Foreign
Freeing ASEAN from US dollar reliance
September 1, 2023, 5:46 pm
JAKARTA – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), currently chaired by Indonesia, is stepping up efforts to intensify regional cooperation in promoting the use of local currencies in cross-border transactions. At the 10th Meeting of ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank… Read More
More women should work in diplomacy - Bulgaria foreign minister
September 1, 2023, 3:46 pm
SOFIA, Bulgaria – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mariya Gabriel, who was in Toledo on Thursday for the informal meeting of EU Member States foreign affairs ministers, posted on her Facebook page that more women should work in foreign policy in order to encourage young… Read More
US private employment rises by 177,000 in August
August 31, 2023, 2:55 pm
ISTANBUL – US private payrolls rose by 177,000 in August, less than market estimates, according to a report released Wednesday by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with Stanford Digital Economy Lab. The market expectation is for an increase of 195,000 jobs. The figure for July was… Read More
Legionnaires’ disease death toll in southern Poland rises to 16
August 31, 2023, 2:45 pm
WARSAW – Death toll from the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in the Rzeszow region, near the Ukrainian border, rose to 16 on Wednesday, and health authorities said an investigation continues. The head of the Rzeszow Sanitary Inspectorate, Jaromir Slaczka, said all 16 victims were already… Read More
Kyrgyzstan bans TikTok over impact on children’s well-being
August 31, 2023, 2:32 pm
WASHINGTON – Kyrgyzstan has banned TikTok after appeals from non-governmental organizations about the impact of the platform on children's mental development and overall well-being. The decision was announced Wednesday by the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sport and Youth Policy. Following an… Read More
S. Korea's births, fertility rate fall to record lows in 2022
August 30, 2023, 5:31 pm
SEOUL – South Korea's total births and fertility rate fell to record lows in 2022, data showed Wednesday, signaling a red alarm on the growth potential of Asia's fourth-largest economy. Only 249,000 babies were born in 2022, down 11,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by… Read More
2nd GMC to bring in Masscom students from 174 universities
August 30, 2023, 4:38 pm
MANILA – Comprehensive workshops and an avenue for collaboration await mass communication students from 174 universities around the world during the second edition of the Global Media Congress (GMC). Organized by the ADNEC Group, in partnership with the Emirates News Agency (WAM), GMC 2023 is… Read More
Bulgaria should become center of new wave of innovation: minister
August 30, 2023, 2:11 pm
SHUMEN, Bulgaria – Bulgaria should become one of the centers of the new wave of innovations based on high scientific activity, Minister of Innovation and Growth Milena Stoycheva said here on Tuesday. According to her, this will cause more and more Bulgarians to choose the path of… Read More
SoKor water radiation level still safe after Fukushima release
August 29, 2023, 5:24 pm
SEOUL – The radiation levels in seawater near South Korea were found to have been within the safe range despite Japan's release of contaminated water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, Seoul's oceans ministry said Tuesday. The ministry's emergency tests on four locations in its… Read More
Another school in Sofia produces its own electricity
August 29, 2023, 3:11 pm
SOFIA, Bulgaria – Sofia’s Vladislav Gramatik School is already producing electricity on its own, Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova told BTA on Monday. Fandakova inspected the school's newly-built system of solar panels. The system is installed on the roof and is based on a public-private… Read More
Magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes near Indonesia's Bali
August 29, 2023, 2:09 pm
WASHINGTON – A strong magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck near the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Monday. Data from the US Geological Survey shows the earthquake hitting about 182 kilometers (113 miles) northeast of the island Gili Air. No tsunami warning was issued following the earthquake. In… Read More
SpaceX capsule carrying 4 astronauts docks at Int'l Space Station
August 28, 2023, 9:02 pm
ISTANBUL – Four astronauts onboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule reached the International Space Station after a day-long journey. The capsule, transporting the team of four astronauts assigned for the Crew-7 mission, arrived Sunday at its intended location at 09.16 a.m. (1316GMT), NASA said on… Read More
SK leaders eat seafood to ease fears over Fukushima water release
August 28, 2023, 8:50 pm
SEOUL – President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo ate seafood during their weekly lunch meeting Monday, the presidential office said, as the government tries to promote seafood safety in the wake of Japan's release of radioactive water into the ocean. Seafood was also served at the… Read More
N. Korea apparently reopens its border due to economic problems
August 28, 2023, 6:42 pm
SEOUL– North Korea apparently has decided to reopen its border after more than three years of its tight virus curbs due largely to economic challenges from its border closure, South Korea's unification ministry said Monday. North Korea said Sunday it has allowed its citizens abroad to return… Read More
Seawater radioactivity below 'limits' near Fukushima nuke plant
August 28, 2023, 2:02 pm
ANKARA – Seawater radiation levels are below "detectable limits," off Japan days after the country started releasing treated radioactive wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean, Tokyo said on Sunday. Concentrations of tritium — a radioactive material that… Read More
3 killed in ‘racially motivated’ attack in Florida
August 27, 2023, 5:55 pm
ANKARA – A US gunman in a deadly "racially motivated" attack in Jacksonville, Florida, had a gun with Nazi symbols and left a manifesto that said “he hated black people,” according to officials on Saturday. Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook confirmed the deaths after a shooting at a store on… Read More
Maui releases list of 388 missing from Hawaii wildfires
August 26, 2023, 6:22 pm
HOUSTON, United States – Maui County officials released the names of 388 people still missing in the aftermath of the deadly Hawaii wildfires, according to a news release sent out late Thursday. "We're releasing this list of names ... because we know that it will help with the investigation,"… Read More
ASEAN agrees to harmonize infrastructure financing
August 26, 2023, 12:48 pm
JAKARTA – Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to harmonize infrastructure financing by implementing sustainable taxonomy. "ASEAN finance ministers and central bank governors discussed how ASEAN can increase… Read More
ASEAN needs US$29.4 trillion to fund energy transition until 2050
August 25, 2023, 4:53 pm
JAKARTA – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) needs US$29.4 trillion in funding until 2050 to implement the energy transition, as projected by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif has said. "According to IRENA,… Read More
Water insecurity 1 of biggest threats to humanity
August 25, 2023, 4:40 pm
LONDON – Climate-induced water insecurity poses one of the biggest threats to humanity and will lead to more hunger, diseases and displacement, according to a report by a UK-based charity on Thursday. In its report titled Water Dilemmas, Oxfam presented a range of climate scenarios with expected… Read More
