[Graphic News] Huge majority of American workers support 4-day workweek

American workers want a four-day workweek as they seek more flexibility on the job, according to a survey published by Bankrate. The survey showed 81 percent of the US adult workforce support the four-day workweek. When hybrid and remote work options are included, the number rises to 89 percent. A majority of those looking for a four-day week, remote work or hybrid work - 51 percent - said they would leave current employers or even switch industries to get those options. More flexible schedules

Sept. 21, 2023

Putin and Xi to meet in Beijing in October, Russia says

President Vladimir Putin will meet China's Xi Jinping for talks in Beijing in October, Russia said on Tuesday, Putin's first known trip abroad since an arrest warrant was issued against him over the deportation of children from Ukraine. Nikolai Patrushev, a close Putin ally and the secretary of Russia's Security Council, said Russia and China should deepen cooperation in the face of the West's attempt to contain them both. He was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying t

Sept. 19, 2023

$6b in Iranian assets once frozen in South Korea now in Qatar, key for prisoner swap with US

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran and the United States will exchange prisoners on Monday after some $6 billion once frozen in South Korea reached Qatar, a key element of the planned swap, officials said. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani was the first to acknowledge the swap would take place Monday. He said the cash sought for the exchange was now in Qatar. An individual with direct knowledge of the deal, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity given t

Sept. 18, 2023

UN risks widening rifts as Zelensky takes center stage

More than 140 world leaders will head to the United Nations next week at a time of myriad crises, as a starring role for Ukraine's leader may only highlight the growing global fragmentation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who a year ago was obliged to appear virtually, will join leaders including President Joe Biden when the UN General Assembly formally opens Tuesday as he seeks to rally support against Russia's bloody invasion. But while Western powers have rallied behind Ukr

Sept. 16, 2023

[Graphic News] Death tolls in great earthquakes since 2000

The magnitude 6.8 earthquake that struck Morocco on Sept. 8 has killed more than 2,862 people (as of Sept. 12), with the death toll expected to increase as rescuers struggle to reach some areas. Elsewhere this year, a magnitude 7.8 temblor that shook Syria and Turkey killed more than 56,000 people. The most devastating earthquakes in recent history have been above magnitude 7.0, including a 2015 tremor in Nepal that killed over 8,800 people and a 2008 quake that killed 87,000 in China. (AP)

Sept. 14, 2023

Huge death toll from Libyan storm expected to climb

A desperate search for thousands of people missing after catastrophic flooding in the Libyan city of Derna entered its third day on Wednesday, with thousands already confirmed dead and the toll expected to rise. The flood was caused by a powerful storm that burst dams nearby, unleashing a torrent of water that has devastated a quarter or more of the Mediterranean city, washing away buildings along with their residents. Officials in eastern Libya say the death toll so far stands at more than 5,00

Sept. 13, 2023

'Mystery creature' video in Mt. Baekdu crater lake reignites old myth

A viral post on Chinese social media of what the poster claimed to be a mysterious animal swimming in the crater lake of Baekdu Mountain on the China-North Korea border has reignited interest in a mythical creature in the lake, Chinese news outlets reported on Monday. The video, captured from an observation deck situated 500 meters above the lake, shows a dark object traversing the water's surface. The still surface of the lake is perturbed by the object seen gliding beneath, which leaves a

Sept. 12, 2023

[Graphic News] Number of US children killed by guns hit record high in 2021

Child gun deaths in the United States have hit a record high, according to a new study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s mortality database, the study published on Monday in the AAP journal Pediatrics found that 4,752 children died from gun-related injuries in 2021, the latest year for which data was available, up from 4,368 in 2020 and 3,390 in 2019. Gun violence has been the No. 1 cause of death for children in the Uni

Sept. 11, 2023

Race to find survivors as Morocco quake deaths top 2,000

Morocco's deadliest earthquake in decades has killed more than 2,000 people, authorities said Saturday, as troops and emergency services scrambled to reach remote mountain villages where victims are still feared trapped. Authorities declared three days of national mourning, but the Red Cross warned that it could take years to repair the damage. The 6.8-magnitude quake struck late Friday in a mountainous area 72 kilometres southwest of the tourist city of Marrakesh, the US Geological Survey

Sept. 10, 2023

Powerful earthquake strikes Morocco, damaging buildings and sending people into the streets

RABAT, Morocco — A powerful earthquake struck Morocco late Friday, damaging buildings in major cities and sending panicked people pouring into streets and alleyways from the capital Rabat to Marrakech, the county's most visited tourist destination. There was no immediate word on whether there were any injuries or deaths. Government officials had made no comment on the extent of the quake’s impact as of early Saturday. Moroccans posted videos showing some buildings turned to ru

Sept. 9, 2023

[Graphic News] Trump trial set for March 4, 2024 amid primaries

A judge set a March 4, 2024, trial date for Donald Trump in the federal case in Washington charging the former president with trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election, rejecting a defense request to push back the case by years. US District Judge Tanya Chutkan rebuffed claims by Trump’s attorneys that an April 2026 trial date was necessary to account for the huge volume of evidence they say they are reviewing and to prepare for what they contend is a novel and unprecedented prose

Sept. 4, 2023

Thai ex-PM Thaksin applies for royal pardon: govt source

Thailand's jailed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has requested a royal pardon, a government minister said Thursday. The 74-year-old billionaire, twice elected PM and ousted in a 2006 military coup, was sent to prison last week immediately after returning to the kingdom from 15 years of self-exile. His homecoming coincided with his Pheu Thai party returning to government in alliance with several pro-military parties, sparking widespread speculation of a deal to cut his jail time. C

Aug. 31, 2023

The US economic war on China

By Jeffrey D. Sachs China’s economy is slowing down. Current forecasts put China’s GDP growth in 2023 at less than 5%, below the forecasts made last year and far below the high growth rates that China enjoyed until the late 2010s. The Western press is filled with China’s supposed misdeeds: a financial crisis in the real-estate market, a general overhang of debt, and other ills. Yet much of the slowdown is the result of US measures that aim to slow China’s growth. Such US

Aug. 31, 2023

[Graphic News] Global household wealth drops for first time since 2008 financial crisis

Global household wealth fell last year for the first time since the financial crisis in 2008, as inflation and the appreciation of the US dollar wiped some $11.3 trillion off assets. Total net private wealth across the world decreased by 2.4 percent to a total of $454.4 trillion, according to Credit Suisse’s annual global wealth report. The bulk of the decline was felt in North American and European households, which lost a combined $10.9 trillion. Not all regions suffered a hit to wealth.

Aug. 31, 2023

[Graphic News] List of countries who have made soft lunar landings

　India made history as it became the first country in the world to land its spacecraft near the moon’s south pole, an uncharted territory that scientists believe could hold vital reserves of frozen water. 　India is the fourth country to achieve a moon landing.

Aug. 29, 2023

Russia hopes to raise fish, seafood exports to China after Japan ban

MOSCOW/TOKYO -- Russia hopes to increase its marine product exports to China in the wake of China's ban on Japanese seafood imports after the release of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea. Russia is one of the biggest marine product suppliers to China, with 894 Russian companies allowed to export seafood, Rosselkhoznadzor, the Russian food safety watchdog, said in July. In a statement late on Friday, Rosselkhoznadzor said it was seeking to

Aug. 26, 2023

[Graphic News] India’s endangered tiger population tops 3,600

　India’s wild tiger population is estimated to now exceed 3,600, according to new government figures, in a vindication of conservation efforts for the endangered species. 　Tigers once roamed throughout central, eastern and southern Asia, but have lost nearly 95 percent of their historical range in the past century. India is currently home to 75 percent of the world’s tigers, and the country declared its population of the big cats had risen to 3,167 in April after a camera-based sur

Aug. 25, 2023

[Graphic News] Close to half of Americans favor TikTok ban: poll

Close to half of American adults support a ban on the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos survey that also asked questions about national security concerns and China. TikTok, owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance and used by tens of millions of Americans, has faced calls from US lawmakers for a nationwide ban over concerns about possible Chinese government influence. Some 47 percent of respondents to the two-day poll, which concluded on Aug. 15, said they at l

Aug. 23, 2023

Ukraine's Zelenskyy in Netherlands after US approved sending Dutch F-16 jets to Ukraine

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the Netherlands on Sunday, two days after the country said the United States had given its approval for Dutch and Danish authorities to deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine's air force. Zelenskyy is meeting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at a military air base in the southern city of Eindhoven. The Ukrainian leader was in Sweden a day earlier. The U.S. approval Friday for the Netherlands and Denmark to d

Aug. 20, 2023

Thousands flee raging wildfire, turning capital of Canada's Northwest Territories into ghost town

The capital of Canada's Northwest Territories was virtually deserted after nearly all the residents of the city of just over 20,000 fled as a huge wildfire burned nearby. To the south, in British Columbia, thousands more people were told to leave their homes while firefighters battled a growing fire that set homes ablaze. Officials in Northwest Territories said Friday evening that about 19,000 people had left Yellowknife in less than 48 hours, with about 15,000 driving out in convoys and 3,

Aug. 19, 2023