Foreign
Bulgaria Cabinet OKs revision scrapping tuition in public universities
March 14, 2024, 10:07 am
SOFIA, Bulgaria – Fees for undergraduate and PhD students in state universities will be abolished this year, if changes to the Higher Education Act, which the Government approved here on Wednesday, pass through Parliament. The goal is to improve students' access to higher education and to make… Read More
Japan's private rocket explodes after launch
March 13, 2024, 9:26 pm
ANKARA – Japanese private company Space One's maiden rocket launch on Wednesday failed as its satellite-carrying rocket exploded following the lift-off, local media reported. Space One Co. has sought to become Japan's first private firm to put a satellite into orbit, but it failed to launch the… Read More
Taiwan's 2024 Smart City Summit & Expo kicks off March 19
March 13, 2024, 2:06 pm
TAIPEI – The 11th Smart City Summit & Expo (SCSE) is set to kick off on March 19 at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center. The organizers, Taipei Computer Association, National Development Council, and Kaohsiung City government, will welcome over 2,000 government and industry VIPs from 46… Read More
Effect of conflicts on women, girls discussed at UN
March 13, 2024, 1:48 pm
UNITED NATIONS – The situation of women and girls in conflict zones was discussed during a sideline event at a UN meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women. Revealing the Untold: The Devastating Impact of Conflict on Women and Girls was held at UN headquarters in New York under the… Read More
Peace talks in Ukraine only after Russia halts aggression: Vatican
March 12, 2024, 8:50 pm
ROME – Negotiations for peace in Ukraine should come only after Russia stops its aggression, the Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Tuesday. In an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Parolin said that it was “obvious” that both countries should… Read More
UN chief calls for Ramadan truce in Gaza, Sudan
March 12, 2024, 6:17 pm
UNITED NATIONS – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for ceasefires in Gaza and Sudan during the holy month of Ramadan. As Monday marks the start of the holy month of Ramadan, he said it is a period when Muslims around the world celebrate and spread the values of peace,… Read More
Israel erects barbed wire around Lions’ Gate near Jerusalem mosque
March 12, 2024, 6:01 pm
RAMALLAH, Palestine – Israel has erected barbed wire on a fence around the Lions' Gate area adjacent to the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem, Palestinian authorities said Monday. “This is a dangerous precedent that has never occurred since 1967,” the Jerusalem governor’s… Read More
Health minister regrets SNU medical professors' resignation decision
March 12, 2024, 1:48 pm
SEOUL – Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong expressed deep concerns Tuesday over medical professors' decision to resign, vis-a-vis the ongoing confrontation between the government and striking trainee doctors, vowing efforts to seek a breakthrough. On Monday, medical school professors at Seoul… Read More
South Korean national arrested in Russia on espionage suspicions
March 12, 2024, 1:42 pm
ANKARA – Russian authorities have arrested a South Korean national on espionage suspicions, local media reported. The individual, whose identity has not been disclosed, was detained in Vladivostok and subsequently transported to Moscow for further investigation, according to Seoul-based Yonhap… Read More
License suspension notices sent to some 5,000 defiant trainee doctors
March 11, 2024, 5:45 pm
SEOUL – Prior notices of license suspension have been sent to some 5,000 trainee doctors who defied the return to work order in protest of a plan to boost the number of medical students, the health ministry said Monday. Deputy Health Minister Jun Byung-wang told reporters that it completed… Read More
Egyptian Food Bank prepares food to alleviate hunger in Egypt, Gaza
March 11, 2024, 2:51 pm
CAIRO – Workers and volunteers of non-profit organization Egyptian Food Bank (EFB) are working nonstop to prepare free food boxes for those underprivileged both in Egypt and the neighboring besieged Gaza Strip, as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan will start on Monday. Raising the slogan of… Read More
Saudi king calls for halting heinous crimes in Gaza
March 11, 2024, 1:46 pm
RIYADH – Saudi King Salman on Sunday called for halting “heinous crimes” in the Gaza Strip amid the deadly five-month Israeli offensive on the Palestinian enclave. Saudi Arabia is set to observe the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan on Monday. “It pains us that Ramadan… Read More
Israeli academics urge their government to prevent famine in Gaza
March 11, 2024, 1:09 pm
ANKARA – More than 700 Israeli academics have called on their government to take urgent measures to prevent famine in the Gaza Strip. Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which some 1,200 people were killed. More than… Read More
Most Arab nations begin Ramadan on Monday
March 11, 2024, 1:01 pm
ANKARA – Most Arab countries are set to celebrate the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Monday. After the new moon was sighted on Sunday, religious authorities in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates announced that observation of the fasting month will begin… Read More
Sweden lifts aid ban against UNRWA
March 10, 2024, 1:52 pm
LONDON – Sweden announced on Saturday that it is lifting a freeze on aid for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees after the UN warned the Security Council last week of “imminent famine” in the Gaza Strip. The Nordic country pledged to give the initial… Read More
16 killed as flash floods, landslides hit Indonesia
March 10, 2024, 12:30 pm
PADANG, West Sumatra – At least 16 people died as flash floods and landslides hit South Sumatra's Pesisir Selatan District on Saturday, the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency said. "Our current data today showed the number of casualties has increased from 10 to 16, while another seven residents… Read More
Bandits kidnap over 280 students in northwestern Nigeria
March 10, 2024, 11:26 am
KANO, Nigeria – Over 280 primary school students and their teachers have been abducted by gunmen in northwestern Nigeria, authorities said. The attackers, locally known as bandits, stormed the Local Education Authority Primary School in Kuriga, a town in the Chikun local government area, on… Read More
UN: Over 9K women killed in 5-month conflict in Gaza
March 10, 2024, 11:04 am
NEW YORK – More than 9,000 women have been killed in the Gaza Strip in the five-month-old conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, and "this must stop," the executive director of UN Women said Friday. At an event marking International Women's Day at the UN's New York headquarters,… Read More
Canada to resume funding for UN agency for Palestine refugees
March 9, 2024, 12:09 pm
TORONTO – Canada announced Friday it is resuming support to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) after a decision to pause funding because of Israeli allegations. Several countries, including the US, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Canada have… Read More
China discovers 100M tons of oil reserve in South China Sea
March 9, 2024, 11:57 am
BEIJING – China's national oil giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) made an oilfield discovery with a volume of 100 million tons in the eastern South China Sea, the company announced on Friday. The new reserve was found in the Kaiping South Oilfield, 300 kilometers off the coast… Read More
