemic levels, as officials continue to pursue zero-Covid status. The absence of Chinese visitors will mean a US$255 billion annual spending hole in the…
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Kenya’s first female wildlife rangers unit
Team Lioness is Kenya’s first all female unit of community wildlife rangers. Created in 2019, the team is stationed near the traditional community land around Amboseli National Park on the border of Tanzania and Kenya. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) team of 16 female rangers. The unit patrols the community lands of the Olgulului-Ololarashi Group Ranch (OOGR). Through…
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Afghan refugees in Uzbekistan live in uncertainty, facing deportation
Almost every day Marina’s family turns the living room carpet of their flat into a dance floor. When the music starts, her two little sons immediately bop and twist to the song, as the whole family claps along. Marina, a 26-year-old Afghan journalist and women’s rights activist, fled from the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in mid-August, along with her husband, her…
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