Policy & regulation, Climate & environment, Science, Health, AI
507 storiesBoston Dynamics names former Amazon AI executive Rohit Prasad as CEO
Boston Dynamics, described by Korean outlets as Hyundai Motor Group's robot affiliate, said it has appointed Rohit Prasad, a former Amazon executive who led work on the Alexa voice assistant, as its new chief executive. The company said the…
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…
SpaceX seeks $40bn Apollo-led financing to buy Nvidia chips, reports say
SpaceX is seeking about $40bn in financing, led by Apollo Global Management, to buy Nvidia chips, according to reports citing people familiar with the matter. The company plans roughly $10bn in bank loans and $30bn in investment-grade bonds…
Nuri rocket lifts off with 15 satellites in fifth launch
South Korea’s Nuri rocket lifted off at 12:25 p.m. local time on Oct 7 from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, carrying 15 satellites, the most in its history. The five main ultra-small cluster satellites were placed in their target orbit, m…
Nuri rocket lifts off on fifth flight carrying record 15 satellites
South Korea's Nuri rocket launched at 12:25 p.m. on Oct. 7 from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, after the launch management committee confirmed the time that morning. The rocket carries 15 satellites — five NEOANSAT microsatellite cluster…
Russian 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…
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…
Nobel physics prize goes to IceCube neutrino researcher Francis Halzen
Sweden's Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on 6 October that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics goes to Francis Halzen of the University of Wisconsin-Madison for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery…
France's Mistral releases largest open-weight AI model, Mistral Large 4
France's Mistral released Mistral Large 4, its largest open-weight AI model, nicknamed “Chonk”, on Oct 6 foreign local time, with general availability set for Oct 27. Users can download the parameters, or weights, and customize the model on…
Francis Halzen wins 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for IceCube neutrino work
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics to Francis Halzen for his decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos. Halzen, born in Bel…
SME Minister Lee So-young unveils startup venture regulatory innovation committee at audit
South Korea's SMEs and startups minister, Lee So-young, said on October 7 that her ministry will create a "Startup Venture Regulatory Innovation Committee" to find regulatory improvements, and set out plans to expand the small-business soci…
Korea's FSS tells 21 securities firms to shift to preventive internal audits
The Financial Supervisory Service met auditors from 21 securities firms in Seoul on Oct 7 and told them to move from audits that catch problems after the fact to preventive checks that protect investors first. The regulator cited repeated v…
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…
Nobel medicine prize goes to three researchers for optogenetics
The Karolinska Institute announced on October 5 that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine goes to Karl Deisseroth of Stanford University, Peter Hegemann of Humboldt University of Berlin and Georg Nagel of the University of Würzbur…
UAE sets phased caps on salt, sugar and fat in packaged foods, fines up to Dh500,000
The UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention has begun implementing a resolution that caps sodium, sugar and fat in selected packaged foods, with phased limits running until the end of 2030. The rules apply to locally made and imported produ…
Korea forecasts clear, chilly weather with 15-degree day-night temperature swing
South Korea's official forecast and local outlets predicted mostly clear skies for Tuesday, Oct. 6 and Wednesday, Oct. 7, with cold mornings and a day-night temperature difference of about 15 degrees Celsius. Tuesday's forecast included mor…
Nuri rocket deploys 15 satellites on fifth flight; final success verdict due
South Korea's Nuri rocket lifted off at 12:25 p.m. local time from the Naro Space Center in Goheung and completed its flight, separating all 15 satellites aboard — five NEONSAT cluster satellites and ten cube satellites, according to the Ko…
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 …
Nuri rocket lifts off at 12:25 with 15 satellites on fifth flight
South Korea's Nuri launch vehicle lifted off at 12:25 local time on Oct 7 from the second pad of the Naro Space Center in Goheung, carrying five ultra-small cluster satellites and 10 cubesats. Kerosene and liquid oxygen loading was complete…
Nuri rocket erected on launch pad ahead of fifth flight on Oct 7
South Korea's Nuri rocket moved from its assembly building to the second launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung on the morning of Oct 6 and was erected and fixed in place at 10:35, according to the Korea AeroSpace Administration and…