Foreign
ChatGPT tops 1M users in S. Korea amid growing popularity: data
June 11, 2024, 11:53 am
SEOUL – The number of OpenAI's ChatGPT users in South Korea rose 30 percent last month, surpassing 1 million for the first time on the increasing popularity of the artificial intelligence chatbot, industry data showed Tuesday. The mobile ChatGPT application had 1.27 million users in May, up from… Read More
Israeli War Cabinet minister resigns
June 10, 2024, 2:55 pm
ISTANBUL – Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz and War Cabinet observer Gadi Eisenkot resigned Sunday from the emergency unity government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Addressing a press conference in Tel Aviv, Gantz urged Netanyahu to hold early elections “as soon as… Read More
Bangladesh sends back Myanmar soldiers who fled conflict
June 10, 2024, 11:54 am
DHAKA, Bangladesh – A ship of the Myanmar Navy landed at Bangladesh's southeastern Cox's Bazar district Sunday to take back over 130 soldiers who had taken refuge across the border last month from a longstanding conflict in their junta-ruled country. The same ship also brought back 45… Read More
US resumes aid delivery to Gaza via temporary pier
June 9, 2024, 6:33 pm
WASHINGTON – The US resumed aid delivery to the Gaza Strip via the temporary pier on Saturday which was reestablished after it broke apart in rough seas late last month, said Central Command (CENTCOM). "Today, a total of approximately 492 metric tons (~1.1 million pounds) of much needed… Read More
Israeli forces rescue 4 hostages in Gaza; 210 Palestinians died in ops
June 9, 2024, 12:04 pm
JERUSALEM – Israeli forces on Saturday rescued four hostages from the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. The operation, however, resulted in the death of at least 210 people and wounding of 400 others, according to Palestinian sources. Khalil Al-Dakran, director of al-Aqsa Hospital… Read More
WHO: 1.6M people get sick daily from eating unsafe food
June 8, 2024, 1:32 pm
GENEVA – The World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday that every day, an estimated 1.6 million people become sick from eating unsafe food. Children under the age of 5 carry 40 percent of the foodborne disease burden, Francesco Branca, head of nutrition and food safety at the WHO, told a UN… Read More
N. Korea, China, Russia expanding nuclear arsenals – White House exec
June 8, 2024, 10:42 am
WASHINGTON – North Korea, China, and Russia are expanding and diversifying their nuclear weapons stockpiles at a "breakneck" speed, a White House official said Friday, warning that absent a change in the trajectory of their arsenals, the United States may have to increase its own. Pranay Vaddi,… Read More
Docs at Seoul National U hospitals to stage walkout from June 17
June 7, 2024, 8:47 pm
SEOUL – Doctors at four major hospitals affiliated with Seoul National University (SNU) are set to stage a walkout from June 17, according to hospital officials on Friday, in a move that would complicate efforts by the government to resolve a protracted walkout by trainee doctors. Medical… Read More
BRICS Bank exec cites need for multipolar economy
June 7, 2024, 4:10 pm
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — A multipolar economy is needed to reduce the risk of global economic instability caused by problems in large economies, Dilma Rousseff, former Brazil president and the current president of the New BRICS Development Bank (NDB), said Thursday. Speaking at the St.… Read More
UN chief 'deeply concerned' about increasing violence in Myanmar
June 7, 2024, 2:15 pm
HAMILTON, Canada – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday expressed deep concern for the increasing conflict in Myanmar, citing the urgent need to protect all communities amidst human rights violations and aerial bombings. "The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the… Read More
Former Cameroonian premier elected UN General Assembly president
June 7, 2024, 1:09 pm
WASHINGTON — Cameroon’s former Prime Minister Philemon Yang was elected on Thursday "by acclamation" as president of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, which will begin in September. Yang expressed his "sincere gratitude" to the member states for the support for his… Read More
WHO confirms 1st human death from new bird flu strain
June 6, 2024, 8:06 pm
MEXICO CITY – The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Wednesday that a resident of Mexico became the world’s first person to die from a bird flu strain not previously detected in humans. The H5N2 strain of avian influenza has been recorded in birds worldwide, but no cases of human… Read More
ECB expected to cut interest rates for 1st time in half decade
June 6, 2024, 5:34 pm
BERLIN – The European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to cut its benchmark interest rates for the first time in five years on Thursday when it will announce its decision, as inflation in the eurozone is shadowed by the weak economic growth outlook. The ECB’s Governing Council is certain to cut… Read More
UN chief: Humans both danger, solution for climate crisis
June 6, 2024, 2:32 pm
HAMILTON, Canada — The head of the United Nations (UN) warned about the ongoing climate crisis on Wednesday and said humans are the danger, but also the solution. "Like the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs, we’re having an outsized impact. In the case of climate, we are not the dinosaurs.… Read More
Global temperature likely to temporarily exceed pre-industrial level
June 6, 2024, 1:08 pm
GENEVA – There is an 80 percent likelihood that annual average global temperature will temporarily exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for at least one of the next five years, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). This is a stark warning… Read More
Number of students coming to schools hungry rising in UK: Survey
June 6, 2024, 12:53 pm
ANKARA – Primary schoolteachers in the UK pointed out the increasing number of students coming to schools feeling hungry and without proper clothing or school supplies compared to last year, a survey revealed on Wednesday. A recent research carried out by the National Foundation for Educational… Read More
Defectors send propaganda materials to N. Korea after trash balloons
June 6, 2024, 12:03 pm
SEOUL – A North Korean defectors' group said Thursday it has sent about 10 large plastic balloons carrying propaganda leaflets against the North Korean regime across the border, raising concerns Pyongyang could resume sending trash-filled balloons. Filled with 200,000 flyers criticizing the… Read More
Japan enacts law to halt falling birth rate as fertility rate dips
June 5, 2024, 7:38 pm
ISTANBUL – The Japanese parliament endorsed Wednesday a new law to halt the falling birth rate as the country posted a record lowest total fertility rate last year. Under the new law, the government will expand child allowances and parental leave. The enactment of the new law comes as Prime… Read More
Papua New Guinea calls off search for 2K people buried in landslides
June 5, 2024, 7:29 pm
ISTANBUL – Papua New Guinea has officially halted the search for approximately 2,000 people buried under a massive landslide in Enga province, authorities said on Wednesday. The disaster management committee declared Tuliparo village, engulfed by the landslide, a "mass cemetery," local media… Read More
Israeli gov't divided by US ceasefire proposal
June 5, 2024, 3:40 pm
JERUSALEM – The Israeli government is divided over a US proposal for a ceasefire, with leaders of the Orthodox religious parties voicing support on Tuesday while far-right leaders threaten to quit the coalition. “I told the representatives of the kidnapped families today that our position is… Read More
