[Graphic News] Finland world's happiest country despite pandemic

　COVID-19 has done little to alter the ranking of the world’s happiest countries, with Finland at the top for a fourth year running, an annual UN-sponsored report said. 　The researchers behind the World Happiness Report, now in its ninth year, used Gallup data asking people in 149 countries to rate their own happiness, also taking into account measures such as GDP, social support, personal freedom and levels of corruption to give each nation a happiness score, which is an average of t

WorldApril 8, 2021

GameStop finally announces a share sale

Two months after a market phenomenon took shares of GameStop to the moon, the video game retailer said Monday that it will sell up to 3.5 million of its shares with the price still vastly elevated. The company said the shares will be sold through an "at-the-market" offering, which lets a publicly traded company raise capital over time. A bizarre stand-off between hedge funds that had heavily shorted GameStop, betting that the price of shares would fall, and smaller investors who cha

World NewsApril 5, 2021

Myanmar crackdown death toll passes 500

YANGON (AFP) -- The death toll in the Myanmar military‘s crackdown on protesters has passed 500, as armed rebel groups on Tuesday threatened the junta with retaliation if the bloodshed does not stop. 　World powers have ramped up their condemnation of the military’s campaign against the anti-coup movement that is demanding the restoration of the elected government and the release of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. 　Washington suspended a trade pact with Myanmar and UN chief Anto

World NewsMarch 30, 2021

Berlin city halts AstraZeneca jabs for under-60s

BERLIN (AFP) -- The city of Berlin on Tuesday suspended vaccinations with the AstraZeneca jab for under-60s, amid reports of further cases of blood clots among people who had received it. 　“We are provisionally stopping vaccinations with AstraZeneca for under-60s,” said the German capital‘s health minister Dilek Kalayci, adding that it was a “precautionary measure” while the city awaited an official recommendation from federal health authorities.

World NewsMarch 30, 2021

China's smartphone maker Xiaomi to invest $10b in electric vehicles

BEIJING (AFP) - Smartphone maker Xiaomi on Tuesday became the latest Chinese company to enter the burgeoning electric vehicle industry in the world‘s largest car market, as it announced a $10 billion investment over the next decade. 　The company, which is already among the biggest smartphone makers in the world, said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange that it will set up a subsidiary for its smart electric vehicle business, with a 10 billion yuan ($1.52 billion) initial phase o

World NewsMarch 30, 2021

Thirty Years of the Southern Common Market

The Southern Common Market (Mercosur) was founded upon the signing of the Treaty of Asuncion in 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The bloc is a historic achievement in the region and one of the major milestones in Latin American economic integration, which was intended to overcome the previous logic of rivalry between the countries and establish cooperation dynamics. With a population of almost 300 million and an area of about 15 million square kilometers (50 percent larger than

World NewsMarch 29, 2021

[Explainer] Suez Canal block could hit product supply chains

(AP) -- The cargo ship blocking the Suez Canal is holding up traffic that carries nearly $10 billion worth of goods every day, so a quick clearing of the logjam is key to limiting the economic fallout. Efforts continued Thursday to dislodge the Ever Given container ship and restore traffic on the critical man-made waterway that connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and provides a shipping shortcut between Europe and Asia. ___ HOW VITAL IS THE CANAL TO SHIPPING? About 10% of all global tr

World NewsMarch 26, 2021

[Graphic News] UAE now among world‘s fastest-growing tax havens

　The United Arab Emirates, a magnet for the globe’s ultrarich, has also emerged as one of the fastest-growing corporate tax havens, according to a study that highlighted a $200 billion-plus money flow to the country. 　The index by the Tax Justice Network, which highlights countries that attract companies to shrink their tax bills, added the United Arab Emirates to its top-10 ranking that includes Switzerland and Bermuda. 　Britain’s offshore territories of the British Virgin Isl

WorldMarch 25, 2021

Intel announces Arizona expansion as chipmaker seeks footing

CHANDLER (AP) -- Intel announced Tuesday it will build two new factories in Arizona and outsource more of its production as a new CEO looks to turnaround the struggling chipmaker. The California-based company says the Arizona expansion will cost about $20 billion and create 3,000 permanent jobs as Intel builds a foundry business to provide chips for other firms. More construction in the United States, Europe and elsewhere could be announced over the next year, CEO Pat Gelsinger said in a

World BusinessMarch 24, 2021

[Graphic News] Samsung takes second place in connected TV devices market in Q4

　Samsung Electronics was relegated to the runner-up spot in the market for connected TV devices, which includes smart TVs, streamers and gaming consoles, in the fourth quarter of 2020, a report showed. 　Samsung, the world’s largest TV maker, shipped 11.9 million connected TV devices in the October-December period, up 2 percent from a quarter earlier, accounting for a 10.9 percent market share, according to industry researcher Strategy Analytics. 　Despite the increase in sales, Sams

World BusinessMarch 22, 2021

Pope decries shame of racism, like 'virus' lurking in wait

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Francis on Sunday denounced racism, likening it to a virus that lurks in waiting and only to emerge and show that “our supposed social progress is not as real or definitive” as people think. Francis tweeted on racism on the date that the United Nations marks as International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The pope likened racism to a "a virus that quickly mutates and, instead of disappearing, goes into hiding, and lurks in waiting.

World NewsMarch 21, 2021

Ikea France goes on trial for spying on staff

VERSAILLES, France (AFP) -- The French branch of Swedish retailing giant Ikea goes on trial Monday accused of running an elaborate system to spy on staff and job applicants using private detectives and police officers. Ikea France, as a corporate entity, will be in the dock as well as several of its former executives who risk prison terms. French investigative publications Le Canard Enchaine and Mediapart uncovered the surveillance scheme in 2012, and prosecutors got on the case after the For

World BusinessMarch 21, 2021

China urges unhurried public to get vaccinated against COVID

BEIJING (AP) -- In China, the problem doesn't seem to be a shortage of vaccine. Rather, with the COVID-19 outbreak largely under control at home, not enough people want to get the shot. Chinese health officials appealed to the public Sunday to get inoculated. They also said that with vaccination not a guarantee against infection they would still require anyone arriving in China to quarantine for 14 days, even if they have received a vaccine. "China will continue the current prevention co

World NewsMarch 21, 2021

President Biden says Atlanta shootings 'very troubling'

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday offered condolences to the families of victims in deadly shootings in Atlanta, calling the incident "very troubling." "The investigation is ongoing. And the question of motivation is still to be determined," Biden said after speaking to the US. attorney general and director fo the Federal Bureau of Investigation about their ongoing investigation of the shootings on the previous day that killed eight people, including four people of Korean

World NewsMarch 17, 2021

Eight killed in Atlanta-area spa shootings

ATLANTA (AFP) -- Eight people, most of them Asian women, were killed in shootings at three different spas in the US state of Georgia Tuesday, with a 21-year-old white man in custody on suspicion of staging all three attacks, police said. The shootings came with many Asian-Americans already on edge following a recent spike in hate crimes against the community, and triggered immediate fears that Asian-run businesses may have been deliberately targeted. Four of the victims were killed at Young's

World NewsMarch 17, 2021

[Graphic News] Hong Kong removed from economic freedom ranking it once topped

　Hong Kong has been removed from an annual index of the world’s freest economies because the think tank that compiles it said the city was now directly controlled by Beijing. 　The announcement is a reputational blow for Hong Kong and comes as Beijing ramps up its bid to quash dissent after huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019. 　The Heritage Foundation, a conservative US think tank, publishes its annual Index of Economic Freedom, ranking countries and terri

WorldMarch 17, 2021

Vatican says church cannot bless same-sex unions

ROME (AFP) -- The Vatican on Monday said the Catholic Church does not have the power to bless same-sex unions despite their "positive elements", calling it impossible for God to "bless sin". The Vatican's powerful office responsible for church doctrine, The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), issued a response to the question, "Does the Church have the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex?" "Negative," read the r

World NewsMarch 15, 2021

AstraZeneca Shot’s European Suspensions Could Delay Vaccination Goal

The suspended rollout of AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine in some European Union countries over concerns about possible side effects could delay a goal of immunizing three-quarters of their populations by as much as a month. Limiting the use of the AstraZeneca shot as a precautionary measure could push back efforts to hit that threshold by at least a couple of weeks and potentially longer -- to September instead of August -- according to London-based research firm Airfinity Ltd. While

World NewsMarch 15, 2021

Myanmar declares martial law in Yangon townships after deadly day

YANGON (AFP) -- Myanmar's junta late Sunday imposed martial law in two densely populated Yangon townships after at least 18 protesters were killed in one of the deadliest days since the February 1 coup. Sunday's violence brings the number of people killed in mass protests since the military wrenched civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power to around 100, though activists and rights groups believe it could be higher. The junta has repeatedly justified its power grab by alleging widespread el

World NewsMarch 15, 2021

[Graphic News] Growing number of Americans identify as LGBT

　A growing number of Americans identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, a Gallup poll indicates. 　The survey found that 5.6 percent of Americans identified as LGBT in 2020, while 86.7 percent said they were heterosexual or straight and 7.6 percent chose not to answer the question. 　In 2017, the last time Gallup asked the question, 4.5 percent of Americans said they were LGBT. In 2012, the first year the question was asked, 3.5 percent identified as LGBT. (UPI)

WorldMarch 15, 2021