International news with relevance to Thai and regional readers
TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court ruled Monday that the country’s ban on same-sex marriage does not violate the constitution, and rejected demands for compensation by three couples who said their right to free union and equality has been violated. The Osaka District Court ruling is the second decision on the issue, and disagrees with
June 21 (Reuters) – Dmitry Muratov, the co-winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize and the editor of one of Russia’s last major independent newspapers, auctioned off his Nobel medal for a record $103.5 million to aid children displaced by the war in Ukraine. All proceeds from the auction, which coincided with the World Refugee Day on Monday, will benefit UNICEF’s humanitarian response for Ukraine‘s displaced children, Heritage Auctions, which conducted the sale in
KATHMANDU, June 20 (Reuters) – Police in Nepal‘s capital fired teargas and charged at protesters with sticks on Monday to break up a demonstration by students against fuel price hikes, officials and witnesses said, in a sign of growing public discontent over rising inflation. State-owned monopoly Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) on Monday raised the price of one litre of petrol and diesel by 12% and 16% respectively, prompting fears of broader price hikes. Around
The Coalition for the Rights of Refugees and Stateless Persons (CRSP) held a special event yesterday (Sunday) to raise more awareness about the global refugee crisis, marking World Refugee Day today. Named “Refugee Stories: From Ukraine to Thailand”, the event included a photo exhibition, which tells the stories of the refugees and depicts their
PARIS, June 19 (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron lost control of the National Assembly in legislative elections on Sunday, a major setback that could throw the country into political paralysis unless he is able to negotiate alliances with other parties. Macron’s centrist Ensemble coalition, which wants to raise the retirement age and further deepen
DHAKA/GUWAHATI, India, June 20 (Reuters) – Authorities in flood-hit Bangladesh and northeastern India scrambled on Monday to provide aid to more than nine million people marooned after the heaviest rains in years killed at least 54 people across both South Asian nations, officials said. Monsoon rains in low-lying Bangladesh have triggered catastrophic flooding in the
KYIV, June 19 (Reuters) – The war in Ukraine could last for years, the head of NATO said on Sunday, as Russia stepped up its assaults after the European Union recommended that Kyiv become a candidate to join the bloc. Jens Stoltenberg said supplying state-of-the-art weaponry to Ukrainian troops would boost the chance of freeing its eastern
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — At least 18 people have died as massive floods ravaged northeastern India and Bangladesh, leaving millions of homes underwater and severing transport links, authorities said Saturday. In India’s Assam state, at least nine people were killed in the floods and 2 million saw their homes submerged, according to the state disaster
A celebrated Ukrainian medic whose footage was smuggled out of the besieged city of Mariupol by an Associated Press team was freed by Russian forces on Friday, three months after she was taken captive on the streets of the city. Yuliia Paievska is known in Ukraine as Taira, a nickname she chose in the World
BRUSSELS/KYIV, Ukraine, June 17 (Reuters) – The European Union gave its blessing on Friday for Ukraine and its neighbour Moldova to become candidates to join, in the most dramatic geopolitical shift to result from Russia’s invasion. Ukraine applied to join the EU just four days after Russian troops poured across its border in February. Four
Data suggests thousands of millionaires are trying to leave Russia, and a continued exodus of its business and oligarch community will likely exacerbate the war’s long-term damage to its economy, Britain’s defence ministry said on Friday. “Migration applications suggest that 15,000 Russian millionaires are likely already attempting to leave,” the ministry said. On the war
COLOMBO, June 16 (Reuters) – R.M.R Lenora stood in a snaking queue outside Sri Lanka’s Immigration and Emigration Department headquarters for two days last week, hoping to get a passport and, with it, a chance to leave a country wilting under an economic crisis. A garment worker, 33-year-old Lenora decided to apply for a job
