Science, Society, Health, Disasters & accidents
475 storiesRussian 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…
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…
KCTU vote on rejoining Korea's social dialogue council collapses
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) failed to hold a vote on returning to the Economic, Social and Labor Council at an extraordinary delegate meeting in Goyang on October 7, after opposing delegates walked out and quorum was los…
Tropical Depression Nine forecast to become Hurricane Isaias, threaten Gulf Coast
Tropical Depression Nine formed in the southwestern Gulf with 35 mph winds and is forecast to become Tropical Storm Isaias and then a hurricane on Thursday, CNN reported. It is expected to reach Category 2 strength with 100 mph winds as it …
Pennsylvania measles cases pass 1,000, largest state outbreak in decades
Pennsylvania has reported 1,004 measles cases in 2026, the state Department of Health said Monday, including at least 198 hospitalizations and five deaths. State health officials say it is the largest outbreak in any U.S. state in more than…
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…
Three Korean business dailies publish daily fortune columns dated Oct 5
Maeil Business, Chosun Ilbo and Korea Economic Daily each published a daily fortune column dated October 5, 2026, the 25th day of the eighth lunar month. Chosun Ilbo's feature, carried since 2017 and written by Han So-pyeong of Geumo Sanban…
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…
Nuri rocket completes fifth launch, placing satellites in orbit
South Korea’s Nuri rocket lifted off at 12:25 p.m. local time on Oct 7 from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, carrying 15 satellites, the most in its history, and placed the five main ultra-small cluster satellites in their target orbit. Ne…
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…
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…
Nuri declared a success on fifth flight; five cluster satellites make contact
South Korea's Nuri rocket lifted off at 12:25 p.m. from the Naro Space Center in Goheung and the Korea Aerospace Administration declared the fifth flight a success, saying all 15 satellites were placed in orbit. Officials said 14 of the 15 …
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 …
MFDS approves Hanmi's EPPE, Korea's first homegrown GLP-1 obesity drug
Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approved Hanmi Pharmaceutical's EPPE auto-injector (efpeglenatide) on Oct 7, the first domestically developed GLP-1 obesity drug and the country's 45th homegrown new drug. The injectable is indicated…
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…
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 the National Hurricane Center said it is expected to strengthen into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season befor…
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…
Nuri 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…
Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai win 2026 Nobel Prize in chemistry
Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai won the 2026 Nobel Prize in chemistry, announced Wednesday at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, for work on molecules that exist as mirror images of each other. Kagan showed in the 1980s that …
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 …