International news with relevance to Thai and regional readers
GENEVA — New UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet today called for the setting up of a new “mechanism” to prepare criminal indictments over atrocities committed in Myanmar, amid allegations of genocide against the Rohingya minority. In her first speech as head of the UN rights office, Bachelet called on the UN Human
Star gazers in Thailand will have a chance to watch the arrival of a comet, known as Goiacobini-Zinner or G-Z comet on the night of September 10 and the early hours of the next day as it travels closest to the earth planet. Mr Suparoek Karuhanont, chief of the astronomical services of the National Astronomical
A board next to the All Nippon Airways (ANA) check-in desks announces the cancellation of all flights due to an earthquake, at Chitose airport in Chitose city, Hokkaido prefecture on September 6, 2018, after an earthquake hit the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. A powerful 6.6 magnitude quake hit the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido
MINNEAPOLIS/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The founder and chief executive of Chinese retailer JD.com Inc, Richard Liu, was arrested in Minneapolis last week following an allegation of rape, according to a public information report released by police on Tuesday. Liu, identified in the report by his Chinese name Liu Qiangdong, was released from custody on Saturday
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – A massive fire raced through Brazil’s 200-year-old National Museum in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, probably destroying its collection of more than 20 million items, ranging from archeological finds to historical memorabilia. The destruction of the building, once a palace for emperors that had fallen into disrepair, was an “incalculable
CANBERRA (Reuters) – Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison will become Australia’s new prime minister after winning a Liberal party leadership vote today, ending an internecine battle that has scarred the conservative government ahead of an election due by May 2019. Morrison, who will be Australia’s sixth prime minister in less than 10 years, emerged victorious from
BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and China today escalated their acrimonious trade war, implementing punitive 25 percent tariffs on $16 billion worth of each other’s goods, even as mid-level officials from both sides resumed talks in Washington. The world’s two largest economies have now slapped tit-for-tat tariffs on a combined $100 billion of products
Relations between Canada and Saudi Arabia have nosedived as both countries try to assert themselves in a changing international climate. The spat between Saudi Arabia and Canada seemed, at first, an inexplicable rift. Saudi behaviour, in expelling the Canadian ambassador after a Canadian diplomatic Twitter account judiciously criticised the Kingdom’s record on human rights, is
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — China’s military has expanded its bomber operations in recent years while “likely training for strikes” against the United States and its allies, a Pentagon report released on Thursday said. The assessment, which comes at a time of heightened U.S.-China tensions over trade, was contained in an annual report that highlighted China’s efforts
(REUTERS) – North and South Korea agreed to hold a summit in Pyongyang in September, the latest step forward in cross-border ties this year after more high-level talks today, the South’s Unification Ministry said. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met in April and May at the border truce
NEW YORK – A sense of concern is growing inside the top ranks of the Democratic Party that leaders of Joe Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee are not taking seriously enough the impact of the president’s troubling debate performance earlier in the week. DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison and Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez held
Thailand will chair Asia Cooperation Dialogue next year to foster an inclusive, prosperous, and wealthy Asia, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The decision was made during the ACD ministerial meeting in Tehran early this week. Foreign Minister Maris Sagiempongsa expressed Thailand’s intention to drive forward ACD during its chairmanship next year. Thailand has
