[Newsmaker] 'Someone else' could be running Twitter this year, says Musk

DUBAI--Twitter boss Elon Musk said Wednesday that a new CEO might be running the online platform by the end of 2023, after a "rollercoaster" since he took full ownership last year. "I'm guessing probably towards the end of this year should be good timing to find someone else to run the company," he told the World Government Summit conference in Dubai via video. "I need to stabilise the organisation and make sure it's in a healthy place and that the product roadmap is cle

Feb. 15, 2023

[Newsmaker] Turkey, Syria quake toll rises, cold compounds misery

ANTAKYA, Turkey -- Freezing temperatures deepened the misery Thursday for survivors of a massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria that killed at least 15,000 people, as rescuers raced to save countless people still trapped under rubble. The death toll from Monday's 7.8 magnitude quake is expected to rise sharply as rescue efforts near the 72-hour mark that disaster experts consider the most likely period to save lives. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday conceded "shortco

Feb. 9, 2023

[Graphic News] World’s deadliest earthquakes since 2000

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook Turkey and Syria on Monday, killing more than 8,000 people. Here is a list of some of the world’s deadliest earthquakes since 2000:

Feb. 9, 2023

[Newsmaker] Fears grow for untold numbers buried by Turkey earthquake

NURDAGI, Turkey -- Rescuers raced against time early Wednesday to pull survivors from the rubble before they succumbed to cold weather two days after an earthquake tore through southern Turkey and war-ravaged northern Syria. The death toll climbed above 7,700 and was expected to rise further. The last two days have brought dramatic rescues, including small children emerging from mounds of debris more than 30 hours after Monday’s pre-dawn quake. But there was also widespread despair and gro

Feb. 8, 2023

[Newsmaker] Powerful quake topples homes in Turkey and Syria; toll rises

ANKARA, Turkey — A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southeast Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling buildings and sending panicked residents pouring outside in a cold winter night. At least 207 people were killed in both countries, hundreds were injured and the toll was expected to rise. Rescue workers and residents frantically searched for survivors under the rubble of crushed buildings in multiple cities on both sides of the border. In one quake-struck Turkish city, dozens pulled

Feb. 6, 2023

Suicide bomber kills 28, wounds 150 at mosque in NW Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber struck Monday inside a mosque within a police compound in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least 28 people and wounding as many as 150 worshippers, most of them policemen, officials said. The bombing drew nationwide condemnation from opposition political parties and government officials. Ghulam Ali, the provincial governor in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Peshawar is the capital, said there were fears the death toll could rise

Jan. 30, 2023

[Graphic News] UN decries ‘intolerable’ loss of 5 million children in 2021

An estimated 5 million children under the age of 5 died in 2021, the United Nations said, urging health care investment in underserved communities around the globe to avoid this “immense, intolerable and mostly preventable loss of life.” Some 2.3 million deaths in 2021 occurred in the children’s first month, mostly due to being premature or from complications related to childbirth. After a child’s first month, infectious diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria

Jan. 26, 2023

[Graphic News] Portugal rated best country to retire to in 2023

The combination of an inexpensive cost of living, beautiful scenery and traveler-friendly visa options make Portugal the best country to move to in 2023. International Living's Annual Global Retirement Index lists the 10 countries that are the best retirement destinations for the year, but they are not just for retirees. As remote work becomes more common and people seek a simpler way of life, the countries on the list may be appealing to younger generations as well. In 2022, Portugal was r

Jan. 25, 2023

[Newsmaker] Jealousy possible motive in Lunar New Year shooting

MONTEREY PARK, California -- Detectives probing why an elderly Asian immigrant shot dead 11 people as they celebrated Lunar New Year at a dance hall in California are examining whether jealousy or a personal dispute was behind the tragedy, a report said Monday. Huu Can Tran, 72, used a semiautomatic pistol in a rampage in the Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park on Saturday night, killing men and women in their 50s, 60s and 70s. One person was shot in the parking lot. He then drove to another dan

Jan. 24, 2023

Korea's place in a multipolar world

By Jeffrey D. Sachs BELEM, Brazil – I write today from Brazil to inaugurate a new series of columns for The Korea Herald. My columns will discuss the dramatic changes underway in the world economy, and how these changes affect Korea. Most importantly, I will analyze how new forms of global cooperation, including Korea, China, the US, and the rest of the world, can be implemented to face the world’s growing crises. Brazil is in fact an excellent place to launch the new column. At th

Jan. 18, 2023

[Graphic News] Canada’s polar bear population plummets

Canada’s Western Hudson Bay polar bear population has fallen 27 percent in just five years, according to a government report, suggesting climate change is impacting the animals. Every fall, bears living along the western edge of Hudson Bay pass through the sub-Arctic tourist town of Churchill, Manitoba, as they return to the sea ice. This has made the population not only the best studied group in the world, but also the most famous, with the local bear-viewing economy valued at $5.3 millio

Jan. 17, 2023

Widespread flight delays in US after FAA computer outage

NEW YORK (AP) -- A computer outage at the Federal Aviation Administration brought flights to a standstill across the US on Wednesday, with hundreds of delays quickly cascading through the system at airports nationwide. The FAA ordered all US flights to delay departures until 9 a.m. Eastern, though airlines said they were aware of the situation and had already begun grounding flights. At 7:30 a.m. Eastern, there were more than 1,200 delayed flights within, into or out of the United States, accord

Jan. 11, 2023

[Graphic News] Iran pushes global list of imprisoned journalists to record high

Iran’s protest crackdown has helped push the number of journalists imprisoned worldwide to a record high of 533 in 2022, according to a report by Reporters Without Borders. The figure is up from 488 in 2021, already a record, according to the France-based NGO. More than half are detained in just five countries: China, which remains “the world’s biggest jailer of journalists” with 110, followed by Myanmar (62), Iran (47), Vietnam (39) and Belarus (31). Iran is the only cou

Jan. 11, 2023

[Graphic News] Nearly 8 in 10 S. Koreans believe social media leads to more political division: survey

Nearly eight out of 10 South Koreans believe social media leads to more political division, with nearly as many people saying social media makes it easier for people to manipulate others, a survey showed. However, more than 60 percent of those surveyed said social media is still a good thing for the country’s democracy, according to the survey conducted by Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington. In South Korea, 77 percent of those surveyed said social media leads

Jan. 5, 2023

[Graphic News] 4 in 10 S. Koreans believe country’s global influence is growing

Four out of every 10 South Koreans think their country’s influence in the world stage grew stronger in recent years, a survey showed. In an annual survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, 40 percent of those surveyed answered South Korea’s global influence was getting stronger. The reading marks the third highest among 19 countries surveyed after Israel and Singapore. The research said people satisfied with the current state of their

Jan. 3, 2023

Ukrainian air defence missile lands in Belarus - BelTA

Belarus' state-run BelTA news agency reported that a Ukrainian S-300 missile had fallen onto the territory of Belarus on Thursday during one of Russia's largest missile attacks against Ukraine since the start of the war. The Minsk defence ministry was investigating whether Belarus' air defence systems had shot down the rocket or it was a misfire. The incident occurred between 10 and 11 a.m. (0700-0800 GMT) - around the time Russia was firing scores of missiles towards Ukraine. B

Dec. 29, 2022

[Newsmaker] Frigid monster storm across US claims at least 34 lives

BUFFALO, New York -- Millions of people hunkered down against a deep freeze Sunday to ride out the winter storm that has killed at least 34 people across the United States and is expected to claim more lives after trapping some residents inside houses with heaping snow drifts and knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses. The scope of the storm has been nearly unprecedented, stretching from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico. About 60

Dec. 26, 2022

Kremlin says Biden, Zelensky refusing to hear 'Russia's concerns'

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia on Thursday accused Ukraine and the United States of turning a deaf ear to its concerns after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a historic visit to Washington. Zelensky enjoyed a hero's welcome on a lightning trip on Wednesday in which US President Joe Biden committed nearly $1.8 billion in military supplies including, for the first time, the Patriot missile defence system. "We can say with regret that so far neither President Biden nor President Zelensk

Dec. 22, 2022

Elderly Covid patients fill hospital wards in China's major cities

CHONGQING, China (AFP) - Elderly patients lined the wards of hospitals in major cities in China Thursday as the country battled a wave of COVID cases. The virus is surging across China in an outbreak authorities say is impossible to track after the end of mandatory mass testing. Attached to a breathing tube under a pile of blankets, an old man racked with COVID-19 lay groaning on a stretcher in the emergency department of a hospital in central China Thursday. A paramedic at Chongqing Medical Uni

Dec. 22, 2022

China limits how it defines COVID deaths in official count

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- China only counts deaths from pneumonia or respiratory failure in its official COVID-19 death toll, a Chinese health official said, in a narrow definition that limits the number of deaths reported, as an outbreak of the virus surges following the easing of pandemic-related restrictions. Deaths that occur in patients with pre-existing illnesses are not counted as COVID-19 deaths, said Wang Guiqiang, the head of infectious disease at Peking University's No. 1 Hospital. C

Dec. 21, 2022