▶ S. KOREA RECORDS OVER 1,500 NEW COVID CASES
South Korea has reported 1,575 new coronavirus cases, mostly local transmissions, and 11 more virus-related fatalities.
The latest figures pushed the country's total caseload to 321,352 with 2,524 deaths.
Daily infections slightly fell from Monday, but health authorities remain on high alert over another potential surge after the extended National Foundation Day weekend and the upcoming Hangeul Day weekend.
Current tough social distancing rules will remain in place until October 17 in a bid to curb the spread of the virus.
▶ 'VACCINE PASS' OFFERS CHANCE TO RETURN TO NORMAL LIFE
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum has stressed the importance of not discriminating against or excluding people who have not yet gotten vaccinated against the coronavirus.
In an interagency coronavirus response meeting, Kim addressed concerns about a potential "vaccine pass" program that would give benefits to only vaccinated people.
Last week, the health ministry said it was reviewing the possibility of introducing the program to give those who have received the full regimen of authorized vaccines access to certain multiuse facilities.
Critics argue that such a program could create stigmas for unvaccinated individuals and put them at a disadvantage.
Kim said the goal of a vaccine pass system is to help improve safety and allow fully vaccinated individuals the chance to return to normal life.
He said the issue will be discussed with experts before a decision is made.
More than 77 percent of people in South Korea have so far received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines and 53 percent have been fully vaccinated.
▶ SEOUL DISTRICT TO BOOST VACCINE ACCESS FOR FOREIGNERS
The Yongsan District Office in central Seoul says it will operate a special coronavirus vaccination center on two upcoming Saturdays to raise the inoculation rate among foreign nationals.
The vaccination site at the Yongsan Art Hall, which currently only runs on weekdays, will open on October 16 and November 6 just for foreigners, for their first and second shots, respectively.
Foreign nationals 18 and older are eligible.
The center will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the designated days.
To register, please contact either the Ichon or Itaewon Global Village Centers.
▶ N. KOREA'S WEAPONS PROGRAMS CONTINUE DESPITE SANCTIONS
A new U.N. report says North Korea continues to advance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs despite worsening economic conditions exacerbated by U.N. Security Council sanctions.
The report by a panel of experts, dated September 8, noted the North did not conduct any intercontinental ballistic missiles or nuclear tests over the reporting period, but that it staged a short-range ballistic missile test "combining ballistic and guidance technologies."
Under UNSC resolutions, the North is prohibited from developing or testing any ballistic missiles and other weapons of mass destruction.
▶ FACEBOOK PLATFORMS HIT BY GLOBAL OUTAGE
Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp are back in operation after a six-hour outage that prevented three and a half billion users around the world from accessing the platforms.
Analysts estimate the disruption may have cost the company more than half a million dollars in lost ad revenue every hour.
The BBC's David Willis has more.
[Reporter]
Facebook's Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer tweeted his sincere apologies to those affected by the outage, which he blamed on networking issues without specifying what those issues involved.
Outages as prolonged as this, on a scale such as this, are rare and because for millions of people worldwide Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp constitute the bulk of their online communication, the impact was significant.
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