After a long, mysterious silence, US President Joe Biden has spoken out about the ever-increasing concentration of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border. He would have been better off keeping quiet, given his astonishing and dangerous message. NATO officials -- and his own aides -- have had to scramble to redefine the meaning of his words. When asked at a press conference if he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin would attack Ukraine again, Biden said, “My guess is he will move in

At 86, the Dalai Lama is beloved around the globe for his promotion of world peace, religious harmony and the need for climate action. But while the Western world protests China’s human rights abuses, the Dalai Lama is eerily quiet. The spiritual leader of Tibet remains hopeful for a better future for Tibet with China. When the Dalai Lama was asked about the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping during a November talk organized by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, he s

UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum presented awards to 10 winners of the 2022 Zayed Sustainability Prize on Jan. 17. The Zayed Sustainability Prize was established in 2008 to honor the legacy of the UAE’s founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The prize is the UAE’s pioneering global award recognizing small- to medium-size enterprises, nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions for their innovative, impactful and inspirational sus

Mongolia has begun administering a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine nationwide on a voluntary basis starting from Jan. 7, the Embassy of Mongolia in Seoul said in a press statement Sunday. Some 66 percent of the Mongolian population have received two shots of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 28.7 percent have had the third shot. The press statement said Mongolia’s mortality rate from COVID-19 was lower compared to developed countries due to its immediate vaccination campaign and that it ha

Band returns brighter, tighter after 1 1/2-year hiatus

Outbreak among staff grips Health Ministry

South Korea’s manufacturing industry saw a huge drop in the number of employed in recent years mainly due to the companies’ contracted local investment and restructuring among shipbuilding and auto making companies, data showed Monday.  According to the Federation of Korean Industries, the number of employed in the manufacturing industry dropped by 180,000 in 2019 from the corresponding figure in 2015. Such figures are tantamount to the combined number of employees at Samsung

Pentagon held a media showcase Monday to mark the release of its 12th EP “In:Vite U.” 　 The nine-member band is returning with new music about 10 months since “Love or Take” and as the title of the EP suggests, invites listeners to a new world. 　 Jinho, who has rejoined after 1 1/2 years having served his military duty, confided that he had to practice a lot after not singing and dancing for a long time. 　 “I gained as much as 10 kilograms because I ate so much i

Market concerns over ‘Korea discount’ reemerge as Kospi drops rapidly on foreign, retail sell-offs　

South Korean contents enjoyed robust demand overseas in 2020, defying the overall decline in exports and tepid growth in the domestic market, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism data showed on Monday. A 2021 research study on the cultural content industry which encompasses 11 sub-areas showed that the exports in 2020 jumped 16.3 percent to $11.92 billion from the previous year. “Exports of cultural contents have been setting a new record each year, but this time it is worth n

South Korea's main stock index plunged to a 13-month low Monday, as investors dumped local stocks ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi dived 42.29 points, or 1.49 percent, to close at 2,792 points. The Kospi closed below the 2,800-point mark for the first time since Dec. 23, 2020. Trading volume was moderate at about 468 million shares worth some 9.2 trillion won ($7.7 billi

People who have been hospitalized due to adverse events and allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines are exempt from the country’s vaccine pass mandate, starting on Monday. 　 According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, the government will grant the exemption if people have received hospital treatments within six weeks after they received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Those people who requested the government compensate them for vaccination side-eff

SEJONG -- Consumer prices of groceries and transportation in Korea climbed fastest in a decade in 2021, which have posed aggravated burden on households amid the pandemic, state data showed Monday. These two items were found to have led the instability in overall consumer prices last year, despite the Bank of Korea’s interest rate hikes twice in August and November. According to Statistics Korea, consumer prices of groceries rose 5.9 percent in 2021, compared to the previous year -- 6.2

Hanwha Q Cells said Monday that its CEO Lee Ku-hyung has been appointed the 14th chairman of the Korea New and Renewable Energy Association, a business lobby with some 420 member companies. Lee, who joined Hanwha Group in 1990, has served key positions at the group’s solar solutions unit Hanwha Q Cells, formerly Hanwha SolarOne, since 2011 and was promoted to the top position in September last year. Lee, whose term is three years, is expected to lead the association based on years of