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695 storiesNuri 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…
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 …
Turkey, Pakistan to send forces to Saudi Arabia as Houthi strikes widen
Turkey and Pakistan said they will provide agreed military forces and take steps to deploy them rapidly to Saudi Arabia, after an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Oct. 5, in the first activation of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed on …
UAE ranks first globally in citizen satisfaction with government digital services
The UAE ranked first globally in citizen satisfaction with government digital services, with 89% of respondents rating them highly, according to Boston Consulting Group’s 2026 Digital Government Citizen Survey Report. The survey, conducted …
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…
JCS: North Korean mines caused DMZ blast; military clears minefield south of MDL
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said a Sept. 21 explosion in the western-front Demilitarized Zone that seriously injured a soldier was caused by a North Korean plastic anti-personnel mine laid south of the Military Demarcation Line. JCS…
Russia's Gosuslugi portal to add red and green anti-fraud buttons
TASS reported that Russia's Gosuslugi portal will get red and green buttons against fraud. iXBT said the red button will alert banks, telecom operators and law enforcement via the GIS Antifraud system, which can then suspend transfers or re…
Korea financial regulator orders AI-based defense after hacking wave
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission held an emergency meeting on 4 October after hacking and data leaks were confirmed at seven financial companies, including Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Hana and BNK Busan banks, savings banks Yegaram and …
Shinhan Bank data breach victims move toward class action in Seoul
A law firm in Seoul has begun recruiting plaintiffs for a damages class action against Shinhan Bank over a data breach that exposed about 25,000 customers’ personal information on Oct. 1. Shinhan’s chief executive has apologised and promise…
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…
Chinese team builds first 3D cell atlas of rice life cycle, published in Cell
A Chinese multi-institution team said it has constructed the world’s first three-dimensional spatiotemporal cell atlas covering rice from seed germination to flowering and fruiting, with the paper published online in Cell on the evening of …
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…
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…
Korea financial regulator orders full security review after bank data leaks
Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eok-won chaired an emergency meeting of the entire financial sector in Seoul on Oct. 4 after customer data leaks spread from major banks to non-bank lenders, saying the possibility of AI-enabled ha…
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…
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…
Russia says its forces advance in northern and central Dobropolye
Russia's Defence Ministry said its assault groups advanced in the northern and central parts of Dobropolye, in the Donetsk People's Republic, and that marine infantry units finished clearing residential buildings in the city's eastern distr…
Russia's Defence Ministry says forces tighten encirclement in northeast Kharkiv region
Russia's Defence Ministry said units of its “North” grouping are tightening an encirclement of Ukrainian formations in northeastern Kharkiv region and expanding an outer zone of control, with fighting for several villages. The ministry said…
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…
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…