South Korea’s Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Park Min-soo announced Monday that the government has begun administrative actions against some 7,000 medical residents who have not returned to work despite the government’s earlier order.  Park Min-soo said that the government’s punishment measures include suspending the trainee doctors’ medical license for 3 months, delaying their [...]

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attended a Parliamentary ethics hearing on Thursday, apologizing for his governing party’s corruption scandal and promising not to host any more fundraising parties during his leadership. The scandal involved individuals from three factions within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)—factions led respectively by the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, [...]

Farmers protested outside the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday, demanding relief from taxes and rising costs, as European leaders met during a summit. They were met by police action with water hoses and tear gas. The protests are a part of a growing farmers movement across Europe to demand action on rising costs.  The [...]

The junta leaders of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso released a joint statement Sunday on national television saying they were quitting the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The joint statement accused ECOWAS of betraying its founding principles, posing a threat to its member states and being influenced by foreign powers. Referring to the sanctions [...]

Statistics released by France and Belgium on Thursday show the number of antisemitic acts had risen sharply in both countries since Hamas’ attack on Israel and the initiation of the war in Gaza. The French Ministry of the Interior and the Service for the Protection of the Jewish Community of France (SPCJ) announced on Thursday [...]

Vietnam’s Dak Lak People’s Court sentenced nearly 100 people, handing down ten life sentences, for involvement in the 2023 Dak Lak gun attacks, Vietnamese state media reported. The defendants were charged with various offenses under the criminal code of Vietnam including terrorism against the people’s government, terrorism, organizing the illegal exit or entry of others and [...]

Three opposition candidates in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) December presidential election, Martin Fayulu, Moise Katumbi and Floribert Anzuluni, called for a protest Saturday, when President Felix Tshisekedi is to be sworn in for a second term, in a joint video press conference. The December election was marred by allegations of fraud, logistical shortcomings and disruptions. [...]

The UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reaffirmed their mutual desire for a progressive, responsible, honorable and exemplary withdrawal of the MONUSCO from the DRC on Saturday. Bintou Keita, head of MONUSCO, announced at a press conference held on Saturday [...]

The Turkish Competition Board announced on Wednesday that it decided to fine Meta Platforms Inc. 4.8 million lira ($160,000) a day for failing to provide sufficient documentation as part of a previous antitrust investigation in 2022. On January 11, 2021, the Turkish Competition Board opened an investigation against Meta Platforms Inc. (formerly Facebook Inc.), Meta Platforms [...]

Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud signed a law on Saturday nullifying a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the government of Ethiopia and Somaliland. The MoU is said to give Ethiopia access to the Gulf of Aden in exchange for Ethiopia’s recognition of Somaliland’s independence from Somalia as well as Somaliland’s shares of equivalent value in [...]