International news with relevance to Thai and regional readers
(AFP) – US President Joe Biden paid tribute Thursday to the late Queen Elizabeth II as a “stateswoman of unmatched dignity,” and said he looked forward to working with her son King Charles, noting their already “close friendship.” Biden ordered flags at the White House and other federal buildings to be lowered to half-staff, and
(AFP) – Tearful crowds outside Buckingham Palace sang a forlorn “God Save the Queen” as news broke of Elizabeth II’s death on Thursday. Hundreds braved torrential rain to stand at the palace gates after it was announced that doctors had placed the monarch under medical supervision at Balmoral, her Scottish estate. A vivid rainbow temporarily
Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history and an icon instantly recognisable to billions of people around the world, has died aged 96, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday. Her eldest son, Charles, 73, succeeds as king immediately, according to centuries of protocol, beginning a new, less certain chapter for the royal family after
Rangsit municipal administration, in Bangkok’s neighbouring province of Pathum Thani, has set up five temporary shelters in five schools and three car parks after heavy flooding in the municipal area resulting from overflows from the Rangsit Prayoonsak canal. The municipal administration is also providing free sand bags to households to protect their houses after the
(AFP) – UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, only two days into the job, addressed the nation Thursday from the steps of 10 Downing Street shortly after news of Queen Elizabeth II’s death was announced. Here is her statement in full: “We are all devastated by the news we have just heard from Balmoral. “The death
(AFP) – Queen Elizabeth II notched up a number of landmarks in her record-breaking 70 years on the throne. – Longevity – Elizabeth reigned for 70 years and nearly four months — longer than any other monarch in British history. The previous record was held by her great-great-grandmother queen Victoria, who reigned for 63 years,
Britain’s royal family rushed to be with Queen Elizabeth after doctors said they were concerned about the health of the 96-year-old monarch on Thursday and said she should remain under medical supervision. The queen, Britain’s longest-reigning sovereign and the world’s oldest monarch, has been suffering from what Buckingham Palace has called “episodic mobility problems” since the end of last year. “Following further evaluation
South Korea on Thursday offered talks with North Korea to discuss a reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, in its first direct overture since President Yoon Suk-yeol took office in May. Unification Minister Kwon Young-se, who is in charge of inter-Korean affairs, held a briefing to make the offer, saying Seoul will consider Pyongyang’s preferences in
Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet next week during a regional summit in Uzbekistan, a Russian diplomat said Wednesday, as the Chinese leader makes his first trip abroad since the start of the pandemic. “In less than 10 days our leaders will meet at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit” in Samarkand,
LONDON (AP) — Liz Truss became U.K. prime minister on Tuesday and immediately faced up to the enormous tasks ahead of her: curbing soaring prices, boosting the economy, easing labor unrest and fixing a national health care system burdened by long waiting lists and staff shortages. Truss quickly began appointing senior members of her Cabinet
One of the classified documents seized by the FBI at former US president Donald Trump’s Florida residence described the nuclear capabilities and military defenses of a foreign power, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. The newspaper, citing unnamed sources familiar with the case, said that some of the documents found in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence were so
NEW YORK (AFP) – Justin Bieber, who is scheduled to perform in Bangkok in November, said on Tuesday he is once again taking a break from touring, months after revealing he’d been diagnosed with a syndrome that caused him partial facial paralysis. In June, the 28-year-old megastar had pushed back the North American leg of
