Consumer, Health, Disasters & accidents · 24 h
32 storiesMFDS approves Hanmi's EPPE, Korea's first homegrown GLP-1 obesity drug
Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approved Hanmi Pharmaceutical's EPPE auto-injector (efpeglenatide) on Oct 7, the first domestically developed GLP-1 obesity drug and the country's 45th homegrown new drug. The injectable is indicated…
Tropical Storm Isaias forms off Mexico, forecast to hit US Gulf Coast as hurricane
Tropical Storm Isaias formed early Wednesday in warm waters off eastern Mexico with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, and the National Hurricane Center said it is expected to strengthen into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season befor…
Kremlin: Russia informed WHO of Irkutsk region situation after worker death
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia has informed the World Health Organization about the situation in the Irkutsk region, following the death of an employee of the Irkutsk anti-plague institute. Peskov also said he had no informatio…
Fire at Ustuu-Khuree Buddhist monastery complex in Tuva put out; no injuries
A fire broke out on 7 October at the Ustuu-Khuree Buddhist monastery complex in Tuva, about 5 km from the town of Chadan. Emergency services localized the blaze and later extinguished it; the MChS reported an area of 468 sq m, while earlier…
Tanker catches fire in Black Sea near Sochi; Sirius beaches closed
A tanker caught fire in the Black Sea near Sochi, according to Russian state and business outlets. The head of the Sirius federal territory administration, Dmitry Plishkin, said its beaches would be temporarily closed and that water and air…
Boy falls into Lake Biwa at Nagahama Port, taken to hospital in cardiopulmonary arrest
A boy fell into Lake Biwa at Nagahama Port in Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture, on the afternoon of October 7 and was taken to hospital in cardiopulmonary arrest, police and fire officials said. One outlet reported he was a 12-year-old first…
US reports largest state-level measles outbreak in over 30 years
The United States is experiencing its largest state-level measles outbreak in more than 30 years, according to Chinese media reports. Pennsylvania health authorities reported 1,004 confirmed measles cases and five deaths in 2026 as of Octob…
WHO says more than 170 million children and adolescents worldwide live with obesity
The World Health Organization says more than 170 million children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 worldwide have been diagnosed with obesity, with prevalence in that age group rising fourfold since 1990, from 2% to about 8%. The WHO issued gui…
China medical insurance pooled funds take in 2.07 trillion yuan in Jan-Aug
China's National Healthcare Security Administration released data showing that in January to August 2026 the basic medical insurance (including maternity insurance) pooled funds took in 2.072772 trillion yuan and spent 1.550414 trillion yua…
Celltrion's Avtozma wins FDA nod for pediatric COVID-19 use in US
Celltrion said the US Food and Drug Administration granted an additional approval for its Avtozma (tocilizumab) intravenous formulation to treat COVID-19 in patients aged 2 and older. The approval widens the drug's COVID-19 indication from …
Betta Pharmaceuticals unit's BPI-572270 capsule wins US FDA clinical trial clearance
Betta Pharmaceuticals said the US FDA has approved a clinical trial application for BPI-572270 capsules, filed by its wholly-owned subsidiary Jingyao Biology, for advanced solid tumours. The company described the drug as a self-developed pa…
Thailand flood death toll reaches 60; Bangkok and 27 provinces affected
Thailand's Interior Ministry disaster agency said on Oct 7 that flooding has killed 60 people and affected more than 1.48 million households, or 4.19 million people. The country has seen repeated heavy rain and widespread flooding since Sep…
South Korea study links severe gestational diabetes to higher diabetes risk in children
South Korea's National Institute of Health said children of mothers who had gestational diabetes are more likely to develop diabetes, with the risk rising to 4.3 times for type 2 diabetes among children of mothers who needed insulin during …
Trump says he will hold phone call with Putin soon over suspected plague death in Russia
A woman who worked at a plague research institute in Russia's Irkutsk Oblast fell ill and died on October 2, and suspicion has spread that she was infected with plague. Russian health authorities say the cause was "pneumonia of unknown caus…
Consumers sue Starbucks in US over “sugar-free” labels on eight drinks
Consumers have sued Starbucks in a US federal court in western Washington state, saying the chain falsely labels eight beverages as “sugar-free,” according to Japanese wire reports. The plaintiffs say a Venti-size (0.6–0.7 litre) drink from…
SUV falls into Daegu reservoir; one occupant found dead, police check for others
An SUV fell into the Naegwanji reservoir in Daeheung-dong, Suseong-gu, Daegu at about 04:17 on 7 October. Rescue teams found the vehicle and recovered the body of a woman believed to be in her 50s at about 08:22; she was already dead. Polic…
Three US consumers sue Starbucks over “Sugar-Free” protein drink labels
Three US consumers filed a proposed class action against Starbucks in Seattle federal court on October 2 over eight protein drinks whose names include “Sugar-Free”, saying a Venti contains 13–21 grams of sugar, mostly lactose from milk. Sta…
Guangxi ship flash explosion in Guigang kills 1, two missing
A moored engineering vessel on the Yujiang River in Guigang, Guangxi, suffered a flash explosion during painting work at about 17:15 on 6 October, killing one person and leaving two missing, with two more lightly injured. The Gangnan Distri…
GC Cell starts Phase 1b trial of GCC2005 in T-cell lymphoma, first patient dosed
GC Cell said on Oct 7 that its drug candidate GCC2005 (CD5 CAR-NK), a cell therapy for T-cell lymphoma, has entered a Phase 1b trial and that the first subject has been dosed. The company completed the dose-escalation stage of Phase 1a and …
Woman, 55, who collapsed on Vietnam trip donates organs to three
A 55-year-old South Korean woman, Ku Jin-hui, collapsed with a brain hemorrhage while traveling in Vietnam with her daughter on Sept. 12 and was later declared brain dead. The Korea Organ and Tissue Donation Agency said she donated her live…