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842 storiesRussian anti-plague lab researcher dies; US and EU say they are monitoring
A 28-year-old female researcher at the Irkutsk anti-plague research institute in Shelekhov, Russia, died after being diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown cause, the state agency Rospotrebnadzor said. About 200 people who may have had contact…
Two large Seoul churches show signs of cyberattack; member data feared leaked
An analysis by cyber threat intelligence company Oasis Security found evidence that two large South Korean churches were hit by cyberattacks, with member records, donation and accounting data and internal documents found on an overseas atta…
South Korea chief justice refuses oath at audit, denies martial law role
Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae attended the Supreme Court’s parliamentary audit at the National Assembly on Oct. 6, delivered a greeting and refused to take the witness oath, saying demands for testimony about his recommendation of…
Kremlin: Putin to hold series of international calls on his birthday
Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a series of international telephone calls on October 7, his birthday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Peskov said other events are planned and the Kremlin will give details later. Kremlin aid…
Ruling party presses chief justice to testify at audit; opposition protests
South Korea's Legislation and Judiciary Committee held its Supreme Court audit on Oct. 6, where ruling and opposition lawmakers clashed over whether Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae should take the witness stand. Cho submitted an opinion letter on…
Japan transport ministry finds no pressure from farm minister over road budget
Japan's transport ministry said on 6 October that it found no lobbying or pressure from Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yanagi Kazuo over road budget allocations, after he was reported to have said he had “substantially cut” th…
WHO keeps low-risk view on Russian plague lab death; Russia denies accident
The World Health Organization said the public health risk to the general public appears low after a researcher at a plague research institute in Russia's Irkutsk region died following what reports described as a broken test tube of plague p…
Park Jin-young says he did not know of 2 mln won monthly committee payment
Park Jin-young, co-chair of the presidential Public Culture Exchange Committee and executive producer at JYP Entertainment, said he did not know he was receiving about 2 million won a month in duty expenses for the post, which had been desc…
Yemeni government announces “liberation war” offensive against Houthi forces
Yemen's government announced on October 4 the launch of a military operation against the Houthi movement, with army spokesman Majid al-Nuzaili calling it a “liberation war” to recover all national territory and offering pardons to Houthi fi…
Police question lawmaker Kim Jae-seop on audit opening day over Cancún trip claims
Seoul police questioned Rep. Kim Jae-seop of the People Power Party as a suspect from 10 a.m. on Oct. 6, the first day of the National Assembly audit, over allegations about former Seoul mayoral candidate Chung Won-oh’s 2023 trip to Cancún,…
Russian state agencies report explosions in Dnepropetrovsk, air alert in region
TASS reported an explosion in Dnepropetrovsk on 4 October and an air raid alert across Dnepropetrovsk region. A day later, on 5 October, both RIA Novosti and TASS reported that explosions had occurred in the city, with TASS saying the air r…
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…
Korea police open formal probe into AI-linked hacking of financial firms
South Korean police have converted their investigation into a series of AI-linked hacking attacks on financial institutions into a formal probe, assigning a 28-member, four-team dedicated unit. Data leaks have been confirmed at seven financ…
MrMax says breach may have leaked data of up to 1,735,154 members
MrMax Holdings said on October 6 that unauthorized access to servers for its MrMax app and online store may have exposed personal information of up to 1,735,154 members. The company said member IDs, names, email addresses and telephone numb…
Trump pledges $90 Medicare rebates for 20.8 million US seniors before midterms
President Donald Trump said late Friday that his administration would immediately begin sending checks of nearly $100 to more than 20 million seniors to help pay Medicare Part B premiums. The White House and the Centers for Medicare & Medic…
Daiwa Securities: vendor breach may have exposed data of 110,000 customers
Daiwa Securities said on Oct 5 that a server at outsourcing vendor Scalar Communications was subject to unauthorized access and that about 220,000 records may have leaked, including names, email addresses and securities account numbers for …
Asahi Kasei drug unit says cyberattack may have leaked data on up to 558,700 people
Asahi Kasei Therapeutics, the pharmaceutical subsidiary of Asahi Kasei, said a website it runs for medical professionals was hit by a cyberattack and that personal information on up to about 558,700 people may have leaked. Sankei Shimbun re…
Trump says he has call scheduled with Putin over suspected plague death in Siberia
President Trump said Tuesday he has a call scheduled with Vladimir Putin about the suspected pneumonic plague case in Siberia, after saying Monday the US was willing to help Russia. The case follows the death of Darya Shipilova, 28, a worke…
S. Korea Assembly audit clashes over chief justice's exit after greeting
The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee opened its Supreme Court audit on 6 October with a clash over whether Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae should leave the chamber after his greeting. Cho read his prepared remarks but did n…
DP leader Kim says court chief should quit if he cannot handle re-recommendation
Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok said Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae should step down if he cannot resolve the issue of re-recommending Supreme Court justice candidates. Kim made the remark on the party's YouTube programme, aft…