Author: ALJAZEERA

Seoul, South Korea – Kim Gyeong-eob used to be a regular at bars and clubs in Hongdae, a popular university district and nightlife hotspot, drinking and enjoying live music with friends. Then, in early 2020, COVID-19 brought Seoul’s raucous nightlife to an abrupt halt. Suddenly, Kim, an IT engineer, was saving more money each month than he knew what to do with. “I couldn’t use my money for drinks, and I thought ‘hmm … I can invest with the money I save.’ Somehow COVID became an opportunity for me,” Kim told Al Jazeera. Since then, Kim has been a regular…

Severe fuel shortages have caused power outages at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza, with hospital officials warning that many sick and wounded patients face certain death if supplies needed to run medical equipment and generators are not replenished. Early on Friday, the hospital in Deir el-Balah received 15,000 litres (4,000 gallons) of fuel but that will only last a few more days, Al Jazeera’s reporters in Gaza said. Overnight, the shortage forced medical workers to work in an almost pitch-dark environment, with doctors using the light from their mobile phones while tending to premature babies. “We have hundreds of patients…

President Yoon Suk-yeol has announced a record $19bn support plan for South Korea’s crucial semiconductor industry. South Korea is home to the world’s top memory chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, and last year pledged to build the world’s largest chip centre using $456bn of private investment as it seeks an edge in the global industry. “We have created a comprehensive support programme for the semiconductor industry worth 26 trillion Korean won [$19.1bn], which encompasses financial, infrastructure, research and development, as well as support for small and medium-sized companies,” he said, according to a statement from his office. The package…

On April 30, the European Union’s eighth annual conference on “Supporting the future of Syria and the region” in Brussels started with a day of dialogue. Members of Syrian civil society, representatives of United Nations agencies and international NGOs, and political leaders from the EU and other stakeholder countries came together to debate and strategise about the most pressing humanitarian issues affecting the region. On Monday, May 27, the conference will continue with a ministerial segment aimed at mobilising financial support for people in need in Syria. Ministers attending this important gathering will need to take urgent action to avert…

Airline says it has adopted ‘more cautious approach’ after incident that killed one person and injured dozens.Singapore Airlines (SIA) has changed its seat belt rules and altered at least one flight route after a bout of extreme turbulence killed one passenger and left dozens of others hospitalised. A 73-year-old British man died of a suspected heart attack and dozens of passengers were injured on Tuesday when their flight from London to Singapore was buffeted by severe turbulence, forcing an emergency landing in Bangkok. Following the incident, Singapore’s flag carrier has adopted “a more cautious approach to managing turbulence in-flight”, SIA…

When Israel started relentlessly bombing Gaza, Rasha Abu Shaban packed a handful of belongings and fled south with her parents and siblings. Her brother stayed behind out of fear that he would never be able to come home again. Abu Shaban was in a displacement camp in Rafah when she learned that an Israeli missile had struck her home. “My brother was killed at the beginning of November. He was there with another family that was displaced in our house,” Abu Shaban, 38, told Al Jazeera. “We heard from [our neighbours] that an ambulance was prevented from reaching them.” Abu…

Geoff Kitchen was on his way to a six-week holiday across South Asia and Australia with his wife Linda. Ten hours into the flight and in the middle of the breakfast service, Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 from London to Singapore plunged 6,000 feet (1,800 metres) in minutes. The Boeing 777-300ER carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members made an emergency landing in Bangkok. Kitchen went into cardiac arrest and ultimately died. At least 71 others were injured and 20 people are still in intensive care units in Bangkok. But how often do such injuries and deaths happen, what is air…

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Video-sharing app says state-backed accounts will not be recommended or allowed to advertise outside home countries.TikTok, the popular video-sharing app, has announced new curbs on state-affiliated media amid concerns about foreign interference in a major election year. The Chinese-owned platform said on Thursday that state-affiliated media accounts would no longer be recommended in users’ feeds or allowed to advertise to audiences outside their home countries. “This is an additional measure to prevent accounts from attempting to reach wider communities on these topics,” TikTok said in a statement. TikTok said it would also introduce a new dedicated Transparency Report on covert…

US lawmakers are pushing to sanction International Criminal Court over prosecutor’s push to seek Israel arrest warrants.Human rights groups are urging US President Joe Biden’s administration to oppose threats against the International Criminal Court (ICC) after its chief prosecutor’s decision to seek arrest warrants against Israeli officials drew ire in Washington. In a letter to Biden that was made public on Thursday, more than 100 organisations from around the world called on the US government to “oppose any legislative efforts to undermine the ICC”. “The ability of the ICC to provide justice for victims requires full respect for its independence.…