1. US president Joe Biden has criticized Republican governors of Texas and Mississippi, calling their decisions to end state-wide mask mandates “a big mistake”.
조 바이든 미국 대통령이 텍사스와 미시시피주의 공화당 주지사들을 비난하면서 마스크 의무 착용 해제 결정은 "큰 실수"라고 언급했습니다.
2. Police in China and South Africa have seized thousands of doses of counterfeit Covid-19 vaccine and made dozens of arrests, according to Interpol.
중국과 남아프리카공화국 경찰들이 가짜 코로나 백신 수천회 분량을 압수하고, 관련자들을 체포했습니다.
3. Korea was the fourth largest source of applications for international patents in 2020, moving up one spot for the first time in 11 years.
우리나라가 작년 기준, 국제특허의 출원 건수로 11년만에 세계 4위 자리를 탈환했습니다. 독일을 제치고 5위에서 한 단계 상승한 결과입니다.
4. Experts say around 17,000 earthquakes have hit Iceland over the past week and that an eruption could be imminent.
지질 전문가들이 아이슬란드에서 지난 일주일간 약 1만 7천여건의 지진이 발생했고, 화산 분화가 임박했다고 말했습니다.
5. Three female media workers have been shot dead in Afghanistan amid a wave of killings that is spreading fear among professional workers.
아프가니스탄의 여성 언론인 3명이 총에 맞아 숨지는 사건이 발생해, 언론 종사자들 사이에 공포가 확산되고 있습니다.
▶NEWS IN-DEPTH 1
Joe Biden criticized the Republican governors of Texas and Mississippi on Wednesday, calling their decisions to end state-wide mask mandates “a big mistake”.
The US president said the country was "on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease” with the distribution of vaccines and added: “The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything’s fine.”
Public health officials have also expressed disapproval of US states that are lifting mask mandates and reopening businesses.
They stressed that safety measures are still essential despite Biden’s announcement earlier this week that his administration was ahead of schedule on vaccinating all US adults against the coronavirus.
▶NEWS IN-DEPTH 2
Police in China and South Africa have seized thousands of doses of counterfeit Covid-19 vaccine and made dozens of arrests. Global police organization Interpol said the seizures were just the "tip of the iceberg" in vaccine-related crime.
In China, police made 80 arrests at a factory allegedly making fake vaccine, where at least 3,000 doses were found. Three Chinese nationals and a Zambian were detained at a warehouse outside Johannesburg in South Africa, where vials containing 2,400 doses of the fake vaccine were discovered. It is not clear when exactly the arrests took place.
In Wednesday's statement, Interpol said it was also getting reports of other fake vaccine rings.
▶NEWS IN-DEPTH 3
Iceland is now bracing for a volcanic eruption after nearly 17,000 earthquakes have hit the southwestern region of the country over the past week. The largest of them all occurred on the morning of February 24.
The magnitude 5.6 earthquake was felt in the capital Reykjavik as well as large parts of western Iceland. Two more earthquakes measuring over magnitude 5.0 were also recorded on February 27 and March 1. Since then, the region has been hit by an unusual number of smaller tremors.
With multiple volcanoes in the area, local officials have warned that an eruption could be imminent.