[Photo News] Celebrating International Yoga Day

Yoga enthusiasts practice yoga at a park in Handan, Hebei province, northern China, ahead of International Yoga Day, which has been celebrated annually on June 21 since 2015. (Photos: AFP-Yonhap) By Kim Tae-eun (kimt17@heraldcorp.com)

June 20, 2020

[Photo News] Art to support Black Lives Matter

Diverse forms of protest art created by various people, from artists and students to teachers, to express their solidarity with Black Lives Matter movement across different cities and states in the United States (Photos: AP, Reuters-Yonhap) By Kim Tae-eun (kimt17@heraldcorp.com)

June 19, 2020

UK says told EU 'formally' no Brexit transition extension

LONDON (AFP) -- The British government on Friday said it had officially told the European Union it would not seek an extension to the post-Brexit transition period beyond December 31 this year. Britain left the bloc in January but remains under EU rules until the end of the year, as new terms are thrashed out between the two sides for their future relationship. London maintains it does not need more time to secure a free trade deal, despite deadlock in the talks over key areas, and a tight t

June 12, 2020

Aid groups 'alarmed' by little US coronavirus assistance

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- More than two dozen international aid organizations have told the US government they are "increasingly alarmed'' that "little to no US humanitarian assistance has reached those on the front lines'' of the coronavirus pandemic, as the number of new cases picks up speed in some of the world's most fragile regions. The letter obtained by The Associated Press and signed by groups including Save the Children, Mercy Corps, World Vision and others says that "in spi

June 12, 2020

Thailand eyes 'travel bubbles' to resuscitate tourism

BANGKOK (AFP) -- Thailand will open "travel bubbles" with countries which have comparably low coronavirus infections, officials said Friday, as the kingdom tries to claw back money for its battered tourism sector.The country closed its borders at the start of April, leading to millions of job losses across a tourism industry which accounts for around 20 percent of GDP. Despite registering the first COVID-19 case outside of China in January, Thailand has recorded just 3,129 infections

June 12, 2020

[Graphic News] S. Korea ranks 10th safest country for COVID-19

　South Korea been named 10th safest country out of 200 regions in the world for COVID-19, according a report from Deep Knowledge Group, a consortium of companies and non-profit organisations. 　The study was based on 130 quantitative and qualitative parameters and over 11,400 data points in categories like quarantine efficiency, monitoring and detection, health readiness and government efficiency. 　Switzerland topped the list followed by Germany, Israel and Singapore.

June 12, 2020

Trump calls police injury to elderly protester 'set up'

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that an elderly man bleeding from the head after he was shoved to the ground by US riot police was a far-left agitator faking the shocking incident. "I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?" Trump asked on his massively followed Twitter account. Two police officers in Buffalo, New York, were charged with assault after the incident last week in which protester Martin Gugino, 75, w

June 11, 2020

China slams 'provocative' US military flight over Taiwan

BEIJING (AFP) -- China reacted angrily on Thursday to a US military transport jet's flight over the self-ruled island of Taiwan, calling it an "illegal act" and "serious provocation". The overflight adds to rising tensions between Washington and Beijing over a slew of issues, and the US relationship with the island claimed by China is high on the list of disagreements. Taiwan's defence ministry said a Boeing C-40A Clipper transport jet flew over the island on Tuesday, th

June 11, 2020

[Graphic News] What do you miss most during COVID-19 pandemic?

　Schools and businesses have been closed, sports events canceled and cultural institutions shut down around the world, as countries try to stem the coronavirus outbreak. 　The latest Nielsen survey shows what people missed the most during the social distancing in the US.

June 10, 2020

Hong Kong seethes one year on, but protesters on the back foot

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Hong Kong on Tuesday marked a year since pro-democracy protests erupted, as mass arrests, coronavirus bans on gatherings and a looming national security law kept a lid on any return to city-wide unrest. Seven months of massive and often violent rallies kicked off on June 9 last year when as many as one million people took to the streets to oppose a bill allowing extraditions to mainland China. As city leaders dug in, battles between police and protesters became routine, lea

June 9, 2020

Japan network NHK pulls US protest anime in racism row

TOKYO (AFP) -- Japan's national broadcaster NHK Tuesday apologised and deleted an animation depicting Black Lives Matter protests in the US after widespread complaints of racism -- including from the US embassy and tennis star Naomi Osaka. NHK's animation, aired Sunday, told viewers that the coronavirus pandemic had fuelled anger amongst African Americans, many of whom lost jobs, but failed to mention the death of George Floyd or police brutality. The one-minute-20-second clip showed caricatu

June 9, 2020

Pope says worst of virus is over, Vatican clear of cases

VATICAN CITY (AFP) -- Pope Francis said on Sunday the worst of the coronavirus crisis was over in Italy, addressing the faithful for  the first time in Saint Peter's Square since the health emergency began. The pontiff's address came a day after the Vatican said there were no more cases of COVID-19 within its population. "Your presence in the square is a sign that in Italy the acute phase of the epidemic is over," Francis told those assembled for his weekly Angelus pr

June 7, 2020

New York City curfew lifts early following peaceful protests

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York City is lifting its curfew spurred by protests against police brutality ahead of schedule, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Sunday morning. The 8 p.m. citywide curfew, New York's first in decades, had been set to remain in effect through at least Sunday, with the city planning to lift it at the same time it enters the first phase of reopening after more than two months of shutdowns because of the coronavirus. "Yesterday and last night we saw the very best of our c

June 7, 2020

[Photo News] ‘Justice for Floyd’

Members of Workers’ Solidarity hold a rally in front of the US Embassy in Seoul on Friday morning over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed on May 25 in Minneapolis by a white police officer who pressed a knee into his neck. The death of the 46-year-old African American man involving police brutality and racial discrimination fueled public outrage across the United States and has spread into global protests. (Photos: Yonhap) By Kim Tae-eun (kimt17@heraldcorp

June 6, 2020

Hong Kong protesters seek sanctuary overseas as noose tightens

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Hong Kong protester Crystal has yet to tell her parents she has fled overseas to seek asylum in Canada, one of a growing number of residents choosing self-exile as Beijing tightens control. The 21-year-old student spent months on the front lines of the pro-democracy protests, which first exploded with huge marches last June and descended into increasingly violent battles with riot police as each month went by. A year on, she is waiting to hear if she will be granted refugee

June 5, 2020

[Graphic News] Only half of Americans would get COVID-19 vaccine: poll

　Only about half of Americans say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine if the scientists working furiously to create one succeed, according to a new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. 　That’s surprisingly low considering the effort going into the global race for a vaccine against the coronavirus that has sparked a pandemic since first emerging from China late last year. But more people might eventually roll up their sleeves: The poll found 3

June 4, 2020

Mass gatherings, erosion of trust upend coronavirus control

NEW YORK (AP) -- Protests erupting across the nation over the past week -- and law enforcement's response to them -- are threatening to upend efforts by health officials to track and contain the spread of coronavirus  just as those efforts were finally getting underway. Health experts need newly infected people to remember and recount everyone they've interacted with over several days in order to alert others who may have been exposed, and prevent them from spreading the disease fur

June 1, 2020

Lockdowns ease across Europe, Asia with new tourism rules

ROME (AP) -- The first day of June saw coronavirus restrictions ease from Asia to Europe on Monday, even as US protests against police brutality sparked fears of new outbreaks. The Colosseum opened its ancient doors in Rome, ferries restarted in Bangladesh, golfers played in Greece, students returned in Britain and Dutch bars and restaurants were free to welcome hungry, thirsty patrons. Countries around the Mediterranean Sea began tentatively to kickoff a summer season in which tourists c

June 1, 2020

Hong Kong blocks Tiananmen vigil; rush on for UK passports

HONG KONG (AP) -- Hong Kong police rejected an application Monday by organizers for an annual candlelight vigil marking the anniversary this week of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, as residents rushed to apply for passports that could allow them to move to the United Kingdom It would be the first time in 30 years that the vigil, which draws a huge crowd to an outdoor space, is not held in Hong Kong. The vigil commemorates China's deadly military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters

June 1, 2020

[Photo News] Greeting Man cheers up Brazil amid COVID-19

In the midst of COVID-19 crisis, a statue standing in front of the Korean Cultural Center in Sao Paulo, Brazil, displayed a four-minute-long video clip on Tuesday, conveying a message of hope to Brazilians. Under the “Cheer-up!” theme, the statue, also known as the Greeting Man, presented the course of a journey that opens up with the departure from Korea and concludes with the arrival at Brazil, by using 2D and 3D digital technologies. The Greeting Man features a visual mapping

May 27, 2020