The S$350 million (US$256 million) project allows Mount Elizabeth Hospital to convert the multi-bed rooms into single-bed ones and to procure new medical technologies. 

"I am watching on YouTube live all the hard work you are doing," Yoon wrote in the letter late on Wednesday to the estimated hundreds of supporters who have gathered near his official residence protesting his investigation.

China is the leading emitter of the greenhouse gases scientists say are driving global warming, though Beijing has pledged that carbon dioxide emissions will peak by 2030 and be brought to net zero by 2060.

Covid-19 killed millions of people, shredded economies and crippled health systems.

The Boeing 737-800 was carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea Sunday when it issued a mayday call and belly-landed before hitting a barrier and bursting into flames, killing everyone aboard except two flight attendants pulled from the burning wreckage. 

The world ushered in 2025 on Tuesday, with huge crowds waving goodbye to the old year that brought Olympic glory, a dramatic Donald Trump return and turmoil in the Middle East and Ukraine.

US air safety officials and staff from the beleaguered aircraft maker Boeing were arriving to join investigators probing the worst air disaster on South Korean soil, which officials initially blamed on a collision with birds.

The Boeing 737-800 involved in the latest incident was the same model as the Jeju Air plane that crashed on Sunday killing 179 people after coming down without its landing gear engaged.

The following are the final minutes of Flight 7C2216 as provided by South Korea's transport ministry and fire authorities. 

"101 B737-800 series aircraft are currently in operation in South Korea. Consequently, we are reviewing plans to conduct a special inspection on B737-800 aircraft," said Joo Jong-wan, head of the aviation policy bureau at the South Korean transport ministry. 

Myanmar has been in turmoil since a military coup in February 2021, but the Rohingya endured decades of discrimination in Myanmar, where successive governments classified them as illegal immigrants.

The Friday's flogging was the first instance of a Sharia court-ordered whipping taking place outside of a court setting in Malaysia.

The move to establish a dedicated system is aimed at helping authorities set up protocols to handle unknown pathogens, in contrast to the lower level of preparedness five years ago when the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 first emerged.

The impeachment of Han, the acting president since Yoon was impeached on Dec. 14 for declaring martial law on Dec. 3, has pushed South Korea's once-vibrant democratic success story into uncharted territory.

Taiwan is  providing various incentives to entice tourists to visit the island, including those from Indonesia, such as a lucky draw, SIM cards and halal establishments.

The Batu Secret Zoo in Batu city, East Java is involved in international breeding programs for tapirs and giraffes with a Japanese zoo association. 

"As for concrete bilateral events, I can say that the appropriate plans are actively being drawn up," ambassador Igor Morgulov told RIA.

The push to impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who has been acting president since Yoon was impeached on Dec. 14, has thrown South Korea's once-vibrant democratic success story into uncharted territory and watched with concern by allies.

The Embraer 190 aircraft was supposed to fly northwest from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to the city of Grozny in Chechnya in southern Russia, but instead diverted far off course across the Caspian Sea. It crashed Wednesday near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.

"We can confirm that we have been subjected to a cyber attack and are addressing the situation," a Japan Airlines spokeswoman told AFP.

Yoon's repeated defiance of the summons and failures to appear for questioning have sparked criticism and calls from the opposition for his arrest, citing concerns over potential destruction of evidence.

New Vietnamese internet rules requiring Facebook and TikTok to verify user identities and hand over data to authorities came into force on Wednesday, in what critics say is the latest attack on freedom of expression.

The Boeing 777 carrying 239 people disappeared from radar screens on March 8, 2014 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, and despite the largest search in aviation history, the plane has never been found.

The US Department of Defense on Wednesday announced the repatriation of Mohammed Farik bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir bin Lep to Malaysia. 

The talks among ASEAN members in Thailand may expedite the work for peace in war-torn Myanmar, analysts have said amid calls from human rights groups for the bloc to stand firm against the junta.

Mother of two Mary Jane Veloso landed at daybreak, then was immediately transferred to prison following a repatriation deal between the two countries over a decade in the making.

Leaders from five pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) will apply at their schools lessons learned from participating in a cultural exchange program in Japan .  

The 7.3-magnitude quake struck at a depth of 57 kilometres (35 miles), some 30 kilometres off the coast of Efate, Vanuatu's main island, at 12:47 pm (0147 GMT), according to the US Geological Survey.

The story, headlined "Singapore Mansion Deals Are Increasingly Shrouded in Secrecy" looked at top-range houses called Good Class Bungalows and claimed many purchases did not have legal filings, adding that said such deals were harder to track.

Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina domestic worker who was sentenced to death 14 years ago in Indonesia, is scheduled return to her home country on Wednesday as part of a prisoner transfer agreement between Jakarta and Manila.