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    US military says it shot down Iranian drones launched toward Strait of Hormuz

    CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wisc. — The U.S. military said it shot down four Iranian drones that were launched toward the Strait of Hormuz on Friday and then struck some of the Islamic Republic’s coastal surveillance radar sites in response, raising the risk to a shaky ceasefire as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Iran . “The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,” U.S. Central Command said on social media. The military is enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports in response to Tehran’s chokehold on the crucial corridor for global oil and natural gas shipments, which has sent energy prices spiking and posed political problems for President Donald Trump's Republican Party ahead of the midterm congressional elections. U.S. Central Command said it hit the radar sites, including an island in the strait, “to defend against further attacks.” It was the latest in back-and-forth attacks that have strained the tenuous ceasefire in the war and efforts to reach a deal to extend that truce. Earlier this week, Iranian drones heavily damaged a passenger termi

    3 MIN READBy AP
    US military says it shot down Iranian drones launched toward Strait of Hormuz
  • World

    Trump's UFC fight at White House combines punches and politics

    3 MIN READBy Reuters
    Trump's UFC fight at White House combines punches and politics
  • World

    NASA reverses evacuation alert order for astronauts aboard space station

    3 MIN READBy Reuters
    NASA reverses evacuation alert order for astronauts aboard space station
  • World

    Bitcoin drops below $60,000, first since October 2024

    1 MIN READBy AFP
    Bitcoin drops below $60,000, first since October 2024
  • World

    US highlights shared denuclearization goal ahead of Xi's NK trip

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    US highlights shared denuclearization goal ahead of Xi's NK trip
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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

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World

Asian surnames fastest-growing in US, according to Census Bureau report

ORLANDO, Fla. — The most popular last names in the U.S might be unchanged from the previous decade, but Asian surnames were the fastest-growing at the start of this decade, the U.S. Census Bureau said Tuesday. Smith, Johnson, Williams, Brown and Jones remained the top five last names in the United States in 2020, as they were in 2010, according to a tally from the last U.S. head count. Most of the fastest-growing last names from 2010 to 2020 were Asian, according to the Census Bureau. The top three of those were Zhang, Liu and Wang. In the 21st century, Asians have been the fastest-growing of the country’s largest racial or ethnic groups, and they now make up 7 percent of the U.S. population. Rounding out the top 10 most common last names in 2020 were Garcia, Miller, Rodriguez, Davis and Martinez. The only change from 2010 was Rodriguez, which jumped ahead of Davis for the No. 8 spot. There were 7.8 million unique last names, according to the Census Bureau. The Census Bureau has tallied counts of the most common last names in each once-a-decade head count since 1990. The 2020 census w

Apr 15, 2026By AP
Asian surnames fastest-growing in US, according to Census Bureau report
World

US doesn't 'have time for Ukraine' because of Iran war: Zelenskyy

BERLIN — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday told a German broadcaster that U.S. peace negotiators "have no time for Ukraine" because of the war in Iran, and bemoaned disruptions of deliveries of U.S. arms. Zelenskyy told public broadcaster ZDF that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have helped broker talks with Moscow on ending Russia's war on Ukraine, were "constantly in talks with Iran" at the moment. Describing the pair as "pragmatic," Zelenskyy said they were trying to "get more attention from Putin in order to end the war." But "if the United States does not put pressure on Putin (...) and only engages in a gentle dialogue with the Russians, then they will no longer be afraid," he said. U.S.-led talks to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II have stalled since the Iran war erupted in late March, and Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have not met since February in Geneva. Zelenskyy said that the issue of deliveries of U.S. arms to Ukraine has become "a big problem." "If the war goes on, there will be less arms for Ukraine. It's critical, especially in

Apr 15, 2026By AFP
US doesn't 'have time for Ukraine' because of Iran war: Zelenskyy
World

Lebanon, Israel agree to direct negotiations after Washington talks

WASHINGTON — Israel and Lebanon agreed to direct negotiations following talks in Washington on Tuesday that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had hailed as a "historic opportunity" for peace. The two countries have technically been at war for decades, and Tuesday's talks have been vehemently opposed by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which announced that it had fired rockets at more than a dozen northern Israeli towns just as the meeting was getting underway. The United States is pressing for a halt to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, fearing it could derail the two-week ceasefire in Washington's war with Iran after talks with Tehran in Pakistan failed to achieve a breakthrough. Lebanon was pulled into the broader conflict when Hezbollah attacked Israel in support of its backer Iran, sparking an Israeli ground invasion and strikes that have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced over a million. Tuesday's meeting in Washington — the first high-level, direct talks since 1993 — was mediated by Rubio and involved the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the Unite

Apr 15, 2026By AFP
Lebanon, Israel agree to direct negotiations after Washington talks
World

US, Iran may resume talks this week despite port blockade

ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON/DUBAI — Talks to end the Iran war could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday, after the collapse of weekend negotiations prompted Washington to impose a blockade on Iranian ports. Officials from Gulf nations, Pakistan and Iran also said negotiating teams from the U.S. and Iran could return to Pakistan later this week, though one senior Iranian source said no date had been set. "You should stay there, really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we're more inclined to go there," Trump was quoted as saying in an interview with the New York Post. While the U.S. blockade drew angry rhetoric from Tehran, signs that diplomatic engagement might continue helped calm oil markets, pushing benchmark prices below $100 on Tuesday. The highest-level talks between the two adversaries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution ended in Islamabad without a breakthrough, raising doubts over the survival of a two-week ceasefire that still has a week to run. Since the United States and Israel began the war on Feb. 28,

Apr 15, 2026By Reuters
US, Iran may resume talks this week despite port blockade
World

US Treasury's Bessent says China has been unreliable partner by hoarding oil during war

WASHINGTON — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said China had been an unreliable global partner during the Middle East war by hoarding oil supplies and limiting exports of some goods, mirroring its actions with medical goods during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bessent told reporters he had spoken with Chinese officials about the issue. He dodged a question about whether the dispute would derail U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to visit Beijing in mid-May, but said Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a very good working relationship. "I think the message for the visit is stability. We've had great stability in the relationship since last summer; that emanates from the top down," he said. "I think that communication is the key." But Bessent took China to task for its actions during the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, which sent oil prices up 50 percent and triggered supply chain disruptions. "China has been an unreliable global partner three times in the past five years; once during COVID, when they hoarded healthcare products, second on rare earth," Bessent said, referring

Apr 15, 2026By Reuters
US Treasury's Bessent says China has been unreliable partner by hoarding oil during war
World

Strait of Hormuz traffic barely affected on first day of US blockade, data shows

SINGAPORE/LONDON — The first full day of a U.S. blockade on vessels calling at Iranian ports made little difference to Strait of Hormuz traffic on Tuesday, with at least eight ships including three Iran-linked tankers, crossing the waterway, shipping data showed. U.S. President Donald Trump announced the blockade on Sunday after weekend peace talks in Islamabad between the U.S. and Iran failed to reach a deal. The blockade has created even further uncertainty for shippers, oil companies and war risk insurers. Traffic remains at only a fraction of the 130-plus daily crossings before the U.S. and Israel's war on Iran began on Feb. 28, industry sources said on Tuesday. "During the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the U.S. blockade," the U.S. Central Command said on X, adding that six vessels complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port. The three Iran-linked vessels that transited the strait were not heading to Iranian ports and were not affected by the blockade. Panama-flagged Peace Gulf, a medium-range tanker, is heading to Hamriyah port in the

Apr 15, 2026By Reuters
Strait of Hormuz traffic barely affected on first day of US blockade, data shows
World

IMF cuts growth outlook, warns world already drifting toward more adverse scenario

WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund cut its growth outlook on Tuesday due to Middle East war-driven energy price spikes but said the world was already drifting toward a more adverse scenario with much-weaker growth as Strait of Hormuz shipping disruptions continue. With massive uncertainty over the Middle East conflict gripping finance officials gathered for IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington, the IMF presented three growth scenarios: weaker, worse and severe, depending on how the war unfolds. Under the IMF's worst-case outlook, the global economy teeters on the brink of recession, with oil prices averaging $110 a barrel in 2026 and $125 in 2027. The IMF chose the most benign scenario for its World Economic Outlook "reference forecast," which assumes a short-lived conflict and oil prices normalizing in the second half of 2026, with an $82 per barrel average for the year — well below Tuesday's benchmark Brent crude futures price of around $96.00. Just minutes after releasing the outlook, IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said it may be already outdat

Apr 15, 2026By Reuters
IMF cuts growth outlook, warns world already drifting toward more adverse scenario
World

Lebanon and Israel hold first direct diplomatic talks in decades in Washington

WASHINGTON — Lebanon and Israel opened their first direct diplomatic talks in decades on Tuesday in Washington following more than a month of war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling it a “historic opportunity” but making clear no breakthrough agreement was immediately expected. Rubio said the Trump administration is “very happy” to be facilitating the discussions, while noting that “we understand we’re working against decades of history and complexities” that will not be quickly resolved. Hezbollah opposes the direct talks and was not represented, and the group appeared to step up its fire on northern Israel as the talks began. “But we can begin to move forward with a framework where something can happen, something very positive, something very permanent, so that the people of Lebanon can have the kind of future they deserve, and so that the people of Israel can live without fear,” Rubio said. Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz attended the opening of the session at the State Department

Apr 15, 2026By AP
Lebanon and Israel hold first direct diplomatic talks in decades in Washington
World

US Iran blockade involves over 10,000 military personnel, plus ships, planes

WASHINGTON — The U.S. blockade of Iranian ports involves more than 10,000 military personnel, more than a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft, U.S. Central Command said on Tuesday. "During the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the U.S. blockade and 6 merchant vessels complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman," the command said in a statement a day after the blockade announced by U.S. President Donald Trump took effect. "The blockade is being enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. U.S. forces are supporting freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports," it said.

Apr 15, 2026By Reuters
US Iran blockade involves over 10,000 military personnel, plus ships, planes
World

France raffle offers $1M Picasso for 100 euro ticket to raise money for Alzheimer’s research

PARIS — In a few hours, one lucky winner will find themselves the owner of a Pablo Picasso painting for less than $120. A raffle in France is offering the chance to win a $1 million portrait by the Spanish artist for the price of a 100-euro ticket ($117), with proceeds going to Alzheimer’s research. The draw takes place later Tuesday at Christie’s auction house in Paris. The third iteration of the “1 Picasso for 100 euros” lottery is for Picasso's “Head of a Woman," with proceeds going to Alzheimer’s research. The gouache on paper was painted by Picasso in 1941. The first such raffle in 2013 saw a Pennsylvania man who worked at a fire-sprinkler business win “Man in the Opera Hat,” which the Spanish master painted in 1914 during his Cubist period. The oil-on-canvas “Still Life” was raffled off in 2020 and made a very happy mom of Claudia Borgogno, an accountant in Italy whose son bought her the ticket as a Christmas present. Painted in 1921, that painting was purchased for the raffle from billionaire art collector David Nahmad, who argued in an Associated Press intervi

Apr 14, 2026By AP
France raffle offers $1M Picasso for 100 euro ticket to raise money for Alzheimer’s research
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