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It was so strong it set off tsunami warnings in Japan, China and the Philippines. But then, even in a fault-riddled place with long and hard experience with earthquakes, the jolt of aftershock after aftershock was startling, continuing every few minutes throughout the day. The magnitude-7.4 quake killed nine and injured at least 1,011 others, stretching an expert quake response system that has served as a model in other places. In Hualien County, close to the epicenter, 71 people were trapped in two mining areas as of Wednesday night and dozens of others were stranded, according to officials. Around 14,000 households were without water, and 1,000 households were without power.

Persons: aftershock Locations: Taiwan, Japan, China, Philippines, Hualien County

☆ After Strike, Aid Groups in Gaza Are More Fearful Than Ever
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Aid groups in Gaza said on Tuesday that they were more concerned than ever about the safety of their staff members there after seven World Central Kitchen workers were killed in an airstrike, saying that the deaths underscored the growing challenges of meeting Palestinians’ basic needs. Humanitarian workers have been killed throughout the war in Gaza. Several other aid groups say their staff members have been killed in airstrikes. As they assessed their future plans, aid groups urged the Israeli authorities to adhere to the international laws that protect humanitarian workers. “Everybody feels endangered now,” said Michael Capponi, the founder of Global Empowerment Mission, a nonprofit aid group distributing tents, sleeping bags, medical equipment and food to Palestinians in Gaza.

Persons: Juliette Touma, ”, Michael Capponi, Capponi, “ Organizations: Central, UNRWA, United Nations, Global Empowerment, Central Kitchen Locations: Gaza

☆ Nuclear fusion experiment sets record for time at 100 million degrees Celsius
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Often referred to as the holy grail of climate solutions clean energy, fusion has the potential to provide limitless energy without planet-warming carbon pollution. KSTAR’s work “will be of great help to secure the predicted performance in ITER operation in time and to advance the commercialization of fusion energy,” Si-Woo Yoon said. This announcement adds to a number of other nuclear fusion breakthroughs. But commercializing nuclear fusion still remains a long way off as scientists work to solve fiendish engineering and scientific difficulties. Nuclear fusion “is not ready yet and therefore it can’t help us with the climate crisis now,” said Aneeqa Khan, research fellow in nuclear fusion at the University of Manchester in the UK.

Persons: Woo Yoon, ”, Aneeqa Khan, Angela Dewan Organizations: CNN — Scientists, KSTAR Research, Korean Institute of Fusion Energy, CNN, International, Reactor, Lawrence Livermore, Oxford, University of Manchester Locations: South Korea, France, United States

☆ North Korea tests missile, Seoul says, ahead of vote seen as gauge of support for hardline South Korean leader
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —North Korea test-fired a presumed intermediate-range ballistic missile on Tuesday, South Korean officials said, its latest military maneuver since leader Kim Jong Un’s New Year declaration that he was ending a policy seeking reconciliation with the South. Pyongyang’s shows of power included long-range artillery and multiple rocket launchers, which pose a threat to the South Korean capital Seoul and other key areas near the border. But Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said Tuesday’s suspected missile test by North Korea won’t have much effect on the vote. North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui last week quashed recent speculation that Kishida could meet with North Korea’s Kim. North Korea “will not allow any attempt of Japan to contact” Pyongyang, he said, according to KCNA.

Persons: Kim Jong, Yoon Suk Yeol, Kim, Yoon’s, Democratic Party –, Yoon, Leif, Eric Easley, ” Easley, Easley, Tuesday’s, Fumio Kishida, Joe Biden, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Choe Son Hui, North Korea’s Kim, CNN’s Yoonjung Seo Organizations: South Korea CNN, North, South, Korean Central News Agency, CNN, Yoon’s People Power Party, Democratic Party, Ewha Womans University, Assembly, Korean, Philippine, North Korean Foreign, North Korea “ Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, Pyongyang, United States, North, Japan, Washington, China

Shin Joon Hwan, an ecologist, walked along a road lined with cherry trees on the verge of blooming last week, examining the fine hairs around their dark red buds. The flowers in Gyeongju, South Korea, an ancient capital, belong to a common Japanese variety called the Yoshino, or Tokyo cherry. Mr. Shin’s advocacy group wants to replace those trees with a kind that it insists is native to South Korea, called the king cherry. “These are Japanese trees that are growing here, in the land of our ancestors,” said Mr. Shin, 67, a former director of South Korea’s national arboretum.

Persons: Shin Joon Hwan, ”, Shin Locations: Gyeongju, South Korea, Tokyo

☆ South Korea’s 2024 Parliament Election: What to Know
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

South Koreans go to the polls on April 10 to select a new 300-member National Assembly. Mr. Yoon won the presidential election in March 2022 by a razor-thin margin, and three months later, his People Power Party won the most big-city mayor and provincial governor races. But two major handicaps have hobbled his presidency: his party’s lack of control in the single-chamber Assembly and Mr. Yoon’s low approval ratings. Mr. Yoon will also see it as lending political legitimacy to his policy of aligning South Korea more closely with the United States. But if the opposition scores a decisive win, it will further weaken Mr. Yoon’s leadership and may turn him into an early lame duck, political analysts say.

Persons: Yoon Suk, Yoon Organizations: National Assembly, Democratic Party, People Power Party Locations: Korea, United States

PinnedA cargo ship struck a bridge that crosses outer Baltimore Harbor early Tuesday, triggering a collapse, the authorities said. The Coast Guard received a report of an impact at 1:27 a.m. Eastern time at the Francis Scott Key Bridge, said Matthew West, a petty officer first class for the Coast Guard in Baltimore. “I-695 Key Bridge collapse due to ship strike,” the agency said on the social media site X. Officer West of the Coast Guard said that a Singapore-flagged cargo ship, the Dali, had hit the bridge. The bridge — named after Francis Scott Key, the author of the American national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner” — opened in 1977.

Persons: Francis Scott Key, Matthew West, Niki Fennoy, Brandon M, Scott, “, Dali, Grace Ocean, Scott’s, —, Derrick Bryson Taylor Organizations: Coast Guard, Baltimore Police, Fire Department, Maryland Transportation, Grace, Maryland Transportation Authority, Maryland Port Administration, American Locations: Baltimore, ”, Singapore, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Maryland

☆ What to Know About Holi, India’s Most Colorful Tradition
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( John Yoon | Hari Kumar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A rainbow haze swirls through India, where raucous laughter rings out as friends and strangers douse one another with fists full of pigmented powder. It is time for the ancient Hindu tradition of Holi, an annual celebration of spring. In 2024, crimson, emerald, indigo and saffron clouds will hover over the country on March 25 for one of its most vibrant, joyful and colorful festivals. “Playing Holi,” as Indians say, has spread far beyond India’s borders. People gather around the flames to sing, dance and pray for an evening ritual called Holika Dahan, which re-enacts the demise of a Hindu mythical demoness, Holika.

Persons: ” Locations: India, India’s, Holika

☆ South Koreans are dealing with burnout and loneliness by getting pet rocks
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

South Korean millennials are turning to pet rocks to combat loneliness and burnout at work. Originally a 1970s joke gift, pet rocks can give a low-maintenance sense of companionship. AdvertisementAdults in South Korea are using pet rocks to help with loneliness and burnout at work. The Journal's Jiyoung Sohn spoke to millennials turning to pet rocks to help them through difficult periods in their careers. Related storiesThe coronavirus pandemic prompted a pet-rock boom in South Korea, according to a July 2023 report by Korea JoongAng Daily.

Persons: —, Gary Dahl, Bettmann, Jiyoung Sohn, Koo Ah, Sohn, Koo, Yoon Jeonghan, Gen Z Organizations: Service, Street, Business, South Korea's Ministry of Interior, Safety, The Korea Herald, South Korea's Ministry, CNN, Bloomberg, Companies Locations: South Korea, Asia, Seoul, Korea

☆ North Korea fires ballistic missiles as Blinken visits Seoul
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

People are seen watching television at Seoul's Yongsan Railway Station showing North Korea's first test-firing of the new strategic cruise missile Pulhwasal-3-31. North Korea fired ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday for the first time in two months, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Seoul for a conference hosted by President Yoon Suk Yeol on advancing democracy. North Korea fired ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday for the first time in two months, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Seoul for a conference hosted by President Yoon Suk Yeol on advancing democracy. Japan later said that it had detected what appeared to be a second ballistic missile launch by the North, and that both fell outside its exclusive economic zone area. North Korea's military has been conducting exercises using conventional weapons in recent weeks, often personally overseen by the isolated state's leader, Kim Jong Un.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Yoon Suk, Fumio Kishida, Kishida, Kim Jong Un Locations: Yongsan, Korea, Seoul, North Korea, Pyongyang, United States, Japan, Japanese

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Shohei Ohtani may be South Korea's most-beloved Japanese athlete, a testament to his charm in softening any lingering animosity between the two neighbors. “I think Ohtani would perhaps be the first Japanese athlete who we can say we like. After his arrival in South Korea, he told reporters that he’s always respected South Korea’s national teams and called South Korea “one of my favorite countries." In 2019, a forced-labor issue triggered widespread public campaigns in South Korea to boycott Japanese goods and services. But despite their often-rocky political relations, South Korea and Japan are closely linked to each other culturally and economically.

Persons: covets, ”, Lee Jong, “, Hwang Seon, he’s, Yoon Suk, Heung, ” Lee, ___ Organizations: Major League Baseball, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, Korean, Dodgers, Seoul’s Hanyang University, Ohtani’s South, South, Twitter, Tottenham Hotspur Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, Korean, Japan, Korea, South Koreans

☆ ‘Squid Game’ Actor Found Guilty of Sexual Misconduct
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A South Korean court on Friday found Oh Young-soo, an actor who won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of a contestant in the Netflix survival drama “Squid Game,” guilty of indecent assault. Mr. Oh, 79, was given an eight-month suspended sentence and ordered to attend 40 hours of classes on sexual violence. The verdict and sentencing were announced on Friday at a district court in Seongnam, a city southeast of Seoul. Mr. Oh had publicly denied the charge. Prosecutors charged Mr. Oh in 2022 after an actress filed a complaint accusing him of inappropriately touching her while the two were on tour for a play in 2017.

Persons: ” Organizations: Globe, Netflix Locations: Seongnam, Seoul

Philippine Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual (R) and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo attend a press conference in the Philippines on March 11, 2024. Chinese electric cars can one day drive on U.S. roads if there are enough government controls on software and sensors, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told CNBC's Eunice Yoon in an exclusive interview Tuesday. I could see a day when we have those vehicles on roads in the United States," Raimondo said, "but not unless we have very significant controls and conditions around the software and sensors in those cars." "Because at the end of the day we must protect the American people from the threat that China poses," Raimondo said, claiming that Beijing could access data about location or personal messages transmitted through Chinese-made cars. China's Foreign Ministry has said that "the Chinese government has never asked and will never ask any company or individual to collect or provide data, information or intelligence located abroad against local laws."

Persons: Alfredo Pascual, Gina Raimondo, CNBC's Eunice Yoon, " Raimondo Organizations: Philippine Department of Trade, Industry, US, . Commerce, Department of Commerce Locations: Philippines, U.S, United States, China, Beijing, Mexico

☆ 3 Killed in National Guard Helicopter Crash Near Mexican Border
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( John Yoon | More About John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Three people were killed and one was critically injured after a helicopter carrying National Guard members and a Border Patrol agent crashed in southern Texas on Friday while following people who were crossing the border with Mexico, officials said. The helicopter, which crashed at 2:50 p.m., was conducting an operation near Rio Grande City, according to Joint Task Force North, an operation under the Defense Department that supports Customs and Border Protection with National Guard units. Two of the dead were soldiers, and the third was a Border Patrol agent, Joint Task Force North said in a statement, adding that it would not share the names of the victims because their families had not been notified. The National Guard confirmed in a statement that its members on board were part of the Army National Guard. That model has served as the U.S. Army’s light utility helicopter since 2006, according to Airbus, the manufacturer.

Organizations: National Guard, Border Patrol, Task Force, Defense Department, Army National Guard, UH, Lakota, Airbus Locations: Texas, Mexico, Rio Grande City

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's president vowed Wednesday not to tolerate the prolonged walkouts by thousands of junior doctors, calling them “an illegal collective action” that threatens public health and shakes the country’s governing systems. Their walkouts have subsequently caused hundreds of canceled surgeries and other treatments at their hospitals and burdened South Korea's medical service. But if senior doctors joined the walkouts, South Korea's medical service would suffer a major blow. The Korean Medical Association, which represents doctors in South Korea, has expressed its support for the striking junior doctors, but hasn't decided whether to take part in the walkouts. Police were investigating allegations that five senior KMA officials incited and abetted the junior doctors' walkouts, and said they summoned one of them Wednesday.

Persons: Yoon Suk, ” Yoon, ”, haven’t, Heath, hasn't Organizations: Health Ministry, Health, South, Korean Medical Association, . Police Locations: SEOUL, South Korea

☆ 1 Killed as Explosion at Michigan Vape Distributor Sends Canisters Flying
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Emily Schmall | John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A teenager in Michigan was struck and killed by a flying butane canister from an explosive fire at a vaping distributor’s warehouse about a quarter mile away on Monday night, the authorities said. The 19-year-old man, who was not identified, was among several people injured from chunks of metal that the force of the explosion projected as far as a mile away, Mark Hackel, the county executive in Macomb County in Eastern Michigan, said in an interview. The fire, which began shortly before 9 p.m. on Monday, filled the night sky with flames and smoke, prompted the police to urge residents to avoid the area and left a trail of charred debris along 15 Mile Road, a highway in Clinton Township, Mich.“You could see the amount of fire just coursing in the sky, and the explosions were actually shaking the car,” Tim Duncan, the chief of Clinton Township’s fire department, said in a news conference on Tuesday morning.

Persons: Mark Hackel, Tim Duncan, Clinton Locations: Michigan, Macomb County, Eastern Michigan, Clinton Township, Mich

☆ China sets 5% growth target
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailChina sets 5% growth targetCNBC's Eunice Yoon reports on the latest news from China.

Persons: Eunice Yoon Organizations: China Locations: China

☆ China sets 2024 economic targets: Here's what to know
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Eunice Yoon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailChina sets 2024 economic targets: Here's what to knowCNBC's Eunice Yoon joins 'Squawk Box' from Beijing with the latest news out of the National People's Congress annual meeting.

Persons: Eunice Yoon Organizations: China, National People's Locations: Beijing

☆ Investors eye Beijing on stimulus as China holds annual parliamentary meeting
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailInvestors eye Beijing on stimulus as China holds annual parliamentary meetingCNBC's Eunice Yoon joins 'Squawk Box' with the latest news out of Beijing.

Persons: Eunice Yoon Organizations: Investors Locations: Beijing, China

CNN —Thousands of doctors in South Korea took to the streets of Seoul on Sunday to protest the government’s plans to increase medical school admissions and what they see as a broader lack of support for the country’s medical system. The doctors say the government needs to address a wider range of challenges facing the healthcare system than just the total number of doctors trained per year. Around 8,000 trainee doctors in South Korea began striking on February 21 by submitting their resignation. A doctor writes messages during a rally to protest against government plans to increase medical school admissions in Seoul on Sunday. Compounding the challenge, South Korea has the world’s lowest birth rate, which has been falling continuously since 2015.

Persons: Kim Hong, ’, Yoon Suk Yeol, ”, Jessie Yeung, Yoonjung Seo Organizations: CNN, South, Gallup Locations: South Korea, Seoul

☆ South Korea Needs Foreign Workers, but Often Fails to Protect Them
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But the nation is more dependent than ever before on an import to keep its factories and farms humming: foreign labor. This shift is part of the fallout from a demographic crisis that has left South Korea with a shrinking and aging population. President Yoon Suk Yeol’s government has responded by more than doubling the quota for low-skilled workers from less-developed nations including Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal, the Philippines and Bangladesh. Hundreds of thousands of them now toil in South Korea, typically in small factories, or on remote farms or fishing boats — jobs that locals consider too dirty, dangerous or low-paying. With little say in choosing or changing employers, many foreign workers endure predatory bosses, inhumane housing, discrimination and other abuses.

Persons: —, Yoon Suk Organizations: Samsung, Hyundai, LG Locations: South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal, Philippines, Bangladesh

☆ A K-Pop Star’s Lonely Downward Spiral
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Motoko Rich | John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The K-pop star looked utterly drained. Her face scrubbed of makeup, Goo Hara, one of South Korea’s most popular musical artists, gazed into the camera during an Instagram livestream from a hotel room in Japan. In a fading voice, she read questions from fans watching from around the world. Her father at one point attempted suicide. After grueling training, she debuted in a K-pop group at 17, early even by the standards of the Korean hit-making machine.

Persons: Goo Hara Locations: Japan

☆ China's real estate reckoning
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Eunice Yoon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailChina's real estate reckoningCNBC's Eunice Yoon joins 'Squawk Box' from Beijing with a look at China's real estate sector.

Persons: Eunice Yoon Locations: Beijing

☆ Mark Zuckerberg's Asia trip is all about making AI friends
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Mark Zuckerberg isn't just in Asia to enjoy Japanese McDonald's and hit the ski slopes. The meetings will put Meta's AI and mixed reality ambitions front and center as competition grows. The likes of Meta's AI chief Yann LeCun have pushed back on suggestions that open-source AI is dangerous because the sheer volume of resources any bad actor would need to use an AI model maliciously makes it highly untenable. Meta's mission to build businessPoliticians won't be the only thing on Zuckerberg's mind on his Asian trip. Meta's line of mixed reality headsets, the Quests, finally face a formidable foe following Apple's release of the Vision Pro this month.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg isn't, —, Mark Zuckerberg, Kokaji, Zuckerberg, Fumio Kishida, Sam Altman, Kishida, Yoon Suk, OpenAI's Altman, FABRICE COFFRINI, Yann LeCun, ROBYN BECK, Getty Zuckerberg, Jay Y, Lee Organizations: Service, Japan's, Japan Times, South, Bloomberg, Economic, Business, Meta, Vision, Apple, LG Electronics, Samsung Locations: Asia, Japan, Davos, South Korea, Switzerland, Seoul

☆ Wildfires Prompt Evacuations in Texas and Oklahoma
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( John Yoon | More About John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Wildfires were spreading rapidly in Texas and Oklahoma early Wednesday, prompting evacuations and the closure of a plant that disassembles nuclear weapons. In Texas, Gov. The largest current blaze in the Texas Panhandle, the Smokehouse Creek fire, has burned at least 300,000 acres since igniting on Monday, fueled by strong winds and dry conditions, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. “Hot and dry conditions caused by high temperatures and windy conditions are expected to continue in the region in the coming days,” Governor Abbott said in a statement. “These conditions could increase the potential for these wildfires to grow larger and more dangerous.”

Persons: Greg Abbott, Abbott Organizations: Gov, Texas Panhandle, Texas, M, Service Locations: Texas, Oklahoma

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