Policy & regulation, War & conflict, Health · 3 days
527 storiesLatvia says armed masked men from Belarus threatened its troops at border
Latvia's interior minister, Jānis Dombrava, said a group of masked people illegally crossed into Latvia from Belarus after the military stopped about 20 migrants from entering. Latvia's National Armed Forces said the migrants were accompani…
Saudi Arabia says 2 airports hit in renewed fighting with Houthis
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said airports in Najran and Jizan were hit Monday, damaging both facilities and leaving three people lightly injured; the statement did not say who was responsible. A Houthi brigadier gener…
Swedish air force plane flew radar reconnaissance over Black Sea, TASS reports
Russian state outlets reported that a Swedish Air Force aircraft carried out reconnaissance over the Black Sea, with TASS saying the flight was radar reconnaissance and that the plane took off from the Malmen military base. TASS later repor…
Korea's top individual tax delinquent Kwon Hyuk to pay 393.8 billion won
The National Tax Service said on Oct 7 that Kwon Hyuk, chairman of Sido Group and the country's largest individual tax delinquent, has submitted a plan to pay 393.8 billion won in back taxes in full, 15 years after the tax was assessed. He …
Asian Games exemption row: Ahn Cheol-soo urges review, defense ministry regrets remarks
People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo said on 7 October that the military service exemption for Asian Games gold medalists should be reviewed for abolition starting with this tournament, noting the rule is a presidential decree that Pre…
Russia denies plague after worker at Siberian institute dies of unknown pneumonia
A woman who worked at a plague-control research institute in Russia's Irkutsk region in eastern Siberia has died; Japanese outlets differ on whether she died on Oct 1 or Oct 2. Russian authorities say the cause was “pneumonia of unknown cau…
Defense minister: arts, sports military service exemption to be cut and abolished
South Korea's defense minister said on Oct 7 that the goal is to gradually reduce the arts and sports military service exemption and ultimately abolish it, after controversy over remarks by Asian Games football gold medallists about the exe…
South Korea re-designates 92 population decline regions, adding Busan Geumjeong, Dongducheon and Tongyeong
South Korea's Ministry of the Interior and Safety re-designated 92 cities, counties and districts as population decline regions on Oct. 7, up from 89 in the first designation five years ago. Busan's Geumjeong-gu, Gyeonggi's Dongducheon and …
Trump signs order allowing tax-free red-dyed diesel on highways
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday temporarily allowing off-road red-dyed diesel to be used for highway driving and deferring the federal excise tax on that fuel through the end of 2026 without interest or penalties.…
Russia quarantines hospital as lab worker’s death puts nearly 200 under observation
A female employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East died last week of pneumonia of unknown cause, Russian authorities said, and a hospital in the town of Shelekhov was placed under quarantine. Officia…
Pentagon withdraws all bombers from UK's RAF Fairford after suspected terror plot
The Pentagon said all U.S. bombers deployed to Royal Air Force Fairford in England have returned to their home stations in the United States, after a suspected terror plot against the base; the New York Times reported the withdrawal followe…
Drones attack two merchant ships in Black Sea off Bulgaria, one reported sunk
Bulgarian authorities said drones attacked two vessels in the country’s maritime economic zone in the Black Sea, and TASS reported one of them sank. The attack came a day after a cargo ship was hit by drones off Romania’s coast and sank, wi…
Israel marks three years since Oct. 7 attack with memorials and protests
Israelis gathered on Wednesday to mark three years since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack, which killed more than 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, with ceremonies, memorials and protests at more than 400 locations. A national moment…
South Korea culture ministry issues director-level personnel notice
South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism released a personnel appointment notice on 5 October 2026, carried by Newsis, Yonhap, Seoul Economic Daily, Asia Economy, Kyunghyang Shinmun and Hankook Ilbo. Yonhap's summary described …
South Korea military blames North Korean DMZ mines for injuries, clears site
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Oct 5 that its final investigation concluded a mine explosion on the western front DMZ that injured soldiers was caused by North Korean mines laid south of the Military Demarcation Line. The milit…
Land minister says Gangnam, Yongsan home prices have turned negative
Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Hong Ji-seon told a National Assembly audit on Oct 7 that home prices in Seoul's Gangnam three districts and Yongsan have turned negative, and said price growth should ease with the market stabili…
South Korea says North Korean mine caused DMZ blast, demands apology
South Korea's military announced on October 5 that its final investigation concluded a landmine that exploded near the inter-Korean Military Demarcation Line and injured three South Korean military officers was a North Korean anti-personnel…
Russian military says it struck berthing infrastructure at Izmail port
The Russian defence ministry said Russian forces struck berthing infrastructure at the port of Izmail. According to the ministry, the facilities were used for unloading and storing Ukrainian military cargo. The three reports give no informa…
Multiple explosions heard in Kyiv early on Oct 7
Multiple explosions were heard in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, in the early hours of Oct 7, 2026, according to Chinese media reports citing foreign media. Xinhua also reported the explosions. No details on casualties, damage or cause were provi…
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…