A growing number of wealthy countries are starting to offer a 3rd dose of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine. Hoping to curb the Delta variant, Israel, a country with one of the world’s highest infection rates per capita, began administering the booster shots to its elderly population o
On August 15th, the Islamist group, the Taliban seized the presidential palace in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem declared the “War is over.” The war started in 2001 when the United States (US) invaded Afghanistan as the Taliban, which then governed most of Afghan
The power of the military law system is going to be curtailed as the National Assembly passed a revision to the Military Court Act on August 31st. The revision is a reflex of public opinion. Since the current military law system lets military organizations conduct the whole process from investigatio
On August 31st this year, the National Assembly approved a bill that mandates the installation and operation of closed-circuit TV cameras in operating rooms. There have been growing calls for providing legislative protection to patients against medical malpractice or negligence after several controv
On July 12th, the minimum wage for 2022 was set at 9,160 won, which is an increase of 440 won from 8,720 won. Following this new wage increase, the salary based on five workdays a week and eight work hours a day (a total of 209 hours) will be 1,914,440 won. A formal meeting was held that day, and th
Recently, severe floods and heat waves have occurred throughout the world more regularly due to abnormal climate changes. Especially in Western Europe and Asia, many dead and missing have been reported due to natural disasters. On July 22nd, the worst floods in 40 years occurred in India’s western s
On July 26th, Getbols (Korean tidal mudflats) were registered as a United Nations Educational, Scientific , and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in recognition of their value to biodiversity conservation. This is the 2nd World Natural Heritage Site in Korea after Jeju Volcanic Isla
About a year after a massive explosion at a Beirut container terminal on August 4th last year, Lebanon is now in the middle of political confusion and economic difficulty. The value of their currency has declined 90 percent, and foreign exchange holdings are out of money, which has led to the end of
India’s health care system is on the brink of collapse as a huge coronavirus (COVID-19) wave started in March. The number of daily COVID-19 cases in India grew to ten times bigger than that of the United States. In New Delhi, the capital of India, more than 400 people died every day because of COVID
On May 3rd, a subway crash due to the collapse of an elevated railway occurred near Olivos Station on a section of the Metro Line 12 in southeastern Mexico City. This disaster killed at least 26 people, including children, and 79 people were hospitalized. While the subway was passing on an elevated
A confirmed case of African Swine Fever (ASF) infection was found at a pig farm in Yeongwol, Gangwon-do. According to the authorities on May 5th, two suspected cases at a pig farm were confirmed. The pig farm owner found two pigs dead when he entered the breeding farm to feed them. The confirmed cas
On April 25th, a 22-year-old man, Son Jung-min, who was a student of the Department of Medicine at Chung-Ang University, went missing at the Han River. After six days of searching, he was finally found dead in the river. On the day he disappeared, it was discovered that he had been drinking with his
After the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Asian hate crimes in the United States (US) are becoming more serious. According to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, the number of crimes targeting Asians in 16 major US cities has increased abou
On April 5th , Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that allows himself to lead the country for two additional terms. Last year, a referendum regarding this revision was held in July, and the Russian parliament approved this bill in March of this year. Putin is currently serving his fourth
The 38th Election for Seoul mayor was held on April 7th, 2021. During the election campaign, both representative parties appealed to the people by promising policies that they care about. There were a total of 15 candidates for the mayoral election, and the two strongest candidates were Park Youngsu
Bitcoin is a well-known cryptocurrency worldwide and is also widely used in Korea. In April, Bitcoin prices peaked at 79 million won, drawing attention to the Kimchi Premium. The reason behind this phenomenon is because Korea’s stock market has seen a sudden rise in users. Individuals looking for ne
Mexico has had an ongoing drug war since December of 2006; it has been 14 years and is still ongoing. It has been announced on March 10th, Mexico’s lower house of Congress approved a bill to legalize the recreation and usage of marijuana, which could make Mexico the largest drug market in the world.
On March 7th, the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) in the United States (US) interviewed Prince Harry and the Duchess, Meghan. After its broadcast worldwide, the British Royal Family has since come under fire for potential racism against the couple, although the disclosure has not been fully verif
The AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine is a weakened version of a common cold virus from chimpanzees. It was developed by Oxford University and was first approved for use on December 30th of 2020 by the UK’s vaccination programme. It has been used to vaccinate over 500,000 people within 13 days in South Korea
The illegal property speculation of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) employees in March was a huge controversy in South Korea. LH is a corporation in charge of constructing new buildings to develop the areas outside the capital. Some of the chosen areas are Wangsuk in Namyangju, Gyosan in