Most Popular
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Qoo10 liquidity crisis sparks massive complaints, fears of wider damage
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Yoon urges municipalities to embrace foreigners
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What is happening at Hybe?
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S. Korea to consent to Japan's Sado mines gaining World Heritage status: official
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Korea unveils tax reform bill to spur economy
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Actor’s excessive airport security sparks probe into human rights violations
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Man who let his father die due to financial difficulties to be released on parole
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Actor Yoo Ah-in accused of sexual attack
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S. Korea, China shifting from tensions to cooperation: Seoul
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LG Electronics achieves record earnings in Q2
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Disney World restaurant, entertainment complex to reopen
ORLANDO (AP) -- Walt Disney World plans to reopen its restaurant and entertainment area later this month, though the theme parks and hotels will remain closed. Disney Springs vice president Matt Simon posted Thursday on the official Disney Parks Blog that the area will reopen May 20 with enhanced safety measures to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Those measures include increased cleaning procedures, the use of appropriate face coverings by both cast members and guests, limited-co
May 8, 2020
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France's early COVID-19 case may hold clues to pandemic's start
LONDON (Reuters) -- A study by French scientists which suggests a man was infected with COVID-19 as early as Dec. 27, nearly a month before France confirmed its first cases, could be important in assessing when and where the new coronavirus emerged, experts said on Tuesday. A man identified as the patient told a French TV station that he was surprised to learn that he had contracted COVID-19 since he thought he had flu at the time. French researchers led by Yves Cohen, head of resuscitation a
May 6, 2020
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Trump urges China to reveal all about origin of coronavirus
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- US President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged China to be transparent about the origins of the novel coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than a quarter of a million people since it started in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. Trump, speaking before leaving on a trip to Arizona, said the United States would release a report detailing the origins of the virus, but gave no details or timeline. “We will be reporting very definitively over a period of time,
May 6, 2020
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Virus-induced waste piles up, threatening environment
Wearing masks has become a “new normal” due to the COVID-19 outbreak. One side effect is the waste resulting from the growing use of face masks. For instance, disposable masks have washed up on the shores of Hong Kong’s Soko Islands, raising new concerns. Gary Stokes of marine conservation organization Ocean’s Asia said he picked up 70 masks on a 100-meter stretch of one beach, only to find 30 more a week later. According to Stokes, the masks appear to have come from
May 6, 2020
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[Newsmaker] WHO says has no proof from US on 'speculative' Wuhan lab claims
GENEVA (AFP) -- The World Health Organization said Monday that Washington had provided no evidence to support "speculative" claims by the US president that the new coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab. "We have not received any data or specific evidence from the United States government relating to the purported origin of the virus -- so from our perspective, this remains speculative," WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told a virtual briefing. Scientists believe the
May 5, 2020
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[Graphic News] Military spending saw biggest increase in a decade in 2019
Global military expenditure saw its biggest uptick in a decade in 2019, researchers said, marking the first year two Asian countries were among the top three spenders. The world’s nations spent a combined $1.9 trillion on their militaries in 2019, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Compared with 2018, that represented annual growth of 3.6 percent, the highest increase since 2010. (AFP)
May 5, 2020
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Pompeo: There is evidence virus came from Wuhan lab
WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday stepped up a US campaign to hold China accountable for the spread of the deadly coronavirus, asserting there is "enormous evidence" the virus originated in a laboratory in the city of Wuhan. The high-security bio-containment facility, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, has called such claims "impossible". Pompeo, speaking on ABC's "This Week," did not elaborate on what he also described as "significa
May 4, 2020
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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[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
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[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
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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
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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
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[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
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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
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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