123 countries, territories restricting entry from S. Korea over coronavirus concerns

A total of 123 countries and territories were restricting entry or enforcing tougher quarantine measures for people from South Korea over coronavirus concerns on Thursday, the foreign ministry said. As of 2 p.m., 47 countries and territories were planning to impose or were enforcing an entry ban on people who have been in Korea at least in the past two weeks. Malaysia was moved to this list as it was expanding the scope of its entry ban from parts of Korea to the entire country, effective fro

Foreign AffairsMarch 12, 2020

NBA suspends season until further notice, over coronavirus

MIAMI (AP) -- The NBA has suspended its season "until further notice" after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, a move that came only hours after the majority of the league's owners were leaning toward playing games without fans in arenas. Now there will be no games at all, at least for the time being. A person with knowledge of the situation said the Jazz player who tested positive was center Rudy Gobert. The person spoke to The Associated Press o

World NewsMarch 12, 2020

NBA to suspend games after Jazz player tests positive for coronavirus

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- The NBA will suspend play starting on Thursday after a Utah Jazz player preliminarily tested positive for COVID-19, the league said Wednesday. The test result was reported shortly before Utah's game against the Thunder in Oklahoma City was to begin, and that game was abruptly postponed. The league said the affected player was not at the arena. (AFP)

World NewsMarch 12, 2020

[Newsmaker] Tom Hanks announces positive test for coronavirus

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson have both tested positive for coronavirus, the US actor said Wednesday. Hanks, 63, said he and Wilson came down with a fever while in Australia, where he is set to film a new movie about the life of Elvis Presley. "To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the coronavirus, and were found to be positive," he wrote in a statement posted to Instagram. Hanks is the first major Hollywood star to

World NewsMarch 12, 2020

S. Korea reports 114 more cases, total at 7,869

South Korea’s coronavirus cases climbed by 114 to 7,869 in the past 24 hours on Thursday, the lowest daily increase in nearly three weeks, as health authorities grapple with mass cluster infection cases in the country’s capital and surrounding cities. Six more people died Wednesday, bringing Korea’s death toll to 66, according to data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the 114 new cases across the country, 19 new cases were reported in Seoul and

Social AffairsMarch 12, 2020

Trump says US may reevaluate travel warning on S. Korea

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his administration may reevaluate the US travel warning on South Korea as the coronavirus situation in the country improves. Trump made the remark during an address to the nation held at the White House, after announcing a ban on travel from Europe, except the United Kingdom, to the United States for 30 days starting Friday at midnight. "At the same time we are monitoring the situation in China and South Korea, and as their sit

Foreign AffairsMarch 12, 2020

In battle against virus, Trump restricts travel from Europe

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Taking dramatic action, President Donald Trump sharply restricted passenger travel from 26 European nations to the US and moved to ease the economic cost of a viral pandemic that is roiling global financial markets and disrupting the daily lives of Americans. Trump, in a rare Oval Office address to the nation Wednesday night, said the monthlong restriction on travel would begin late Friday, at midnight. After days of playing down the coronavirus threat, he blamed Europe for

World NewsMarch 12, 2020

Seoul stocks open lower on US losses, WHO declaration

Seoul stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking renewed market turmoil on Wall Street, sparked by the UN health body's declaration that the new coronavirus is a pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 19.70 points, or 1.03 percent, to 1,8888.57 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Wednesday, the KOSPI plunged nearly 3 percent to 1,908.27 points, the lowest level since Feb. 17, 2016. The plunge was driven by lack of clarity from the planned US measures to cushion the econ

MarketMarch 12, 2020

PM warns about potential 'super transmission' of coronavirus in metropolitan areas

South Korea's prime minister voiced concerns about potential "super transmissions" of the new coronavirus in Seoul and its adjacent areas Thursday, calling for strengthened quarantine efforts. The number of COVID-19 cases linked to a Seoul call center has reached at least 100 as the biggest cluster infection in the capital and its surrounding metropolitan areas, home to some 2.5 million people. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun expressed concerns about potential "super transmission

Social AffairsMarch 12, 2020

Exports of agricultural goods down 13% in Jan. amid coronavirus outbreak

South Korea's exports of agricultural goods tumbled a whopping 13 percent in January from a year earlier as the global outbreak of the new coronavirus dealt a harsh blow to the country's efforts to penetrate deeper into Asian countries. Outbound shipments of agricultural products reached $692 million in January, down from $786 million posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the state-run Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. Exports of fresh goods tumbled 14.4 percent o

EconomyMarch 12, 2020

Will heat stop the spread of new virus? No one really knows

JAKARTA (AP) -- As outbreaks of the new coronavirus that first emerged in China continue to spread in more than 100 countries -- particularly those experiencing winter -- one of the biggest unanswered questions is how it will behave in warmer weather. Like influenza, the new disease is a respiratory infection belonging to a family of viruses that typically survive longer in colder environments. Most people experience only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, but older

World NewsMarch 12, 2020

Juventus defender Rugani tests positive for coronavirus

MILAN (AFP) -- Juventus and Italy defender Daniele Rugani on Wednesday became the first Serie A footballer to test positive for coronavirus, the Italian champions confirmed. The 25-year-old "is currently asymptomatic," the Turin giants said, but the club is "currently activating all the isolation procedures required by law, including those who have had contact with him." Rugani is the first top-flight footballer to fall victim to the virus which has killed 827 in Italy and

World NewsMarch 12, 2020

Coronavirus cases at govt. complex spark worries over cluster infection

Seven more public servants working at South Korea's main government complex have been infected with the new coronavirus, officials said Thursday, increasing the number of cases there to 14. Six new COVID-19 cases were reported from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries based in the main government building in the administrative city of Sejong, 130 kilometers south of Seoul. The number of patients from the oceans ministry totaled 11. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs also reported

Social AffairsMarch 12, 2020

Trump to make primetime address on US coronavirus response

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President Donald Trump will make a primetime address Wednesday on the coronavirus crisis, his latest attempt to counter criticism of his response to the growing health and economic fallout from the pandemic. "I'll be making a statement later on tonight as to what I have decided to do," Trump told reporters at the White House. It was scheduled from the Oval Office for 9:00 pm (0100 GMT). Trump said he would explain his plan for tackling both the health crisis, as

World NewsMarch 12, 2020

US, UK troops among 3 dead in Iraq rocket attack as US-led coalition responds

BAGHDAD (AFP) -- An American soldier, a British soldier and one US contractor were killed Wednesday, a US official said, in the deadliest rocket attack in years on an Iraqi military base hosting foreign troops. The attack threatens a dangerous escalation, with suspected US-led coalition air strikes promptly targeting Iran-aligned Iraqi fighters in neighbouring Syria, a war monitor said. At least 18 fighters were reported killed. On Wednesday evening, a volley of 18 rockets hit the Taji

World NewsMarch 12, 2020

WHO labels coronavirus a 'pandemic' as Europe scrambles to contain it

GENEVA (AFP) -- The World Health Organization called the new coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on Wednesday, issuing a grim warning that the global spread and severity of the illness was due to "alarming levels of inaction". The call came as Europe faced a mounting number of cases -- including a slew of new countries clocking first deaths -- prompting governments to roll out increasingly tough measures to slow the rapid spread of the virus. The number of cases across the globe has ris

World NewsMarch 12, 2020

Moon makes first visit to virus control headquarters

President Moon Jae-in visited the disease control headquarters Wednesday to encourage health officials fighting the new coronavirus. Moon visited the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) in Cheongju, 140 kilometers south of Seoul, for the first time since the nation reported the outbreak of COVID-19 on Jan. 20. Moon commended the health authorities' fast testing and treatment, pointing out that Korea's containment efforts are receiving international recognition, his spokesma

PoliticsMarch 11, 2020

[팟캐스트] (343) 수도권 집단 감염 / 위기에 처한 신천지

  진행자: 임현수 Kevin Kevin Lee Selzer 1.   S. Korea on edge over largest yet mass infections in Seoul 아이튠즈(아이폰): https://itunes.apple.com/kr/podcast/koliaheleoldeu-paskaeseuteu/id686406253?mt=2 팟빵 (안드로이드): http://www.podbbang.com/ch/6638 [1] Seoul’s biggest-yet cluster of infections emerged in South Korea’s capital Tuesday, keeping health authorities on their toes despite the number of newly discovered infections slowing for the fourth consecutive day. *cluster: 무리 *

PodcastMarch 11, 2020

Italy announces 25b euros package to fight coronavirus

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Wednesday that Rome was allocating 25 billion euros ($28.3 billion) to fight  the novel coronavirus outbreak that has killed 631 people in Italy. "We have allocated an emergency sum of 25 billion euros," Conte told reporters during a break in a meeting on the government's response to the rapidly escalating health crisis. The entire sum "will not all be used immediately," Conte added.  Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri said It

World NewsMarch 11, 2020

Korea's market for pop culture expands nearly 20% in 2018

The South Korean market for popular culture content including K-pop and K-drama expanded nearly 20 percent in 2018 from two years earlier on a surge in overseas sales, a government report showed Wednesday. According to the biennial tally of the popular culture market, compiled by the Korea Creative Content Agency and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the combined revenue of the industry came to 6.42 trillion won (US$5.4 billion) in 2018, up 19.5 percent from about 5.37 trillion won

K-popMarch 11, 2020