Policy & regulation, Health, Economy
350 storiesDefense ministry to pursue cut, abolition of alternative service for arts, sports
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said on Oct 6 that it plans to ultimately pursue a reduction and abolition of supplementary military service, including arts and sports personnel, and to reflect it in the defense reform basic plan. Spokespers…
Netherlands proposes civilian reserve of 150,000 for emergencies
The Netherlands has proposed creating a civilian reserve for crises, with RTL reporting a target of 150,000 reservists for emergency situations, according to TASS. The reported roles include drivers, security guards and mechanics. RBC repor…
Russian woman at plague research institute dies; cause disputed
A woman in her 20s who worked at a plague control research institute in Russia's Irkutsk region died on October 2. Russian health authorities said on October 4 the cause was “pneumonia of unknown origin,” while speculation of plague infecti…
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…
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…
Japan August real wages rise 1.5% year on year, eighth straight monthly gain
Japan's real wages rose 1.5% in August from a year earlier, the eighth consecutive monthly increase and the first streak of that length in about 10 years, the health ministry's preliminary monthly labour survey showed. Nominal total cash ea…
Asian Games gold row widens as parties in South Korea seek exemption review
South Korea beat Japan 1-0 on October 3 to win a fourth consecutive Asian Games men's football gold, a result that exempts most of the squad from military service. A locker-room photo of Park Seung-su in a discharge hat, captain Lee Ki-hyuk…
South Korea's Lee orders CPTPP talks restarted from the beginning amid farm concerns
President Lee Jae-myung instructed at a cabinet meeting on Oct 6 that the government should not fix a conclusion on joining the CPTPP and should “restart dialogue from the beginning,” saying the pact's strategic value is cited alongside ver…
President Lee vows to keep pledge to end “real estate speculation republic”
President Lee Jae-myung said on Oct. 5 in a post on X that his government will keep its promise to escape the “real estate speculation republic,” saying the country cannot be made to face a “lost 30 years” from real-estate bomb-passing even…
WHO says risk low as US presses Russia for transparency on plague lab death
The U.S. State Department is monitoring reports of a fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly called on Moscow to be more transparent about the death of a 28-year-ol…
China health experts urge problem-driven push to turn disease research into treatments
Experts at a 2026 conference on disease prevention research and translation in China called for problem-driven collaboration between hospitals, universities and industry, with AI among the topics discussed. The director of a national key la…
New York declares measles disaster emergency as rural cases rise
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a statewide disaster emergency on Monday over a measles outbreak, an order CNN reported is the first such declaration by a U.S. state since cases began surging in 2025. The state has reported 108 case…
WHO and Russia say no further plague infections after Siberian lab worker's death
A female worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East died last week from pneumonia of undetermined origin, according to Russian authorities and the WHO. Russia's Rospotrebnadzor said 60% of the identified contact…
Kenya confirms first Ebola death after patient arrives from Congo via Uganda
Kenya’s Health Ministry confirmed the country’s first imported Ebola case on Tuesday, after a Kenyan man who arrived from the Democratic Republic of Congo via Uganda was treated at Nairobi Hospital and died late Monday. Authorities placed K…
Korean doctors and parties seek rules after police search of pediatric ER
Police searched the pediatric emergency medical center at Ajou University Hospital on September 30 as part of an investigation into the July death of a five-month-old infant. The National Council of Medical School Professors and other medic…
Two Gyeongbuk public institutions win top grade in provincial evaluation
The Gyeongbuk Credit Guarantee Foundation and the Gyeongbuk Women's Policy Development Institute received the highest grade in Gyeongbuk province's evaluation of its public institutions, according to three local outlets. The reports gave no…
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…
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…
National university hospital bed occupancy stuck at 56.4%, surgeries still below 2023
Average bed occupancy at South Korea's nine national university hospitals was 56.4% in both 2024 and last year, down from 73.6% in 2023, according to data Rep. Seo Mi-hwa obtained from the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Surgeries at ten na…