GENEVA -- Global temperatures "smashed" heat records last year, as heat waves stalked oceans and glaciers suffered record ice loss, the United Nations said Tuesday -- warning 2024 was likely to be even hotter. The annual State of the Climate report by the UN weather and climate agency confirmed preliminary data showing that 2023 was by far the hottest year ever recorded. And last year capped off "the warmest 10-year period on record," the World Meteorological Organization sai

Brides from Vietnam, grooms from US take up largest share of foreign national spouses

New US climate law may turn into revenue raiser for next administration to resolve fiscal deficit

MOSCOW -- President Vladimir Putin won a record post-Soviet landslide in Russia's election on Sunday, cementing his already tight grip on power in a victory he said showed Moscow had been right to stand up to the West and send its troops into Ukraine. Putin, a former KGB lieutenant colonel who first rose to power in 1999, made it clear that the result should send a message to the West that its leaders will have to reckon with an emboldened Russia, whether in war or in peace, for many more y

Asians say lawmakers hold highest occupational prestige while westerners choose firefighters

Parents with higher levels of education spend more on their children’s private education, data showed on Friday. Parents holding master’s degrees spent an average of 600,000 won ($450) to 640,000 won per child per month on private education last year, according to Statistics Korea. This is 3.8 times more than the monthly average of 170,000 won to 200,000 won spent per child by parents with educational backgrounds below middle school. Mothers with a high school degree spent an avera

Recruitment campaign plans to hire some 120 personnel by May 27 launch

The price of apples in South Korea recently skyrocketed to an all-time high as fruit prices in the country continue to soar amid ongoing inflation, data from a state-run agency promoting and supporting agriculture trade showed Wednesday. The wholesale price of 10 kilograms of apples as of Tuesday was 91,700 won ($70), more than double the 41,060 won for same amount at the same time last year, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation. The price for 10 kilograms of apples

Lawyer specializing in drug crimes talks about offenders, their families and how prison isn't the answer

South Korean men's national soccer team head coach Hwang Sun-hong announced his 23-man squad Monday, which included Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-in who fell from favor with the public for his recent scuffle with team captain Son Heung-min. The interim coach for the team acknowledged the public's concern over Lee, and said addressing the issue could provide a chance to strengthen team chemistry. "I've talked to both players, and resolving (such conflict) can bring (the team) close

Korean culture, fostering easy comparisons, establishes elevated standards, breeds envy

South Korea's Justice Ministry on Friday lifted the ban on leaving the country placed on former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, who has been named ambassador to Australia, amidst ongoing controversy surrounding the appointment. The Justice Ministry announced that its travel ban review committee has determined that Lee's formal complaint against his travel restriction was justified. The ministry elaborated that the ban on him leaving the country had been repeatedly extended without any o

CHARLESTON, South Carolina -- Nikki Haley ended her long-shot challenge to Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump on Wednesday, ensuring the former president will be the party's candidate in a rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden in November's election. Haley, the former South Carolina governor and Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, bowed out a day after Super Tuesday, when Trump beat her in 14 of 15 Republican nominating contests. "The time has now co

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, were romping to coast-to-coast victories on Super Tuesday, all but cementing a November rematch and increasing pressure on the former president’s last major rival, Nikki Haley, to leave the Republican race. Biden and Trump had each won Texas, Alabama, Colorado, Maine, Oklahoma, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Minnesota and Massachusetts. Biden also won the Democratic primaries in California, Utah, Vermont a

South Korea and the United States on Tuesday appointed veteran diplomats as their chief delegates for upcoming negotiations on the next defense-cost sharing agreement, clearly signaling an early initiation of the talks. The move stands out as it precedes the expiration of the current agreement by almost two years, scheduled to end in 2025, and gains significance in light of the looming US presidential election. Lee Tae-woo, a seasoned diplomat with a career at the Foreign Ministry since 1996, br