International news with relevance to Thai and regional readers
Nov 26 (Reuters) – Rare protests broke out in China’s far western Xinjiang region, with crowds shouting at hazmat-suited guards after a deadly fire triggered anger over their prolonged COVID-19 lockdown as nationwide infections set another record. Crowds chanted “End the lockdown!”, pumping their fists in the air as they walked down a street, according
BEIJING, Nov 26 (Reuters) – China reported 35,183 new COVID-19 infections on Nov. 25, of which 3,474 were symptomatic and 31,709 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Saturday, setting a new high for the third consecutive day. That compared with 32,943 new cases a day earlier – 3,103 symptomatic and 29,840 asymptomatic infections,
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the United Nations Security Council to act against Russia over air strikes on civilian infrastructure that again plunged Ukrainian cities into darkness and cold as winter sets in. Russia unleashed a missile barrage across Ukraine on Wednesday, killing 10 people, forcing shutdowns of nuclear power plants and cutting water and electricity supply
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit a town in northwest Turkey early Wednesday, causing widespread panic but there was no immediate report of major damage, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency said. The earthquake was centered in the town of Golkaya, in Duzce province, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Istanbul.
Traumatised relatives awaited news on Wednesday of the fate of loved ones missing after an earthquake shattered a town in Indonesia’s West Java on Monday, with more heavy machinery deployed to clear landslides that have buried villages. The death toll from Monday’s 5.6-magnitude quake in Cianjur has continued to rise as the full extent of the disaster has emerged. Authorities say
(AFP) – World growth is set to slide from 3.1 percent this year to 2.2 percent next year due to high inflation, before rebounding slightly to 2.7 percent in 2024, the OECD said Tuesday. Amid the effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine, “growth has lost momentum, high inflation is proving persistent, confidence has weakened, and
(AFP) – Joe Biden on Monday used his powers as US president to pardon two turkeys, sparing them from winding up as the main course during an upcoming Thanksgiving dinner later this week. “I hereby pardon Chocolate and Chip,” Biden said at the pardoning ceremony on the South Lawn, a lighthearted autumn event that has
PHNOM PENH, Nov 22 (Reuters) – The Chinese and U.S. defence ministers met for their second face-to-face talks this year on Tuesday, a U.S. official said, in a meeting that was not expected to lead to major breakthroughs but could touch on the importance of crisis communication and their opposing views on Taiwan. While U.S.
(AFP) – A global wildlife summit in Panama will decide whether to take measures to protect the translucent glass frog and 12 types of freshwater turtles in its final week, which kicked off Monday. Conservation experts and delegates from more than 180 nations began the week with a decision to maintain a ban on the
(AFP) – US Vice President Kamala Harris will travel Tuesday to a Philippine island near waters claimed by China to show support for the longtime US ally and counter Beijing’s growing influence in the region. Harris will be the highest-ranking US official ever to visit the western island of Palawan, the closest Philippine landmass to
(AFP) – Hong Kong leader John Lee tested positive for Covid-19 on his return from an Asia-Pacific summit, the city’s government said Monday, days after he met Chinese President Xi Jinping and other heads of state. Lee visited Thailand’s capital Bangkok last week to attend a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, with
Countries adopted a hard-fought final agreement at the COP27 climate summit early on Sunday that sets up a fund to help poor countries being battered by climate disasters – but does not boost efforts to tackle the emissions causing them. After tense negotiations that ran through the night, the Egyptian COP27 presidency released the final text for a deal and
