[Graphic News] No. of S. Korean students in US shrinks amid pandemic

　The number of South Korean students in the United States dropped this year, a US report showed, amid the coronavirus pandemic that has led to a plunge in the number of travelers between the two countries. 　However, the number of US students in Korea has jumped sharply over the same period, according to the report from the US State Department. 　In the 2019-2020 school year, the number of Korean students enrolled in US schools came to 49,809, down 4.7 percent from a year earlier, according

WorldNov. 25, 2020

Biden transition OK'd to start as Trump runs out of options

WASHINGTON (AP) - The federal government recognized President-elect Joe Biden as the “apparent winner” of the Nov. 3 election, formally starting the transition of power after President Donald Trump spent weeks testing the boundaries of American democracy. Trump relented after suffering yet more legal and procedural defeats in his seemingly futile effort to overturn the election with baseless claims of fraud. Trump still refused to concede and vowed to continue to fight in

World NewsNov. 24, 2020

EU announces latest vaccine contract with Moderna

BRUSSELS (AFP) - The EU said Tuesday it would sign a sixth contract for an upcoming coronavirus vaccine, this time for up to 160 million doses of a jab developed by US firm Moderna. “According to the results of clinical trials, this vaccine could be highly effective against Covid-19,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “Once the vaccine is indeed proven as safe and effective, every member state will receive it at the same time on a pro rata basis,”

World NewsNov. 24, 2020

GSA ascertains Joe Biden as apparent winner of US election: transition team

WASHINGTON -- The US General Services Administration (GSA) on Monday ascertained Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, as the apparent winners of the US presidential election, Biden's transition team said. "The GSA Administrator has ascertained President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as the apparent winners of the election, providing the incoming administration with the resources and support necessary to carry out a smooth and peaceful transfer of power,&q

World NewsNov. 24, 2020

Americans defy virus guidelines for high-risk Thanksgiving

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Busy airports and serpentine queues at testing sites: many Americans plan to celebrate Thanksgiving with extended family Thursday despite authorities warning they risk exacerbating the coronavirus pandemic engulfing the country. Stopping short of issuing an outright ban, the US government's health protection agency has for the first time called on Americans not to travel for the annual holiday, which sees families get together over turkey, yams and cranberry sauce and for many

World NewsNov. 24, 2020

[Graphic News] Paris, Zurich and HK world’s most expensive cities

　Paris and Switzerland’s Zurich tied Hong Kong as the world’s most expensive cities this year as the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the prices of everyday items, according to a report from the Economist Intelligence Unit. 　Singapore fell to fourth place as foreign workers left the country after losing their jobs. 　The research was based on the prices of 138 everyday goods and services in around 130 cities worldwide.

World BusinessNov. 24, 2020

Biden names Antony Blinken as new secretary of state

WASHINGTON -- US President-elect Joe Biden on Monday tapped former Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken to be his first secretary of state in a pre-inauguration nomination of five other top security officials that included national security adviser. Jake Sullivan, a senior policy adviser to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was tapped the new national security adviser, while Alejandro Mayorkas, former deputy secretary of homeland security, was named the new head of the Department o

World NewsNov. 24, 2020

Hong Kong activists including Joshua Wong in custody after guilty protest plea

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Three young Hong Kong dissidents including Joshua Wong were remanded into custody on Monday after pleading guilty to inciting a rally during last year's pro-democracy protests, deepening the crackdown against Beijing's critics. Hong Kong was convulsed by seven straight months of huge and often violent democracy rallies last year in which millions took to the streets. Beijing has refused demands for free elections and authorities have pursued democracy supporters with crimin

WorldNov. 23, 2020

AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine 70% effective at tackling coronavirus

LONDON (AFP) -- A coronavirus vaccine developed by drug firm AstraZeneca and Oxford University has shown 70 percent effectiveness in trials involved 23,000 people, they said in a statement on Monday. The announcement comes after other trials of drugs developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna announced effectiveness above 90 percent. The results ranged between 62 and 90 percent efficacy depending on the vaccine dosage, according to Monday's statement. AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot s

WorldNov. 23, 2020

US hopes to start virus vaccines in December

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The United States hopes to begin coronavirus vaccinations in early December, a top government health official said Sunday, the latest positive news to emerge even as cases surge across the worst-hit nation and elsewhere around the globe. The beginning of vaccinations could be a crucial shift in the battle against a virus that has claimed more than 1.4 million lives worldwide, including 255,000 just in the US, since emerging from China late last year. Encouraging results fro

World NewsNov. 23, 2020

Dealings possible with US despite 'crimes,' Iran says

TEHRAN -- The "crimes" committed by the United States against Iran do not prevent "carefully considered" exchanges from taking place, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said Sunday. "The future of relations between Iran and the United States is not simple," Saeed Khatibzadeh acknowledged at a press conference in Tehran, as President Hassan Rouhani's government makes signs of apparent overtures to US president-elect Joe Biden. "The United States has committed

World NewsNov. 22, 2020

Trump hit with new blow in bid to overturn vote results

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- A Pennsylvania judge on Saturday threw out Donald Trump's claims of widespread electoral fraud there, dealing a new blow to the Republican's bid to overturn his loss in the US presidential election. The decision -- announced in a scathing judgment which excoriated the Trump team's legal strategy -- paves the way for Pennsylvania to certify Democrat Joe Biden's victory there, which is scheduled to take place Monday. With the clock ticking down to Biden's January 20 inaugura

World NewsNov. 22, 2020

[Newsmaker] G-20 leaders urge united response to virus

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- The Group of 20 summit opened on Saturday with appeals by the world's most powerful leaders to collectively chart a way forward as the coronavirus pandemic overshadows this year's gathering, transforming it from in-person meetings to a virtual gathering of speeches and declarations. The pandemic, which has claimed more than 1.37 million lives worldwide, has offered the G-20 an opportunity to prove how such bodies can facilitate international cooperation in c

World NewsNov. 22, 2020

[Newsmaker] Judge throws out Trump bid to stop PA vote certification

Pennsylvania officials can certify election results that currently show Democrat Joe Biden winning the state by more than 80,000 votes, a federal judge ruled Saturday, dealing President Donald Trump's campaign another blow in its effort to invalidate the election. US District Judge Matthew Brann in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, turned down the request for an injunction by Trump's campaign. In his ruling, Brann said the Trump campaign presented "strained legal arguments without merit and spec

World NewsNov. 22, 2020

Trump's son Don Jr positive for Covid-19: spokesman

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump's eldest son Donald Trump Jr has tested positive for Covid-19 and has been quarantining without symptoms, a spokesman said Friday. "Don tested positive at the start of the week and has been quarantining out at his cabin since the result," his spokesman said. "He's been completely asymptomatic so far and is following all medically recommended COVID-19 guidelines," the spokesman said of the 42-year-old. Trump Jr's positive test follow

World NewsNov. 21, 2020

Pfizer ends COVID-19 trial with 95% efficacy, to seek emergency-use authorization

Pfizer said Wednesday that final results from the late-stage trial of its COVID-19 vaccine show it was 95 percent effective, adding it had the required two-months of safety data and would apply for emergency US authorization within days. The drugmaker said efficacy of the vaccine developed with German partner BioNTech SE was consistent across age and ethnicity demographics, and that there were no major side effects, a sign that the immunization could be employed broadly around the world.

World NewsNov. 18, 2020

US to slash troop levels in Iraq, Afghanistan

WASHINGTON -- The US will slash troop levels in Afghanistan and Iraq to their lowest levels in nearly 20 years of war after President Donald Trump pledged to end conflicts abroad, the Pentagon announced Tuesday. Rejecting concerns that precipitous drawdowns could give up all the US has fought for, Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller said around 2,000 troops would be pulled from Afghanistan by January 15. Five hundred more would come back from Iraq by the same date, leaving 2,500 in each coun

World NewsNov. 18, 2020

Moderna's vaccine breakthrough lifts global hopes

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Global hopes of vanquishing the coronavirus pandemic were boosted Monday after a vaccine was found to be nearly 95 percent effective in a trial, bringing much-needed optimism amid surging infections and grueling new restrictions. The news from the US biotech firm Moderna comes after similar results were announced last week for a vaccine candidate developed by pharma giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech. Major stock markets surged Monday in response, building on a bo

World NewsNov. 17, 2020

Trump seems to acknowledge Biden win, but he won't concede

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump on Sunday appeared to acknowledge for the first time that Joe Biden won the White House, but made clear he would not concede and would keep trying to overturn the election result. Trump’s statements came in tweets that included several baseless claims about the Nov. 3 vote, which state and federal officials say was safe and secure. Trump, without using Biden’s name, tweeted that “He won,” something Trump had not said before

World NewsNov. 16, 2020

China finds coronavirus on frozen meat, packaging from Latin America, New Zealand

BEIJING (Reuters) -- The Chinese city of Jinan said over the weekend it had found coronavirus on beef and tripe and their packaging from Brazil, Bolivia and New Zealand, while two other provincial capitals detected it on packaging on pork from Argentina. China is ramping up testing on frozen foods after repeatedly detecting the virus on imported products, triggering disrupting import bans, even as the World Health Organization says the risk of catching COVID-19 from frozen food is low. In

World NewsNov. 15, 2020