International news with relevance to Thai and regional readers
Russia claimed to have captured Mariupol on Friday in what would be its biggest victory yet in its war with Ukraine, after a nearly three-month siege that reduced much of the strategic port city to a smoking ruin, with over 20,000 civilians feared dead. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin the
BANGKOK, May 21 (Reuters) – Representatives of the United States and several other nations walked out of an Asia-Pacific trade ministers meeting in Bangkok on Saturday to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, officials said. The walkout was “an expression of disapproval at Russia’s illegal war of aggression in Ukraine and its economic impact in the
Thousands of Covid-negative Beijing residents were forcibly relocated to quarantine hotels overnight due to a handful of infections, as the capital begins to take more extreme control measures resembling virus-hit Shanghai. Beijing has been battling its worst outbreak since the pandemic started. The Omicron variant has infected over 1,300 since late April, leading city restaurants,
Boeing’s Starliner capsule docked with the International Space Station Friday, a major milestone in a high-stakes uncrewed test flight as the US aerospace giant seeks to restore its reputation following past failures. The spaceship made contact at 8:28 pm Eastern time (0028 GMT Saturday), a little over 24 hours after it blasted off from the
The United States and Russia blamed each other Thursday for the worsening food situation around the world as the war in Ukraine unfolds. Washington called on Russia to allow exports of Ukrainian grain that is held up in Black Sea ports. Ukraine is one of the world’s top producers of wheat. “Stop blocking the ports
WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) – Former U.S. President George W. Bush mistakenly described the invasion of Iraq as “brutal” and “unjustified” before correcting himself to say he meant to refer to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Bush made the comments in a speech during an event in Dallas on Wednesday, while he was criticizing Russia’s political
The US Senate approves roughly $40 billion in new aid to Ukraine. The bill, which was passed by the House of Representatives earlier this month, brings U.S. spending on the war to more than $100 million per day, according to defense experts. The legislation is the latest step in a bipartisan effort to help Ukraine
SHANGHAI/BEIJING, May 19 (Reuters) – More Shanghai residents were given the freedom to go out to shop for groceries for the first time in nearly two months on Thursday as authorities set out more plans for exiting the city-wide COVID-19 lockdown more fully. The commercial hub of 25 million recorded no new infections outside quarantined
A writer who penned a piece titled “How To Murder Your Husband” is on trial in the United States for…killing her husband. It is a case that has all the hallmarks of classic detective fiction — a huge insurance payout, an impecunious suspect who claims to have amnesia, a missing weapon, and surveillance footage that
BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that the military alliance stands ready to seize a historic moment and move quickly on allowing Finland and Sweden to join its ranks, after the two countries submitted their membership requests. The official applications, handed over by Finland and Sweden’s ambassadors to NATO, set a security
KYIV/MARIUPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) – Nearly 700 more Ukrainian fighters surrendered at the Mariupol steelworks in the past 24 hours, Russia said on Wednesday, but leaders were reported to still be holed up inside, delaying the final end of Europe’s longest and bloodiest battle for decades. Finland and Sweden meanwhile formally applied to join NATO, bringing about the very expansion that
Japan will trial small group tours with travelers from the US, Australia, Thailand, and Singapore from this month, the government said, as it experiments with easing strict Covid border rules. The country’s borders have been closed to almost all arrivals since the spring of 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Authorities only recently began
