Biden arrives at US Capitol for inauguration as 46th president

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris arrived at the US Capitol on Wednesday for their official inauguration ceremony. Biden, 78, is to be sworn in at noon (1700 GMT) by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts as the 46th president of the United States. Harris, 56, will be the first woman to become vice president. Donald Trump left Washington three hours before Biden's swearing-in, the first American president to skip the inauguration of his succ

World NewsJan. 21, 2021

[Graphic News] LG Energy Solution ranks second in EV battery market in January to November

　South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution was the second-biggest supplier of electric vehicle batteries in the first 11 months of 2020 following China’s CATL, according to a market research firm. 　LG Energy Solution, which spun off from LG Chem earlier this month, shipped 26.4 gigawatt-hour equivalents of EV batteries in the January-November period, accounting for 22.6 percent of the global market, according to the data by SNE Research. 　China’s CATL supplied 24.4 GWh eq

World BusinessJan. 20, 2021

Biden's top diplomat vows US will lead but restore alliances

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Antony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden's choice to be secretary of state, will vow Tuesday that the United States will "outcompete" a rising China while reviving frayed alliances, in a sea change from Donald Trump's go-it-alone "America First" approach. On the eve of Biden's inauguration, Blinken was set to say at his confirmation hearing that the United States will seek to remain the pre-eminent global power but renew cooperation on common challenges

World NewsJan. 19, 2021

[Newsmaker] Biden to be inaugurated amid pandemic, worst political turmoil

WASHINGTON -- Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated as the next US president this week in probably a never-before-seen ceremony that will highlight the dangers from the worst pandemic and a political divide facing the United States. Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the US on Wednesday. As is customary, the inauguration ceremony will be held at around noon on the steps of the US Capitol, administered by the chief justice of the US Supreme Court. The ceremony, however, will be diffe

World NewsJan. 19, 2021

2020 records one of three warmest years ever: WMO

The year 2020 was one of the three warmest years ever on record, the World Meteorological Organization, a world weather body under the United Nations, said Thursday. “The confirmation by the World Meteorological Organization that 2020 was one of the warmest years on record is yet another stark reminder of the relentless pace of climate change, which is destroying lives and livelihoods across our planet,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The UN chief pointed out that th

World NewsJan. 15, 2021

[Graphic News] Qantas gets top rank in airline safety again

　Qantas once again topped the list of safest airlines for 2021 as rated by AirlineRatings.com, the airline safety monitoring company said. 　The Australian airline has consistently maintained safety standards in the categories monitored for 385 airlines since 2013, the company said in a statement. 　Qantas, the world’s oldest continuously operating airline, has been a “clear leader” over the past 100 years in safety protocols, and a pioneer in operations and safety standard

WorldJan. 14, 2021

First US federal execution of woman in decades

An American woman was put to death by lethal injection Wednesday, becoming the first female to be executed by US federal authorities in nearly seven decades. Lisa Montgomery's execution came in the final days of the government of US President Donald Trump, which pushed forward with her execution despite a legal battle that the Supreme Court ended with a ruling in the early hours of Wednesday. Montgomery, 52, murdered an expectant mother to steal her baby, though she had sought a stay of execut

World NewsJan. 13, 2021

Astronomers find oldest, most distant quasar and black hole in universe

The oldest and most distant quasar and black hole in the universe have been discovered, a team of astronomers led by the University of Arizona said Tuesday. The newly discovered quasar and black hole are 13 billion light-years from Earth. As the most energetic objects in the universe, quasars are tremendously big and bright celestial objects that are located at the center of galaxies. Dubbed J0313-1806, the most distant quasar dates back to 670 million years after the Big Bang, when the un

World NewsJan. 13, 2021

Volkswagen triples electric car sales ahead of climate rules

Automaker Volkswagen tripled sales of battery-only cars in 2020 despite the pandemic as its new electric compact ID.3 came on the market ahead of tough new European Union limits on auto emissions. It's an early sign of what will likely be an upcoming year of increasing market share for electric cars as EU regulations drive their adoption despite the economic upheaval caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, and as the EU's largest economy, Germany, sees more demand. Volkswagen said Tuesday its name

World BusinessJan. 12, 2021

WHO rules out virus herd immunity in 2021 despite vaccines

The World Health Organization has warned that herd immunity for COVID-19 will not be achieved this year despite the vaccines already being rolled out in a number of countries. “We are not going to achieve any levels of population immunity or herd immunity in 2021,” WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said Monday during a video press conference. “Even if it happens in a couple of pockets in a few countries, it’s not going to protect people across the world.” H

World NewsJan. 12, 2021

[Graphic News] New York, New Jersey top 2020 list of outbound moves

　New Jersey and New York had the highest exodus amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study shows. 　Ability to work remotely during the pandemic, concerns for personal health and wellbeing, and desire to be closer to family were among the reasons people citied for moving, according to United Van Lines moving and relocation company survey data. 　Newark, New Jersey, and New York City both had 72 percent outbound moves, and another major metropolitan area, Chicago, Illnois, had 68 percent outboun

WorldJan. 12, 2021

Massive power outage leaves Pakistan in the dark

ISLAMABAD (AP) -- A major technical fault in Pakistan's power generation and distribution system caused a massive power outage that plunged the country into darkness overnight, the energy minister said. Hours after the late Saturday outage, Energy Minister Omar Ayub said on Twitter that power was being restored in phases, starting with Islamabad. He said later Sunday that power had been restored to much of the country. The blackout was initially reported on social media by residents of major

World NewsJan. 10, 2021

Pompeo voids restrictions on diplomatic contacts with Taiwan

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Saturday that the State Department is voiding longstanding restrictions on how US diplomats and others have contact with their counterparts in Taiwan, another move that is expected to upset China as the Trump administration winds to an end. The Trump administration has sought to strengthen bilateral relations with Taiwan. It announced Thursday that UN Ambassador Kelly Craft would go to Taiwan, a move that sparked sharp criticism from B

World NewsJan. 10, 2021

German virus deaths top 40,000 as Merkel warns of 'hardest weeks'

BERLIN (AFP) -- The total number of Germany's coronavirus deaths crossed 40,000 on Sunday, as Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the coming weeks would be "the hardest" yet. Germany recorded 465 deaths over the past 24 hours, the Robert Koch Institute for disease control said, raising the toll since the start of the pandemic to 40,343. More than 1.9 million people have been infected so far, with almost 17,000 new cases added since Saturday. In her weekly video message on Saturday,

World NewsJan. 10, 2021

[Newsmaker] Indonesia jet carrying 62 goes missing on domestic flight

JAKARTA (AP) -- A jet carrying 62 people lost contact with air traffic controllers minutes after taking off from Indonesia’s capital on a domestic flight on Saturday, and debris found by fishermen was being examined to see if it was from the missing plane, officials said. Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said Sriwijaya Air’s Flight SJ182 was delayed for an hour before it took off at 2:36 p.m. The Boeing 737-500 disappeared from radar four minutes later, after the pilot

World NewsJan. 10, 2021

China says WHO Wuhan visit preparations ongoing

BEIJING (AFP) -- China confirmed Saturday that preparations were still ongoing for a World Health Organization mission to Wuhan to investigate the origins of Covid-19, following a rare rebuke from the UN body over a delay to the long-planned trip. The comments came after the WHO chief said on Tuesday he was “very disappointed” that Beijing had yet to finalise permission even as the team of experts had begun travelling to China to explore the beginnings of the virus, which first emer

World NewsJan. 9, 2021

Biden calls Trump 'unfit' but doesn't endorse impeachment

WILMINGTON (AP) -- President-elect Joe Biden says that President Donald Trump isn't “fit for the job,” but he repeatedly refused to endorse growing Democratic calls to impeach him a second time. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to members of her chamber that lawmakers could move as early as next week to impeach Trump for inciting a violent mob that overran the US Capitol if the president didn’t “immediately” resign. Pelosi and Democratic Senate leader C

World NewsJan. 9, 2021

Asian shares climb on Wall Street rally, stimulus hopes

Asian shares were mostly higher Friday on hopes for additional economic stimulus after President-elect Joe Biden takes office.  A new state of emergency in the Tokyo region to combat surging coronavirus cases did little to dampen market optimism. The benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 2.4 percent to close at 28,139.03, its highest finish in more than 30 years.  The emergency declaration, announced by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga for Tokyo and nearby areas, asks people to stay home and ref

World NewsJan. 8, 2021

[Newsmaker] Korean American lawmaker helps 'clean up' tarnished US Capitol

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ), a Korean American congressman, received wide attention and praise on Thursday for helping clean up the mess from the previous day's insurrection at the US Capitol. Thousands of angry protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday while the Senate and the House of Representatives were trying to certify the outcome of the Nov. 3 presidential election. One person was shot to death while three others died of medical issues, while many protesters breac

World NewsJan. 8, 2021

Mob storms US Capitol as Trump accused of 'coup'

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Donald Trump's supporters stormed a session of Congress held Wednesday to certify Joe Biden's election win, triggering unprecedented chaos and violence at the heart of American democracy and accusations the president was attempting a coup. Vowing not to be deterred, lawmakers resumed business after dark and voted down the first challenge to Biden's win, with several Trump loyalists reversing course in the wake of the violence that drew shock around the world. Egged on

World NewsJan. 7, 2021