[Photo News] Scholz ends the Merkel era

　Olaf Scholz became the ninth Chancellor of Germany on Wednesday, ending the era of Angela Merkel. Among the 707 lawmakers of the German parliament Bundestag who participated in the voting, Scholz earned 395 votes, indicating the first political transition of Germany in 16 years. 　Although Merkel was a center-right wing politician from the Christian Democratic Union while Scholz is a center-left wing politician of the Social Democrat Party, they have shown profound mutual respect. Scholz prais

Dec. 11, 2021

EU condemns ‘politically motivated’ Suu Kyi detention

　BRUSSELS -- The European Union on Monday condemned the Myanmar ruling junta‘s jailing of ousted leader Aug San Suu Kyi as “politically motivated” and a “blatant violation of human rights”. 　In a statement from EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on behalf of the 27 member states, the EU said Suu Kyi’s sentence “represents another step towards the dismantling of the rule of law." 　Suu Kyi, 76, has been detained since the generals staged a coup a

Dec. 6, 2021

A blessing in disguise? Some scientists say omicron not so ominous

A new COVID-19 variant called omicron has put the world on notice, prompting nations to close borders and reinstate restrictions. While fear seems to prevail, not all are pessimistic. Some scientists say this new mutation may be a blessing in disguise, our best chance to put an end to this devastating pandemic. The theory goes like this: The virus, with 32 mutations on the spike protein alone, twice as many as delta, may have been optimized to infect, but not to kill. In essence, more like

Dec. 2, 2021

[Photo News] Used Bourbon Barrels or Christmas Tree?

The US state of Kentucky is well reputed for its bourbon. However, during the holidays, something quite unexpected but still related to bourbon is what entertains the people of Kentucky. Instead of the liquor itself, a gigantic Christmas tree made of bourbon barrels is on display in Smiths Grove, a small town of not much over 700 people nearby Mammoth Cave National Park. This interesting tradition began in 2020 when Cody Vincent and his family made a tree out of bourbon barrels they sold t

Nov. 27, 2021

[Interactive] Ronaldo leapfrogs Messi in Forbes list of top-earning players

Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo has reclaimed the top spot in the list of the world’s highest-paid soccer players from Lionel Messi, according to Forbes. Forbes said Ronaldo, among the world’s most popular athletes with over 500 million followers across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, is set to make $125 million before taxes in the 2021-22 season, with $70 million coming from salary and bonuses at United. The rest will come from endorsements and partnerships with brand

Nov. 22, 2021

[Graphic News] More than half of Afghans face ‘acute’ food crisis

　More than 22 million Afghans will suffer “acute food insecurity” this winter, UN agencies said, warning the already unstable country faces one of the world‘s worst humanitarian crises. 　The crisis is already bigger in scale than that facing Yemen or Syria, and worse than any food insecurity emergency apart from the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials said. 　According to the statement issued by the World Food Program and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, one in t

Nov. 5, 2021

World leaders to talk climate, economy, vaccines at G20

ROME -- Climate change and the relaunch of the global economy will top the G20 agenda as leaders of the world's most advanced nations meet Saturday, the first in-person gathering since the pandemic. Looming over the two-day talks in Rome is pressure to make headway on tackling global warming, ahead of the key COP26 summit kicking off in Glasgow Monday. The stakes are high, with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres warning G20 leaders Friday to show "more ambition and more ac

Oct. 30, 2021

African effort to replicate mRNA vaccine targets disparities

CAPE TOWN (AP) -- In a pair of Cape Town warehouses converted into a maze of airlocked sterile rooms, young scientists are assembling and calibrating the equipment needed to reverse engineer a coronavirus vaccine that has yet to reach South Africa and most of the world's poorest people. The energy in the gleaming labs matches the urgency of their mission to narrow vaccine disparities. By working to replicate Moderna's COVID-19 shot, the scientists are effectively making an end run around an ind

Oct. 24, 2021

Pope urges intervention on Libyan migrant crisis

VATICAN (AFP) -- Pope Francis on Sunday called on the global community to resolve the Libyan migrant crisis, even as EU leaders disagree on how to best manage flows of migrants crossing to Europe. "I express my closeness to the thousands of migrants, refugees and also others in need of protection in Libya. I don't forget you ever. I hear your cry and pray for you," Francis said following his traditional Sunday Angelus prayer on Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican. "So many of t

Oct. 24, 2021

Germany says border protection is 'legitimate'

BERLIN (AFP) -- Germany's interior minister said Sunday it was "legitimate" to protect borders, after several EU states asked Brussels to pay for barriers to prevent illegal migrants from entering the bloc. The call came earlier this month, as Poland proposed building a 350 million-euro ($410 million) wall on its border with Belarus to keep migrants out. The EU accuses the Belarusian authorities of flying migrants from the Middle East and Africa to Minsk and then sending them into

Oct. 24, 2021

Japan's PM interrupts campaign as N.K. test fires missile

Japan's new prime minister interrupted his first day of election campaigning on Tuesday, as he returned to the capital of Tokyo to deal with rising regional tensions following North Korea's test-firing of a missile earlier in the day. Fumio Kishida's campaign was already off to a rocky start, with media polls showing his support rating sliding. Tuesday was the first official day of campaigning for nationwide legislative elections scheduled for Oct. 31. “I will drastically strengthen ou

Oct. 19, 2021

Fears of ‘chaos’ as Italy adopts tough Covid pass regime

ROME (AFP) - Italy will require all workers to show a coronavirus health pass from Friday, one of the world‘s toughest anti-Covid regimes that has already sparked riots and which many fear will cause “chaos”. 　More than 85 percent of Italians over the age of 12 have received at least one shot of a Covid-19 vaccine, making them eligible for the so-called Green Pass certificate. 　But according to various estimates, about 2.5 million of the country’s 23 million workers

Oct. 13, 2021

Facing high debt, countries must ‘calibrate’ spending: IMF

WASHINGTON (AFP) - After debt loads surged last year amid the pandemic, governments now must take care to “calibrate” spending, the IMF said Wednesday. 　Global debt in 2020, including public and private borrowing, “jumped by 14 percent to a record high $226 trillion,” according to the International Monetary Fund‘s Fiscal Monitor report. 　Public debt amounts to $88 trillion, close to 100 percent of GDP, and is expected to decline only gradually, said Vitor Gaspar

Oct. 13, 2021

[Interactive] Child labor swells for first time in two decades: UN

  The world has marked the first rise in child labor in two decades and the coronavirus crisis threatens to push millions more youngsters toward the same fate, the United Nations said. In a joint report, the International Labor Organization and the UN children’s agency UNICEF said the number in child labor stood at 160 million at the start of 2020 - an increase of 8.4 million in four years. The hike began before the pandemic hit and marks a dramatic reversal of a downward trend that h

Oct. 13, 2021

How India marshalled its resources to contain deadly COVID wave

NEW DELHI -- Strong political leadership and earnest implementation of policies by a committed bureaucracy have been two key factors in India’s relative success in containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior health official said. The two key factors, along with the strategy of regular testing for COVID-19 and vaccination, are the weapons that India and other countries can use to stave off a possible third wave, said Pratyaya Amrit, additional chief secretary at the Health Dep

Oct. 12, 2021

[Interactive] Taliban's return casts shadows over Afghan women's fate

Oct. 5, 2021

In R. Kelly verdict, Black women see long-overdue justice

For years, decades even, allegations swirled that R&B superstar R. Kelly was abusing young women and girls, with seeming impunity. They were mostly young Black women. And Black girls.  And that, say accusers and others who have called for him to face accountability, is part of what took the wheels of the criminal justice system so long to turn, finally leading to his conviction Monday in his sex trafficking trial. That it did at all, they say, is also due to the efforts of Black women

Sept. 28, 2021

Japan to lift all coronavirus emergency steps nationwide

Japan's government announced Tuesday that the coronavirus state of emergency will end this week to help rejuvenate the economy as infections slow. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the emergency will end Thursday and virus restrictions will be eased gradually "in order to resume daily lives despite the presence of the virus." He said the government will create more temporary COVID-19 treatment facilities and continue vaccinations to prepare for any future resurgence. Government offi

Sept. 28, 2021

China's factories, households grapple with power cuts

Global shoppers face possible shortages of smartphones and other goods ahead of Christmas after power cuts to meet government energy use targets forced Chinese factories to shut down and left some households in the dark. In the northeastern city of Liaoyang, 23 people were hospitalized with gas poisoning after ventilation in a metal casting factory was shut off following a power outage, according to state broadcaster CCTV. No deaths were reported. A components supplier for Apple Inc.'s iPhone

Sept. 27, 2021

UK climate activists block entrance to Dover ferry port

LONDON (AP) -- Climate protesters blocked the entrance to Britain's busiest ferry port on Friday to highlight the climate crisis and fuel poverty in the UK. Vehicles were stuck in queues as more than 40 protesters from the climate group Insulate Britain blocked the main road into the English Channel port. The Port of Dover is Europe's busiest ferry port and handles 17 percent of the UK's trade in goods. "Port of Dover confirms protesters are currently blocking the entrance to the port,&qu

Sept. 24, 2021