[월:] 2024년 06월

South Korea will play five Middle East teams in the next phase of their qualification campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

South Korea ended up with Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait in Group B in the third round of the Asian World Cup qualification, following the draw in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

The 18 qualified teams from the second round were divided into six pots based on their FIFA world rankings released last Thursday. Each group contained one from each of the six pots.

As world No. 22, South Korea are the third-highest ranked team from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), behind Japan (No. 17) and Iran (No. 20). These three countries were in Pot 1. The next three AFC teams in the rankings, Australia, Qatar and Iraq, were in Pot 2, and so forth.

By FIFA rankings, Iraq (No. 55) were the lowest-ranked team in Pot 2, as were Jordan (No. 68) in Pot 3. In Pots 4 and 5, Oman (No. 76) and Palestine were the second-lowest ranked teams. Kuwait (No. 137) are the lowest-ranked AFC nation in the entire third round.

Against Iraq, South Korea have nine wins, 12 draws and two losses, and won their most recent meeting, a friendly in January this year, by 1-0.

South Korea have lost just once in seven meetings against Jordan, with three wins and three draws. But that one loss was a particularly painful one, 바카라사이트 as Jordan defeated them 2-0 in the semifinals of the AFC Asian Cup in February this year. The loss cost Jurgen Klinsmann his job as South Korea’s head coach, and the position remains vacant more than four months after the defeat.

South Korea have four wins and one loss against Oman but haven’t faced them since the 2015 Asian Cup.

South Korea have never faced Palestine before. Against Kuwait, South Korea have recorded 12 wins, four draws and eight losses, but the last meeting came in October 2015. In March 2016, South Korea were awarded a 3-0 win by forfeit after Kuwait were unable to host their match while serving a FIFA suspension.

South Korea avoided some tricky opponents, such as Australia, the fourth-best AFC team ranked No. 23, Qatar, the reigning Asian Cup champions, and North Korea.

Being in the same group with North Korea could cause logistical headaches. The reclusive state refused to host Japan during the second round of the qualification in March this year, resulting in a Japanese win by forfeit.

Group A teams are: Iran, Qatar, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea. Japan, the top AFC team ranked 17th, will face Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China and Indonesia in Group C.

The third round kicks off on Sept. 4 and will wrap up on June 10, 2025.

The top two teams from each of the three groups will qualify for the 2026 World Cup, which will feature 48 nations, up from the previous 32.

Teams ranked third and fourth in their groups in the third round will reach the fourth round, where they will be split into two groups of three. From there, the two group winners will punch their tickets to the big tournament, while the two runner-up teams will meet in a two-legged playoff for the right to advance to the intercontinental playoff.

South Korea have played at every World Cup since 1986

Over the first two months of his first season in Korea, left-handed pitcher Dietrich Enns went from winning his Opening Day start for the defending champions LG Twins to having his manager declaring that his job was in jeopardy.

Along the way, though, the 33-year-old American has been trying to block out distractions and focus on his own performance.

On May 28, Twins general manager Cha Myeong-seok traveled to the United States in search of a new foreign starting pitcher. Teams in the 스포츠토토존 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) can each have a maximum two foreign pitchers, and at that point, both Enns and his rotation mate Casey Kelly had been struggling, prompting Cha to start exploring a new option.

Through 11 starts, Enns was 4-2 with a 5.43 ERA, while Kelly, in his sixth KBO season, was 2-6 with a 5.60 ERA.

Skipper Youm Kyoung-youb told reporters on May 28 that the Twins were prepared to cut either of the two starters, but he also said the best-case scenario for the Twins was to have both pitchers bounce back, given the scarcity of quality alternatives that time of year.

Enns happened to start that same day, and he earned his fifth win of the season by holding the SSG Landers to two runs on four hits in six innings while striking out nine.

It would have been tempting to assume Enns became extra motivated after learning of Cha’s plans. However, Enns only found out about the situation during an interview after Cha’s trip.

“I don’t follow the media much. Just kind of pay attention to what I’m doing from a day-to-day basis,” Enns told Yonhap News Agency on Thursday, before the Twins hosted the Samsung Lions at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. “I had no idea but I kind of mind my own business and I’m just here to do my job as best I can. And whatever the team does, that’s up to the team to decide.”

Both Enns and Kelly have pitched better in June. On Wednesday, Enns kept the Lions off the board over six innings and allowed only three hits. It was his first scoreless start since March 29, and Enns improved to 3-0 with a 3.10 ERA for June.

That start came a night after a near-perfect game by Kelly, who only allowed a ninth-inning single to the Lions in a complete game shutout.

It was a tough act for Enns to follow, and Enns said he was inspired by his teammate’s brilliant start.

“I was cheering for him the whole way, hoping that he got the perfect game. The fact that he had to settle for a complete game shutout, it’s not too bad, either,” 한국을 Enns said with a smile. “I was really happy for him to go out there and pitch that well. And it just gave me a lot of confidence to go out there and be in attack mode, pitch to my strengths and try and get similar results to him.”

David Buchanan (35, Philadelphia), who had been inflated by his dream of returning to the Major League until the end of last season, seems to have lost his place to go. Promotion to the Major League is being delayed due to the failure to show solid performance in the minor league, and his former team Samsung, which is the last bastion, is losing ground. 토토사이트 순위

Buchanan, who played for Samsung for four seasons from 2020 to 2023, had an outstanding record of 54 wins and 28 losses and an ERA of 3.02 in 113 games in the KBO League’s first division, took the lead in re-challenge of the Major League after the contract broke down with Samsung after last season. Samsung tried to catch Buchanan by proposing a multi-year contract, but there was a cap on the salary available for foreign players and this cap was a problem to accept Buchanan’s offer 100%.

Buchanan has announced his bid to play in the Major League, but has remained in the Minor League for now. The team that initially proposed Buchanan was known to have opted out of the race by turning to a more reliable starting pitcher, and Buchanan negotiated with other teams but no team offered a strong guarantee. Buchanan has thus far struggled to sign a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.

However, Buchanan’s path is more challenging than expected. During the spring training period, many assessed that Philadelphia was determined to make the most of Buchanan in any way possible when it received regular opportunities. However, in the end, Philadelphia did not select Buchanan. And as the Major League’s starting rotation became solid, the need for Buchanan was lessened. If the rotation is poor, Buchanan used to be an alternative, but now the starting pitcher is too solid.

To make matters worse, Buchanan’s minor league performance is also not good, and thus his call-up has been delayed. Buchanan played in 13 Triple-A games (10 starts) this year, recording four wins, three losses and an ERA of 5.48. Overall, his performance is not good enough to stage a show of force in the Major League call-up. Analysts say that his batting average has soared to 0.307, showing his limits in ball power.

On top of that, the flow was cut off again after returning from the injured list on the 7th due to a minor injury, and after returning, it is not easy to secure a starting position while playing as a long relief player. After returning from the injury, Buchanan failed to show a clean performance with two runs in two innings against Syracuse and two runs in three innings against Norfolk, only increasing his ERA. It is true that minor league teams are trying to find a way to utilize Buchanan somehow, but Buchanan is showing an ambiguous appearance.

Rumors of a return to Samsung were circulating at one point, but Samsung has also seen its need for Buchanan decrease as foreign pitchers have recently gained strength. Connor has recorded six wins and five losses with a 4.33 ERA in 16 games this season, but has been doing well with a 3.32 ERA in the last 10 games. Danny Reyes is also gradually finding his footing with seven wins and three losses with a 3.90 ERA in 15 games this season and a 3.58 ERA in the last 10 games. It’s hard to kick him out right now, and Buchanan doesn’t get much money even if he returns this year. One way or another, choices are tough.

He has become the No. 1 home run player. Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers is constantly running towards the milestone with only three players in Major League history. At an away game against Colorado at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado on Monday, Ohtani appeared as the first and designated hitter, and successfully got on base three times by making one hit, one RBI, one run and two walks from three times at bat, including his 21st homer of the season. The Dodgers beat Colorado 5-3 with Gavin Stone allowing two runs in 5.1 innings as the starting pitcher for Ohtani’s stellar performance, and finished the four consecutive games with a 3-1 victory.

In place of Betts, who was away for a while after suffering a fracture in the back of his left hand against the Kansas City Royals on the 17th, Ohtani, who played as a leadoff in this four-game series, performed better than this. In this four-game series, “leadoff Ohtani” has a batting average of 0.444 (8 hits in 18 times at bat), an on-base percentage of 0.524, a slugging percentage of 0.944, and an OPS of 1.468 two homers, seven RBIs and three walks.

In his first at-bat in the top of the first inning, Ohtani hit an 89.1 mile sinker coming into the middle of the 2B-1S ball count against Colorado starter Ty Blak, hitting a solo home run that went slightly over the fence. It was Ohtani’s 21st home run of the season, which led Ohtani to lead the NL home run alone over Marcel Osuna (Atlanta).

Since then, Ohtani has walked with two outs and runners on first and third base in the top of the second inning to continue the bases loaded chance, but failed to enter the home due to the failure of subsequent hits. In the third at-bat in the top of the fourth inning, after a close match with a full count, he struck out swinging on an 81.1 mile (about 130.5 kilometers) changeup that Block threw tightly on the low outside course. Ohtani, who only hit a fly to center field in his fourth at-bat in the top of the sixth inning with no outs and runners on first base, got on base with an intentional walk in the top of the eighth inning.

After a brief slump, Ohtani is flying again. In the last five games, he showed tremendous strength with a batting average of 0.476, OPS 1.75, four homers and nine RBIs, returning to his initial terrifying appearance. Ohtani is challenging again for the third two major league home run kings in history as he climbed back to No. 1 in the National League home run king race, which once seemed to be moving away. 토토사이트 추천

Since 1901, there have been only two players in the MLB who have been home run kings in both the National League and the American League: Fred McGregor and Mark McGwire. McGriff hit 36 home runs in 1989 while playing for the Toronto Blue Jays, and in 1992, he hit 35 home runs for the San Diego Padres to win the National League home run.

Maguire was followed by Maguire. In 1987 and 1996, when he was with the Oakland Athletics, Maguire hit 49 and 52 homers, respectively, to rank No. 1 in homers in the American League, and later moved to the St. Louis Cardinals, where he became the NL home run king for two consecutive years from 1998 to 1999.

Ohtani, who finished the season early last year due to elbow injury but became the homerun king of the American League with 44 homers, is displaying pace to hit 44 homers so far in the National League this year. Ohtani is the best.

About six out of 10 global consumers visited at least one Korean restaurant in a foreign country in the past year, with an average frequency of 1.7 visits per month, a survey showed Tuesday.

According to the Korean Food Promotion Institute’s annual survey, 64.6 percent of 9,000 respondents aged between 20 and 59 living in 18 cities around the world have visited a Korean restaurant.

The survey was conducted over two months — from August to October 2023 — in cities including New York, Paris, London, Shanghai, Tokyo and Bangkok.

The average percentage of non-Korean visitors to Korean restaurants was 52.3 percent in Oceania, Latin America and the Middle East, marking a 2.1 percent increase from the previous year.

Southeast Asia ranked first with 84.6 percent, followed by Northeast Asia at 74.7 percent, North America at 58.6 percent and Europe at 46.9 percent, all of which saw slight declines.

When it comes to the monthly frequency of visits to Korean restaurants, Southeast Asia had the highest average at 2.2 times, followed by Northeast Asia at 1.7 times and Oceania, Latin America and the Middle East at 1.5 times each. North Americans averaged 1.4 visits per month, while Europeans averaged 1.2 visits per month.

The change in the purpose of visiting Korean restaurants was also noticeable. The proportion of non-Koreans visiting Korean 안전 restaurants for “routine meals” was 49 percent in 2023, up by 2.8 percentage points from 46.2 percent in 2022.

An overwhelming 90.4 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with Korean restaurants, marking a 0.5 percentage point increase from the previous year, while 83 percent said they would recommend Korean restaurants to others.

The proportion of non-Koreans willing to return to Korean restaurants stood at 86.7 percent. By region, Southeast Asia ranked first with 91.9 percent, followed by Northeast Asia with 85.9 percent, Europe with 84.6 percent, Oceania and Latin America and the Middle East with 84.4 percent and North America with 84.3 percent.

President Yoon Suk Yeol strongly condemned North Korea’s recent actions, especially its efforts to strengthen military ties with Russia, describing those moves as “anachronistic acts” that defy the trajectory of history, Tuesday.

His criticism followed Pyongyang and Moscow’s signing of a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty last week, as well as North Korea’s repeated actions of sending balloons filled with trash toward South Korea.

“North Korea insists on a path of regression and remains the last frozen ground on the planet, while South Korea has been on the course of freedom and prosperity,” Yoon said in a speech during an event in Daegu to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the Korean War.

He described North Korea’s act of sending trash-filled balloons as a “mean and irrational provocation.”

Overnight on Monday, North Korea launched approximately 350 balloons filled with waste toward South Korea. It was the fifth time since 슬롯 late last month that the North sent the balloons across the border. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about 100 balloons, mostly containing scrap paper and waste, landed in Seoul and northern Gyeonggi Province.

“The North is prioritizing the safety of its regime while neglecting the dire living conditions of its people and ruthlessly suppressing their human rights,” Yoon said.

Regarding North Korea’s recent agreement with Russia, he said, “It has even pledged to enhance military and economic cooperation, which directly violates U.N. Security Council resolutions.”

The pledge refers to the treaty signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their summit last week. They agreed that each side would provide immediate military assistance in the event of an attack on either nation.

“North Korea’s actions are anachronistic and run counter to the course of historical progress,” Yoon said.

“Our military will remain steadfastly prepared to ensure that North Korea does not dare to challenge South Korea under any circumstances. We will respond with overwhelming and decisive force to any provocations from the North.”

This marks his first public comment on the agreement signed during the summit between Putin and Kim.

Additionally, Yoon pledged to deter North Korea’s provocations and threats through a strong security posture and alliances with the United States and other countries that share the same values as South Korea.

The signing of the treaty between Pyongyang and Moscow has raised concerns that the Korean Peninsula could become a focal point of a new Cold War.

A devastating fire at a Korean lithium battery factory claimed the lives of 23 workers. The fact that 18 of the victims were foreign nationals highlights the harsh working conditions and exploitative contracts endured by migrant laborers, activists said, Tuesday.

The incident, one of the worst industrial accidents in the nation’s history, could also be the deadliest single workplace disaster in terms of migrant worker fatalities.

The blaze erupted at the plant operated by Aricell in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, at around 10:30 a.m., Monday, with 102 employees present at the time. According to rescue authorities, 23 people died — five Koreans, 17 Chinese nationals and one Laotian. Of the five Koreans, one was a naturalized Korean originally from China. The fire authorities revised their earlier announcement from Monday regarding the victims’ nationalities, clarifying that not all 20 were foreign nationals.

Udaya Rai, a Nepalese worker-turned-activist who has lived in Korea for over two decades, described this as the deadliest tragedy for migrant workers in recent memory. He also heads the Migrants’ Trade Union.

“I remember previous incidents where one or two foreign nationals were involved in workplace accidents or fires, but the loss of over a dozen migrant workers is devastating news for our community,” Rai told The Korea Times.

He pointed out that the migrant workers may have failed to evacuate promptly after the fire broke out, noting that mandatory safety education sessions for foreign workers in factories are often skipped due to negligent employers citing language barriers, although officials at Aricell claim they provided sufficient safety education.

“No one should lose their life on the job, regardless of nationality — whether Korean or foreign. But unfortunately, foreigners are often treated as tools, not human beings. Employers care more about how fast they can work, not about safety measures or fire evacuation plans,” he said.

Government data show that over 900,000 migrant workers, primarily from Southeast Asian nations and ethnic Koreans of Chinese descent, are currently employed across various sectors, predominantly in agriculture, manufacturing, construction and fisheries, taking on jobs that are largely shunned by Koreans.

However, due to a lack of regulations and monitoring, foreign workers are more prone to occupational accidents and fatalities than their Korean counterparts.

According to a 2022 report by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, while the total number of occupational deaths decreased from 1,114 카지노사이트킹 in 2010 to 855 in 2019, fatalities among foreign workers increased from 78 to 104 during the same period. These accounted for 7 percent of the total deaths in 2010 but rose to 12.2 percent in 2019.

Furthermore, as of 2020, the occupational fatality rate among migrant workers was 1.39 per 10,000 individuals, significantly higher than the general rate of 0.07 for all employed persons.

Malicious comments against foreign nationals who were killed or injured in the deadly Aricell plant fire in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, have begun popping up online. Experts warned that such comments can cause pain to the living victims and the families of the living and the dead, and called on people to refrain from spreading hatred against immigrant workers.

The death toll from the deadly blaze at the lithium battery manufacturing plant reached 23, as of Tuesday. Among the victims, 17 were Chinese, five were Korean and one was Laotian, according to police.

Several online posts containing malicious comments against foreign victims reflected hatred toward Chinese nationals.

In the far-right online community D.C. Inside, several disparaging remarks against the victims and hateful expressions have been posted, such as “The event does not touch me because they are Chinese,” and “Most of the victims are Chinese. LOL.”

“Over 90 percent of them are not Korean but foreigners, so why does it matter?” another comment read.

Yoo Hyun-jae, a professor of newspaper and broadcasting at Sogang University, highlighted how incredibly offensive these kinds of 카지노사이트 remarks are. He stated, “We should not allow online communities to become a place for emotional release,” explaining that the psychology behind such hateful comments stems from a desire for attention.

“Korea needs to improve awareness and establish domestic laws that strictly punish online violence,” the professor said in reference to acts and expressions of hatred against foreign nationals.

Thais account for more than 35 percent of all undocumented foreign nationals staying here, according to the Ministry of Justice on Tuesday.

A ministry official told The Korea Times that 145,810 Thais were staying without valid visas or permits in Korea as of late May. This figure is about 35.1 percent of the total of 415,230 such foreign residents, far higher than that of other countries, including Vietnam (79,366), China (64,151), the Philippines (13,740), Indonesia (12,172) and Cambodia (10,681).

The release of information comes as the country’s strict entry requirements, particularly its K-ETA system, its electronic travel authorization, are being blamed for a decrease in the number of tourists from Thailand this year.

From January to April, Korea saw some 119,000 Thai travelers, down 21.1 percent from the same period last year, in stark contrast to a surge in foreign arrivals from other countries.

The ministry, which is in charge of reviewing K-ETA applications, does not disclose reasons for its rejections of travel permits. But the official said the same criteria have been applied to review the applicants from all countries subject to the policy.

As discontent is seemingly growing among Thai travelers over the K-ETA, with boycott signs such as the “ban Korea travel” hashtag gaining support on X, formerly Twitter, Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism asked the Ministry of Justice to temporarily exempt Thailand from K-ETA, at least until the end of 2024, as tourism officials are redoubling efforts to meet the target of attracting 20 million foreign tourists this year.

But the Ministry of Justice has expressed caution. Speaking to Yonhap, a Korean news agency, the ministry said a “cautious approach” would be needed as such a policy change could lead to a significant increase in the number of undocumented foreigners in the country.

When issues and complaints about the K-ETA emerged last November, the ministry defended its checking system, saying some 78 percent of all Thais staying in Korea were doing so illegally, and it was its “rightful duty” to reduce the number of those staying here unlawfully.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand was among the top sources of tourists, along with China, Japan, the United States and Taiwan. Many worry that the number of Thai visitors would never recover to the previous level anytime soon and negatively affect the relationship between the two countries.

The ministry official dismissed the claims that the K-ETA was the main reason behind the drop in the number of Thai visitors. But he said the 스포츠토토존 ministry is now trying to improve the system to make it more convenient, adding that it will do so while ensuring border security.

Cole started the game against the Baltimore Orioles at the Bronx Yankee Stadium in New York on the 20th (Korea Standard Time) and recorded 62 pitches, 3 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, and 2 runs in 4 innings.

Cole, who won the Cy Young Award for the first time in his career last year, felt pain in his elbow during the spring camp, which made his heart sink. He has been an ace for nine years after receiving 324 million dollars (447.6 billion won) ahead of the 2020 season. The injury seemed to make this season difficult. However, he underwent medical checkups by five specialists and thoroughly checked his elbow condition. He was diagnosed with nerve stimulation and swelling of his elbow without any ligament damage. He was able to return without surgery.

He performed perfectly in three Minor League rehabilitation games, and had his last rehabilitation game in Triple-A on Saturday. He had two hits, 10 strikeouts, and one run (non-ERA) in four ⅓ innings. He threw 37 four-seams, 19 cutters, seven curves, three sliders, and one change-up and sinker each. His maximum four-seam speed was 97.8 miles (about 157.4 kilometers) and he will return to the Major League soon.

The first inning was not easy. Gunna Henderson hit the second baseman and it went out to the outfield, resulting in a double. Attlee Rutchman handled it with a fly ball to the shortstop, and induced Ryan Mountcastle to hit a grounder to the second base. It became a two-out, third base, but Ryan O’Hearn gave up the first run as he got a timely double to the left-center field. With two outs and a runner on the second base, Anthony Santander hit a fly ball to center field, barely making it past the first inning. In the first inning alone, he allowed as many as four balls with speeds of over 100 miles per hour.

In the second inning, Colton Kauser hit a fly ball to shortstop and Cedric Mullins hit a liner to center field. Then, he guided Ramon Urias to a grounder to shortstop to finish the second inning.

He struck out for the first time in the top of the third inning. He struck out the leadoff Tana Jorge Mateo with a swing and miss. He allowed a walk and stole second base to Gunna Henderson, but struck out Adley Rutchman and Ryan Mountcastle in succession, finding the pace. 토토사이트 순위

In the fourth inning, Ryan O’Hearn, the leadoff hitter, cooked a liner to center field. And he regained stability by striking out Anthony Santander and Colton Kauser in succession.

Coming down from the fourth inning, Cole spread his finger from the bench and expressed his will to throw another inning, before taking the mound again in the fifth inning. However, he had to leave the mound after being hit to left by Cedric Mullins, the first batter, in the fifth inning. Later, Ron Marinaccio committed a two-run shot to Ramon Urías, increasing Cole’s loss to two points.

On the day, Cole threw 62 pitches, and displayed 28 forceps, 13 cutters, 11 knuckle curves, five changeups, and five sliders. He marked the maximum speed of his four-seam ball at 97.5 miles (156.9 kilometers).

Although he still had powerful ball power, he confirmed the points that need to be supplemented, such as allowing six balls with a batting speed of more than 100 miles to the firepower of Baltimore batters.