Policy & regulation, IT & software, Disasters & accidents, Technology, Health
577 storiesSouth 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 …
Tanker catches fire in Black Sea near Sochi; Sirius beaches closed
A tanker caught fire in the Black Sea near Sochi, according to Russian state and business outlets. The head of the Sirius federal territory administration, Dmitry Plishkin, said its beaches would be temporarily closed and that water and air…
Kremlin urges reliance on official statements amid Irkutsk infection rumors
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Rospotrebnadzor is the competent agency on the situation in the Irkutsk region and that people should follow its official statements rather than rumors and speculation. The comments follow the death of a…
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…
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…
China issues yellow flash flood warning for parts of Jilin, Heilongjiang, Sichuan
The Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration jointly issued a yellow flash flood warning at 18:00 on October 4, covering 20:00 that day to 20:00 on October 5. Parts of northeastern Jilin, southeastern Heilongj…
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…
Trump says he is considering suspending federal gas tax ahead of midterms
President Donald Trump said Tuesday his administration is considering suspending the federal gas tax, as pump prices remain far above last year's levels a month before the midterm elections. Any suspension would require Congress, which is n…
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…
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…
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…
Defense minister: arts, sports military service exemption to be cut and abolished
South Korea's defense minister said on Oct 7 that the goal is to gradually reduce the arts and sports military service exemption and ultimately abolish it, after controversy over remarks by Asian Games football gold medallists about the exe…
GMO Research & AI says up to 948,498 infoQ members' data breached; site halted
GMO Research & AI said a vulnerability in its survey site infoQ was exploited and personal data for up to 948,498 members was taken out. Points worth about 2.87 million yen were exchanged without members' consent, which the company said it …
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…
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…
Typhoon No. 27 moves north near Ogasawara as typhoons 28 and 29 form
Typhoon No. 27, described by the Japan Meteorological Agency as large and very strong, moved north over waters near the Ogasawara Islands and was forecast to approach the islands at very strong intensity from the evening of Oct. 5 to early …
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…
AMD CEO Lisa Su to visit Korea Oct. 7 for Gamer Day; AI chip talks expected
AMD chair and CEO Lisa Su will visit Korea on Oct. 7, about seven months after her March trip, to attend an “AMD Gamer Day” event at 2 p.m. at Dragon City in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, AMD said. Su and senior vice president Jack Huynh will attend, …
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 …