[Graphic News] Americans maintain virus precautions as states reopen: poll

　Most Americans say they are wearing masks. They are still by and large avoiding restaurants. And the vast majority are still staying at least 2 meters from others when out and about. 　Even as states and metropolitan areas throughout the country relax restrictions on social and economic life during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a new poll finds that most Americans aren't yet ready to abandon the public health behaviors that protect themselves and the people around them from contracting

World NewsJune 24, 2020

[Photo News] Celebrating International Yoga Day

Yoga enthusiasts practice yoga at a park in Handan, Hebei province, northern China, ahead of International Yoga Day, which has been celebrated annually on June 21 since 2015. (Photos: AFP-Yonhap) By Kim Tae-eun (kimt17@heraldcorp.com)

World NewsJune 20, 2020

[Photo News] Art to support Black Lives Matter

Diverse forms of protest art created by various people, from artists and students to teachers, to express their solidarity with Black Lives Matter movement across different cities and states in the United States (Photos: AP, Reuters-Yonhap) By Kim Tae-eun (kimt17@heraldcorp.com)

World NewsJune 19, 2020

UK says told EU 'formally' no Brexit transition extension

LONDON (AFP) -- The British government on Friday said it had officially told the European Union it would not seek an extension to the post-Brexit transition period beyond December 31 this year. Britain left the bloc in January but remains under EU rules until the end of the year, as new terms are thrashed out between the two sides for their future relationship. London maintains it does not need more time to secure a free trade deal, despite deadlock in the talks over key areas, and a tight t

World NewsJune 12, 2020

Aid groups 'alarmed' by little US coronavirus assistance

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- More than two dozen international aid organizations have told the US government they are "increasingly alarmed'' that "little to no US humanitarian assistance has reached those on the front lines'' of the coronavirus pandemic, as the number of new cases picks up speed in some of the world's most fragile regions. The letter obtained by The Associated Press and signed by groups including Save the Children, Mercy Corps, World Vision and others says that "in spi

World NewsJune 12, 2020

Thailand eyes 'travel bubbles' to resuscitate tourism

BANGKOK (AFP) -- Thailand will open "travel bubbles" with countries which have comparably low coronavirus infections, officials said Friday, as the kingdom tries to claw back money for its battered tourism sector.The country closed its borders at the start of April, leading to millions of job losses across a tourism industry which accounts for around 20 percent of GDP. Despite registering the first COVID-19 case outside of China in January, Thailand has recorded just 3,129 infections

World NewsJune 12, 2020

[Graphic News] S. Korea ranks 10th safest country for COVID-19

　South Korea been named 10th safest country out of 200 regions in the world for COVID-19, according a report from Deep Knowledge Group, a consortium of companies and non-profit organisations. 　The study was based on 130 quantitative and qualitative parameters and over 11,400 data points in categories like quarantine efficiency, monitoring and detection, health readiness and government efficiency. 　Switzerland topped the list followed by Germany, Israel and Singapore.

World NewsJune 12, 2020

Trump calls police injury to elderly protester 'set up'

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that an elderly man bleeding from the head after he was shoved to the ground by US riot police was a far-left agitator faking the shocking incident. "I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?" Trump asked on his massively followed Twitter account. Two police officers in Buffalo, New York, were charged with assault after the incident last week in which protester Martin Gugino, 75, w

World NewsJune 11, 2020

China slams 'provocative' US military flight over Taiwan

BEIJING (AFP) -- China reacted angrily on Thursday to a US military transport jet's flight over the self-ruled island of Taiwan, calling it an "illegal act" and "serious provocation". The overflight adds to rising tensions between Washington and Beijing over a slew of issues, and the US relationship with the island claimed by China is high on the list of disagreements. Taiwan's defence ministry said a Boeing C-40A Clipper transport jet flew over the island on Tuesday, th

World NewsJune 11, 2020

[Graphic News] Samsung dominates US 5G smartphone market in Q1

　Samsung Electronics dominated the 5G smartphone market in the United States in the first quarter of the year, a report showed. 　Samsung’s Galaxy S20 series, which was unveiled in February, made up 94 percent of the US 5G smartphone market in the January-March period, according to market tracker Strategy Analytics, with the S20 Plus being the bestselling model. 　The midtier S20 Plus accounted for 40 percent, followed by the high-end S20 Ultra with 30 percent and entry-level S20 at 2

World BusinessJune 11, 2020

[Graphic News] What do you miss most during COVID-19 pandemic?

　Schools and businesses have been closed, sports events canceled and cultural institutions shut down around the world, as countries try to stem the coronavirus outbreak. 　The latest Nielsen survey shows what people missed the most during the social distancing in the US.

World NewsJune 10, 2020

Hong Kong seethes one year on, but protesters on the back foot

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Hong Kong on Tuesday marked a year since pro-democracy protests erupted, as mass arrests, coronavirus bans on gatherings and a looming national security law kept a lid on any return to city-wide unrest. Seven months of massive and often violent rallies kicked off on June 9 last year when as many as one million people took to the streets to oppose a bill allowing extraditions to mainland China. As city leaders dug in, battles between police and protesters became routine, lea

World NewsJune 9, 2020

Japan network NHK pulls US protest anime in racism row

TOKYO (AFP) -- Japan's national broadcaster NHK Tuesday apologised and deleted an animation depicting Black Lives Matter protests in the US after widespread complaints of racism -- including from the US embassy and tennis star Naomi Osaka. NHK's animation, aired Sunday, told viewers that the coronavirus pandemic had fuelled anger amongst African Americans, many of whom lost jobs, but failed to mention the death of George Floyd or police brutality. The one-minute-20-second clip showed caricatu

World NewsJune 9, 2020

[Graphic News] S. Korea’s exports of chicken soup jump amid lockdowns

　South Korea’s exports of packaged traditional chicken soup, or samgyetang, have posted sharp growth in the first four months of 2020 from a year earlier, data showed, amid the growing demand for ready-to-eat products around the globe due to the pandemic-led lockdowns. 　Outbound shipments of ready-to-eat samgyetang products reached $4.82 million over the January-April period, up 82.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Tra

WorldJune 9, 2020

Pope says worst of virus is over, Vatican clear of cases

VATICAN CITY (AFP) -- Pope Francis said on Sunday the worst of the coronavirus crisis was over in Italy, addressing the faithful for  the first time in Saint Peter's Square since the health emergency began. The pontiff's address came a day after the Vatican said there were no more cases of COVID-19 within its population. "Your presence in the square is a sign that in Italy the acute phase of the epidemic is over," Francis told those assembled for his weekly Angelus pr

World NewsJune 7, 2020

New York City curfew lifts early following peaceful protests

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York City is lifting its curfew spurred by protests against police brutality ahead of schedule, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Sunday morning. The 8 p.m. citywide curfew, New York's first in decades, had been set to remain in effect through at least Sunday, with the city planning to lift it at the same time it enters the first phase of reopening after more than two months of shutdowns because of the coronavirus. "Yesterday and last night we saw the very best of our c

World NewsJune 7, 2020

[Photo News] ‘Justice for Floyd’

Members of Workers’ Solidarity hold a rally in front of the US Embassy in Seoul on Friday morning over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed on May 25 in Minneapolis by a white police officer who pressed a knee into his neck. The death of the 46-year-old African American man involving police brutality and racial discrimination fueled public outrage across the United States and has spread into global protests. (Photos: Yonhap) By Kim Tae-eun (kimt17@heraldcorp

World NewsJune 6, 2020

Hong Kong protesters seek sanctuary overseas as noose tightens

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Hong Kong protester Crystal has yet to tell her parents she has fled overseas to seek asylum in Canada, one of a growing number of residents choosing self-exile as Beijing tightens control. The 21-year-old student spent months on the front lines of the pro-democracy protests, which first exploded with huge marches last June and descended into increasingly violent battles with riot police as each month went by. A year on, she is waiting to hear if she will be granted refugee

World NewsJune 5, 2020

[Graphic News] NCSoft ‘s Lineage 2M highest grossing app on Google Play Store

　Lineage 2M, a mobile massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Korean online game maker NCSoft, was the highest grossing app on the Google Play Store during the first quarter of the year, industry data showed. 　The mobile version of mega-hit Lineage II was the most popular app in the world on Android platforms during the January-March period, partly on the back of the novel coronavirus pandemic that confined people to their homes, data from analytics firm App Annie showed. 　The mo

World BusinessJune 5, 2020

[Graphic News] Only half of Americans would get COVID-19 vaccine: poll

　Only about half of Americans say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine if the scientists working furiously to create one succeed, according to a new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. 　That’s surprisingly low considering the effort going into the global race for a vaccine against the coronavirus that has sparked a pandemic since first emerging from China late last year. But more people might eventually roll up their sleeves: The poll found 3

World NewsJune 4, 2020