UN rights council to hold May 27 session on Israel, Palestinians

GENEVA (AFP) -- The UN Human Rights Council said Thursday it would hold a special session on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, amid deadly violence between Israel and armed Palestinian groups in Gaza. The session, planned for next Thursday, will address "the grave human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem," the council said in a statement. The session was requested by Pakistan, which is the coordinator of the Organisat

World NewsMay 20, 2021

[Graphic News] US birth rate falls to lowest point in more than a century

　The US birth rate fell 4 percent last year, the largest single-year decrease in nearly 50 years, according to a government report being released. 　The rate dropped for moms of every major race and ethnicity, and in nearly age group, falling to the lowest point since federal health officials started tracking it more than a century ago. 　Births have been declining in younger women for years, as many postponed motherhood and had smaller families. 　The CDC report is based on a review of more

WorldMay 20, 2021

World Cup qualifying fixtures set for S. Korea

　Fixtures for South Korea‘s World Cup qualifying matches at home have been set. 　 　The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced Wednesday that South Korea, as the host of the remainder of the second Asian qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, will face Turkmenistan, Sri Lanka and Lebanon in Group H action in June. 　 　All matches will be played at Goyang Stadium in the city of Goyang, just northwest of Seoul. 　 　South Korea will play Turkmenistan at 8 p.m. on June 5, followed by

World NewsMay 19, 2021

India sets global record for daily coronavirus deaths

NEW DELHI (AP) --  India on Wednesday reported more coronavirus deaths in a single day than any other country at any time during the pandemic, while infections continued to spread through vast rural areas with weak health systems. The Health Ministry reported a record 4,529 deaths in the past 24 hours, driving India’s confirmed fatalities to 283,248. It also reported 267,334 new infections, as daily cases remained below 300,000 for the third consecutive day. The numbers are almost ce

World NewsMay 19, 2021

EU to reopen borders to fully vaccinated travellers

BRUSSELS (AFP) -- EU member states agreed Wednesday to reopen the bloc‘s borders to travellers who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, European sources said. Meeting in Brussels, diplomats also agreed to increase the level of new cases a country can hit before being declared unsafe -- a measure that would open up travel into the EU from more places. The recommendations will be adopted by EU ministers on Friday, they said. Currently, non-essential travel into the 27-memb

World NewsMay 19, 2021

Israeli police: 2 killed in strike launched from Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- A strike launched from Gaza on Tuesday killed two Thai workers inside a packaging plant in southern Israel, police said, as Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers continued to trade attacks throughout the day. The projectile attack Tuesday afternoon wounded another seven people in southern Israel, according to the Magen David Adom rescue service. The service had earlier said 10 people overall were wounded. It came as Palestinians across Israel and the occupied territories

World NewsMay 18, 2021

Spain, Morocco square off after 6,000 migrants arrive by sea

MADRID (AP) -- Spain deployed its military to the Moroccan border Tuesday as thousands of Moroccans walked or swam onto European soil for the second day in a row after Rabat loosened border controls in a diplomatic spat. Live footage on Spain's public broadcaster TVE showed dramatic scenes of soldiers carrying children in their arms and Red Cross personnel helping migrants who were emerging from the water shivering and exhausted. One unconscious woman laid on the sand before she was carrie

World NewsMay 18, 2021

[Graphic News] Global food price index climbs in April, highest since mid-2014

　Global food prices increased for the 11th consecutive month in April, hitting their highest level since May 2014, with sugar leading a rise on all the main indices, the United Nations food agency said. 　The Food and Agriculture Organization's food price index, which measures monthly changes for a box of cereal, oil seeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, averaged 120.9 points last month versus a revised 118.9 points in March. 　The March figure was previously 118.5 points. 　The Rome-based

WorldMay 18, 2021

WarnerMedia and Discovery to merge, forming streaming giant

  NEW YORK (AFP) -- US telecommunications firm AT&T announced Monday a merger between its WarnerMedia unit -- which owns CNN and HBO -- and Discovery media, creating a streaming giant that could compete with Netflix and Disney+. When the deal is finalized, AT&T will receive $43 billion and AT&T's shareholders will take stock representing 71 percent of the new company, with Discovery shareholders owning 29 percent. In a joint statement, the merger was described as creating &qu

World BusinessMay 17, 2021

Singapore shuts schools, Taiwan bars foreigners to battle outbreaks

SINGAPORE (AFP) -- Singapore will close schools from Wednesday as authorities warned new coronavirus strains such as the one first detected in India were affecting more children. Taiwan also shut schools in the capital Taipei to control an outbreak, and the island banned all foreigners from entry or transit for a month unless they had a residency card. Both governments have been tightening restrictions to fight a recent rise in cases, after remaining relatively unscathed during the pandemic co

World NewsMay 17, 2021

Israeli strikes kill 33, topple buildings in Gaza City

Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City flattened three buildings and killed at least 33 people Sunday, medics said, making it the deadliest single attack since heavy fighting broke out between Israel and the territory's militant Hamas rulers nearly a week ago. A rescuer could be seen shouting into a hole in the rubble. “Can you hear me?” he called out. “Are you OK?” Minutes later, first responders managed to pull a survivor out and carried him off on an orange stretcher. Th

World NewsMay 16, 2021

Singapore plans to vaccinate children under 16, minister says

Singapore plans to vaccinate children under 16 years old after a recent rise of Covid-19 infections among students in the island state, according to Education Minister Chan Chun Sing. The ministries of education and health are working out plans for the “vaccination of our students,” Chan wrote on his Facebook page. “Once the approval for use is granted, we will roll out vaccinations to those below 16.” The ministry ordered home learning for seven primary schools for th

World NewsMay 16, 2021

Islamic nations hold emergency summit on Israel-Gaza attacks

The 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation opened an emergency meeting Sunday over the heavy fighting between Israel and the Gaza Strip's militant Hamas rulers, the first major move among Mideast nations still grappling with how to address the conflict.  While the Arab League and organizations like the Saudi-based OIC have maintained their view that the Palestinians should have their own independent state, Israel recently has reached recognition deals with several of its members.

World NewsMay 16, 2021

[Graphic News] Korea accounts for 31% of global EV battery market in Q1

　Three South Korean electric vehicle battery makers accounted for 31 percent of the global market in the first quarter, but their market share has slipped since last year in the face of tougher competition from Chinese rivals, a market research firm said. 　The trio - LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK Innovation - supplied a combined 47.8 gigawatt-hour equivalents of EV batteries in the January-March period, up 127 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by SNE Research. 　

World BusinessMay 13, 2021

[Graphic News] Myanmar coup: 100 days of turmoil

　One hundred days have passed Tuesday, since the generals made their power grab and detaining civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1. 　In recent weeks, protests against the coup spread across the country and the military’s response has become increasingly brutal. 　Around 780 civilians have been killed, as security forces have sought to suppress near-daily protests with brutal crackdowns and live rounds.

WorldMay 12, 2021

[Graphic News] Hyundai loses top rank in FCEV market to Toyota in Q1

　South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor slipped to second place in the fuel cell electric vehicle market in the first quarter as Japanese rival Toyota clinched the top rank with the release of a new model, industry data showed. 　Global FCEV sales jumped 89.2 percent on-year to hit a record of nearly 4,000 units in the January-March period, mostly driven by strong sales of Toyota‘s second-generation Mirai model, according to the data by SNE Research. 　Toyota sold about 2,000 FCEVs in t

World BusinessMay 11, 2021

Elon Musk says he is first SNL host with Asperger's syndrome

Elon Musk kicked off his "Saturday Night Live" debut by declaring himself to be the first person with Asperger's syndrome to host the US comedy sketch show. "Or at least, the first person to admit it," he said. In his opening monologue, the eccentric tech entrepreneur behind Tesla and SpaceX offered an explanation for some of his past eyebrow-raising behavior. "Look, I know I say or post strange things but that's just how my brain works. To anyone I've offended I just

World NewsMay 9, 2021

Tokyo gives taste of what COVID era Olympic Games will be like

The Tokyo Olympics went off without a hitch. That is, at least, at a test event at the city’s National Stadium in preparation for the main spectacle. About 1,600 athletes, organizers and media got an early look Sunday at what the games will be like when they kick off on July 23. There was a full day of 100-meter heats, hammer throws and pole vaulting to make sure the Omega clocks, jumbo displays and robots on the field were working as they should. A key focus, however, was how such a lar

World NewsMay 9, 2021

British royal offers to sell access to Putin: report

Queen Elizabeth's cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, has been caught offering investors access to the Kremlin in exchange for personal gain, according to a Sunday Times and Channel 4 investigation. The embarassing claims come at a time of disastrous relations between London and Moscow, notably after the 2018 poisoning of a former Russian spy in England. Prince Michael told undercover reporters posing as investors from South Korea in a virtual meeting that for 10,000 (11,500 euros) a day he could

World NewsMay 9, 2021

[Newsmaker] China says rocket debris landed in Indian Ocean west of Maldives

BEIJING (Reuters) -- Remnants of China's biggestrocket landed in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, with the bulk ofits components destroyed upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, according to Chinese state media, ending days ofspeculation over where the debris would hit. The coordinates given by state media, citing the ChinaManned Space Engineering Office, put the point of impact in the ocean, west of the Maldives archipelago. Debris from the Long March 5B has had some people lookingwarily skywa

World NewsMay 9, 2021