Policy & regulation, Society, Disasters & accidents
512 storiesFrance suspends lycée lessons as high-school protests hit 1,800 schools
Protests by high-school students in France on Tuesday affected around 1,800 lycées, according to RIA Novosti, while AFP, cited by TASS, reported that classes were suspended in nearly 900 senior schools — about a quarter of the country's tot…
Memphis council postpones data center moratorium vote as meeting erupts
The Memphis City Council voted 7-5 on Tuesday night to postpone a vote on a 12-month moratorium on new data centers and five related measures until October 20, prompting chaos at City Hall. Protesters chanted and were cleared from the chamb…
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.…
Tropical Storm Isaias forms off Mexico, forecast to hit US Gulf Coast as hurricane
Tropical Storm Isaias formed early Wednesday in warm waters off eastern Mexico with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, and forecasters expect it to strengthen into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season before reaching the U.S. Gulf Coa…
Bermuda mother and son identified in air ambulance crash off Nantucket
Bermuda police identified Marilyn Lavonne Bean, 66, and her son Sergio Wayne Lottimore, 41, both Bermudian nationals, as the two passengers on a Gulfstream G100 air ambulance that went missing off Nantucket, Massachusetts, around 1 a.m. Sat…
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…
South Korea unveils 1,000 trillion won green transition plan to 2035
South Korea announced a “Korean-style Green Transition” (K-GX) strategy on Oct 7, pledging about 1,000 trillion won over ten years to 2035 — 200 trillion won in fiscal support and more than 790 trillion won in climate finance through five p…
Moscow court fines Zoom 65.9 million rubles for repeat violation of Russian law
A Moscow court fined Zoom about 65.9 million rubles (65,936,494 rubles) for a repeat violation of Russian legislation on foreign internet companies, Interfax, Vedomosti and Kommersant reported. The case was heard under part 3 of article 13.…
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 …
Russia proposes letting businesses register at an email address
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko said a draft law has been prepared that would allow legal entities to register a business using an address in a state email system for official correspondence instead of a physical address. He said th…
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…
Russian tourist dies in paragliding accident near Fethiye in southwest Turkey
A Russian tourist died in a paragliding accident near the Turkish resort of Fethiye, Russian outlets reported, citing the Turkish broadcaster CNN Türk. TASS said an investigation has been opened. Vedomosti reported the man was 37 and that t…
KCTU to vote Oct 7 on return to social dialogue; council ready to talk
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (민주노총) will hold its 85th temporary delegate conference at 1 p.m. on Oct 7 at KINTEX in Goyang to vote on joining the Economic, Social and Labor Council (경사노위), which would end a 27-year absence from…
Fire at Ustuu-Khuree Buddhist monastery complex in Tuva put out; no injuries
A fire broke out on 7 October at the Ustuu-Khuree Buddhist monastery complex in Tuva, about 5 km from the town of Chadan. Emergency services localized the blaze and later extinguished it; the MChS reported an area of 468 sq m, while earlier…
Busan shark Bukkangi crosses net, returns to waterway; rescue paused
The shark nicknamed Bukkangi, believed to be a dusky shark about 3 m long, crossed a large net and returned to the artificial waterway at Busan's Bukhang Chinsu Park around noon on Oct 3, a day after a second attempt to guide it to open sea…
Thailand flood death toll reaches 60; Bangkok and 27 provinces affected
Thailand's Interior Ministry disaster agency said on Oct 7 that flooding has killed 60 people and affected more than 1.48 million households, or 4.19 million people. The country has seen repeated heavy rain and widespread flooding since Sep…
FT: EU weighs broad corporate levy to raise taxes on US tech groups
The European Commission is considering a new mechanism to raise more tax revenue from large US technology companies without singling them out as a separate category, the Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources. Under discussion is …
Finland's finance ministry proposes raising retirement age to 70
Finland's Ministry of Finance has proposed raising the minimum retirement age to 70, according to a report titled “Trust in the Future”. The plan would increase the threshold by six months for each successive age group and forms part of a b…
Off-duty firefighter rescues woman standing outside Chuncheon bridge railing
An off-duty firefighter heading home from a morning workout found a woman standing outside the railing of Soyang 2 Bridge in Chuncheon on Oct. 1 and held her arm until emergency crews arrived. Two passing citizens joined him, and a 119 crew…
South Korea re-designates 92 population decline regions, adds 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 earlier. Busan's Geumjeong-gu, Gyeonggi's Dongducheon …