Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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Ex-ambassador to S. Korea Sung Kim appointed acting assistant secretary of state
Former US ambassador to South Korea Sung Kim has been appointed acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. The Korea American diplomat was appointed to the post as of Wednesday, according to information available on the website of the State Department. Up until then, Kim had served as the US ambassador to Indonesia. Still, it was not clear whether Kim would be formally nominated to become the assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs, which requires S
Jan. 22, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Japan privately concludes Tokyo Olympics should be cancelled due to coronavirus: The Times
TOKYO (Reuters) -- Japan's government has privately concluded the Tokyo Olympics will have to be cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, The Times reported, citing an unnamed senior member of the ruling coalition. The government's focus is now on securing the Games for Tokyo in the next available year, 2032, the newspaper said. Japan has been hit less severely by the pandemic than many other advanced economies, but a recent surge in cases has spurred it to close its borders to non-reside
Jan. 22, 2021
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Biden urges Americans to 'mask up,' says visitors will need to quarantine
US President Joe Biden on Thursday reaffirmed his plan to get up to 100 million Americans vaccinated over the next 100 days as part of his strategy to combat the COVID-19 pandemic that he said is based on science and not politics. Biden also urged the people to "mask up" until they get vaccinated, insisting the act of wearing a mask alone can save tens of thousands of lives over the next few months. "Well, one of our 100 day challenges is asking the American people to mask up fo
Jan. 22, 2021
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Immigrants cheered by possible citizenship path under Biden
HOMESTEAD (AP) -- Immigrants cheered President Joe Biden’s plan to provide a path to US citizenship for about 11 million people without legal status, mixing hope with guarded optimism Wednesday amid a seismic shift in how the American government views and treats them. The newly inaugurated president moved to reverse four years of harsh restrictions and mass deportation with a plan for sweeping legislation on citizenship. Biden also issued executive orders reversing some of former Pre
Jan. 21, 2021
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Trump bids farewell to Washington, hints of comeback
WEST PALM BEACH (AP) -- His presidency over, Donald Trump bid farewell to Washington on Wednesday but also hinted at a comeback despite a legacy of chaos, tumult and bitter division in the country he led for four years. "Goodbye. We love you. We will be back in some form," Trump told supporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland where he received a 21-gun salute as part of a military send-off before boarding Air Force One for his last time as president. Trump was already in Flori
Jan. 21, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Vice President Harris: A new chapter opens in US politics
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Vice President Kamala Harris broke the barrier that has kept men at the top ranks of American power for more than two centuries when she took the oath Wednesday to hold the nation’s second-highest office. Harris was sworn in as the first female US vice president -- and the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to hold the position -- in front of the US Capitol by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Later, she presided as Senate president
Jan. 21, 2021
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Biden takes office with pledge to repair alliance, US leadership
WASHINGTON -- Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, promising to repair the country's global leadership, as well as its relationship with allies. The former vice president took the oath of office on the steps of the Capitol in an inauguration ceremony with only a few participants and nearly no spectators. Biden and his transition team had noted the need to keep this year's ceremony at a minimum, stressing the need for people to keep social distance as a way of
Jan. 21, 2021
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Biden says will 'repair alliance,' lead world by power of example
WASHINGTON -- US President Joe Biden promised efforts to repair his country's relationship with its allies on Wednesday, also promising to bolster its global leadership by the "power of example. Biden made the pledge shortly after he took office as president, ending Donald Trump's term and "America First" policy. "We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again, not to meet yesterday's challenges but today's and tomorrow's challenges," Biden said in h
Jan. 21, 2021
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Biden takes office as 46th president of the US
Joe Biden became the 46th President of the United States on Wednesday, declaring that "democracy has prevailed," according to the AP. He swore the oath of office to take the helm of a deeply divided nation and inheriting a confluence of crises arguably greater than any faced by his predecessors. Biden's inauguration came at a time of national tumult and uncertainty, a ceremony of resilience as the hallowed American democratic rite unfurled at a US Capitol battered by an insurrectioni
Jan. 21, 2021
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Biden arrives at US Capitol for inauguration as 46th president
WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris arrived at the US Capitol on Wednesday for their official inauguration ceremony. Biden, 78, is to be sworn in at noon (1700 GMT) by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts as the 46th president of the United States. Harris, 56, will be the first woman to become vice president. Donald Trump left Washington three hours before Biden's swearing-in, the first American president to skip the inauguration of his succ
Jan. 21, 2021
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Biden's top diplomat vows US will lead but restore alliances
WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Antony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden's choice to be secretary of state, will vow Tuesday that the United States will "outcompete" a rising China while reviving frayed alliances, in a sea change from Donald Trump's go-it-alone "America First" approach. On the eve of Biden's inauguration, Blinken was set to say at his confirmation hearing that the United States will seek to remain the pre-eminent global power but renew cooperation on common challenges
Jan. 19, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Biden to be inaugurated amid pandemic, worst political turmoil
WASHINGTON -- Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated as the next US president this week in probably a never-before-seen ceremony that will highlight the dangers from the worst pandemic and a political divide facing the United States. Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the US on Wednesday. As is customary, the inauguration ceremony will be held at around noon on the steps of the US Capitol, administered by the chief justice of the US Supreme Court. The ceremony, however, will be diffe
Jan. 19, 2021
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2020 records one of three warmest years ever: WMO
The year 2020 was one of the three warmest years ever on record, the World Meteorological Organization, a world weather body under the United Nations, said Thursday. “The confirmation by the World Meteorological Organization that 2020 was one of the warmest years on record is yet another stark reminder of the relentless pace of climate change, which is destroying lives and livelihoods across our planet,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The UN chief pointed out that th
Jan. 15, 2021
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First US federal execution of woman in decades
An American woman was put to death by lethal injection Wednesday, becoming the first female to be executed by US federal authorities in nearly seven decades. Lisa Montgomery's execution came in the final days of the government of US President Donald Trump, which pushed forward with her execution despite a legal battle that the Supreme Court ended with a ruling in the early hours of Wednesday. Montgomery, 52, murdered an expectant mother to steal her baby, though she had sought a stay of execut
Jan. 13, 2021
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Astronomers find oldest, most distant quasar and black hole in universe
The oldest and most distant quasar and black hole in the universe have been discovered, a team of astronomers led by the University of Arizona said Tuesday. The newly discovered quasar and black hole are 13 billion light-years from Earth. As the most energetic objects in the universe, quasars are tremendously big and bright celestial objects that are located at the center of galaxies. Dubbed J0313-1806, the most distant quasar dates back to 670 million years after the Big Bang, when the un
Jan. 13, 2021
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WHO rules out virus herd immunity in 2021 despite vaccines
The World Health Organization has warned that herd immunity for COVID-19 will not be achieved this year despite the vaccines already being rolled out in a number of countries. “We are not going to achieve any levels of population immunity or herd immunity in 2021,” WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said Monday during a video press conference. “Even if it happens in a couple of pockets in a few countries, it’s not going to protect people across the world.” H
Jan. 12, 2021
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Massive power outage leaves Pakistan in the dark
ISLAMABAD (AP) -- A major technical fault in Pakistan's power generation and distribution system caused a massive power outage that plunged the country into darkness overnight, the energy minister said. Hours after the late Saturday outage, Energy Minister Omar Ayub said on Twitter that power was being restored in phases, starting with Islamabad. He said later Sunday that power had been restored to much of the country. The blackout was initially reported on social media by residents of major
Jan. 10, 2021
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Pompeo voids restrictions on diplomatic contacts with Taiwan
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Saturday that the State Department is voiding longstanding restrictions on how US diplomats and others have contact with their counterparts in Taiwan, another move that is expected to upset China as the Trump administration winds to an end. The Trump administration has sought to strengthen bilateral relations with Taiwan. It announced Thursday that UN Ambassador Kelly Craft would go to Taiwan, a move that sparked sharp criticism from B
Jan. 10, 2021
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German virus deaths top 40,000 as Merkel warns of 'hardest weeks'
BERLIN (AFP) -- The total number of Germany's coronavirus deaths crossed 40,000 on Sunday, as Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the coming weeks would be "the hardest" yet. Germany recorded 465 deaths over the past 24 hours, the Robert Koch Institute for disease control said, raising the toll since the start of the pandemic to 40,343. More than 1.9 million people have been infected so far, with almost 17,000 new cases added since Saturday. In her weekly video message on Saturday,
Jan. 10, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Indonesia jet carrying 62 goes missing on domestic flight
JAKARTA (AP) -- A jet carrying 62 people lost contact with air traffic controllers minutes after taking off from Indonesia’s capital on a domestic flight on Saturday, and debris found by fishermen was being examined to see if it was from the missing plane, officials said. Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said Sriwijaya Air’s Flight SJ182 was delayed for an hour before it took off at 2:36 p.m. The Boeing 737-500 disappeared from radar four minutes later, after the pilot
Jan. 10, 2021