Most Popular
-
1
Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
-
2
New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
-
3
Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
-
4
Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
-
5
[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
-
6
Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
-
7
Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
-
8
Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
-
9
[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
-
10
NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
-
Many lockdowns ease but Russia, India, UK still struggling
ROME (AP) -- From the United States to Europe to Asia, the easing of some coronavirus lockdowns brought millions out of their homes to enjoy the outdoors and warm spring temperatures. Yet the global pandemic is still slicing through the defenses of other nations, causing infections and deaths to march relentlessly higher. India on Sunday reported more than 2,600 infections, its biggest single-day jump, and new coronavirus cases in Russia exceed 10,000 for the first time. The confirmed vir
May 3, 2020
-
World's tallest tower to light up with coronavirus donations
DUBAI (AFP) -- One pixel at a time, Dubai will light up the facade of the world's tallest building to represent each donation made to relieve coronavirus-hit communities across the United Arab Emirates. The Burj Khalifa, which stands 828 metres (2,717 feet) high, will be transformed into the "world's tallest donation box" as part of a campaign to provide 10 million meals to low-income people. The appeal comes during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, a time of self-reflectio
May 3, 2020
-
European leaders push vaccine financing drive
LONDON (AFP) -- European leaders are backing an initiative from Brussels to raise 7.5 billion euros ($8.3 billion) to tackle the global coronavirus pandemic. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, outlined the fund-raising plan for an international effort to find a vaccine and treatment for COVID-19 on Friday. An online pledging conference will take place on Monday to plug gaps in financing of research. Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, French President Emm
May 3, 2020
-
Europe prepares for more lockdown easing as virus hopes rise
ROME (AFP) -- Europe on Sunday prepared for a further cautious easing of coronavirus restrictions following signs the pandemic may be slowing, with hard-hit Italy set to follow Spain in allowing people outside. More than 243,000 people have been killed and 3.4 million infected worldwide by the virus, which has left half of humanity under some form of lockdown and pushed the global economy towards its worst downturn since the Great Depression. With signs that the spread of the contagion h
May 3, 2020
-
Japan to extend state of emergency over virus: reports
TOKYO (AFP) -- Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is likely to extend a nationwide state of emergency imposed over the coronavirus, possibly by another month, local media reported on Thursday. The measure was initially declared on April 7 across seven regions experiencing a spike in infections, but was later expanded to cover the entire country. With the initial month-long period coming to an end next week after the country's annual Golden Week holidays, local media reported that Abe was now e
April 30, 2020
-
White House boasts US has passed S. Korea in virus testing
WASHINGTON -- The White House boasted Tuesday that the United States has tested more people for the coronavirus than South Korea, even as reports suggested that more testing needs to be done. In "West Wing Reads," a regular dispatch of news articles favorable to the administration, the White House cited a Monday article by the conservative Washington Examiner that reads: "US passes South Korea in virus testing as Trump unveils expanded effort." "The United States has
April 29, 2020
-
[Graphic News] Americans sour on China amid pandemic, broader rivalry: poll
Americans are increasingly hostile to China as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on the US and global economies and after three years of Trump administration antagonism toward the country, according to a nationwide poll. The poll, conducted last month by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, found that two-thirds of those surveyed, or 66 percent, had an unfavorable view of China. That’s the most since the center first asked the question 15 years ago and a significant jump of 20 p
April 28, 2020
-
[Graphic News] Major cities now have less air pollution during lockdowns
Restrictions on travel and nonessential business over the past weeks to control the spread of COVID-19 have meant dramatically cleaner air for some of the world’s most polluted cities. Global cities including Delhi, Seoul, Los Angeles, and New York, experienced 25 percent to 65 percent reduction in fine particulate matter or PM2.5 air pollutants during the lockdown, according to a report by IQAir. (Bloomberg)
April 27, 2020
-
Global death toll from coronavirus surpasses 200,000
ATLANTA (AP) -- As the global death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 200,000 on Saturday, countries took cautious steps toward easing some lockdowns, while fears of infection made even some pandemic-wounded businesses reluctant to reopen. The states of Georgia, Oklahoma and Alaska started loosening restrictions on businesses despite warnings from experts that such steps might be coming too soon. Some owners said they weren’t yet ready to reopen or were doing so only on a limited basis
April 26, 2020
-
Muslims begin marking a subdued Ramadan under virus closures
JAKARTA (AP) -- Muslims worldwide began Ramadan on Friday with dawn-to-dusk fasting, but many will have to forgo the communal prayers and family gatherings that make the holy month special, as authorities maintain lockdowns aimed at slowing the coronavirus pandemic. Ramadan is usually a festive season, with the daylong fast followed by lavish meals and evening get-togethers. But this year many are confined to their homes, travel is heavily restricted and public venues like parks, malls and eve
April 24, 2020
-
[Graphic News] Consumers think pandemic may last more than 4 months
Consumers at home and abroad think the coronavirus pandemic will likely grip the world for more than four months, an international poll showed. The survey of 6,566 people in six countries - South Korea, the United States, China, Germany, Italy and Britain - showed they believe it may take an average of 17 weeks before the end of the coronavirus outbreak and a return to normal life. A US public relations and marketing agency conducted the online survey between March 30 and April 3. Cons
April 24, 2020
-
WHO warns 'long way to go' in virus crisis, deaths top 180,000
GENEVA (AFP) -- The World Health Organization on Wednesday warned that the coronavirus crisis will not end any time soon, with many countries only in the early stages of the fight, as the global death toll surpassed 180,000. The pandemic has sparked not only a health emergency, but a global economic rout, with businesses struggling to survive, millions left jobless, and millions more facing starvation. US President Donald Trump -- with an eye on widespread unemployment and his re-election pro
April 23, 2020
-
Trump order to bar new green cards, not temporary visas
WASHINGTON (AP) -- US President Donald Trump announced what he described as a “temporary suspension of immigration into the United States.” But an executive order he is expected to sign Wednesday to implement the change would bar only those seeking permanent residency, not temporary workers. “I will be signing my Executive Order prohibiting immigration into our Country today,” Trump tweeted Wednesday. The president said Tuesday he would put a 60-day pause on the
April 22, 2020
-
Trump bars new immigration green cards
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump announced what he described as a "temporary suspension of immigration into the United States." But the executive order would bar only those seeking permanent residency, not temporary workers. Trump said Tuesday he would be placing a 60-day pause on the issuance of green cards in an effort to limit competition for jobs in a US economy wrecked by the coronavirus. The order would include "certain exemptions," he said, but he declined t
April 22, 2020
-
Maryland governor rebuts Trump over buying S. Korean coronavirus test kits
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Tuesday he has "no idea" why President Donald Trump got upset that he purchased coronavirus test kits from South Korea. Hogan, a Republican, said he thinks Trump "got confused" when he expressed his displeasure with the governor's decision to buy kits for 500,000 tests from a South Korean company. "I'm really not sure what he was upset about," the governor said on Fox News. "We did what he told us to do, which was go out and ge
April 22, 2020
-
Trump vows immigration ban as virus roils world economy
WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Donald Trump vowed to temporarily ban immigration to the United States to combat the "invisible enemy" of coronavirus, claiming it would save American jobs as the world economy plunges into meltdown. The announcement, a drastic new step in the US President's anti-immigration crusade, comes as the globe tries to chart its way out of an unprecedented health and economic crisis. In just four months, the novel coronavirus has touched almost every nation on the planet
April 21, 2020
-
Coronavirus could double number facing acute hunger: UN
PARIS (AFP) -- The coronavirus pandemic could nearly double the number of people around the world facing acute hunger, the UN's World Food Programme warned Tuesday. "The number of people facing acute food insecurity stands to rise to 265 million in 2020, up by 130 million from the 135 million in 2019, as a result of the economic impact of COVID-19," the WFP said its projections had shown. The warning came as the WFP and other partners released a new report on food crises around the
April 21, 2020
-
Swiss watchmakers see exports plunge amid pandemic
ZURICH (AFP) -- Swiss watch exports plunged by more than a fifth in March, the Swiss watch industry federation, FH, said Tuesday, warning it expected the situation to deteriorate further in April. Overall, Swiss watch exports fell 21.9 percent in March compared to a year earlier, to 1.4 billion Swiss francs ($1.4 billion, 1.3 billion euros) -- with a range of markets seeing devastating declines, as economies worldwide have basically ground to a halt in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Expor
April 21, 2020
-
Singapore extends coronavirus curbs as cases surge
SINGAPORE (AFP) -- Singapore on Tuesday extended restrictions to fight the coronavirus until early June, the city-state's leader said, as cases surged past 9,000 due to a growing number of infections among migrant workers. The city-state managed to keep its outbreak in check in the early stages due to widespread testing and contact-tracing, but is facing a fast-moving second wave of infections. Health authorities reported 1,111 cases Tuesday taking the total to 9,125, with the vast majority
April 21, 2020
-
Coronavirus pandemic 'amplifies press freedom threats'
PARIS (AFP) -- The coronavirus pandemic is exacerbating threats to press freedom around the world, with authoritarian states including China and Iran suppressing details of the outbreak, activists said on Tuesday. Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in its annual press freedom rankings that the pandemic was "highlighting and amplifying the many crises" already casting a shadow on press freedom. The outbreak had encouraged some regimes to "take advantage of the fact
April 21, 2020