National Politics Social Affairs Foreign Affairs Defense North Korea Science Diplomatic Circuit Education Business Economy Finance Industry Technology Automode Life&Style Culture Travel Fashion Food & Beverage Books People Expat Living Arts & Design Health Entertainment Film Television Music Theater World World News World Business Asia News Network Sports Soccer Baseball Golf More Sports Opinion Editorial Viewpoints English Eye Podcast English Cafe Go to Desktop Version Weekender Subscribe Leader’s Club Korean Mobile App Twitter Facebook Youtube RSS WORLD Feb 17, 2019 World News US-backed Syria force says IS holding 1,000 civilians AL-OMAR OIL FIELD BASE, Syria (AP) — Islamic State militants are preventing more than 1,000 civilians from leaving a tiny area still held by the extremist group in a village in eastern Syria, a spokesman for the U.S.-backed Syrian militia fighting the group said Sunday.“Regrettably, Daesh have closed all the roads,” Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, told The Associated Press, referring to IS by its Arabic acronym.Damaged cars sit in an area recently retaken Feb 15, 2019 Asia News Network Asia News Network condemns arrest of Rappler's Maria Ressa The Asia News Network notes with concern and alarm the arrest of Maria Ressa, executive editor and CEO of leading Philippine news site Rappler, for pursuing the truth in a case with significant ramifications for society.Her arrest, on grounds that raise concern, violates the freedom that media organisations need to have, to play their part as a key pillar of functioning democracies. This is particularly important in Asia where systems of democratic representation, accountability and legal recour Feb 14, 2019 World [Graphic News] Decline of insects threatens ‘catastrophic collapse of nature’ Nearly half of all insect species worldwide are in rapid decline and one-third could disappear altogether, according to a study warning of dire consequences for crop pollination and natural food chains. The research found that 41 percent of the world’s insect populations are declining, while a third are endangered. The extinction rate of insects is eight times greater than those of mammals, birds and reptiles, and there are suggestions they could totally vanish within a century. The study says Feb 13, 2019 World Business Lawyer famous for acquittals to defend Nissan ex-chair Ghosn Junichiro Hironaka, a lawyer famous for winning extremely rare acquittals in Japan, has been tapped to defend Nissan's former chairman Carlos Ghosn as he battles charges of false financial reporting and breach of trust.The move, confirmed Wednesday by Ghosn and Hironaka's office, underscores Ghosn's determination to prove his innocence. The odds are against him: In Japanese courts, 99 percent of cases get guilty verdicts. Junichiro Hironaka, new lawyer of former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn, speaks Feb 13, 2019 World Business US, China envoys hold talks before Trump tariff decision US and Chinese trade negotiators are meeting this week for talks President Donald Trump says will help decide whether he escalates a technology dispute by going ahead with a March 2 tariff hike on $200 billion of imports from China.Two days of talks starting Thursday allow too little time to resolve the war over Beijing's technology ambitions that threatens to drag on weakening global economic growth, businesspeople and economists say. They believe China's goal is to make enough progress to pers Feb 12, 2019 World Business [Graphic News] S. Korea falls behind China in world’s LCD TV market China edged out South Korea in the global liquid-crystal display TV market last year to become the world’s top manufacturer of the products, data showed. According to data compiled by industry tracker IHS Markit, China accounted for the largest share (31.9 percent) of the 152.16 million units of LCD televisions shipped during the first nine months of last year. Korea came in second at 30.6 percent, or 46.58 million LCD TVs, followed by Japan with 14.6 percent and European nations with 2.8 perce Feb 11, 2019 World News Rap artists and women take center stage at Grammys LOS ANGELES -- Rap artists and women have felt shunned by the Grammy Awards in recent years. But this year, they both took center stage.Childish Gambino’s disturbing look at race relations, “This is America,” won record and song of the year on Sunday’s telecast. It was the first time a rap-based song won both of those awards, considered — with album of the year — the recording industry’s most prestigious.Kacey Musgraves won top album and matched Childish Gambino with four Grammys total. A year a Feb 11, 2019 World Business [Graphic News] Emerging economies catching up in smartphone adoption: survey Smartphone use has become the norm in most developed nations, while many emerging economies are showing sharp gains, a global survey showed Tuesday. A Pew Research Center report found strong majorities of adults using smartphones in the world’s wealthier countries, led by 95 percent adoption in South Korea and 88 percent in Israel. The report is based on a survey of 30,133 people in 27 countries, conducted from May 14 to August 12, 2018. China, believed to be the world’s largest smartphone mark Feb 10, 2019 World News 5 alleged Hitler watercolors go unsold at German auction BERLIN -- Five watercolors attributed to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler from his early days as a struggling artist have failed to sell at auction in the southern German city of Nuremberg, possibly over fears they could be fakes. The Nuremberger Nachrichten newspaper reported Sunday that no bids were received on the paintings, which had starting prices of between 19,000 euros ($21,500) and 45,000 euros ($50,900). (AFP-Yonhap)Three days before Saturday‘s auction, prosecutors seized 63 other paintin Feb 10, 2019 World News Chimps use branch to make ladder, escape Belfast Zoo LONDON -- Zookeepers say a group of chimpanzees used branches weakened by a storm to make a ladder and escape from their enclosure at the Belfast Zoo.Video filmed Saturday by visitors to the Northern Ireland zoo showed several primates scaling a wall and perching atop it, with one walking down a path outside the enclosure.(AP-Yonhap News)Zookeeper Alyn Cairns said trees in the chimps‘ enclosure had been weakened by recent storms, allowing the animals to break them and fashion a ladder to escape. Feb 10, 2019 World News [Graphic News] S. Korea's corruption awareness ranking rises 6 notches to 45th in 2018 South Korea rose six notches in an international corruption awareness ranking to No. 45 of 180 countries in 2018, a report from a global anti-corruption watchdog showed. South Korea scored 57 out of 100 points in the 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index report issued by Berlin-based Transparency International. The index evaluates countries based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be, using corruption-related data collected by governance and business experts, according to Transparen Feb 7, 2019 World News [Graphic News] Hong Kong illegal wildlife trade on rise Illegal wildlife trade in Hong Kong is booming, according to a new study. In a report, conservation groups said Hong Kong has become a hub for wildlife crime, as millions of animals, plants and their derivatives are trafficked through the city every year by organized smugglers who rarely face stiff penalties. According an analysis of seizures for three commonly trafficked species since 2013, the volume of animal parts could equate to the death of 3,000 elephants, 65,000 pangolins and 51 rhino Jan 31, 2019 World Business From boardroom to prison: Ghosn still CEO at heart Carlos Ghosn started his interview like an executive running a board meeting."We don't have too much time, so let's start," he told two reporters from AFP and French daily Les Echos, as if calling unruly shareholders to order.But this was no boardroom or business meeting: this was the 10th floor of the Kosuge detention centre in Tokyo, where he has languished since Japanese prosecutors stormed his private jet brandishing allegations of financial misconduct.Clad in a black tracksuit and transluce Jan 29, 2019 World News [Newsmaker] US charges Huawei in technology theft, sanctions violations The US Justice Department on Monday unveiled sweeping charges against Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei in two cases likely to ratchet up tensions between the two superpowers -- including that of a top executive arrested in Canada on a US warrant.The department unveiled 13 charges against Huawei Technologies, its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou -- the daughter of the company's founder who is currently out on bail in Canada -- and two affiliates related to violating US sanctions on Ira Jan 28, 2019 World [Graphic News] "Living Coral" is 2019 color of the year Following 2018’s dramatic Ultra Violet, Pantone’s Color of the Year 2019 is Living Coral. Pantone Color Institute describes the color that “Living Coral is a bright pink-orange hue with a soft, golden undertone, making it a more livable shade of coral than we’ve seen in the past.” Pantone announces a new color of the year every December, based on its trend-forecasting research. MORE 15 / 22169
