Yoga enthusiasts practice yoga at a park in Handan, Hebei province, northern China, ahead of International Yoga Day, which has been celebrated annually on June 21 since 2015. (Photos: AFP-Yonhap) By Kim Tae-eun (kimt17@heraldcorp.com)

Diverse forms of protest art created by various people, from artists and students to teachers, to express their solidarity with Black Lives Matter movement across different cities and states in the United States (Photos: AP, Reuters-Yonhap) By Kim Tae-eun (kimt17@heraldcorp.com)

LONDON (AFP) -- The British government on Friday said it had officially told the European Union it would not seek an extension to the post-Brexit transition period beyond December 31 this year. Britain left the bloc in January but remains under EU rules until the end of the year, as new terms are thrashed out between the two sides for their future relationship. London maintains it does not need more time to secure a free trade deal, despite deadlock in the talks over key areas, and a tight t

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- More than two dozen international aid organizations have told the US government they are "increasingly alarmed'' that "little to no US humanitarian assistance has reached those on the front lines'' of the coronavirus pandemic, as the number of new cases picks up speed in some of the world's most fragile regions. The letter obtained by The Associated Press and signed by groups including Save the Children, Mercy Corps, World Vision and others says that "in spi

BANGKOK (AFP) -- Thailand will open "travel bubbles" with countries which have comparably low coronavirus infections, officials said Friday, as the kingdom tries to claw back money for its battered tourism sector.The country closed its borders at the start of April, leading to millions of job losses across a tourism industry which accounts for around 20 percent of GDP. Despite registering the first COVID-19 case outside of China in January, Thailand has recorded just 3,129 infections

　South Korea been named 10th safest country out of 200 regions in the world for COVID-19, according a report from Deep Knowledge Group, a consortium of companies and non-profit organisations. 　The study was based on 130 quantitative and qualitative parameters and over 11,400 data points in categories like quarantine efficiency, monitoring and detection, health readiness and government efficiency. 　Switzerland topped the list followed by Germany, Israel and Singapore.

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that an elderly man bleeding from the head after he was shoved to the ground by US riot police was a far-left agitator faking the shocking incident. "I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?" Trump asked on his massively followed Twitter account. Two police officers in Buffalo, New York, were charged with assault after the incident last week in which protester Martin Gugino, 75, w

BEIJING (AFP) -- China reacted angrily on Thursday to a US military transport jet's flight over the self-ruled island of Taiwan, calling it an "illegal act" and "serious provocation". The overflight adds to rising tensions between Washington and Beijing over a slew of issues, and the US relationship with the island claimed by China is high on the list of disagreements. Taiwan's defence ministry said a Boeing C-40A Clipper transport jet flew over the island on Tuesday, th

　Samsung Electronics dominated the 5G smartphone market in the United States in the first quarter of the year, a report showed. 　Samsung’s Galaxy S20 series, which was unveiled in February, made up 94 percent of the US 5G smartphone market in the January-March period, according to market tracker Strategy Analytics, with the S20 Plus being the bestselling model. 　The midtier S20 Plus accounted for 40 percent, followed by the high-end S20 Ultra with 30 percent and entry-level S20 at 2

　Schools and businesses have been closed, sports events canceled and cultural institutions shut down around the world, as countries try to stem the coronavirus outbreak. 　The latest Nielsen survey shows what people missed the most during the social distancing in the US.

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Hong Kong on Tuesday marked a year since pro-democracy protests erupted, as mass arrests, coronavirus bans on gatherings and a looming national security law kept a lid on any return to city-wide unrest. Seven months of massive and often violent rallies kicked off on June 9 last year when as many as one million people took to the streets to oppose a bill allowing extraditions to mainland China. As city leaders dug in, battles between police and protesters became routine, lea

TOKYO (AFP) -- Japan's national broadcaster NHK Tuesday apologised and deleted an animation depicting Black Lives Matter protests in the US after widespread complaints of racism -- including from the US embassy and tennis star Naomi Osaka. NHK's animation, aired Sunday, told viewers that the coronavirus pandemic had fuelled anger amongst African Americans, many of whom lost jobs, but failed to mention the death of George Floyd or police brutality. The one-minute-20-second clip showed caricatu

　South Korea’s exports of packaged traditional chicken soup, or samgyetang, have posted sharp growth in the first four months of 2020 from a year earlier, data showed, amid the growing demand for ready-to-eat products around the globe due to the pandemic-led lockdowns. 　Outbound shipments of ready-to-eat samgyetang products reached $4.82 million over the January-April period, up 82.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Tra

VATICAN CITY (AFP) -- Pope Francis said on Sunday the worst of the coronavirus crisis was over in Italy, addressing the faithful for  the first time in Saint Peter's Square since the health emergency began. The pontiff's address came a day after the Vatican said there were no more cases of COVID-19 within its population. "Your presence in the square is a sign that in Italy the acute phase of the epidemic is over," Francis told those assembled for his weekly Angelus pr

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York City is lifting its curfew spurred by protests against police brutality ahead of schedule, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Sunday morning. The 8 p.m. citywide curfew, New York's first in decades, had been set to remain in effect through at least Sunday, with the city planning to lift it at the same time it enters the first phase of reopening after more than two months of shutdowns because of the coronavirus. "Yesterday and last night we saw the very best of our c