[Graphic News] S. Korea ranks 16th globally, 5th in Asia in TOEIC scores

According to an evaluation by the Korea TOEIC Committee, the average TOEIC score of South Korean nationals was 677 out of 990 points last year. This ranks Korea 16th among the 44 countries surveyed and fifth among the Asian countries surveyed. Overall, Lebanon had the highest average TOEIC score, with an average of 834 points, followed by Germany (819), Belgium (784), Costa Rica (777) and India (776). Among the Asian countries surveyed, Lebanon led with an average score of 834, followed by Ind

World NewsJune 21, 2024

Israeli tanks push deeper into Rafah

CAIRO -- Israeli tanks backed by warplanes and drones advanced deeper into the western part of the Gaza Strip city of Rafah on Wednesday, killing eight people, according to residents and Palestinian medics. Residents said the tanks moved into five neighborhoods after midnight. Heavy shelling and gunfire hit the tents of displaced families in the Al-Mawasi area, further to the west of the coastal enclave, they said. Some eight months into the war, there has been no sign of let up in the fighting

World NewsJune 20, 2024

[Graphic News] Five Korean universities make global top 100

Five Korean universities have secured spots in the top 100 of the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings for 2025, showcasing the country's growing academic excellence. Leading the pack is Seoul National University, which ranked 31st globally, surpassing Japan's Tokyo University for the first time since 2015. Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology followed at 53rd, moving up from 56th last year. Yonsei University and Korea University secured the 56th and 67th spot

World NewsJune 20, 2024

Netanyahu dissolves influential war Cabinet

TEL AVIV, Israel -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved the influential war Cabinet that has overseen the fighting in Gaza, a government spokesperson said Monday, days after a key member of the body bolted from the government over frustration with the Israeli leader's handling of the war. The move was widely expected following the departure of Benny Gantz, a centrist former military chief. Gantz's absence from the government increases Netanyahu's dependence on his

World NewsJune 18, 2024

Putin to visit N. Korea on June 18-19: KCNA

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit North Korea this week, Pyongyang's state media reported Monday, amid deepening military cooperation with North Korea following his summit with the North's leader Kim Jong-un in September. Putin will "pay a state visit" to North Korea for a two-day trip starting Tuesday at the invitation of the North's leader Kim, the Korean Central News Agency said in a one-sentence dispatch. The Kremlin also confirmed Putin's North Korean

World NewsJune 17, 2024

Russian spy chief Naryshkin: Putin's visit to North Korea will yield good results, TASS reports

MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin's planned visit to North Korea has been well prepared and will bring good results, foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin was quoted by state news agency TASS as saying on Monday. Putin, who has developed closer relations with North Korea since the start of the war in Ukraine, is expected to visit the country shortly.

World NewsJune 17, 2024

Israeli defense minister to visit Pentagon: US

WASHINGTON - Israeli Defense Miniter Yoav Gallant will visit Washington soon for talks with his US counterpart, the Pentagon said Saturday as the war in Gaza rages on. President Joe Biden's administration is pressing for a ceasefire deal which it says is backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but has drawn fury from some of the Israeli leader's far-right allies. In a formal response this week the Palestinian militant group Hamas stopped short of accepting the plan, making counter-

World NewsJune 16, 2024

Fed freezes key interest rate for 7th straight time, forecasts one rate cut this year

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its benchmark lending rate steady for a seventh consecutive time and projected one rate cut later this year as it noted "modest further progress" towards its 2 percent inflation target. After the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the central bank announced the decision to maintain the rate in the 5.25 to 5.50 percent range, a 23-year high. The decision came hours after new data showed inflation eased slightly last month. FOMC member

World BusinessJune 13, 2024

[Graphic News] 30% of Americans say college not worth it

Close to 30 percent of Americans said a college degree isn’t worth it, according to a survey from Pew Research Center that highlights the drag soaring costs have had on views about higher education in recent decades in the country. Almost half of US adults in the report think college is worth the cost — but only as long as they don’t need to take out a loan. Only 22 percent of respondents said a college degree is worth it even with student debt. Four in 10 Americans said havi

World NewsJune 13, 2024

Ukraine's air force may keep some F-16 warplanes abroad to protect them from Russian strikes

Ukraine may keep some of the F-16 fighter jets it's set to receive from its Western allies at foreign bases to protect them from Russian strikes, a senior Ukrainian military officer said Monday. Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have committed to providing Ukraine with over 60 US-made F-16 fighter jets to help it fend off Russian attacks. Ukrainian pilots are currently undergoing training to fly the warplanes ahead of the deliveries expected to start later this year. Serhii Holub

World NewsJune 10, 2024

90 countries to attend Swiss-hosted Ukraine peace summit that Russia is snubbing

Nearly 90 countries and organizations, half from Europe, have confirmed attending the Swiss-hosted Ukraine peace summit over the weekend despite Russia’s refusal to participate, Switzerland’s president said Monday. Viola Amherd told reporters in the Swiss capital, Bern, that the summit, on Saturday and Sunday, will aim to chart a path toward possible peace nearly 28 months after Russian forces invaded Ukraine and the war grinding on. “This is not about propaganda,” said A

World NewsJune 10, 2024

Missing UK journalist found dead on Greek island: police

British diet guru and TV personality Michael Mosley was found dead on Sunday on the Greek island of Symi where he went missing this week, police said. "People on a boat saw a body close to the rocky coast," said Petros Vassilakis, police chief for the southern Aegean region. The lifeless body was spotted by a television crew from Greece's ERT public channel out filming in the area where the 67-year-old disappeared. A cameraman "saw something strange near the fence, 50 metres

World NewsJune 9, 2024

Iran OKs 6 candidates for presidential race, but again blocks Ahmadinejad

Iran’s Guardian Council on Sunday approved the country’s hard-line parliament speaker and five others to run in the country’s June 28 presidential election following a helicopter crash that killed President Ebrahim Raisi and seven others. The council again barred former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a firebrand populist known for the crackdown that followed his disputed 2009 re-election, from running. The council’s decision represents the starting gun for a shortened,

World NewsJune 9, 2024

N. Korea, China, Russia expanding nuclear arsenals at 'breakneck' pace: White House official

  WASHINGTON -- North Korea, China and Russia are expanding and diversifying their nuclear weapons stockpiles at a "breakneck" speed, a White House official said Friday, warning that absent a change in the trajectory of their arsenals, the United States may have to increase its own. Pranay Vaddi, senior director for arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation at the National Security Council, made the remarks at a forum, noting that the three countries are driving the US and it

North KoreaJune 8, 2024

Italian opera, a new World Heritage listing, honored at Verona gala

ROME (DPA) -- Italy celebrated the inclusion of Italian opera singing on the World Heritage List with a gala concert at the Arena of Verona on Friday night that was broadcast on national television. The concert, presided over by star Italian conductor Riccardo Muti, featured performances by greats including German and Peruvian tenors Jonas Kaufmann and Juan Diego Flórez. There was also an orchestra of 160 musicians and a choir of 300 singers. There were 20,000 spectators at the sold-out a

World NewsJune 8, 2024

Vietnam arrests prominent journalist over Facebook posts

BANGKOK (AFP) -- Authorities in Vietnam have arrested a leading independent journalist for "abusing democratic freedoms" to undermine the state by posting articles on Facebook, police announced on Saturday. Huy Duc was detained for investigation for posts that "violate the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals," the Ministry of Public Security said. The 62-year-old former senior lieutenant worked for several influential n

World NewsJune 8, 2024

European leaders condemn assault of Danish PM in Copenhagen square

COPENHAGEN (DPA) -- Leaders have strongly condemned an assault on Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in a central Copenhagen square, adding to the alarming rash of political violence rattling Europe. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it a "despicable act which goes against everything we believe and fight for in Europe" in a post on the social media platform X. Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, said he was "outraged" by the &qu

World NewsJune 8, 2024

Putin calls for major expansion of Russian financial markets, cutting use of Western currencies

ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) -- President Vladimir Putin said on Friday Russia needed to cut imports, significantly boost the use of non-Western currencies in trade settlement and called for a major expansion of the country's domestic financial markets. Putin, speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, said trade with Asia was soaring and that nearly 40 percent of Russian external trade was now in rubles as the share conducted in US dollars, euros and other Western currencies d

World NewsJune 7, 2024

Biden apologizes to Zelenskyy for monthslong congressional holdup to weapons that let Russia gain

PARIS (AP) -- US President Joe Biden on Friday for the first time publicly apologized to Ukraine for a monthslong congressional holdup in American military assistance that let Russia make gains on the battlefield. The apology came as Biden met in Paris with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who appealed for bipartisan US support going forward “like it was during World War II.” A day earlier, the two had attended ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in

World NewsJune 7, 2024

[Graphic News] Billions of cicadas about to emerge across US

Billions of cicadas will appear this year in a rare occurrence that hasn’t been seen in the United States since Thomas Jefferson was president and won’t be seen again until 2245, entomologists say. According to scientists, 2024 will see a rare event called “double brood emergence,” in which two different broods of cicadas — one that appears every 13 years and another every 17 years — emerge simultaneously. The 13-year group, known as Brood XIX or the “

World NewsJune 6, 2024