Policy & regulation, Health, Energy
355 storiesChina 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
South Korea weighs ending military service exemptions for athletes and artists
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said on October 6 that it is considering tightening or abolishing the military service exemption granted to athletes and artists, after some Asian Games gold medalists said exemption mattered more to them than…
Gulf producers keep Hormuz ‘shuttle’ crude exports; volumes said to top pre-war levels
Gulf oil producers including Saudi Arabia are still exporting crude through the Strait of Hormuz via high-risk “shuttle” runs, loading very large crude carriers inside the strait and transferring the oil to ships waiting outside, according …
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…
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.…
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…
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…
Kilmar Ábrego Garcia back in court as US seeks deportation to Liberia
Kilmar Ábrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March 2025, was due back in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Tuesday in his fight against deportation to Liberia. The government is asking U.S…
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 …
ABC asks federal judge to block FCC early review of its broadcast licenses
ABC asked a federal judge in Washington on Tuesday to block the FCC from conducting an early review of its broadcast licenses, calling it retaliation for content President Trump dislikes. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan did not rule immed…
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…
Japan transport ministry sets four-level flood risk plan for underpasses
Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism published guidelines on October 6 classifying underpasses nationwide into four flood-risk levels and calling for remotely operated or automatic barriers at the most dangerous s…
Russian government approves bioeconomy development strategy to 2036
Russia's government approved a bioeconomy development strategy running to 2036, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a meeting with deputy premiers, according to official and business outlets. The strategy defines priority areas for bio…
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…
South Korea to guarantee one-third of jeonse deposits for fraud victims from Nov. 13
South Korea's cabinet approved an enforcement decree amendment to the special act on jeonse fraud victims on Oct. 6, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, with the measure taking effect on Nov. 13. Victims whose total rec…