The Antenna

BEIJING — China's commerce ministry said on Monday that new U.S. tariffs imposed on Chinese goods over alleged forced labor were unjustified and amounted to protectionism, and urged Washington to remove them. On Friday, the United States imposed new tariffs of 10 percent and 12.5 percent on goods from 60 trading partners, including the EU and China, alleging those countries failed to curb imports made by forced labor. China was assigned a 12.5 percent rate. The new U.S. duties could risk undermining a fragile trade truce reached between the world's two largest economies last year and came as the two sides prepare for a possible visit to the U.S. by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September. The commerce ministry in a statement accused Washington of long manipulating the issue of forced labor, calling the new tariffs a typical act of unilateralism and protectionism, but also signalled willingness to continue dialogue "based on mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit" to address concerns. "This time, it (Washington) has again initiated a Section 301 investigation and imposed unilate

President Lee Jae Myung pledged to make every effort to create diplomatic conditions conducive to the resumption of dialogue with North Korea, as well as talks between the North and the United States, according to an interview released Monday. The South Korean president made the remarks in an interview with a local newspaper, O Globo, released a day after he arrived in Brazil on a state visit that includes a summit with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and a business roundtable. Lee reaffirmed his government's "firm determination" to build a new Korean Peninsula where South and North Korea can move beyond confrontation toward peaceful coexistence and pursue mutual growth, while stressing Seoul's continued efforts to reopen dialogue with North Korea. Despite little progress in efforts to resume dialogue, Seoul will continue to seek a path toward dialogue and cooperation with North Korea without wavering, the president noted. "In particular, Seoul will send a consistent message in support of dialogue in close collaboration with the international community, including the U.S.,

K-pop boy band NouerA released its fourth EP ".exe" Monday, running what the group calls a program of love for its fans. The album arrives just four months after the release of its third EP in March, marking an unusually quick return. The mini-album captures the group's determination to confess love without hesitation. Borrowing its title from the file extension for executable computer programs, the album carries the message that the seven members will leap across dimensional boundaries for love. While the previous EP "POP IT LIKE" showcased the group's intense energy and bold performances, the new release tells a story of young, innocent romance. Hours ahead of the album's release Monday, the seven members — Hyunjun, Gihyeon, Junpyo, Yuseop, Lin, Fan and Miraku — met with the press at Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul's Gwangjin District to share the story behind the album and their thoughts on it. Taking the stage in hot-pink football uniforms, the members appeared noticeably more seasoned than at their debut last year. "I'm thrilled and excited to be promoting with a fresh, youthful

The ethics committee of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) said Monday it has launched a disciplinary process for three lawmakers accused of harming the party in various ways. In a press release following a plenary session, the committee said it decided to begin the process for six-term Rep. Cho Kyoung-tae for allegedly making phone calls to lawmakers of other parties to try to keep Rep. Park Duk-hyum from being elected as deputy National Assembly speaker. Rep. Jin Jong-oh, a first-term lawmaker, was reported to the committee for allegedly supporting independent candidate Han Dong-hoon for a parliamentary seat in the southeastern city of Busan ahead of the June 3 local elections when the PPP had its own candidate. Rep. Kwon Young-jin, meanwhile, has come under fire for allegedly using violence against PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sig while protesting parliamentary committee assignments last week. The disciplinary process is expected to deepen a factional feud between supporters and detractors of party leader Jang Dong-hyeok. The types of possible disciplinary action are expulsion

A special counsel team on Monday requested a seven-year prison term for former National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Cho Tae-yong in his appellate trial on charges of giving false testimony about former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed imposition of martial law. Special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team requested the sentence at the trial at the Seoul High Court, which also involves charges of dereliction of duty for not reporting Yoon's order to arrest politicians to the National Assembly, drafting and using false public documents, and destruction of evidence. The alleged events all took place around the time of Yoon's declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024. The special counsel team had made the same sentencing recommendation during Cho's initial trial, but the lower court sentenced him to a year and a half in prison after convicting him of perjury for telling the Constitutional Court that he had not received martial law-related documents from Yoon at the time of its declaration, and of making similar claims in official NIS documents. The lower court acquitted him of all other charg

Korea will launch a major global music festival in Los Angeles in May 2028 that organizers hope will rival the U.S.-based Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival as well as a new K-pop awards show in Seoul and Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, in December next year. A civilian-government committee on pop culture announced the plan during a press briefing in Seoul on Monday, saying the series of events under the "Fanomenon" brand is intended to boost tourism and expand the global reach of Korea's cultural industries. The "Fanonmenon" program comprises a fandom-focused annual awards ceremony featuring performances by K-pop artists and an overseas music festival modeled on Coachella, according to the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange. The name "Fanomenon" merges "fan" and "phenomenon," underscoring the role of fans as active drivers of Korean culture's global expansion, according to the committee. "We'll start with the Fanomenon Awards in December 2027," Park Jin-young, co-chair of the committee, said. "We'll then launch the Fanomenon Festival overseas, beginning in Los Angeles i

New U.S. Ambassador to Korea Michelle Steel is set to arrive in Seoul this week, sources said Monday, to assume her post which has remained vacant for about a year and a half since the launch of U.S. President Donald Trump's second administration. Steel is scheduled to arrive in Korea on Thursday, and the submission of her credentials is expected to take place as early as next week after Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and the foreign ministry's chief of protocol return from accompanying President Lee Jae Myung on his trip to South America, according to the sources. Before formally beginning their duties, newly appointed foreign ambassadors are required to present copies of their credentials to the chief of protocol at the foreign ministry. U.S. ambassadors also traditionally pay a courtesy call on the foreign minister on that occasion. The ambassadorial post has remained vacant since former U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg left Korea in January last year. A Korean American Republican politician, Steel was born in Seoul in 1955 and emigrated to the United States in the mid-1970s. She served two

Waterbomb is commanding widespread attention again this summer as a premier music festival. The event's signature blend of live music, water fights and audience participation has solidified into a powerful brand identity. However, as the festival's cultural footprint expands, skin-baring outfits and sexually charged performances have become a reliable part of its commercial draw. This dynamic has created a bizarre spectacle where artists' bodies spark more interest than the music itself. Female singers take the stage in revealing attire, while male artists strip off their shirts to flex. Suggestive routines emphasizing specific body parts are treated as a highlight, regardless of gender, becoming a default expectation. Revealing clothes and pronounced sex appeal are not inherently problematic. Choosing a wardrobe and choreographing routines fall squarely within artistic license. Audiences flock to the venue expecting a bold and liberating atmosphere. Public discourse surrounding Waterbomb consistently centers on who wore the most daring outfits and delivered the most provocative routine

The Ministry of Education selected six universities on Monday as outstanding performers in employment and startup support for international students, backing schools' efforts amid a rise in foreign enrollment and growing interest among them to settle in Korea. Kyung Hee University and Vision College of Jeonju took the grand prizes, recognized for programs that guide international students from campus to career. Kangwon National University, Kyungbok University, Kyungsung University and Chungnam National University won merit prizes for customized education tied to regional industry needs. At Kyung Hee University, the four-year university category winner, international students' core competencies are certified in stages. Digital badges let students apply their completion records for career planning and job preparation programs, along with competency certifications, directly in job searches. Vision College of Jeonju in North Jeolla Province, the two-year college category winner, attracted talented students through the Saemangeum Hangul School, a Korean language school it runs overseas with t

Seoul is expanding its signature line of city-branded baked goods, introducing a chestnut-infused version of its popular low-sugar red bean bread to meet rising consumer demand for healthier, everyday treats. The Seoul Metropolitan Government launched "Seoul Chestnut Red Bean Bread" Monday, the second official installment in its Seoul Bread line, developed in partnership with heritage bakery Koryodang. The new pastry incorporates whole chestnuts into the filling used in the original Seoul Red Bean Bread, imparting a richer flavor and firmer texture while maintaining roughly 36 percent less sugar than conventional red bean pastries. The release follows the successful April debut of the initial lineup — featuring classic low-sugar red bean and whole-wheat varieties — which surpassed 80,000 cumulative units sold in approximately 100 days. Strong consumer interest drove frequent sellouts across retail locations, with shoppers regularly queuing to purchase the city-backed goods shortly after store openings. Starting Monday, the new chestnut red bean bread is available at designated "Seoul

As the Korean government unveils a new plan to rein in skyrocketing actors' fees, the initiative has been met with caution from industry officials who largely support its aim but remain uncertain whether it will prove effective in practice. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Film Council recently signed a trilateral agreement with production companies and talent agencies to place a cap on actors’ pay. Under the agreement, government-subsidized mid-budget films with net production costs between 2 billion won ($1.36 million) and 8 billion won will be encouraged to keep actors’ fees below 10 percent of those costs. The measure is based on voluntary cooperation rather than binding rules, according to government officials. To prevent the initiative from becoming a one-off measure, the government also announced plans to form a consultative body to discuss ways to improve production conditions across the film industry. The signing ceremony was attended by representatives from major talent agencies, including BH Entertainment, Management SOOP and J-Wide Company, along

SHANGHAI — China's leading memory chipmaker CXMT became the most valuable company in the mainland after soaring more than 500 percent on its market debut Monday, underscoring how AI demand is boosting the semiconductor sector. The race to build data centres that power artificial intelligence has fuelled a global memory chip shortage while causing business to boom for the companies that produce them. ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) is the world's fourth-largest maker of DRAM memory chips, with around eight percent market share. It wants to rival Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, and U.S. giant Micron, companies that have also seen profits and share prices skyrocket in recent months. The firm's shares rocketed 530 percent Monday, taking its market capitalisation to 3.65 trillion yuan ($540 billion) — surpassing megabank ICBC as mainland China's most valuable company. The interest "reflects investors' overwhelmingly bullish sentiment toward China's flagship domestic memory chip firm", Larry Yang, chief economist of First Seafront Fund Management, told AFP. China's government i

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook, second from left, greets a foreign veteran of the 1950-53 Korean War during a ceremony marking United Nations Forces Participation Day at KBS Hall in Seoul, Monday. During the event that coincided with the 73rd anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement, Han pledged that Korea will defend freedom and peace through its alliance with the United States and close cooperation with U.N. veteran nations, honor every war veteran with the highest courtesy, expand exchanges with their descendants and carry the friendships with participant countries into future generations. Yonhap

A committee tasked with reforming police investigation practices was launched Monday in response to allegations of police misconduct in a high-profile murder case earlier this year. The committee held its inaugural meeting at the National Police Agency headquarters as police seek to rebuild public trust amid ongoing controversy over the police investigation into the murder case. The controversy centers on allegations that police in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul, leaked investigative material to the murder suspect's father, who is also a police officer in the city, and destroyed evidence. The suspect, 23-year-old Jang Yoon-gi, is accused of killing a 16-year-old female high school student and attempting to kill a 17-year-old male student on May 5. The committee plans to examine the police handling of the case as its first agenda item, and evaluate potential structural flaws within the force and propose improvements. The government issued an apology earlier this month over the alleged police mishandling of the murder case and vowed thorough reforms to police investigations.

The unification ministry reaffirmed its stance Monday on seeking "realistic and practical" solutions to denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, focusing on halting North Korea's nuclear programs. "The ministry's position has not budged from seeking a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula in cooperation with the international community," Yoon Min-ho, the ministry's spokesperson, said at a regular briefing. "Given the gravity of North Korean nuclear issues, we will focus on halting North Korea's nuclear programs, and seek to find realistic and practical solutions," he said. His remarks came in response to a statement by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, carried by the Korean Central News Agency earlier in the day. She rejected outright a joint statement released Saturday after the annual foreign ministers' meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila, which reaffirmed their commitment to the "complete denuclearization" of North Korea. North Korea's "nuclear capability will be updated steadily without a momentary stagnation," she said. Unification Minister Chung Dong-you

LG Chem is reshaping its business portfolio around four growth engines as it responds to a prolonged downturn in the petrochemical industry and rising demand driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and electrification. The company has expanded its long-term growth strategy by adding high-value specialty materials to its existing growth pillars — battery materials for e-mobility, innovative pharmaceuticals and sustainability — aiming to more than triple its revenue from the four growth businesses by 2030. The four businesses generated 5.8 trillion won, accounting for 22 percent of the company's total revenue in 2024. The first growth pillar centers on battery and electronic materials as demand grows across electric vehicles (EVs), semiconductors and AI-related applications. In battery materials, LG Chem is focusing on advanced cathode technologies, including high-voltage mid-nickel cathodes, lithium manganese-rich cathodes and lithium iron phosphate materials, while also developing next-generation materials for sodium-ion batteries. The company is also expanding semiconductor packaging

The unification ministry on Monday awarded a commendation to an officer from the United Nations Command's Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC) in recognition of his contributions to peace in the border area with North Korea. The award was given to Maj. Lee Sung-bin during the Second Joint Conference on Peace and Safety in Border Areas, which was held at the government complex in Seoul. The UNCMAC supervises the Military Armistice Agreement between the two Koreas along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) signed on July 27, 1953. The move was seen as an olive branch following friction between the ministry and the UNC over entry control of the DMZ, with the former seeking independent authority for peaceful civilian visits and the UNC asserting exclusive military control under the armistice. Lee, who was absent for unspecified personal matter, is said to serve as a contact point between the ministry and the UNC on DMZ-related matters. The ministry also awarded commendations to officials from the border counties of Goseong and Cheorwon, as well as military officials, for similar contributions. The

Korea's benchmark KOSPI closed nearly 1 percent higher Monday after a choppy session, as semiconductor stocks remained volatile following the Shanghai debut of China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT). KOSPI ended at 6,755.75, up 0.97 percent from the previous session, according to the Korean Exchange. The index opened at 6,806.27 before falling to as low as 6,557.39 during the session, but recovered in afternoon trading. Foreign investors were net sellers of 2.89 trillion won ($1.97 billion), while retail and institutional investors were net buyers of 1.98 trillion won and 862.4 billion won, respectively. Market bellwethers ended higher, with Samsung Electronics rising 1.8 percent to 254,000 won and SK hynix gaining 3.41 percent to 1.816 million won. Notably, shares of Naver surged 8.43 percent to close at 225,000 won after Nvidia announced earlier in the day that it would acquire a 4.5 percent stake in the company through a $1 billion strategic investment. Investors welcomed a $950 billion Korea-U.S. artificial intelligence (AI)-related partnership announced on Saturday during Presid

The state weather service issued its highest-level heat wave warning for 17 areas in southern Korea on Monday, saying extreme heat is expected there. The serious heat wave warning had been issued as of 11 a.m. in Daegu, nine South Gyeongsang Province areas, including Gimhae, Miryang, Yangsan, Uiryeong, Jinju and Changwon; six North Gyeongsang Province areas, including Gyeongsan, Pohang and Gyeongju, and Gwangyang of South Jeolla Province, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The serious heat wave warning is the highest warning level established 18 years after the heat wave advisory system was introduced in 2008. It is issued when the highest perceived temperature reaches 38 C or higher, or the maximum daily temperature reaches 39 C or higher, levels considered life-threatening. The highest perceived temperatures rose to 37.4 C in Yangsan, 37.3 C in Gwangyang, 36.9 C in Uiryeong and 36.6 C in northern Daegu as of 1 p.m., the KMA said, adding the mercury will rise even further in the late afternoon. The season's first serious heat wave warning was issued in Yangsan an

"Agent Kim Reactivated" wrapped up its run as the second-highest-rated Friday-Saturday drama in SBS history. Although the series did not surpass the 29.2 percent peak set by "The Penthouse," it achieved a significant milestone with a 23 percent nationwide rating in a stagnant television market. Amid the recent downturn in terrestrial broadcasting, the action series proved the network's strong ratings draw. "Agent Kim Reactivated" follows an ordinary father who transforms into a dangerous vigilante to rescue his daughter. The series captured viewer enthusiasm by combining large-scale action sequences, comedic elements and a resonant father-daughter story. The final episode of the drama, broadcast on Saturday, resolved all the central conflicts and brought its principal villains to justice while still leaving the door open for a second season. Adapted from the Naver webtoon "Manager Kim," the television production brought together screenwriter Nam Dae-joong, whose film credits include "The Last Ride," "Love Reset" and "First Ride," with director Yi Seung-young, who directed "Wonderful Wor

Hana Securities said Monday that it has launched trading through omnibus accounts in partnership with Hong Kong-based global financial platform Futu Securities. An omnibus account allows nonresident foreign investors to place and settle orders for Korean stocks through a local brokerage without having to open a separate account in Korea. The system is expected to improve trading convenience for overseas investors and broaden the potential base for capital inflows into the Korean stock market. The launch marks Hana Securities' first omnibus account service offered through a mobile investment platform. After hosting an investment forum for 30 Futu Securities VIP clients in May, Hana Securities began a pilot program in June for customers who had applied in advance. The service was expanded to all customers last Friday. Futu Securities operates the mobile investment platforms Futubull and Moomoo. It has operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. As of last year, it had about 3.37 million active accounts, approximately 246 trillion won

Romania is looking to deepen its strategic partnership with Korea beyond its expanding defense and energy cooperation, with artificial intelligence (AI), digital infrastructure, logistics and education emerging as the next pillars of bilateral ties, Romanian State Secretary of Foreign Affairs Clara Volintiru said. In an interview with The Korea Times during her visit to Seoul, Volintiru said defense and energy have become the cornerstone of bilateral industrial cooperation as growing geopolitical tensions, energy security concerns and rising defense spending drive trusted allies to strengthen collaboration. "At the global level, we see an increased demand for energy security and an increased need for defense spending and increased capabilities," she said. "It only makes sense to bring together allies — trusted allies — to advance these capabilities." She described Korea as "a very trustworthy partner" for Romanian industries, particularly as Romania modernizes key sectors while strengthening national and regional security. Shared security priorities Romania has promoted the Odesa Tria

CHEONGJU, North Chungcheong Province — The race to power the artificial intelligence (AI) era is extending beyond transformers and switchgears to an often-overlooked capability: testing. As the rise of hyperscale data centers rapidly increase demand for customized electrical equipment, manufacturers with their own certification and testing infrastructure are gaining an edge in speed, flexibility and customer trust — an advantage LS Electric has spent decades building. At its Power Testing & Technology Institute (PT&T) here, the company operates one of the world's most advanced private testing facilities for power equipment, enabling it to respond rapidly to changing customer specifications while maintaining internationally recognized certification standards. The institute evaluates the performance and safety of nearly every major product in LS Electric's portfolio, including circuit breakers, transformers, cables and switchgears. Beyond routine performance verification, engineers conduct destructive short-circuit tests designed to determine whether equipment can withstand extreme fau

The commander of the United Nations Command (UNC) said Monday the Armistice Agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War has served to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula as South Korea and allied nations marked the 73rd anniversary of the ceasefire. UNC Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson made the remarks in an X post, honoring the 22 countries that fought or provided medical support under the U.N. flag against North Korean and Chinese forces during the three-year conflict. "The Armistice Agreement is not a peace treaty, but it has provided a framework for preserving peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula for 73 years," Brunson said in the post. He called the veterans a "living bridge between the battlefield of yesterday and the peace we safeguard today." "Their legacy reminds us that preserving the Armistice requires steadfast commitment, unwavering vigilance and credible readiness," he said. "There is no substitute for being ready." The Armistice Agreement was signed between the UNC and the North Korean and Chinese militaries on July 27, 1953, to temporarily halt the con

Cyberattacks targeting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its affiliated agencies nearly tripled in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, data showed, raising fresh concerns about the security of sensitive diplomatic information following a recently disclosed data breach at the ministry. According to data provided by Rep. Kim Joon-hwan of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, cyberattacks targeting the foreign ministry, the Korea Foundation and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) totaled 96,483 between January and June, far outpacing the 73,785 attempts recorded across the entire previous year. By organization, the Korea Foundation bore the brunt of the attacks with 70,043 cases, followed by the foreign ministry with 16,254 and KOICA with 10,186. By attack type across all three agencies, attempted server data hacking topped the list at 49,602 cases, followed by server vulnerability information gathering attempts with 18,852, website hacking attempts with 17,844, and email account takeover and phishing with 4,535. By origin, attacks from untra

Unionized workers at KakaoBank are set to stage what would be the first strike at a Korean internet-only bank on Friday, putting the spotlight on labor relations across the country's digital banking sector, industry officials said Monday. The walkout follows seven months of wage and collective bargaining talks that began in January but ended without an agreement. The union said 95 percent of participating members voted in favor of a one-day walkout. Instead of holding rallies, employees plan to use their annual leave to join the strike. Ahead of the strike, the union on Monday said more than half of the total employees at the bank joined the group, noting that this reflected growing employee dissatisfaction with management's approach to negotiations and the compensation system. Additional talks remain possible before Friday but if no last-minute agreement is reached, the walkout would mark the first strike at a Korean internet-only lender since the industry was launched in 2017. Although neither management nor the union has disclosed details of the negotiations, the union is seeking highe

BORDEAUX — Firefighters battled massive blazes tearing through forests across France and Spain Monday, as authorities warned of a fresh heatwave set to engulf the scorched French wine-growing region around the major city of Bordeaux. More than 325,000 people have fled their homes, mostly in the Gironde department, home to Bordeaux, as some of the worst forest fires in either country's history rage across southwest France and central Spain near Madrid. France's fire has caused an unprecedented "pyrocumulonimbus" — a giant fire cloud that creates its own winds and packs lightning that causes more blazes, said the National Firefighters Federation of France (FNSPF). "It's a David-versus-Goliath scenario... at some point, we'll find a weak spot and strike there," said FNSPF spokesman Eric Brocardi. French President Emmanuel Macron will hold a crisis cabinet meeting to discuss the emergency on Monday morning. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will visit fire-hit areas in Valencia, in the east of the country on Monday where firefighters are battling a new blaze and where 15,000 people hav

Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. Many office workers automatically reach for an iced coffee after lunch. But coffee drinks loaded with syrup and cream often contain more calories than expected and can even leave you feeling thirstier. Simply replacing your after-meal coffee with an unsweetened cup of tea can help cut unnecessary calories and support weight management during the summer. Oolong tea: Perfect after big lunch If you've had a rich meal such as grilled pork belly, pork cutlet or black bean noodles, oolong tea is an excellent choice. Studies have suggested that the polyphenols in oolong tea may play a role in fat metabolism. Its clean, refreshing taste can also reduce the urge to reach for dessert or snacks after a meal. Because oolong tea contains caffeine, limiting intake to two or three cups a day is recommended. Drinking it pleasantly chilled, rather than packed with ice, may also be gentler on the stomach. Green tea: Boosts alertness Instead of a sweet coffee drink when the afternoon slump hits around 2 or 3 p.m., consider green tea. Catechins in green tea may hel

Korean investors are paying steep premiums for SK hynix's American depositary receipts (ADRs) in New York even though they can buy the chipmaker's shares more cheaply at home, analysts said Monday. There is little economic rationale for Korean investors to buy the ADRs. Since the securities began trading on Nasdaq about two weeks ago, they have commanded a premium of 16 to 51 percent over SK hynix shares listed in Seoul. The tax treatment is also less favorable. Capital gains on locally listed shares are largely tax-free for Korean retail investors, while profits from overseas stocks are subject to a 22 percent capital-gains tax after an annual deduction of 2.5 million won ($1,704). For some individual investors, however, the attraction appears to lie less in valuation than in short-term trading patterns. "When the underlying shares rise, the ADRs follow," one investor wrote in an online community. "They tend to fall less and rebound more strongly than the Seoul-listed shares, and they can be traded at night, when the domestic market is closed." Korean investors bought a net $675.5 millio

The Ministry of Science and ICT has teamed up with U.S. chip giant AMD to set up an artificial intelligence (AI) research center in Korea, as well as expanding infrastructure for heterogeneous AI computing. According to the ministry, Monday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon and AMD Chair and CEO Lisa Su signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on bilateral cooperation in the AI semiconductor ecosystem during AMD Advancing AI 2026 in San Francisco, Thursday. Under the MOU, AMD will begin preparations to establish an “AI Center of Excellence” in Korea, which will serve as a collaboration hub supporting technology cooperation among Korean companies, universities and research institutes, AI semiconductor software development, computing technology validation and joint research based on AMD's computing resources and software capabilities. The two sides also agreed to pursue the development and demonstration of a heterogeneous AI computing infrastructure combining AMD's central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs) with domestica

In a bid to position itself as a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI), Seoul is turning its urban landscape into a living laboratory for the next generation of data scientists and urban planners. The Seoul AI Foundation said Monday that it has partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Senseable City Lab — one of the world’s foremost research groups studying data-driven urban design — to launch a series of joint global AI education programs for university students in Korea. The initiative blends academic seminars, immersive summer courses, and hands-on capstone internships, giving local students direct access to top-tier researchers from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Earlier this year, the MIT Senseable City Lab established the "Seoul Global AI Lab," its fourth international outpost and its first in Asia. The new joint educational programs build on that research anchor, aligning with Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s strategic push to turn Seoul into an international hub for AI talent. "This is a valuable opportunity for Seoul’s future talent to build global capabilities

In the hillside neighborhood of Gyeongnidan-gil, a bustling district framed by Mount Nam and vibrant nightlife, the charm of winding alleys and steep slopes has long come with a quiet hazard: dark, uneven curves where sidewalks blend seamlessly into traffic after sunset. Now, a community-led simple innovation is lighting the way forward. Yongsan District said Monday that its initiative to install solar-powered pavement markers along Gyeongnidan-gil was selected by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety as a national best practice in public safety. The project, which placed solar studs along a 940-meter stretch of roadway, traces its roots directly to local residents. Recognizing the risk to nighttime pedestrians, community members proposed the installation through the district’s participatory budgeting program, a system designed to give citizens a direct voice in how local public funds are spent. Yongsan District Mayor Kim Kyoung-dae’s administration embraced the proposal, combining the resident initiative with expert consultations in traffic and urban design. The result was the dep

Ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced Monday to a year and a half in prison, suspended for three years, for making false statements during the 2022 presidential campaign. The ruling, if it is upheld, will require the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) to return 39.7 billion won ($27.05 million) in campaign reimbursements. The Seoul Central District Court handed Yoon the suspended jail term in the first ruling since he was indicted in December 2025 on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act over allegedly false remarks made in the run-up to the March 2022 presidential election. Yoon, the PPP's candidate in the election, is already in jail over the December 2024 martial law fiasco, which led to his impeachment and removal from office. The ruling carries significant political implications, because it may force the PPP to return the 39.7 billion won to the National Election Commission (NEC). Under the Public Official Election Act, a presidential candidate who is elected or wins at least 15 percent of the vote is entitled to full reimbursement of campaign expenses f

K-pop boy band ENHYPEN and HYBE Labels' original story intellectual property (IP) "Dark Moon" made their debut at San Diego Comic-Con 2026, bringing the Korean vampire franchise to the center of American pop culture with a panel session, a crowded official booth and a late-night live event, the entertainment giant said Monday. "Dark Moon" is a vampire-themed transmedia franchise that HYBE developed around ENHYPEN's music. The campaign ran from Wednesday through Sunday (local time) at the San Diego Convention Center and nearby venues. HYBE, the parent company of Belift Lab, the group's agency, said the event underscored the franchise's potential to reach mainstream North American audiences with its deep lore. The franchise was first introduced through the group's "Drunk-Dazed" music video in April 2021 and launched as the webtoon "Dark Moon: The Blood Altar" on Naver Webtoon in January 2022. ENHYPEN's music has grown alongside the franchise: The group's 2023 EPs "DARK BLOOD," led by the single "Bite Me," and "ORANGE BLOOD" were built on the same lore, while its 2024 special album "MEMORAB

Director Kim Mi-jo described her new movie "The Journey to Gyeongju" as a story about enduring grief and the deep strength of family love. "I was curious about how those left behind overcome the pain of loss and deal with emotional rupture. I wanted to tell a story about people who push forward until the very end," Kim said during a press conference in Seoul, Monday. “Ultimately, it is a story about intense love, and I believe it will reach anyone who has someone they love." "The Journey to Gyeongju" revolves around a mother, Ok-sil (Lee Jeong-eun), and her three daughters as they embark on a road trip to the historic southeastern city of Gyeongju to avenge their youngest family member, Gyeong-ju, who went missing during a school trip eight years ago. The upcoming revenge drama is Kim's commercial feature debut. She previously earned critical acclaim at domestic and international film festivals with her award-winning debut film "Gull” (2021). "The story stems from a setup where four women who have never killed even an insect set out to deliver their own justice," Kim said. "I wanted t

Celebrity couple Namkoong Min and Jin A-reum have welcomed their first baby, Nam's agency said Monday. Jin gave birth to a baby boy on Sunday, 935 Entertainment said. The couple met when Jin appeared on the film "Light My Fire" (2016), which Namkoong directed. The couple got married in a private ceremony in 2022. Namkoong, who made his debut in the 2001 film "Bungee Jumping of Their Own," has appeared on the TV series "Hot Stove League," "My Dearest" and "Good Manager." Jin, who made her debut as a model in 2008, has ventured into acting, appearing on the film "The Royal Tailor."

The second annual Green Project Public Speaking Championship, sponsored by The Korea Times and organized by New Era Academy, was held Saturday and Sunday at the University of Utah Asia Campus in Songdo, Incheon. The event drew 44 registered participants from across Korea, many of them competing before a judging panel for the first time. Only 10 speakers advanced to the final round. Aimed at speakers between the ages of 9 and 18, the tournament asked participants to present creative environmental solutions in TED-style talks across a five-round format that grew progressively more demanding. In the first two rounds, contestants delivered prepared speeches based on their own research on environmental solutions. In the third and fourth rounds, they were given topics on the spot and allowed four to five minutes to prepare before speaking. In the final round, held before a panel of six judges, contestants had to speak immediately after receiving their topic, with no preparation time. Bae Seo-jun, 13, won the junior category, and Sohn Ye-bin, 14, won the senior category; both attend Seoul Foreig

A major new K-culture festival built around the power of global fan bases will bring concerts, exhibitions and fan-focused events to Korea in late 2027, with organizers expecting more than 500,000 visitors and an economic impact of nearly 1 trillion won ($680 million). The Popular Culture Exchange Committee unveiled plans Monday for "Fanomenon," a large-scale event designed to expand Korea’s influence in global popular culture and establish the country as the premier hub for the fandom industry. Scheduled to run from Dec. 2 to Dec. 12, 2027, the 11-day festival will span two major venues: the newly built Seoul Arena in Changdong and the second exhibition hall at KINTEX in Goyang north of the capital. A portmanteau of "fan" and "phenomenon," the name reflects the organizers' vision of fans not merely as passive consumers, but as active partners driving the global reach of Korean culture. "The true power of K-culture stems not just from the artists and content, but from the fandoms that have nurtured and spread it worldwide," said Park Jin-young, co-chairman of the committee. "By creati

Yonsei University said Monday that a research team led by Lee In-suk, a professor at its College of Life Science and Biotechnology, has built the world's largest gut virome genome catalog for laboratory mice and demonstrated that viral data alone can accurately predict biological aging, marking a major advance in microbiome research and biomarker discovery. The team analyzed 2,638 gut metagenomic datasets from Korea and abroad to build the Mouse Reference Gut Virome (MRGV), comprising 109,778 viral genomes representing 28,824 viral species. The world's largest catalog of its kind expands known viral diversity by about 68 percent compared with existing databases. The researchers also reconstructed hundreds of thousands of previously unassembled viral genomes, substantially improving genome completeness. Using the catalog, the team identified relationships between gut viruses and bacteria and conducted comparative analyses between human and mouse viromes. Notably, they showed that gut viral profiles alone can predict age of mice with high accuracy. Many viruses most strongly associated wit

Korean students preparing to study abroad and international scholars pursuing degrees in Seoul came together for the first time Saturday, trading classrooms for community service in a volunteer program designed to build a global network through shared service. The Seoul Future Talent Foundation said Monday that it hosted the scholarship networking program "Connecting Values Together" at the Seoul Kids Cafe in Yeouido on Sunday. The event marked the first joint social contribution program bringing together Korean scholarship recipients and international students supported by the foundation. Six recipients of the Seoul Tech Scholarship and four recipients of the 2024-2025 Seoul Study Abroad Scholarship participated in the program. The students volunteered by disinfecting toys and cleaning facilities at the public indoor playground. Working in teams of three or four, the participants also shared their cultural backgrounds and personal experiences while completing the volunteer activities. The foundation said the program was designed to strengthen ties among scholarship recipients regardless o

Jung District in central Seoul has sharply expanded its network of collection bins for discarded rechargeable batteries, betting that a simple change in disposal habits can help prevent fires before they start. The district said Monday that it increased the number of dedicated battery collection bins from 49 to 169 by installing 120 additional units. The expansion is intended to reduce fires linked to discarded lithium batteries while improving the recycling of valuable materials. Rechargeable batteries are widely used in power banks, mobile phones, electronic cigarettes, wireless earbuds, smartwatches and tablet computers. The district said the growing use of rechargeable electronic devices has led to a rapid increase in discarded batteries. The amount of used batteries collected in Jung District doubled to 18 tons in 2025 from 9 tons in 2020. Officials said discarded batteries can ignite if they are crushed or damaged during waste collection and processing. Improperly disposed batteries have been identified as a major cause of fires at recycling facilities and in garbage trucks. The distri

BANTARGEBANG, Indonesia — Long before dawn breaks over Indonesia ’s largest landfill, Nur Wencih joins thousands of waste pickers climbing mountains of garbage, searching for anything they can sell. The 35-year-old widow has worked at the site on Jakarta’s eastern edge for two decades, following her parents, who still earn a living there. The Bantargebang landfill has paid for food and rent while helping her two teenage daughters living with a relative in a rural village. She hopes her daughters will never have to follow the same path. Living alone in a rented room near the landfill, Wencih earns about 200,000 rupiah ($12) on a good day collecting discarded toys, cardboard and plastic bottles before bulldozers bury them beneath fresh waste. Occasionally, she finds gold jewelry. “It feels like hitting a jackpot,” Wencih said while taking a break from the sweltering July heat. But those lucky finds, and perhaps her livelihood, may soon become far rarer. Beginning Aug. 1, Indonesia plans to start transforming the site from open dumping to a more controlled system as part of a natio

LONDON — Samsung Electronics has adopted silicon-carbon anode batteries for the Galaxy Z8 foldable smartphone series unveiled at the Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event here and is considering expanding the technology to the Galaxy S27 series. During a press briefing on Thursday, Samsung Electronics Executive Vice President at Mobile R&D Office Moon Sung-hoon said the Galaxy Z8 series for the first time used silicon-carbon battery to improve energy density within the same amount of space. Silicon-carbon anodes significantly increase energy density compared to conventional batteries using graphite anodes. By adopting silicon-carbon anode, the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra is equipped with a 5,000 milliampere-hour pack, 14 percent larger than that of its predecessor, while maintaining a record-thin profile of 4.1 millimeters. Chinese smartphone makers have been using silicon-carbon for their smartphone batteries, but Moon said Samsung decided to adopt the technology only after it met the company's stringent safety standards, given the material's structural drawbacks. "Silicon batteries have the advantage

SEATTLE — Seattle police say one suspect has been arrested and they are searching for another following a shooting Sunday at a crowded food festival that killed three people. Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis said detectives don’t have any description on the outstanding suspect. Investigators believe the two were shooting at each other and there is no ongoing threat to the public. The gunfire erupted around 6 p.m. in the waning hours of the Bite of Seattle, an annual festival that draws hundreds of food and retail vendors and performers. Three people died and four others were wounded and are in stable condition at a hospital, officials said. A large number of police and emergency crews responded and began evacuating the area around the sprawling Seattle Center events campus. Authorities have not said where exactly the shooting occurred at the event, which had outdoor and indoor areas. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said he was receiving briefings and State Patrol SWAT officers were deployed to assist local police. “My prayers are with the families of the victims, and the responders as they

The breezy romantic-comedy leading man was gone. In his place was a ghost slayer with a pale, drawn face and sharply pronounced cheekbones, worn down by his battles with evil spirits and his crossings between the world of the living and the realm of the dead. After a three-year hiatus that included his mandatory military service, Nam Joo-hyuk has returned. In his 20s, Nam was beloved as the face of youth. Now making his comeback in his 30s, he has his sights set on forging a distinct identity of his own. And his comeback project, Netflix’s “The East Palace,” may well come to define the second act of his acting career. Sitting down for an interview at a cafe in Seoul’s Jongno District, Nam said he felt relieved to see the drama finally released. It now ranks as the second-most-watched non-English show globally on Netflix. “The director, crew and my fellow actors all worked incredibly hard on this project, enduring both sweltering heat and bitter cold,” Nam said. “I honestly thought it would take some time for the show to gain attention overseas, but so many people told me th

As summer temperatures rise across the capital, Seoul is offering residents and travelers an expansive escape right in the heart of the city. Starting Saturday, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will kick off the "2026 Hangang Festival - Summer," turning the banks and waters of the Han River into a sprawling, 16-day urban resort designed for budget-friendly summer getaways. Running through Aug. 16 across nine riverfront parks, the annual festival features 16 distinct programs spanning cultural performances, water sports and overnight events. By leveraging the city's primary liquid asset, municipal authorities aim to provide accessible recreation without the hassle or expense of long-distance travel. "The Han River has historically served as a cherished summer retreat for Seoul residents, offering a place for river bathing and boating," said Park Jin-young, head of Seoul’s Future Hangang Project Headquarters. "Through this summer's festival, we hope visitors enjoy a diverse mix of cultural shows and water activities while boosting local businesses around the waterfront." Among the festi

The vast majority of foreign tourists visiting Korea follow a familiar itinerary, funneling almost exclusively through Incheon International Airport before packing into the trendy shopping districts and historic palaces of Seoul. National tourism authorities are now engineering a shift outward, betting that direct international flights to regional hubs will help economic growth in the country's less-visited provinces. In a move to decentralize tourism and attract more numbers of travelers from China, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) signed a strategic partnership on July 23 with budget carrier Eastar Jet. The agreement establishes a joint framework to expand direct international routes operating out of regional airports, aiming to divert incoming visitor traffic away from the capital and directly into regional local economies. Under the partnership, KTO and Eastar Jet plan to increase the airline’s proportion of regional inbound foreign passengers to 45 percent this year, with an ambitious target of reaching 55 percent by 2028. The initiative focuses heavily on the Chinese market

As record heat waves continue to bake concrete jungles across the globe, city planners looking for thermal relief may find their best tool planted right outside their front doors. According to new research from Korea’s National Institute of Forest Science, urban forests serve as powerful, natural air conditioners, slashing daytime temperatures by nearly 2 degrees Celsius compared to heavily built-up city centers. The findings, released Monday by the forest research agency, draw on continuous temperature and humidity tracking across various urban environments in Seoul. The data reveals that city forests provide a consistent cooling effect, lowering temperatures by up to 1.8 degrees Celsius at the peak of midday heat. However, not all green spaces cool equally. Researchers discovered that broadleaf and mixed forests — composed of both deciduous and coniferous trees — offered the most dramatic heat reduction, cooling surrounding areas by 1.5 to 1.8 degrees Celsius. Coniferous stands were slightly less effective, lowering temperatures by about 1.2 degrees Celsius. Scientists attribute

Doosan Enerbility has secured another contract to supply critical components for China's expansion of nuclear power, reinforcing its foothold in one of the world's fastest-growing reactor markets. The company said Monday that it signed an agreement with Dongfang Electric International and Dongfang Heavy Machinery, subsidiaries of Dongfang Electric Group, to supply ultra-large forged components for steam generators at units 5 and 6 of the Laiyang Nuclear Power Plant in Shandong Province. Under the agreement, Doosan Enerbility will deliver eight forged components by 2029. The order includes four channel heads and four tube sheets, which are among the most critical materials used in nuclear steam generators. The forged products measure about 5 meters in diameter and weigh as much as 130 tons each. Steam generators use heat produced by a reactor to create steam that drives turbines to generate electricity. Doosan Enerbility said the components will be manufactured using its 17,000-ton press, one of the world's largest, along with its ultra-large forging technology. Units 5 and 6 at the Laiyang

Lotte Wellfood is expanding production of its best-selling Choco Pie in India after the snack surpassed annual sales of 100 billion won ($68 million) there, underscoring the country's growing importance to the Korean food maker. The company said Monday that LOTTE India has begun full-scale operations of a fourth Choco Pie production line at its plant in Rohtak, Haryana. The additional line is intended to strengthen the brand's market position following record sales in India last year. Construction of the new production line began in May 2024 with an investment of about 30 billion won. The company said the line completed a stabilization period in June before entering full commercial operation. The expansion increases LOTTE India's annual Choco Pie production capacity by about 33 percent. Lotte Wellfood said higher production will support projected sales growth of more than 20 percent for Choco Pie in India this year. The company said Choco Pie holds more than 70 percent of India's Choco Pie market. Annual sales of the product exceeded 100 billion won for the first time last year. The company n

Korea's chipmaking sector accounted for more than 10 percent of the country's manufacturing output in 2024 driven by growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure following the advent of ChatGPT, a central bank report showed Monday. The semiconductor sector's production reached 210.8 trillion won ($143.9 billion) in the one-year period, making up 10.1 percent of the country's total manufacturing output, according to a report published by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The sector became the country's largest manufacturing industry in 2024, followed by steelmaking with an 8.7 percent share and oil refining with 8.5 percent. In the previous survey conducted in 2019, semiconductors ranked second with an 8.7 percent share, behind steelmaking at 9.7 percent. In terms of value added, the chipmaking sector accounted for 16.7 percent in 2024 while representing 5 percent of manufacturing employment and 0.7 percent of manufacturing companies. The BOK said AI-related demand has reshaped Korea's semiconductor industry. "Since the end of 2022, when ChatGPT emerged, investment in data centers

Foreign currency deposits in Korea rose for the third consecutive month in June on increased dollar savings, central bank data showed Monday. Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents stood at $113.33 billion at the end of June, up $1.08 billion from a month earlier, according to data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading has been rising since April. Residents include Korean citizens, foreigners who have lived in the country for more than six months and foreign companies. The data excludes interbank deposits. By currency, U.S. dollar-denominated deposits increased $2.25 billion to $97.8 billion, rising for the third consecutive month. Euro-denominated deposits dropped $460 million to $5.84 billion, while Japanese yen deposits fell also $410 million to $7.12 billion. Corporate foreign currency deposits rose $1.58 billion to $98.99 billion, while individual holdings declined $500 million to $14.33 billion. The BOK attributed the increase in dollar deposits to higher basic deposits required for derivatives trading amid stock market volatility, as well as increased

South Korea will safeguard freedom and peace based on the solid alliance with the United States and cooperation with participant countries in the 1950-53 Korean War without forgetting the sacrifices they made to help repel invading North Korean troops, Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said Monday. Han made the remark in an address marking the United Nations Day, saying South Korea owes tremendously to the international community and one of the ways to repay the debts is to be on the forefront in efforts to maintain international peace and provide humanitarian assistance. "When the Republic of Korea (ROK) was in a critical crisis due to North Korea's invasion 76 years ago, the international community showed swift solidarity. More than 1.98 million young people from 22 countries, including the U.S., rushed over to the ROK, which they knew little of, under the single-minded determination to defend freedom and peace," Han said. "The ROK will never forget these lofty sacrifices," she said. Han also said South Korea will treat every veteran of the Korean War with the highest courtesy, expand exch

President Lee Jae Myung is seeking to enhance cooperation on critical minerals with South American countries during his three-nation tour this week. Lee is visiting Brazil from Sunday through Wednesady (local time), Chile from Wednesday to Thursday, and Argentina from Thursday to Saturday, as Korea seeks to secure resilient supply chains for strategic resources amid heightened economic security risks. The trip includes summits with the leaders of all three countries, with trade and investment with Mercosur, a South American trade bloc, expected to top the agenda. The president underscored the need for closer cooperation on critical minerals in the era of artificial intelligence (AI), describing Korea's relationship with South America as "entering a new phase" in a written interview with Spain’s EFE news agency released last week. His comments were widely seen as a reference to the growing demand for critical minerals, including rare earth elements used in semiconductors and other AI-related technologies. “Cooperation between Korea and South America should evolve beyond the traditional

The foreign ministry said Monday it is closely monitoring military cooperation between North Korea and Russia following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's claim that Moscow is preparing to receive another 30,000 North Korean troops for its war against Ukraine. In a recent post on X, Zelenskyy said Russia is preparing to bring in an additional 30,000 North Korean troops, with preparations under way since June in Russia's Voronezh region to receive them. The Ukrainian president also claimed Pyongyang was preparing to transfer additional ballistic missile launchers to Russia. He did not offer any intelligence or specific details supporting his claims. "The government is closely monitoring developments related to military cooperation between North Korea and Russia," the foreign ministry said in a brief statement, while declining to comment on intelligence matters. "The government maintains the position that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions must be stopped immediately," it added. According to government sources, there

High-risk drinking rates among Korean men declined overall across all age groups while those among women aged 30 and older rose, highlighting a growing divergence in the country's drinking habits. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) released an analysis Monday, aiming to raise awareness of excessive drinking during the summer vacation season. The findings are based on the 2025 Community Health Survey, an annual survey of about 230,000 adults aged 19 and older that tracks health behavior and chronic disease prevalence. The KDCA defines high-risk drinking as consuming seven or more shots of soju or five or more cans of beer in a single sitting for men. For women, the threshold is five or more shots of soju or three or more cans of beer. Both apply to drinking at least twice a week over the past year. Monthly binge drinking refers to the same amounts consumed at least once a month, while monthly drinking refers to drinking at least once a month over the past year. In Korea, 57.1 percent of adults drank at least once a month, 33.7 percent binge drank and 12 percent engaged

The government is pressing ahead with plans to introduce a no-fault compensation scheme that would require banks and other financial firms to reimburse victims of voice phishing scams regardless of whether they were at fault, despite mounting industry opposition, according to officials Sunday. Banks argue the measure unfairly holds them liable for crimes they neither have the authority nor the means to investigate, warning that the additional costs could ultimately be borne by consumers through higher fees or less favorable lending rates. Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the initiative at a meeting last month with the heads of Korea's five largest financial groups — KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup. “We will actively pursue the introduction of a no-fault liability system to strengthen the financial sector’s accountability for phishing crimes and provide more effective relief for victims,” Lee said. Two bills incorporating the measure are pending in the National Assembly. With the financial regulator throwing i

The National Election Commission (NEC) received a total of 72 reports of voter turnout corrections on the day of the June 3 local elections, information submitted by the watchdog to a lawmaker showed Monday. According to information the NEC submitted to Rep. Kim Eun-hye of the main opposition People Power Party, the 72 reports came from 56 local election offices across the country. It was also revealed that in some cases, the voter count increased by more than 6,000 and turnout figures were corrected as late as 12 hours later. The possibility of additional voter turnout revisions that were not reported to the NEC cannot be ruled out, as the watchdog has a total of 255 branch offices nationwide, the lawmaker noted. A joint prosecution-police investigation team has also secured the turnout correction data and is reportedly investigating whether there were additional instances in which NEC employees manipulated the statistics without leaving a record. In Incheon's Geomdan district, west of Seoul, the number of voters was initially reported as 54,665 as of 4 p.m. on June 3 but was later revi

Hankook Tire & Technology will supply the ultrahigh-performance "Ventus S1 evo Z" tire as original equipment for Porsche's 911 Carrera, marking an expansion of its long-running supply partnership with the German sports car maker, the Korean tire company said. The tires will come in two sizes tailored to the 911 Carrera's distinct front and rear specifications: 235/40 ZR19 for the front and 295/35 ZR20 for the rear. Because the 911 Carrera has a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, Hankook Tire said the tires needed to deliver a careful balance of dry and wet performance along with precise steering response, strong grip and stability at high speed. The tire maker said it built the product on roughly a decade of original-equipment cooperation with Porsche, following years of development and testing. The result met the automaker's technical requirements closely enough to earn Porsche's official "NA2" certification marking, which denotes a tire developed specifically for a given model. The front and rear tires use separate tread designs, profiles and rubber compounds suited to their differ

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has formally launched a dedicated working group to draft global cybersecurity rules for drones, tapping a Korean cybersecurity scholar to lead the effort. This initiative comes as security vulnerabilities of airborne tech have moved to the center of international concerns, with uncrewed aircraft systems shifting from novelty gadgets to critical infrastructure — delivering packages, conducting industrial inspections and assisting in national defense. At the 21st plenary meeting of the ISO’s uncrewed aircraft systems subcommittee (ISO/TC20/SC16) in Brussels last week, member nations approved the creation of Working Group 10 (WG10), focused exclusively on drone cybersecurity. Lee Jong-hyuk, a professor of information security at Sejong University, was appointed as its inaugural convenor. The appointment marks a key victory for Korea, which has actively lobbied for standardized cybersecurity protocols since 2025. With the formal establishment of WG10, ISO officially initiated work on its first baseline security document, designate

Progressive seating brand Sidiz said Monday it marked the launch of its redesigned "T50" office chair with an unusual event: a chair race. The event, called "Sidiz Chair Race," was held Saturday at Sidiz's manufacturing plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, and drew 60 participants who competed in individual and team chair races, along with a fitness-themed event called "Chair Rocks." Rather than a static product showcase, the race let participants experience the chair's durability and handling by riding it through a dynamic course. The T50, launched in 2007, has sold more than 3 million units and become one of Korea's best-selling office chairs. Sidiz said it built the new second-generation model on 20 years of accumulated user data, overhauling its core components, and designed the race to reintroduce the chair as something people could actively move and compete on rather than simply sit in. The competition format was modeled on Japan's office-chair racing event, ISU-1 GP. Participants, recruited through the running media and travel platform CLTOO, formed teams of three and competed

Korea uncovered illegal foreign exchange transactions worth 7.2 trillion won ($4.92 billion) in the first half of 2026, the customs agency said Monday, amid government-wide efforts to curb volatility in the foreign exchange market. The Korea Customs Service uncovered 792 cases of illegal foreign exchange transactions over the January-June period, including the illegal transfer of foreign currency abroad and the concealment of assets overseas. The customs agency noted that some cases involved receiving export proceeds in cryptocurrencies instead of legal tender, such as the U.S. dollar, thereby failing to bring foreign currency earned from exports back to Korea. "I ask our staff to continue taking stern action against the illegal transfer of foreign currency, which gives an adverse impact on the government's efforts to stabilize the foreign exchange market," Lee Jong-wook, commissioner of the agency, said. The official added that the customs agency will strengthen cooperation with relevant agencies, including the finance ministry, as the recent volatility in the foreign exchange market is

About 17,000 police officers have worked at the same station for more than 10 years, amid a government push to expand its police rotation policy over concerns about local cronyism. According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to Rep. Lee Sang-sik of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, 5,209 senior inspectors, 8,697 inspectors, 3,211 assistant inspectors and 13 senior patrol officers had worked at the same station for over 10 years as of this month. At the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, 8.4 percent of 31,302 officers at the rank of senior inspector or below had worked at the same station for over 10 years. The Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency in North Jeolla Province posted 23.8 percent of 5,136 officers, and the Chungbuk Provincial Police Agency in North Chungcheong Province posted 21.7 percent of 3,954 officers. Senior inspectors and inspectors, the two ranks that lead frontline operations, made up 18 percent and 24.2 percent of their ranks nationwide, giving officers local familiarity that aids community policing but could also breed collusion between officers and lo

LG CNS has joined the founding members of a global alliance using artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate the discovery of new materials, becoming the only Korean IT company in the initiative. The company said Monday it will partner with British AI startup CuspAI, which launched the alliance, to help Korean manufacturers use AI to develop next-generation materials. The alliance, called the AI Materials Foundry, combines AI, data, computing resources and scientific expertise to accelerate the discovery and development of new materials. According to LG CNS, its 48 members include Nvidia, Meta, AMD, 3M and Merck, along with leading research institutions. LG CNS will use CuspAI's AI platform to help companies in industries such as semiconductors, chemicals and energy develop materials with desired properties, such as greater heat resistance and improved carbon capture, while significantly shortening development time. One customer, Finnish chemicals company Kemira, shortened a materials development project from several years to six months using the platform, identifying 20 promising candid

SK Innovation E&S, the energy arm of Korea's SK Group, said Monday it will import condensate from an Australian offshore gas field that it invested in 14 years ago, marking the first such shipment to Korea from the project. The company began production in January at the Barossa gas field, located about 300 kilometers off Australia's northwestern coast. The initial shipment of 300,000 barrels of condensate is scheduled to arrive at the port of Incheon, just west of Seoul, early next month, the company said in a press release. The condensate will be used as feedstock at the company's petrochemical plant in Incheon to produce naphtha for use in the production of high-value-added products, such as paraxylene and jet fuel, it said. SK Innovation E&S is entitled to 1.1 million barrels of condensate out of the 3 million barrels expected to be produced annually from the Barossa field, based on its stake in the project. The company acquired a 37.5 percent stake in the Barossa project in 2012. Australian energy producer Santos holds a 50 percent stake, while Japan's largest power generator, JERA, o

A ceremony unveiling a commemorative plaque honoring North Korean soldiers who fought alongside Russian troops against Ukraine took place last week, Pyongyang's state media reported Monday. The plaque was unveiled Friday at the Pantheon of Defenders of the Motherland run by Russia's Defense Ministry in the Moscow region to convey the "heroic feats" of soldiers of the Korean People's Army overseas operations units involved in the operation to liberate Russia's Kursk region, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The plaque, mounted on the outer wall of the building, features a relief of a North Korean soldier standing with a rifle against the backdrop of the national flag. Its inscription reads: "Russia will never forget the feats performed by the DPRK combatants in Kursk Region," according to the KCNA. DPRK refers to North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Officials from Russia's defense ministry and other officials attended the ceremony, along with North Korean Ambassador to Russia Sin Hong-chol and embassy staff. North Korea and Russia signed a mutu

CHEONGJU — A former Cheongju city councilor underwent overnight questioning over allegations of sexually abusing a minor, local police said Monday. After a 15-hour session, Choi Young-joong left Cheongwon Police Station in the central city at 5:16 a.m. He declined to comment when asked about his allegations, only saying, "The case is still under investigation" and that he "actively cooperated with the police." The former first-term councilor of the main opposition People Power Party is accused of having sexual relations with a middle school student in cars and motels on three occasions between 2024-2025 and demanding the student send him a naked picture of herself, according to the police. The city councilor also allegedly offered the victim more money for bringing her friend and sister to their encounters and showed her a sex tape he had filmed with another woman. Choi stepped down shortly after his allegations were made public. The police said they will soon decide on their proceedings with Choi after analyzing his statements.

Nearly three decades after its release, "A Cruel Angel’s Thesis" — the iconic theme song to the legendary anime "Neon Genesis Evangelion" — is getting a fresh, modern rock revival. Korean singer-songwriter Hanroro has been tapped as the second artist for the ongoing J-POP REMAKE initiative, with her Korean-language reimagining of the 1995 classic set to drop on July 30 at 6 p.m. The choice of artist feels deliberate. Hanroro, who clinched Artist of the Year at the 2026 Korean Music Awards, has carved out a distinct niche in the domestic music scene through her poetic songwriting, delicate vocals and atmospheric modern rock arrangements. Expectations for the official release are particularly high following a viral live performance at WONDERLIVET 2024, where Hanroro first covered the track. Her ability to retain the grand, explosive energy of Yoko Takahashi’s original while infusing it with her own vulnerable, narrative-driven vocal style sparked an immediate wave of fan requests for a studio version. A teaser image released Sunday hints at a concert poster aesthetic, signaling a h

A decade into a career defined by avant-garde production and muscular choreography, NCT 127 is stepping into its milestone 10th anniversary with a renewed declaration of unity. The Seoul-based group will release its seventh full-length album, "BLINGY," on Aug. 24, launching a compelling new chapter for one of K-pop’s most distinct musical identities. Set to drop at 6 p.m. across major streaming platforms, the nine-track project doubles as a reflective victory lap and a forward-looking manifesto. According to SM Entertainment, the record synthesizes the group's decade-long journey, grounding its narrative in collective pride and the steadfast bond of a one team commitment as they forge ahead. Since debuting in July 2016 with a mission to project Seoul’s vibrant sound onto the global stage, NCT 127 has built a legacy on uncompromising sonic experimentalism. Signature hits like "Cherry Bomb," "Kick It," "Sticker" and "Walk" established a template of heavy industrial beats, complex harmonies and theatrical performances that set the group apart in an increasingly crowded global market. T

Currently sweeping through packed arenas across Japan, the rising K-pop septet BabyMonster is translating its live stage energy back into the digital realm. On Aug. 3 at midnight, the group will release the official music video for "MOON" — a track that first sparked fervor among fans during its world tour opener in Seoul earlier this summer. The release marks the fourth music video rollout from the group’s third mini-album, CHOOM, following visual treatments for the title track, "SUGAR HONEY ICE TEA," and "I LIKE IT." The strategy fulfills a multitrack visual commitment previously outlined by YG Entertainment’s executive producer, Yang Hyun-suk, aiming to sustain long-tail momentum in a fast-moving global music market. Musically, "MOON" represents a striking stylistic pivot. Driven by a heavy 808 bassline and minimal, deliberate production, the Southern trap-infused R&B number relies on eerie synths and surreal lyrics to weave a uniquely haunting narrative. It offers a sharp departure from the sun-drenched pop palettes typical of midsummer releases. A teaser poster released Monday s

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited national cemeteries honoring fallen soldiers, including Chinese troops, to mark the 73rd anniversary of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, Pyongyang's state media reported Monday. Kim visited the Fatherland Liberation War Martyrs Cemetery on Sunday, where the war dead are buried, and met with veterans, wishing them "good health and long life," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, and North Korea has marked the date as Victory Day since 1996, claiming it won the war against U.S.-led forces. Kim repeated familiar state narratives about the war, calling it a fight to defend "the dignity and sovereignty of the state but also the global peace and security in a heavy and hot war against the U.S. imperialists" and their allies. "The miracle of July 27 won by the ordinary army and people on this land with ardent love and indomitable might should be the precious ideological and moral wealth and infinite latent energy of the Korean revolution to be invariably and thoroughly carried forward r

Nvidia has agreed to acquire a 4.5 percent stake in Naver through a $1 billion strategic investment, deepening a partnership aimed at building large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and expanding sovereign AI services. Naver announced Monday that it had signed an agreement to issue about 7.24 million new shares to Nvidia through a third-party allotment, marking its first such share sale in 22 years and the first since its 2008 KOSPI listing. The new shares, priced at 204,500 won ($140) each, represent a 4.5 percent stake in Naver. Payment is scheduled for Oct. 30. Naver said it would cancel about 4.9 million treasury shares worth about 1 trillion won on Aug. 3 to offset shareholder dilution from the new share issuance. Following the cancellation, Nvidia is expected to become Naver's third-largest shareholder, behind the National Pension Service and BlackRock. The investment follows an agreement between the two companies in June to jointly develop gigawatt-scale AI factories, expanding their partnership beyond Nvidia's role in supplying graphics processing units (GPUs). Na

Korea's Cyber Security Command will take part in a U.S.-led international cybersecurity exercise this week, aimed at helping allies better respond to malicious cyberspace activities, the defense ministry said Monday. A total of 25 countries, including Korea, will participate in the Cyber Flag exercise, scheduled to run from Monday through Friday (local time) in Virginia, according to the defense ministry. Launched in 2011, the Cyber Flag is designed to strengthen partnerships between the United States and its key allies by testing their skills to detect and expel enemies in cyberspace under simulated attack scenarios. It marks the fifth time Korea has taken part in the drills since its first participation in 2022. The command anticipates that the drills will help enhance its defensive cyber operations capabilities and bolster partnership with participating nations by conducting joint analysis of potential cyber threats. Korea plans to continue to expand its cooperation with the U.S. through other joint cybersecurity drills, including the Cyber Alliance exercise, as well as through personn

BRASILIA — President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday instructed senior officials to maintain oil price caps until price uncertainty completely recedes, citing the renewed confrontation in the Middle East. "Amid the high likelihood that oil prices will remain volatile for some time, preemptive efforts should be made promptly to minimize their impact on domestic prices," Lee said in a meeting with his senior aides, attending the meeting virtually from Brasilia where he is making a state visit. The president also instructed officials to maintain other related measures, such as oil tax cuts, saying further action should be considered if the situation worsens. The president's remarks came as the renewed conflict in the Middle East pushed global oil prices to around $100 per barrel for the first time since May. The Seoul government introduced fuel price caps in mid-March in a bid to stabilize domestic fuel prices amid supply chain disruptions driven by the conflict in the Middle East. "If the situation worsens, further measures should be proactively considered to ease the burden on people's livelihoo

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating dropped to 46.3 percent this week, a poll showed Monday, marking its second straight weekly decline. In the poll conducted by Realmeter and commissioned by the EKN newspaper, the positive assessment of Lee's job performance fell 2.1 percentage points from a week before, while his negative assessment rose 1.5 percentage points to 49.5 percent. Realmeter attributed the decline to a controversy surrounding the sale of Lee's apartment and his remarks suggesting higher property holding taxes, as well as a sharp drop in the stock market. Lee recently faced backlash after records showed that the buyers of his apartment in Seongnam, south of Seoul, paid only part of the purchase price upfront, with Lee and his wife effectively loaning the unpaid portion to the buyers until the balance is paid. He also hinted at the possibility of raising property holding taxes to help stabilize runaway housing prices at a public discussion on real estate policy last week, insisting there was broad consensus. The weekly survey, conducted on 2,505 people aged 18 and older f

North Korea has installed screens around its building inside the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom to block it from public view, apparently for ongoing renovation work, military sources said Monday. The screens covering the Panmungak facility, located on the northern side of the Joint Security Area (JSA), were erected in April in what appeared to be part of renovation efforts, military sources with knowledge of the matter said. The North had put up screens around the building for renovation work in the past. Panmungak, built in 1969, sits 80 meters north of the Military Demarcation Line within the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas. It directly faces South Korea's Freedom House in the JSA. The three-story Panmungak houses a guard command post and has the "pink phone," a direct hotline between the North and the United Nations Command, which administers the Armistice Agreement that halted the 1950-53 Korean War. The building has also served as a venue for key inter-Korean engagements in the past, including the 2018 summit between then President Moon Jae-in and North Korean l

Korean stocks turned lower late Monday morning as big chip shares lost ground despite eased Middle East tensions. After opening 1.73 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 55.63 points, or 0.83 percent, to 6,634.99 as of 11:20 a.m. Foreign investors sold nearly 1.7 trillion won, offsetting a combined 1.6 trillion won worth of buying by retail and institutional investors. The United States has suspended its attacks on Iran since Friday, easing military tensions in the region that had heightened over the past two weeks. Iran also stopped conducting counterattacks, while holding talks with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz. In San Francisco, meanwhile, Korean and U.S. tech companies agreed to pursue a series of cooperation projects worth a combined $950 billion during an artificial intelligence (AI) summit hosted by the Korean government over the weekend. In Seoul, however, tech shares traded lower. Top-cap Samsung Electronics fell 0.6 percent, and SK hynix declined 0.8 percent. Samsung Electro-Mechanics, an electronic component affiliate of Samsung Electronic

Nvidia is in talks to provide a roughly $250 billion backstop for OpenAI as part of a massive data center project, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. The guarantees from Nvidia would help the ChatGPT maker lease a 10-gigawatt project that SoftBank’s energy subsidiary is developing in southern Ohio, the newspaper said citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

The sci-fi epic "Hope" extended its chart-topping run on the weekend box-office chart in Korea, drawing more than 3 million admissions since its release earlier this month, data showed Monday. The Korean film added 767,365 admissions over the weekend, bringing its total admissions to 3,415,709 as of Sunday, according to the data released by the Korean Film Council, which compiles admissions from Friday through Sunday for its weekend chart. "Hope," which competed at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival this year, follows police officers and villagers in the remote coastal town of Hopo as they become embroiled in a series of spiraling events after encountering powerful yet mysterious extraterrestrial beings. Marking director Na Hong-jin's return a decade after "The Wailing" (2016), it features a star-studded cast, including Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung and Jung Ho-yeon, as well as Hollywood actors Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. Two other Korean films reached the top 10 on the weekend chart, with the mystery thriller "The Eyes" starring Shin Min-a ranking sixth and the zombie blockbu

"ARIRANG," the fifth studio album of K-pop megaband BTS, has returned to the top 10 of the U.S. Billboard's main albums chart. The album reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200 in the latest tracking period, up from 26th in the previous week, according to a chart preview by Billboard on Sunday (U.S. time). The on-week climb was attributed to an increase in album sales following the group's release of a special vinyl edition of "ARIRANG," which includes two bonus tracks: "Voice Message: Love Song" and "Normal." The Billboard also cited BTS' recent co-headlining of the first-ever halftime show at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, where the group performed its 2020 megahit "Dynamite." Released in March, "ARIRANG" became the first album by a K-pop act to spend three consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard chart. Elsewhere on the chart, American singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams clinched her first No. 1 with her third full-length album, "Daughter from Hell." The Billboard 200 ranks the most popular albums of the week in the United States, measured by equivalent album units comprising physical and dig

A Seoul district court was set to rule Monday on former President Yoon Suk Yeol's election law violation charges in a case that could have major implications for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP). The Seoul Central District Court was scheduled to hand down its verdict in a live-televised trial at 2 p.m. over allegations that Yoon made false claims as the PPP's presidential candidate ahead of the 2022 presidential election. Should Yoon be convicted and given a final sentence of more than 1 million won ($685) in fines or imprisonment, the PPP must return the 39.7 billion won it was reimbursed in election expenses under the election law. Special counsel Min Joong-ki has requested a two-year prison term for Yoon. Min's team earlier indicted Yoon on suspicion of falsely claiming during a December 2021 press event that he had never introduced a lawyer to a former tax official. Yoon is also accused of lying in a January 2022 interview when he said a party official had introduced him to shaman Jeon Seong-bae and denied meeting Jeon together with his wife, Kim Keon Hee. The special couns

CAIRO — The United States and Iran paused their attacks for a second straight day Sunday, as efforts continued to bring them back to negotiations on an interim ceasefire deal largely undermined by recent exchanges of fire. It was not clear why the U.S. has paused after targeting Iranian coastal areas and infrastructure in a nearly two-week escalation sparked by Iran’s firing at ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz. The Pentagon did not respond to questions. U.S. President Donald Trump is “giving talks some space. He’s giving it a little bit of room," Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told Fox News. "We’ve had both Oman and Iran, and a number of our other negotiators, engaged at every level, from the most senior levels all the way down to the technical level over the past few weeks, and particularly in the past few days." Waltz dismissed the idea that the U.S. stockpile of interceptors crucial in defending against Iranian attacks is running low, but experts have questioned how long both the U.S. and Iran can afford to keep up attacks. Since the U.S.

BERLIN — German police said a 21-year-old man with a record of Islamist extremist activity was shot dead on Sunday, a day after he allegedly drove a minivan into people near Berlin's Pride celebrations, killing one person. The ramming attack happened in the Tiergarten park near the Brandenburg Gate at about 10 p.m. (2000 GMT) on Saturday, not far from one of Europe's biggest annual LGBTQ celebrations, Christopher Street Day. Authorities said that in addition to the one fatality, 29 people were injured, some by a bladed weapon the attacker wielded. "Around 6 p.m. (1600 GMT), the suspect involved in yesterday's attack in Tiergarten was located at an allotment garden complex in Spandau," Berlin police wrote on X, referring to an area in Berlin's westernmost borough where residents cultivate garden plots. "According to initial findings, he ran towards officers while armed with a bladed weapon; police... subsequently opened fire. Despite immediate resuscitation efforts by the Berlin Fire Department, he died at the scene." Dagmar Euent and Juliane Gotzler, who have a garden plot, said they he

BRASILIA — President Lee Jae Myung arrived in Brazil on Sunday for a summit with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and a business roundtable aimed at deepening bilateral cooperation. His state visit to Brazil through Wednesday will include a summit with President Lula in the capital, Brasilia, on Monday, followed by a business roundtable in Sao Paulo the next day. The trip is part of Lee's three-nation South America tour, which will later take him to Chile and Argentina, and is aimed at deepening cooperation in trade and investment. Lee will head to Chile on Wednesday for a summit with his Chilean counterpart, Jose Antonio Kast, followed by a trip to Argentina for talks with Argentine President Javier Milei. Lee's South America tour comes as Seoul seeks to expand its diplomatic and economic cooperation with the resource-rich region. In an interview with Spain's news agency EFE, the Korean president stressed the need to resume negotiations for a free trade pact with Mercosur, a regional economic and trade bloc that includes Brazil and Argentina.

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Monday denounced regional calls for denuclearization, reaffirming that North Korea's nuclear arsenal would be "updated steadily." In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Yo-jong criticized a joint statement released Saturday after the annual foreign ministers' meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila, which reaffirmed their commitment to the "complete denuclearization" of North Korea. The ARF statement called for international efforts toward "the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner." "Resolute and clear is the DPRK's stand that nuclear deterrence is the ultimate shield for national sovereignty and the supreme guarantee for defending sovereignty," Kim said in the statement. DPRK is short for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "Whatever others may say, the position and significance of existence of the DPRK as a responsible nuclear weapons state to keep the balance of strength and ensure the geopolitical security in and ove

LONDON — We all make the same promise to ourselves. I should exercise more. I should lose weight. Then comes the excuse. It's too hot outside. Work has been exhausting. Tomorrow seems to be a better day to work out. This one missed workout becomes two, a week and then a month. This reporter does that all the time. During nearly 15 years at The Korea Times, my weight steadily crept up. Every now and then, guilt pushed me out the door for a short run only to stop with gasping breath. That was usually enough to convince myself I had "worked out," often followed by an oversized meal. Things changed almost after buying a smartwatch almost by accident — a product I write about but never seriously considered buying. Since the beginning of this year, I have run at least 5 kilometers almost every day and have steadily lost weight. I can now proudly call myself a beginner runner, and I owe much of that change not to stronger willpower, but to the device. On the occasion of the Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event here, this reporter joined a running event on Thursday (local time) hosted by Samsung Elec

As Peru marks the 205th anniversary of its independence on July 28, the same day President-elect Keiko Fujimori is inaugurated — Peruvian Ambassador to Korea Paul Duclos said his country and Korea are entering a new phase of their 63-year partnership, with cooperation expanding beyond trade into critical minerals, defense, logistics, green energy, artificial intelligence, digital government and other strategic sectors. In an interview with The Korea Times ahead of Peru's National Day, Duclos described Korea as one of Peru's key strategic partners in Asia and expressed confidence that bilateral ties will continue to deepen across both traditional industries and emerging areas. "I consider that the commemoration of the 205th Anniversary of Peru's Independence is an occasion not only for celebration, but also for reflection on the progress we have achieved as a country in recent years and on the challenges we continue to face," Duclos said. "On this very day, Peru's new president, Keiko Fujimori, will begin her term in office with the commitment to further strengthen a stable, open and g

For those who have upcoming holidays to the affected regions, here is what you should know about how it might impact your plans.

The prime minister says he would not want to leave office without bringing in "substantial change" to the social care system.

Shahin Ahmed's seven-year-old son remains in a critical condition after being pulled from the water.

A judge has said that it is "disappointing" that an Islamic State supporter who stabbed a garda will not engage in risk and psychological assessments.

His agent pays tribute to the "multi-talented" broadcaster, comedian and conservationist.

A lifelong Mayo fan has said he thanked god and "kissed the ground" following the Green and Red's long-awaited All-Ireland football final win yesterday.

A man and a woman both died at the scene after being recovered from the sea off Cornwall.

The Ukrainian president will be the new prime minister's first international visitor since taking office.

As details emerge about the suspected Berlin Pride attacker's past, many are asking why he was not in prison.

Waterford Fire Service has been dealing with a gorse fire in the Mahon Falls area of the Comeragh Mountains.

A special counsel team on Monday requested a seven-year prison term for former National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Cho Tae-yong in his appellate trial on charges of giving false testimony about former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed imposition of martial law. Special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team requested the sentence at the trial at the Seoul High Court, which also involves charges of dereliction of duty for not reporting Yoon's order to arrest politicians to the National Assembly, draf

Igis Asset Management has completed its acquisition of Doosan Tower in central Seoul in a deal worth more than 900 billion won ($612 million), about a year after an earlier attempt to buy the landmark property fell through. Igis paid the remaining balance and closed the transaction Monday, according to industry reports. The 33-story office and retail complex in Dongdaemun was previously owned by Mastern Investment Management, which acquired it from Doosan Group for about 800 billion won in 2020.

BRASILIA -- President Lee Jae Myung pledged to make every effort to create diplomatic conditions conducive to the resumption of dialogue with North Korea, as well as talks between the North and the United States, according to an interview released Monday. The South Korean president made the remarks in an interview with a local newspaper, O Globo, released a day after he arrived in Brazil on a state visit that includes a summit with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and a business rou

A Seoul court convicted former President Yoon Suk Yeol of election law violations Monday, putting the main opposition party at risk of returning nearly 40 billion won ($27.3 million) that was reimbursed in campaign expenses for the 2022 presidential election. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, after finding him guilty of making false statements as the People Power Party's presidential candidate ahead of the election in March 2022. I

The US says attacks on Iran have been halted to give "talks some space", raising hopes of a resolution to the conflict.

Astronomers warn it would tear the heart out of UK science, and leave a generation untrained.

Forget YouTuber or doctor. South Korean teenagers still dream most of becoming teachers, while younger children are setting their sights on careers in sports. Teacher was the top dream job among both middle and high school students in 2025, according to a report released Sunday by the Education Ministry and the Korean Educational Development Institute. The profession has held the No. 1 spot among teenagers every year since the career education survey became an official national statistic in 2015

Spain faces two crucial days to bring raging wildfires under control before weather conditions worsen, authorities have said, though they were making some progress and planned to start returning evacuees to certain areas.

The gallery describes the pop star as "one of the defining cultural figures of her generation".

Much of eastern England is under amber alerts from Wednesday as temperatures rise to the mid-30s Celsius again.

Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris has spoken with the newly appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey.

Coupang has teamed up with Woori Bank to test real-time settlement using won-backed stablecoins, positioning its commerce and delivery network as a potential launchpad for the digital currency. The two companies tested the full payment process in a commercial-like environment, from customer purchases to real-time merchant settlement and conversion between stablecoins and won, Coupang said Monday. In the trial, payments for Coupang Eats orders were transferred to restaurant owners in real time us

International media reports that the U.S. military has paused strikes on Iran, however the reasons remain unclear.

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Certain types of severe wildfire can create pyrocumulonimbus - something that Nasa calls the "fire-breathing dragon of clouds".

Despite growing speculation that Takaichi is planning to reshuffle her Cabinet before the fall Diet session, she said there is nothing to comment on at this point of time.

The 19-year-old darts champion will be challenged by 20 amateur players in a live event in October.

The Seoul Central District Court ruling could see Yoon's 2022 electoral win nullified, a symbolic blow for the ex-leader who is already serving a life sentence for insurrection.

A Co Armagh health care worker has been given a two-year probation order and 100 hours of community service for taking and sharing degrading videos and photos of vulnerable patients in a mental health facility.

Satellite images show a structure resembling a U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer in the Taklamakan Desert in far-western Xinjiang.

Iran's foreign ministry has said the United States was not involved in recent talks with Oman over the administration of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The Aberdeen-based businessman turned his family's boat repair firm into an oil and gas engineering giant.

What began as a prayer group for mothers who were worried about their children became a foundation that accompanies young people and families affected by addiction in Tierra del Fuego.

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ChatGPT maker OpenAI said it plans to create 250 jobs in Dublin over the next two years in order to meet rapidly growing demand from users, customers and developers across the European region.

New US Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel is set to arrive in Seoul this week to assume her post, sources said Monday, which has remained vacant for about 1 1/2 years since the launch of US President Donald Trump's second administration. Steel is scheduled to arrive in South Korea on Thursday, and the submission of her credentials is expected to take place as early as next week after Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and the foreign ministry's chief of protocol return from accompanying President L

An international choir of children and young people from crisis-affected parts of the world will come together with Pope Leo XIV and Andrea Bocelli to dedicate time to praying for peace at Borgo Laudato si’ on July 29, using music as a universal language of peace.

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An Irish woman living in Bordeaux has said the wildfires in France feel "like an apocalypse".

A 25-year-old woman charged in connection with the interception of a bomb that was discovered in a car in Carrickmacross in Co Monaghan last Wednesday has been further remanded in custody.

An 11-day K-culture festival built around fandoms will debut in December 2027. The Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, co-chaired by Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young and JYP Entertainment founder J.Y. Park released its plan for the event, called Fanomenon, on Monday. "The winner is not the artist but the artist's fans, and the artist accepts on their behalf," said Park, who is steering the event. Fanomenon, also combining awards, concerts and other events, will run Dec. 2 to 12, 2

The General Secretariat of the Synod offers Bishops and diocesan synodal teams practical guidance for evaluation Assemblies to be held in the first half of 2027.

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Musk has backed a film called Citizen Vigilante featuring an American vigilante tearing across an unnamed European country.

Comedian and former Goodie who became a noted ornithologist and TV presenter.

The CEO of the Irish Internet Hotline Mick Moran has said young children and adolescents in online groups are being groomed into criminality through sexual extortion.

Kim Yun-duk, minister of land, infrastructure and transport, said on Monday he was considering repurposing vacant offices or commercial properties into housing amid concerns about housing supply instability in South Korea. At a forum in Seoul hosted by Prime Minister Han Seong-sook, Kim said the government was taking the matter of solving the young generation's housing problems "very seriously." He added that developing commercial properties into residential buildings would be his signature poli

After a minivan drove at high speed into a crowd at an event in Berlin, the local Church, German leaders, and EU authorities are expressing their opposition to hatred and calling for the defense of freedom.

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Film studio Universal takes down a high-quality bootleg version of the film, which appeared on X.

Hanwha Ocean said Monday its second-quarter operating profit nearly doubled from a year earlier, driven by the ramp-up of liquefied natural gas carriers and other large projects, as well as a major revenue contribution from the delivery of an offshore project. The South Korean shipbuilder posted an operating profit of 736.1 billion won ($500.6 million) for the April-June period, up 98 percent from a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing. Revenue surged 65.2 percent to 5.44 trillion won,

A recent poll shows 71% of respondents disapproved of the government's response to rising living costs as talks remain stalled over a reduction of the consumption tax for food.

The Preparatory Office for the First Korea-Central Asia Summit 2026 signed a memorandum of understanding with Hyundai Motor Company on Monday over vehicle support for the summit set for September. According to the MOU, Hyundai Motor will provide 33 vehicles during the summit to ensure safe and smooth transportation for foreign dignitaries, their spouses and minister-level officials from the five Central Asia countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. "The summit

In an industry dominated by TikTok, YouTube shorts and algorithm-driven promotion, K-pop agencies are increasingly turning to an older marketing strategy: surprise street performances. From idol groups to soloists, more artists have been holding surprise street performances at shopping malls, public squares and riverside parks ahead of album releases, using intimate live performances not only to connect with fans, but also to generate online buzz that extends far beyond the audience gathered at

Mary&May, a Korean clean beauty brand, said Monday it is stepping up its expansion into distribution channels across more than 70 countries, riding the success of a global social media campaign that boosted the brand's visibility. The campaign, called "Tingle to Glow," asks customers to document their before-and-after results using the brand's PDRN Spicule line, which pairs microneedle technology with a plant-based skin repair ingredient. The brand said the tingle comes from microscopic needles

A 45-year-old man was fined for stalking his former girlfriend by repeatedly contacting her and demanding reimbursement for the money he spent on their dates, local media reported Monday. The Chuncheon District Court recently handed the man a 6 million won ($4,100) fine on charges of stalking, threats and unauthorized entry into a residence. The man broke up with the victim in May last year. Despite being told by the woman not to contact her, he sent her 61 text messages and made repeated unansw

Lawmakers are calling for legislative reform that would allow election authorities to restrict or reschedule staff leave ahead of national elections, in response to the fallout from ballot shortages during the June 3 local elections. On Friday, independent Rep. Han Dong-hoon and 17 other lawmakers proposed a revision to the Election Commission Act that would allow election commission officials' vacations to be altered depending on election schedules. According to Han's office, the proposal cove

Under the new rules, members will be able to wear a top from the new range with their own trousers.

Relatively low prices and the fact that such portable units do not require installation work make them popular.

Higashino, a prolific writer lauded for his creativity, died of cancer, his official X account said.

Messages for abductees are typically broadcast every night, but aging equipment, a dwindling need for the transmitters, and Middle East tensions threaten the effort.

An off-duty garda was killed in a single-vehicle car crash in Co Clare yesterday evening.

Part of a major coastal highway on the Kāpiti Coast has closed to traffic after a serious crash, with drivers advised to take an alternative route.

Cities are exploring AI for a range of operational and administrative purposes, from summarizing reports and writing emails to early wildfire detection and identifying contaminated garbage.

Birdwatchers tell the BBC how apps have changed their lifelong hobby - and attracted new birders.

Jim Hopkins was a regular on NZ screens before first being elected to the council in the Oamaru Ward in 2007.

"We don't want something that is taking massive resources out of our community without putting anything back in ... where everybody finds out after the paperwork's signed and sealed, it's just not good enough," local says.

The rapper takes the witness stand at his trial in Australia where he denies raping a fan in a hotel room.

After choppy trading, South Korean stocks finished nearly 1 percent higher Monday as investors bought tech shares amid a pause in Middle East hostilities. The local currency declined against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 65.13 points, or 1.9 percent, to close at 6,755.75, rebounding from a 5.72 percent drop on Friday. Trade volume was slim at 270.9 million shares worth 23.5 trillion won ($16 billion), with gainers beating decliners 494 to 372. Individuals a

Volunteer fire brigade members of foreign nationality can only engage in activities within the scope of acts that do not constitute exercising public authority.

Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho cited a health issue when asked about rumors that he would soon resign from the post, during a general meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly on Monday. Jung's remarks comes at a time when the ruling Democratic Party, which holds the majority of seats in the National Assembly, is seeking to complete its signature prosecutorial reform drive, removing all investigative powers and leaving prosecutors with only the power of indictmen

Meta's rules prohibit sexually suggestive ads or those for apps that purport to strip the persons depicted.

Lotte Wellfood said Monday that it has begun full-scale operations at a fourth Lotte Choco Pie production line in India, expanding capacity to meet growing local demand. The company invested about 30 billion won ($20.5 million) in the new line at its Lotte India plant in Rohtak, Haryana. Following a stabilization period that began in June, the line entered full operation this month. The expansion will increase Lotte India’s annual Choco Pie production capacity by about 33 percent. The company ex

The draft guidelines would introduce clearer income, pension, language and integration requirements, as the government seeks to tighten immigration controls.

HLB Pep said Monday that it has registered its vasopressin active pharmaceutical ingredient with the US Food and Drug Administration’s Drug Master File system, advancing its push into global peptide drug markets. Vasopressin is used to treat septic shock and severe hypotension. A DMF is a confidential submission detailing an ingredient’s manufacturing process, quality controls and stability, which drugmakers can reference in regulatory applications. The US registration follows HLB Pep’s registra

SK Innovation E&S said Monday that it will bring 300,000 barrels of condensate from Australia’s Barossa gas field into Korea in early August, marking the project’s first condensate shipment to the country. Located off northern Australia, the Barossa field entered commercial production this year after 14 years of development. SK Innovation E&S has participated in exploration, permitting and construction since joining the project in 2012. Through its 37.5 percent stake, the company is entitled to

The goal is to build a model in the city that combines the strengths of Tokyo's competitive environment with the collaborative spirit found in regional communities.

The New York Mets, with IVE member Jang Won-young throwing the ceremonial first pitch, ended the Los Angeles Dodgers' five-game winning streak. The Mets defeated the Dodgers 8-3 at Citi Field in New York on Sunday, improving to 44-62 on the season. The Dodgers, meanwhile, saw their five-game winning streak come to an end and fell to 67-39. The Dodgers started Shohei Ohtani at designated hitter, Andy Pages in center field, Freddie Freeman at first base, Max Muncy at third, Mookie Betts at shortst

The latest figures highlight the scale of the epidemic, though expanded surveillance and retrospective case finding have also contributed to the rapid rise in reported infections.

Police say they found evidence of a firearm discharge outside the U.S. Consulate early Monday morning, but did not confirm the building had been targeted. The U.S. Consulate was previously shot at on March 10, leading to multiple arrests.

Protests over a data center complex in Johor state's southern tip — the epicenter of the boom — were the first of their kind in the country.

Prosecutors on Monday summoned MBK Partners Vice Chairman and Homeplus co-CEO Kim Kwang-il, stepping up their investigation into the private equity firm’s alleged role in the retailer’s financial crisis. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office questioned Kim as a suspect over alleged fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes and violations of the Capital Markets Act. It was his second appearance before prosecutors, following his first questioning Friday.

Lee Moon Won Bio said Monday it has been selected for TIPS, South Korea’s flagship government-backed program for promising technology startups. The research company was founded on two decades of clinical experience at Lee Moon Won Korean Medicine Clinic. Its intellectual property portfolio includes 11 patents and applications filed under the international Patent Cooperation Treaty. Under the program, Lee Moon Won Bio will receive about 800 million won ($545,200) in government research funding ov

Oil prices tumbled 7% today after the US and Iran paused strikes over the weekend following two weeks of attacks, raising hopes of a diplomatic solution that would de-escalate the conflict and allow shipping to resume in the Strait of Hormuz.

Saba Rabah, 18, emerged as the top-ranked student in the science stream of the Palestinian national high school exams.

On the occasion of the Sixth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, held yesterday on the feast of 'Jesus' grandparents' Saints Joachim and Anne, Vatican News speaks with Vittorio Scelzo, head of the pastoral care of the elderly at the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, who reflects on the precious value of elderly people and the grandparents.

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Korean burger chain Mom’s Touch said Monday that it has opened its 20th store in Mongolia, becoming the country’s second-largest quick-service restaurant brand by outlet count. The company entered Mongolia in September 2023 with a location inside E-mart Bayangol in Ulaanbaatar. Since then, it has opened more than six stores a year on average. Its 20th outlet, Nomin Macro, puts Mom’s Touch behind KFC, which operates 29 stores, but ahead of Burger King with 18. The company attributed its growth pa

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has claimed that Russia is preparing to receive an additional 30,000 North Korean troops. However, local experts say frontline deployment is unlikely despite growing Pyongyang-Moscow military ties. In a social media post on Saturday, Zelenskyy claimed that Russia wants another 30,000 North Korean soldiers, and that preparations have been underway in Russia’s Voronezh region to receive them since June. The Ukrainian leader added that North Korea was also pr

Former US president Joe Biden is among those paying tribute to the Mayo team after their historic All-Ireland win yesterday.

Foot rollers, octopus-shaped scalp massagers and body sticks keep turning up in pop stars' and actors' everyday kits. Gua sha is now a fixed step in many routines, and the tools that go with it have found a spot in celebrities' pouches. One recent example came from Jeon Somi's YouTube channel, Imos, where Twice's Nayeon went through her world tour suitcase. Between performances, she said, she cares most about puffiness and tight muscles, since she dances in heels and the fatigue collects in her

Wanted posters have sprung up around Christchurch for celebrity city explorer Chase - the cat. Chase has approval to roam, and has been charming his fans, with a gallery of photos of his adventures online.

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, as the court convicted him of violating election law during his 2022 presidential election campaign. The Seoul Central District Court accepted both charges pressed by special counsel Min Joong-ki's team regarding Yoon's false claims about Yoon Woo-jin, former chief of the Yongsan Tax Office, and shaman Jeon Seong-bae. "A candidate making a false statement at a debate or interview could have substantia

Tom Kim finished tied for 20th at the PGA Tour's 3M Open, moving up one spot to 34th in the FedExCup standings. Kim closed with a 5-under 66 in Sunday’s final round at TPC Twin Cities (par 71), recording six birdies and one bogey to finish at 14-under 270 for the tournament. The result lifted him from 35th to 34th in the FedExCup standings. Players must finish inside the top 70 to qualify for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the opening event of the PGA Tour Playoffs. Kim made his first birdie o

An Byeong-hun narrowly missed his second top-10 finish of the LIV Golf season, tying for 11th at LIV Golf UK. He shot an even-par 72 in the final round at JCB Golf & Country Club, recording one birdie and one bogey to finish at 11-under 277, just one stroke outside the top 10. The South Korean, who joined LIV Golf this season, remains with a season-best tie for ninth at the Saudi Arabia opener in February. An entered the final round tied for seventh after staying inside the top 10 through the fi

San Diego infielder Song Seong-mun was held hitless for the fifth straight game. Batting ninth and playing shortstop in a road game against Miami, Song went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. A week after recording his first three-hit game in the majors against Kansas City, Song has now gone hitless in five consecutive games, dropping his season batting average to .212. San Diego rallied with four runs in the eighth inning to beat Miami 5-3, extending its winning streak to three games. San Francisco's

President Lee Jae Myung cast Latin America as essential to South Korea’s push to broaden its diplomatic reach and diversify supply chains amid a rapid reshaping of the global order, as he opened his first tour of the region. Speaking from Brasilia, the first stop on an itinerary that will also take him to Chile and Argentina, Lee underscored the continent’s strategic importance to South Korea while presiding over a virtual meeting with senior secretaries and aides on Sunday. “At a time when the

Police say the livestream was seen by a concerned member of the public who then reported it.

South Korea is stepping up negotiations with Washington to prevent another rise in US tariffs as the Trump administration increasingly turns to Section 301 of the Trade Act to pursue targeted trade action. The US last week finalized tariffs of up to 12.5 percent on goods from Korea and dozens of other economies over their controls on imports made with forced labor. Seoul is also subject to a separate investigation into structural overcapacity that could lead to additional duties. Korean trade ex

LG Innotek’s second-quarter operating profit surged more than twentyfold to 245.8 billion won ($167.6 million), crushing market expectations as strong camera-module and semiconductor-substrate sales defied a seasonal slowdown. Revenue climbed 40.5 percent on-year to a record 5.53 trillion won for the April-June period, well above market expectations despite what is typically the seasonal slowdown for its mobile components business. Net profit came to 169.7 billion won, swinging back into the bla

A philanthropist who played a critical role in bringing the Canadian Museum for Human Rights to Winipeg says her family is pausing any financial support for it over concerns around an exhibit on the displacement of Palestinians.

South Korea's top beauty executives are accompanying President Lee Jae Myung on his state visit to Brazil through Wednesday, as K-beauty makes its deepest inroads yet into Latin America's booming cosmetics market, industry sources said Monday. The CEOs of the beauty delegation — Amorepacific Holdings' Lee Sang-mok, APR's Kim Byung-hoon, Goodai Global's Cheun Ju-hyuk and Silicon2's Kim Sung-woon — are set to attend a Korea-Brazil business roundtable Tuesday, alongside executives from other sector

For decades, moving to Seoul was considered a pathway to success for young Koreans. But young people seeking to relocate today are increasingly dependent on family wealth due to high housing prices and cost of living expenses. According to a July report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Bank of Korea, social mobility has become difficult for people whose parents lack the financial means to support their children. The report found that social mobility has weaken

Korean cinema has been handing women the keys. Last year's "Project Y" sent Han So-hee and Jeon Jong-seo scheming through Gangnam's underbelly, while "The Woman in the White Car" dropped Jung Ryeo-won and Lee Jung-eun into a snowbound whodunnit stacked with reveals. Pick a recent female-fronted release and odds are the women onscreen are the ones doing the dirty work themselves rather than playing the victim, in high-octane fare tuned to diminished attention spans. "The Journey to Gyeongju," ope

Hana Securities has begun offering Korean stock trading to clients of Hong Kong-based Futu Securities, expanding its push to draw more overseas investors into the domestic market. The service allows nonresident investors to buy and settle Korean shares through Futu without opening a separate account with a Korean brokerage, Hana Securities said Monday. Trading began on a trial basis for preregistered clients in June and was expanded to all Futu customers on Friday. Futu, which operates the Futub

Investor enthusiasm for SK hynix's newly listed American depositary receipts is spreading into the crypto market, with the combined market capitalization of tokenized products tracking the ADRs topping 100 billion won ($68 million) globally on Monday. According to CoinMarketCap, four spot tokenized products tracking SK hynix's US-listed shares had a combined market capitalization of $72.8 million as of around 1 p.m. Monday. Overseas crypto platforms have introduced the products since SK hynix's

Firefighters and water-bombing aircraft are battling to contain a wildfire in southwest France before a new spike in temperatures, with slightly less active fire fronts than the previous day.

Workers in Germany took an average of about 22 days of sick leave in 2024, among the highest levels internationally.

Celltrion has turned in yet another record quarterly earnings report on growing sales of its newer biosimilar portfolio and improving manufacturing efficiency. According to the Korean biopharmaceutical company on Monday, it logged 1.4 trillion won ($950 million) in sales and 451.8 billion won in operating profit in the April to June period, up 45 percent and 86.3 percent, respectively, from the same period in 2025. The company previously posted record-setting sales of 1.145 trillion won and an o

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong on Monday dismissed a regional call for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The move appeared to both reinforce Pyongyang's claim that its nuclear weapons status is irreversible and resist efforts to keep denuclearization at the center of international diplomacy. In a statement published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, Kim took issue with a statement adopted at the ASEAN Regional Forum foreign ministers' meeting in Mani

South Korea's cyber diplomacy group VANK has called on New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art to revise texts in its Korean gallery, arguing that several descriptions present a biased interpretation of Korean history and culture. The organization said Monday it will launch a campaign urging the museum to amend what it described as four problematic historical and cultural narratives embedded in gallery texts dedicated to Korean art. "The findings were made during VANK's recent visit to the United

ChangXin Memory Technologies surged 472 percent at the opening of its Shanghai debut on Monday, briefly becoming China’s most valuable domestically listed company with a market capitalization of about 3.3 trillion yuan ($487 billion). But the line that matters most to Korea’s memory industry has been hiding in plain sight for months. In its listing prospectus, CXMT said it would deploy 29.5 billion yuan. Nearly 70 percent, or 20.5 billion yuan, goes to wafer lines and upgrading DRAM processes it

Singer Bibi has come under fire for her performance at Saturday’s Waterbomb Festival Seoul, with some online comments criticizing her outfit and dance moves. The 27-year-old took the stage at the outdoor Global Stage at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, performing her mega-hits, including “Bam Yang Gang” and “Bibi Vengeance,” clad in a white romper with a plunging neckline and bikini top underneath. During her performance, she dropped to her knees and pulled down the front zipper of her soake

There are 122 active wildfires across northwestern Ontario, according to the latest update from Ontario's Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES) issued Sunday evening. Here's what we know about how they're affecting communities across the region.

More financial mentorship clients are asking for help with hardship withdrawals than first home withdrawals.

After 13 straight nights of strikes aimed at degrading Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping, the U.S. has held off since late Friday without explanation or announcement.

Firefighters faced another day battling massive blazes scorching forests across France and Spain Monday, with a forecast of another heat wave in southwest France threatening to deepen the crisis. More than 325,000 people have fled their homes as some of the worst forest fires in either country's history rage across southwest France and central Spain near Madrid. France's fire, one of the nation's biggest since World War II, has caused an unprecedented "pyrocumulonimbus" -- a giant fire cloud tha

DARWIN, Australia — Australia’s Northern Territory is courting Korean investment in shale gas, critical minerals and AI data centers, seeking to leverage its natural resources and proximity to Asia as a new growth engine. More than 160 business leaders and investors from 12 countries gathered in Darwin, Australia, on July 15 for the second Northern Territory Investment Summit. Representatives from SK Innovation E&S, Posco and Samsung C&T attended to explore potential partnerships. Central to the

Three people have been killed and at least four others wounded, including a toddler, after an apparent gunfight near the Space Needle landmark in Seattle last night, according to police.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The four American troops killed during renewed fighting between the US and Iran in recent weeks are no longer listed as part of the Iran war death toll in the Pentagon’s official casualty count but have been placed in a new, separate category. It is raising questions about properly counting the impact to US service members as the Trump administration has escalated strikes on Iran in a bid to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while providing little indication of how it intends to win

North Korea has installed a large screen covering Panmungak, the main building in the northern section of the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom, the South Korean military said Monday. According to the military, the entire three-story building has been hidden from view by the screen since around April. Officials said the screen appeared to have been installed for repair work. No unusual military activity has been detected in the area since it was erected, they added. Panmunjom is the inter-Korean

ALICE SPRINGS/DARWIN, Australia — China's tightened grip on critical mineral exports has pushed Korean industrial groups to look to Australia’s Northern Territory for alternative supplies of rare earths and natural gas. China controls as much as 90 percent of global rare earth refining, leaving manufacturers exposed to Beijing’s export restrictions. Hyundai Motor Group, SK Innovation E&S and Posco International are now exploring projects stretching from a rare earths deposit near Alice Springs t

A large hole has opened up on a street in Auckland's St Mary's Bay.

Woowa Brothers, operator of food delivery platform Baemin, said Monday that it has renewed its ISO 37301 certification for compliance management. ISO 37301 is an international standard assessing whether an organization’s compliance policies and risk-management systems meet global requirements. Certification requires annual surveillance audits and a recertification audit every three years. Woowa Brothers became the first Korean delivery platform to receive the certification in 2023. The company s

Hyundai Glovis is expanding business with Chinese manufacturers as it seeks to reduce its reliance on logistics contracts with Hyundai Motor Group affiliates. The company said Monday that it had signed a shipping contract with a major Chinese battery manufacturer. The shipment volume and contract value were not disclosed. Under the agreement, Hyundai Glovis will transport batteries produced in southern China to automotive manufacturing hubs in Hungary, Spain and Italy. The company previously sec

With Bristol Balloon Fiesta around the corner, we look at the wildest shapes to ever grace the skies.

After nearly a week on the run, a New Zealander who escaped jail in Tonga last week with two others, has been caught, the last of the three to be returned to custody.

Llywelyn Williams says anything is possible with any kind of disability.

Laura Kuenssberg was given unprecedented access to the new prime minister’s first days in power.

The Office of Public Works will officially reopen the Magazine Fort in the Phoenix Park today.

Robin MacDougall says she "just couldn't comprehend" why police entered her home without her knowledge. RCMP say they visited the home because a 911 call was dropped and they were concerned about the caller's safety.

The space between Renald Guignard's house on the island of Lamèque and a cliff along the Gulf of St. Lawrence is a small fraction of what it once was and a vivid illustration of a changing climate.

Scientists with Western University's Meteor Physics Group have verified that the fragments recently recovered from Cockburn Island in northern Ontario are meteorites from June 19 fireball event.

The 12-month loan, signed in March, is one of the largest-ever bridge financings in the Asia-Pacific region.

Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost said that some 215 personnel had been added to the headquarters since last year, as a shift to give the command more authority entered a second phase.

A round-up of news from around the region, including a landslide at Gold Ridge Mine in the Solomon Islands reportedly claiming ten lives.

Malaysia does not officially recognize the Rohingya as refugees, branding them migrants who have entered the country illegally.

Three new slips have occurred, months after a deadly landslide claimed six lives.

Ukraine fired hundreds of drones at Russia early today, killing two people and setting multiple buildings ablaze, according to Russian officials.

Labor representatives are seeking a record ¥75 increase, but management representatives say smaller companies may not be able to afford it due to the Middle East turmoil.

Brazil has recalled its ambassador to Argentina for consultations following "insults" levelled by President Javier Milei against his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Mushroom is a classic Shiba. He's affectionate on his own terms, and expects people to respond on his terms too.

Do storage lockers built directly into condo parking garages violate Ontario's fire code? Toronto Fire says yes. But a fire consultant describe a standards 'grey area' that's been going on for decades.

Zhane O'Neill-Harvey was last seen two weeks ago at Ōpua Marina.

The recognition of "kaitiakitanga" as the world's most beautiful word has sparked renewed calls to better value te reo Māori at home.

"There is absolutely no place in New Zealand for employers seeking payment in exchange for jobs," the Labour Inspectorate says.

Memory chips were once a low-margin business, but the global buildout of AI data centers has transformed them into one of the world's most sought-after products.

As extreme weather becomes more frequent and severe, how can communities adapt and who will pay?

Santana Minerals had given itself till 11 September to get the fast-track approvals panel more information about its proposed Bendigo-Ophir mine but now says it will by 28 August.

Michael Tuatagaloa Alisa, one of Moana's undoubtable breakthrough stars, says it was "pure luck" he landed a role in the live-action film.

People in Nelson are being asked where a new multi-million-dollar community hub, library and civic space should be built in the city centre.

And the trend is worse for Kiwis than their international counterparts.

You might see fifty or sixty when it's dark in the same place where during the day you see none," one hunter who works on farm land says.

Publicly naming the man would heavily impact his "business interests", says his lawyer.

Papua New Guinea weightlifter Morea Baru is the first Pacific Island athlete at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow to win a medal.

There is hope that the Pacific Island contingent at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will be able to win medals in bowling and boxing.

The Papua New Guinea Chiefs have signed Zac Lomax on a three-year deal from 2028 until the end of the 2030 National Rugby League season.

Tuvalu partnered with the conservation charity Sea Shepherd to arrest a Chinese tuna longliner suspected of illegal fishing in its waters.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as his first foreign leader since taking office a week ago.

The Greens say a new data centre planned for the South Island risks destroying jobs in other industries by pushing up power prices, but a major investor says the opposite is true.

The New Zealand Defence Force disposed of the item, police say.

The immigration minister has refused to release a document that Winston Peters claims would show the government is "covertly" changing migration settings for Indians.

Former All Blacks assistant coach Brad Mooar has been appointed as the new head coach of the Fijian Drua, the Nadi-basd franchise announced the on Monday.

Ship traffic through Bab el-Mandeb has fallen after Yemeni Houthis attacked Saudi oil installations along the Red Sea coast.

Some are quicker to pass on official cash rate movements to borrowers and savers than others.

Regulator says about a third of councils have at least one drinking water network with "very high" leakage levels.

The large bronze bell was stolen earlier this month from a wooden bellcote in front of St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church.

The vast majority of people - particularly women - answer a survey saying they'd take the certainty over chance.

An Australasian clinical trial found a new training programme was linked to a small rise in infection risk but learnt important lessons on how such training should be delivered.

Forest & Bird have set the date for Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau - Bird of the Year 2026 voting from 4-20 September.

Police arrested one suspect and were looking for another after gunfire erupted at a crowded food festival beneath Seattle's Space Needle, leaving three people dead and four others injured, including a toddler.

Heather Cline and David Stanchuk tell The National about the moment they found their phone in perfect condition in a Saskatchewan canola field after it had fallen 1.1 kilometres from a plane.

Auckland Council will address iwi opposition to its new cemetery as it develops the site, the council's general manager of parks said.

House prices have fallen and interest rates are rising again but mortgagee sales are well down on 2009.

The frosty start to the week is set to continue for a few more days.

Separate crashes in Dunedin and Canterbury have become fatal, with the death of two people in hospital.

Mayo's footballers have ended a 75-year losing streak after winning the coveted All-Ireland Football Championship, dispelling a curse that fans believed haunted the county's chances for decades.

Green MPs, candidates and members gathered in south Auckland over the weekend for the party's annual general meeting

Tauranga council's Charlie Rahiri says it's fortunate the area below January's deadly slip remains closed following more over the weekend.

Gardaí are treating as suspicious the discovery of the body of a homeless man in west Dublin two days ago.

Chinese scripted role-playing games are drawing a following in Auckland as participants look to build social connections.

Student Job Search says in the past financial year it had 434,000 applications for just 53,000 positions.

Fans who could not travel to Croke Park gathered in homes and pubs throughout Kerry from early afternoon and few, if any, could foresee a Mayo win, writes Paschal Sheehy.

French teacher Tammy Ní Laoire was due to return home to Conamara from Bordeaux next Saturday but she spent the morning trying to book an earlier return flight.

House prices have fallen and interest rates are rising again but mortgagee sales are well down on 2009.

A police manhunt is under way after a suspect rammed a car into a crowd at a Pride event in the German capital on Saturday night.

After Canada's strong showing as both a competitor and host at the FIFA World Cup, a new survey shows soccer now beats hockey as the most popular sport for Canadians aged 18-29.

SES Water says supplies are starting to return for impacted customers, including Gatwick Airport.

The U.S. paused its attacks on Iran for a second straight day on Sunday, and Tehran said it had done so, too, as efforts continued to bring the countries back to negotiations on an interim ceasefire deal largely undermined by recent exchanges of fire.

More than 330,000 people have now been evacuated from wildfires across France and Spain.

The link between the game and Mayo is hardwired into the souls of thousands upon thousands of people. It's a rite of passage, a hobby, a tradition and a memorial; all in one mesmerising whirl of emotion, writes Western Correspondent Pat McGrath.

It was more than three years ago when Vancouver police arrested a man after he was seen using multiple bank cards to make withdrawals at an ATM.

The death has been announced of the Ballymena-born broadcaster Gerry Kelly. He was 77.

Members of Berlin's 2SLGBTQ+ community and others voiced ‌grief, anger and solidarity on Sunday after a vehicle rammed into crowds at the city's annual Christopher Street Day Pride celebrations, killing one person and injuring 29.

Peter Watts was just 14 when a pleasure boat disaster killed 15 people, including his entire family.

Hundreds of Toronto residents and advocates are celebrating after the federal government rejected support for a proposed expansion to accommodate jets at Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport.

The hosepipe ban is already having an impact in restoring Uisce Éireann's drinking water supplies, the water utility has said.

Chan Mathok Atak, 19, is accused of endangering another during a journey by sea to the UK.

The Stauffer family moved to the area from Calgary almost two years ago. Their front-yard mug library has brought joy and an opportunity for socializing to the neighbourhood. The CBC's Rhythm Rathi reports.

Following an independent investigation into Aughinish Alumina's links to Russia, Minister of State Niall Collins has said any decision taken next that would be "self-defeating" for Ireland or Europe should not be taken.

"I used to imagine that I would cry if I were promoted to principal dancer. But when the moment finally came, I had enjoyed the performance so much that I simply felt happy. More than anything, I was relieved that I had finished the show well." That is how Park Sun-mi, 27, recalled the dramatic moment she was promoted to principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre (ABT) immediately after a performance of "Swan Lake" at New York's Metropolitan Opera House on July 15. During a phone interview, Park said, "People asked if I had somehow known in advance because I stayed so calm, but I had absolutely no idea." Beginning with the 2026-27 season on Sept. 1, Park will become ABT's third Korean principal dancer, following Seo Hee and Ahn Joo-won. Park's mother, who had traveled from Korea, was in the audience when the announcement was made. She had hesitated to fly to the United States because she needed to care for the family's dog, but ultimately decided to make the trip, telling her daughter that she wanted to see her first performance as Odette and Odile in "Swan Lake" regardless of whethe

TEHRAN — Iran said on Sunday it has halted retaliatory attacks against U.S. allies in the Middle East after Washington stopped its strikes on the country for the past two nights. The Iranian declaration came after Washington paused a war nearing its fifth month and reports emerged that concerns over dwindling munitions were restraining plans for further escalation. "These attacks continued until two nights ago, but over the past two nights the Americans have stopped their attacks," said army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia. "Since ... our strategy has essentially been retaliatory, we have also halted our retaliatory operations." Fighting over the strategic Strait of Hormuz derailed diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran, but the conflict then expanded beyond the vital energy corridor to include attacks on U.S. bases, regional shipping and Gulf allies. But the recent lull has revived hopes of a return to negotiations after nearly two weeks of consecutive nightly U.S. bombardments, although U.S. media reported the pause could also reflect pressure on stockpiles of Patriot intercep

BERLIN — German authorities on Sunday issued a wanted notice for a fugitive suspect in the van ramming near Berlin’s pride festival that left one person dead and injured at least 16 others. Police and prosecutors asked for help in finding the 21-year-old suspect, whom they identified as Abdul B. They said he is believed to have injured several people with a moving vehicle late Saturday evening, and that one or more people apparently then left that vehicle. Several people were also apparently stabbed, they added. Sunday’s notice warned the public to avoid “direct contact” with the suspect, saying that he may be armed and dangerous. Police had said earlier that they had identified a suspect who has ties to Islamic groups in the German capital. “The suspect is known to police. He is known to us as a member of Islamic circles here in Berlin, and our search for this person is proceeding at full speed,” police spokesperson Florian Nath said. Nath added that investigators had no information on “his specific motives.” Police conducted operations in the city as they searched for t

HONG KONG — Typhoon Noul will bring heavy to torrential rain across much of southern China for the next two days, authorities said, after sweeping through Guangdong province and neighboring Hong Kong with gale-force winds following its landfall on Sunday. China issued its highest-level alert for flash floods in several provinces after the year's strongest typhoon forced the relocation of more than 700,000 people in Guangdong, authorities said. The Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration jointly issued a red warning for flash floods. From Sunday evening through Monday evening, flash floods are expected in parts of Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu and southeastern Xinjiang. Authorities warned residents to "pay attention to real-time monitoring, flood warning, and evacuation and risk avoidance prevention." The warning came after Noul, the year's 12th tropical cyclone and China's third typhoon this month, made landfall in Huidong county at about 3:50 a.m., Sunday, provincial officials said. Noul, which means the glow of sunrise or sunset in

A photo exhibition paying tribute to Korean War veterans held by LIG Defense & Aerospace (LIG D&A) to mark its 50th anniversary drew 30,000 visitors during its five-week run at the War Memorial of Korea, which concluded on Sunday, the company said. The exhibition, titled "LIG D&A 50th Anniversary Photographic Tribute to Korean War Veterans," was originally scheduled to run until July 12, but was extended for two weeks following strong public response. Held under the theme "Remember, Respect, Reconnect," the exhibition showcased portraits of veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War, alongside photographs highlighting LIG D&A's long-standing support for veterans, conveying a message to remember their sacrifice, respect their noble devotion and carry the legacy of peace forward to future generations. One of the exhibition's highlights came on July 9, when nine Korean War veterans visited the gallery to view portraits of themselves and their fellow servicemen. They also read handwritten messages of gratitude left by visitors, many expressing appreciation for their service and sacrifice. "We're dee

K-pop boy band Stray Kids is set to release a digital album, "SKZ-REPLAY 2026 Pt.1," on Aug. 1, as part of a weeklong run of content leading up to the release of its new mini album "THIS & THAT" due Aug. 7. The digital album, described by the group's label JYP Entertainment as a gift expressing gratitude and sincerity toward fans, arrives at midnight on Aug. 1, the eighth anniversary of the group's official fandom, STAY. The tracklist and cover image are scheduled to be unveiled Monday. The release anchors "2026 STAYweeK," a seven-day celebration running from Saturday through Aug. 1. The group posted a timetable on its official social media channels at midnight Saturday, laying out daily content for fans. The lineup includes the group's first short-form drama series, themed around a fictional company run with fans, with two episodes each released Saturday, Monday and Aug. 1. A pop-up cafe celebrating the fandom's birthday, named after the group's March digital single "Stay," opened Saturday in Seongdong District, Seoul, and runs through Aug. 2 for official fan club members. Other offerin

TEHRAN — Iran's army warned on Sunday that the Middle East war would widen if the United States chose to press ahead with attacks on the Islamic republic, ahead of the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington. "I believe that if the Americans once again fall for the Zionists' deception, or move in line with them, and insist on continuing the war, particularly through air strikes, geographically this will expand further," army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia told state television. He said the war had already expanded to the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the entrance of the Red Sea, referencing the recent military flare-up between Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia. "The scope of our operations now encompasses the entire region, from U.S. bases in Jordan to the countries along the Persian Gulf," he said. Akraminia said the situation in the Middle East for the United States is "difficult and unsettled," predicting that Washington was now looking "for a new strategy." "We are prepared for each of the options and scenarios that appear likely," he added. On Frid

TEHRAN — Iran said on Sunday it had made progress in talks with Oman on management of the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway crucial for oil and gas trade that both countries border. The latest talks come after the United States resumed attacks on Iran in an effort to end Tehran's control of the strait, following a June memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war that had briefly eased tensions. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said several rounds of negotiations were held in Iranian capital Tehran on Friday and Saturday between Iranian and Omani deputy foreign ministers. The discussions focused on "common principles and operational mechanisms" for ensuring the safe passage of shipping through the strait while respecting the sovereign rights of the two states, Baqaei said. He described the talks as "useful" and said progress had been made, adding that "technical and political consultations between the two sides were continuing." In June, Oman and Iran said they would discuss imposing service fees, a move Washington opposes. But Muscat also said ships could transit

Korea's major semiconductor makers and other top tech companies have agreed on partnerships worth a total $950 billion with global Big Tech firms during President Lee Jae Myung's visit to San Francisco, highlighting Korea's expanding role in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. The long-term agreements, announced alongside Lee's “San Francisco Declaration on AI” speech on Friday (local time), brought together leaders of Samsung Electronics, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group and Naver, together with representatives of Nvidia, OpenAI, Broadcom and Anthropic. The partnerships were made as Seoul seeks to establish itself as an indispensable partner in AI semiconductor production and infrastructure amid an AI-driven semiconductor boom. “Korea aims to become an irreplaceable pillar of the global AI supply chain,” the president said, presenting the country's vision for the future of AI and proposing a cooperative global framework. “Building on our world-class competitiveness in memory chips and related production capacity, Korea will serve as a trusted manufacturing base

The weather agency on Sunday issued grave heat wave warnings for Daegu and other southeastern parts of Korea as temperatures climbed well above 30 degrees Celsius. The highest-level heat warnings took effect for southwestern parts of Daegu, and the nearby city of Gyeongsan and the county of Cheongdo, both in North Gyeongsang Province, at 11 a.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The southeastern cities of Pohang and Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, had already been placed under the highest-level heat warnings earlier in the day. As of 1 p.m., temperatures had reached 38.4 degrees in Gyeongju, 35.4 degrees in Daegu and 32.1 degrees in Pohang. The KMA said as of 3:10 p.m., the maximum apparent temperatures for Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, and Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, had risen to 38.3 degrees. It marked the latest issuance of the highest heat warnings since the weather agency adopted a new heat warning system on June 1 to alert the public to extreme heat. A highest-level heat warning is issued when the daily high is forecast to reach 39 degrees

The leader of Starbucks Korea’s newly formed union says the company’s recent “Tank Day” marketing failure not only damaged the brand but also intensified pressure and uncertainty for workers already struggling with heavy workloads and unstable schedules. Lee Yong-bin, head of the Starbucks branch of the Korean Chemical, Textile & Food Workers’ Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said the union’s creation emerged out of frustration with years of one-way communication — a dynamic he thinks helped pave the way for the marketing fiasco. “I heard that after the ‘Tank Day’ marketing, frontline partners had to deal with customer complaints and other issues that they would not have had to respond to if there had been no controversy,” Lee said in a recent interview with The Korea Times. “The impact of the boycott differs by store, but in locations where customer numbers have dropped sharply, the overtime work some workers used to do as a routine part of their job has disappeared, and their monthly pay has declined as a result.” His comments came after S

Ahead of its headquarters relocation to Incheon in September, Hana Bank is stepping up financial support for the city’s small businesses and manufacturers, the lender said Sunday. As part of the initiative, the bank signed a memorandum of understanding with the Incheon Credit Guarantee Foundation, Thursday, before CEO Lee Ho-sung visited Sinpo International Market and the Namdong National Industrial Complex to meet business owners and discuss the challenges they face. The partnership reflects Hana Financial Group’s broader push to strengthen its presence in Incheon ahead of its move to Cheongna. Under the agreement, Hana Bank will contribute 5.5 billion won ($3.77 million) this year to the Incheon Credit Guarantee Foundation, enabling 84 billion won in guaranteed loans for small business owners. It will also extend preferential financing to merchants that accept local currency, “Incheon e-Eum,” or use the public food delivery platform Mukkebi. An additional 10 billion won in overdraft-style working capital loans is set to be made available to small businesses across the city. Sepa

SK Telecom has emerged as an unlikely beneficiary of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won's divorce ruling, as investors bet that his court-ordered cash payout could lead to higher dividends from the telecom company, industry officials said Sunday. Shares of SK Telecom jumped more than 5 percent Friday, even as the benchmark index plunged 5 percent. The rally came after Chey was ordered to pay 944 billion won ($645 million) in cash to his ex-wife. The key question is how Chey will raise such a large sum of cash. As of the end of the second quarter, his shareholdings were valued at 10.83 trillion won, with most of that wealth tied up in a 17.9 percent stake in SK Inc. Through that stake, Chey has maintained control over key affiliates, including SK Telecom and the ownership chain linking SK Square to SK hynix. Market watchers therefore view a stake sale as unlikely, as it could immediately weaken his control over the conglomerate. This brings SK Telecom into focus. In June 2024, when the appeals court handed down its ruling in Chey's divorce case, Hana Securities said SK Telecom had ample capac

K-Heritage House, a venue showcasing Korean heritage set up to mark the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Busan, drew over 70,000 visitors in its first six days, underscoring growing global interest in Korean culture, officials said Sunday. According to the Korea Heritage Service (KHS), 72,143 people visited the pavilion at BEXCO’s Exhibition Hall 1 from July 20-25, averaging over 10,000 visitors a day. Attendance peaked on Saturday, when 19,385 people entered in a single day, the highest since its opening. Spanning the size of two football fields, the pavilion features 45 booths organized by 35 institutions under four themes — heritage through advanced technology, living intangible heritage, the past, present and future of heritage, and interactive experiences. A surge in visitors prompted organizers to close the admission queue early at around 3 p.m., Saturday, for safety reasons. The exhibition, jointly organized by 35 institutions including the KHS, the National Archives of Korea and the Busan Metropolitan Government, features exhibitions and interactive prog

The political scandal involving the Shincheonji Church of Jesus — a Korean religious sect whose members allegedly joined the then-ruling People Power Party (PPP) en masse to back former President Yoon Suk Yeol — is now spilling over into the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) amid its leadership race. Two leading candidates in the DPK leadership race have been exchanging barbs over the religious sect's alleged intervention in the DPK, escalating into a negative blame-game campaign. Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, a DPK leader candidate, has been raising allegations since last week that the religious sect is seeking to intervene in the DPK to influence the party. “The essence of the upcoming national convention (party leadership race) lies in dismantling the three-way alliance of anti-Lee Jae Myung forces, factional division and Shincheonji,” Kim said, implying that his rival, Rep. Jung Chung-rae, who stepped down as party leader before seeking reelection, might have been involved in the scandal. Kim did not elaborate on the grounds for his claim, but said he raised this t

POSCO Group unveiled a long-term strategy to accelerate sustainable growth by expanding beyond steel into critical resources. Speaking at the company's CEO Investor Day event in central Seoul on July 2, Chairman Chang In-hwa outlined a three-pronged strategy centered on steel, strategic resources and energy resources. He said the company aims to position itself as Korea's leading supplier of critical resources. "Now is the time to create new growth opportunities through bold innovation of our business portfolio as supply chain instability and the acceleration of the low-carbon transition intensify external uncertainties," Chang said. "We will expand the scope of our business from steel and materials to resources and lead efforts to strengthen the nation's industrial security and supply chains." He said the group seeks to achieve 187 trillion won ($127.8 billion) in revenue and 13.1 trillion won in operating profit by 2035. The group aims to increase its annual lithium production capacity to 173,000 metric tons by 2033, positioning itself among the world's top five lithium producers, while

The Korean won has surged to become the best performing major currency against the dollar this month, buoyed by exporter dollar sales and the Bank of Korea's first policy rate increase in three and a half years, the data showed Sunday. The won gained 6.24 percent against the dollar from July 1 through Friday, the biggest advance among 20 major currencies tracked by Yonhap Infomax. The Australian dollar and Russian ruble were the next best performers, each rising 0.9 percent. The rally stands out against a backdrop of broad dollar strength. The U.S. dollar index has remained above 101, as geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran sustained demand for safe-haven assets. The Korean currency strengthened to 1,458.5 won per dollar in trading that ended at 6 a.m. Saturday, with the exchange rate falling 15.7 won from the previous session. The advance marks a sharp turnaround from June, when the exchange rate touched an intraday high of 1,555.2 won per dollar. The won's inflation-adjusted value fell to its lowest level in more than 17 years. Its real effective exchange rate stood

A regional security forum has issued a statement calling for the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula for the second straight year, adding to diplomatic pressure on North Korea to abandon its nuclear program. The chair's statement, released Saturday after the annual foreign ministers' meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila, also expressed grave concern over North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. "The Meeting called for the full implementation of all relevant UNSC Resolutions and noted international efforts to bring about the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner," the statement said, referring to the U.N. Security Council. North Korea has declared itself as a nuclear power in its constitution, adopted a nuclear doctrine and shown no willingness to give up its nuclear arsenal. Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said in June that North Korea's status as a nuclear-armed state is absolutely irreversible, calling it a "line of no retreat" and vowing not to to

SAN FRANCISCO — President Lee Jae Myung wrapped up a two-day visit to San Francisco aimed at promoting artificial intelligence (AI) cooperation on Saturday and departed for Brazil as part of a three-nation South America tour for summits with regional leaders. During his visit to San Francisco on Friday and Saturday, the Korean president met with the chiefs of four global tech giants, including OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman and Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang, calling for closer partnerships with Korean firms in AI. At a separate high-level meeting attended by Lee, global tech giants and Korean tech conglomerates agreed to pursue a series of cooperation projects worth a combined $950 billion. The projects include a long-term deal under which SK Group will supply $750 billion worth of high-performance semiconductors to Nvidia and others. As part of the South America tour, Lee will first pay a four-day state visit to Brazil from Sunday, which will include a summit with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the capital, Brasilia, on Monday, followed by a business round

The K-Music Festival, London's largest celebration of Korean music and culture, returns for its 13th edition this autumn with its broadest program yet, spanning hip-hop, art pop and game soundtracks alongside traditional Korean music, jazz and contemporary composition. Organized by the Korean Cultural Centre UK, the festival runs from Sept. 28 to Nov. 23 across major London venues including the Southbank Centre, Royal Albert Hall, Rich Mix, EartH Theatre and Upstairs at Ronnie's, the newly opened performance space at Ronnie Scott's. Launched in 2013, the annual festival has built a reputation of introducing British audiences to Korean musicians working at the intersection of tradition, jazz and experimental music outside K-pop. Last year's edition saw post-rock band Jambinai become the first traditional Korean act to headline the Barbican and closed with pianist Cho Seong-jin premiering a newly commissioned concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra. This year, the festival widens its scope further to take in contemporary hip-hop and video game soundtracks. The festival opens Sept. 28 a

Kookmin University students swept an artificial intelligence-powered autonomous driving hackathon held at Park Habio in Seoul’s Songpa District, July 14-16, winning the top three prizes. The university said Friday that its SMT team took the grand prize by demonstrating stable driving performance and highly sophisticated algorithms at the 2026 SEA:ME Hackathon. Two other teams, SKY and KUUVe, won the top excellence award and the gold prize, respectively. Teams from Keimyung University, Chungbuk National University and Sun Moon University earned silver, bronze, technical and design awards. Now in its fourth year, the SEA:ME Hackathon is an inter-university competition jointly organized by Kookmin University’s Convergence and Open Sharing System (COSS) Future Mobility Project Group and Hanyang University’s ERICA Intelligent Robotics Project Group, with support from the Volkswagen Group WE: Foundation. SEA:ME stands for Software Engineering in Automotive and Mobility Ecosystems. Designed to cultivate experts with practical expertise in future mobility and mobility software, this year’s

Sejong University has joined forces with LIG Defense & Aerospace (LIG D&A), Korea’s leading defense contractor, to cultivate professionals for the future defense industry. The university said it signed an agreement with LIG D&A at its Seoul campus on Tuesday to establish a contract-based Department of Defense Convergence Technology. Under the agreement, the two sides will work together to foster professionals equipped with technical expertise and practical capabilities required by the defense industry to meet challenges of rapidly evolving future battlefields and the growing demand for advanced weapons systems. Both organizations will also jointly develop and operate the curriculum for the department while promoting practice-oriented education and research that reflect the needs of the defense industry. The agreement calls for cultivating the next generation of defense industry professionals by combining LIG D&A’s technological expertise and extensive industry experience with the university’s education and research capabilities in defense science and technology, artificial intellig

Samsung, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group and other Korean tech conglomerates expanded their artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor partnerships with U.S. Big Tech companies to $950 billion during President Lee Jae Myung's visit to San Francisco over the weekend. According to presidential chief of staff for policy Kim Yong-beom, Korean companies and Big Tech firms agreed to pursue a combined $950 billion worth of semiconductor and AI partnerships, on the occasion of the San Francisco AI Summit on Friday (local time). Among them, Samsung Electronics signed a $200 billion memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Broadcom, under which Samsung's memory and foundry businesses will supply AI-specific high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips and logic semiconductor manufacturing services for Broadcom's AI accelerators through 2030. Broadcom is one of the world's leading fabless companies specializing in application-specific integrated circuit chips, designing custom processors tailored to the needs of individual hyperscalers and cloud service providers. As such customers increasingly seek AI accele

Young people in Korea are falling further behind in wealth, as the homeownership rate and the resulting generational gap widen to a record high. According to the Korean Statistical Information Service on Sunday, the homeownership rate for those 39 and under fell to 27.7 percent last year, down 2.4 percentage points from 2024. The rate is the lowest since 2017, a 13 percentage point drop from the record high of 40.7 percent set in 2018 and 2019. By contrast, older age groups saw far smaller declines. The rate for those in their 50s slipped 0.6 percentage points to 63.5 percent, while the rate for those 60 and older dropped 0.4 percentage points to 68.5 percent. The result is the widest generational gap in homeownership since 2017. The gap between those in their 50s and those 39 and under grew to 35.8 percentage points, while the gap between those 60 and older and those 39 and under reached 40.8 percentage points. That divide extends to net assets. Households aged 39 and under held 219.5 million won ($150,000) last year, down 0.9 percent from a year earlier, while those in their 50s held 5

More than 100 participants gathered at Local Conference of Youth (LCOY) Korea 2026 to develop youth-led climate solutions, strengthen collaboration and contribute to the global conversation ahead of this year's United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP). Following the successful hosting of LCOY Korea on the sidelines of Climate Week 2026 in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province held from April 20-25, the latest conference hosted at Seoul National University's Gwanak campus on July 3 built on a growing movement of young people determined to shape climate policy from the ground up. Officially recognized by YOUNGO — the official Children and Youth Constituency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) — LCOY serves as Korea's national youth climate conference, providing a direct pathway for youth voices and policy recommendations to contribute to discussions surrounding the annual U.N. Climate Change Conference and broader climate policymaking. A call for youth leadership The conference opened with a strong message from leaders representing government, academia an

Korea's travel account posted a surplus for the third consecutive month in May, driven by an increase in foreign visitors, government data showed Sunday. The travel account recorded a surplus of $220.5 million in May, compared with a deficit of $820.2 million a year earlier, according to data from the Korea Tourism Organization. It marked the third consecutive monthly surplus since March, when the account recorded a surplus of $263.8 million, snapping a 72-month streak of deficits that began in March 2020. Travel income totaled $2.58 billion in May, exceeding travel spending of $2.36 billion. On average, each foreign visitor spent $1,324 in Korea, while each Korean traveler spent $1,007 overseas. Separate government data showed that 1.95 million foreign visitors arrived in Korea in May, up 19.4 percent from a year earlier, while the number of Koreans traveling abroad fell 2.1 percent from a year earlier to 2.34 million. "Foreign visitor numbers have risen sharply in recent months, driven by the growing popularity of the Korean Wave and the weakening won," said Kim Nam-jo, a professor of to

SK hynix is expected to post an all-time high operating profit of 64.1 trillion won ($43.7 billion) in the second quarter, driven by its leadership in the high bandwidth memory (HBM) market amid an artificial intelligence (AI)-led semiconductor supercycle, a report showed Sunday. A consensus estimate compiled by Yonhap Infomax from forecasts from 14 local brokerages showed SK hynix is expected to post 84.1 trillion won in sales and 64.1 trillion won in operating profit for the April-June period. The figures would surpass the company's previous annual operating profit record of 47.2 trillion won in 2025. The company's operating profit margin is expected to reach about 75-77 percent for the second quarter, compared with 75 percent in the first quarter. The forecast is broadly in line with Samsung Electronics Co.'s second-quarter earnings guidance released earlier this month, which projected a record quarterly operating profit of 89.4 trillion won. If SK hynix reports second-quarter earnings as projected on Wednesday, the country's two memory chipmakers are expected to post a combined operat

LEGE-CAP FERRET, France — France sent a hulking military cargo plane to dump tons of flame retardants as it battled raging wildfires on Saturday and slashed the final stage of Tour de France to redeploy security personnel to the blazes that forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. The latest wildfires in southern Europe this week have displaced more than 250,000 people, including some 70,000 people who were evacuated in central Spain. One man died in Manises, the municipality reported on its Facebook page, the first death so far in the blazes. In France, the giant A400M transporter swooped in low, its long plume of ochre-colored retardant trailing over drought-hit woodlands in the southwest as fire crews on the ground fought flames that authorities feared could spread toward the wine region city of Bordeaux. Race organizers and the Paris police department announced a truncated 21st and final stage on Sunday for the three-week Tour, France's most famous annual sporting event, reflecting the immense strain that two large fires in the southwest are causing for emergency se

Korea's relationship with South America is entering a "new phase," President Lee Jae Myung said in a recent interview published Saturday, adding his country seeks to advance negotiations for a trade agreement with the region's trading bloc and cooperation on critical minerals. The Korean president made the remarks in an interview with EFE, a Spanish international news agency, as he was set to arrive in Brazil on Sunday as part of a visit to three South American countries, including Chile and Argentina, for summit talks. Ahead of the trip, Lee paid a two-day visit to San Francisco to promote AI business cooperation between Korea and the United States. "Mercosur countries are global leaders in agriculture, food production, energy and critical minerals. Korea is a global leader in advanced manufacturing, digital technologies, shipbuilding, batteries and innovation," Lee said in the written interview. Mercosur is a South American economic and political bloc founded in 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Its membership currently includes Bolivia. "By bringing these strengths toget

BERLIN — A van slammed into people gathered for Berlin’s famed LGBTQ+ event on Saturday night, killing one person, injuring at least 16 others and prompting police to call off the celebrations and a concert in the German capital hours after they had begun. Police said some of the victims had life-threatening injuries. In a post on X, police called on everyone to leave the site of the event immediately as ambulances and firefighters attended to the victims. “We are conducting an intensive search for possible suspects,” police officer Florian Nath said on a short video released on the Berlin police account on X. Police spokesperson Alexander Klute told The Associated Press later that “at this point, we don’t know anything about possible motives, the identity of the perpetrator or the perpetrators, or anything of that nature.” White van hit people in Tiergarten park According to police, a white van had driven into the Tiergarten park around 10 p.m., which is next to the route that the pride march had passed along earlier, and hit several people before colliding with a tree. Pol

BUSAN — In a historic milestone for Asian heritage diplomacy, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee convened in Korea for its 48th session, marking the first time the country has hosted the prestigious international gathering. Lazare Eloundou Assomo, director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, expressed deep gratitude to the Korean government and emphasized the nation’s rising stature in global heritage preservation. "This World Heritage Committee session is a very important and historic one, because it is the first one we are having here in the Republic of Korea," Eloundou Assomo said during an interview session at BEXCO in Busan, Friday. "Being here in Busan marks the demonstration of the commitment of the Republic of Korea to its cooperation with UNESCO, and in particular for world heritage." Addressing sensitive international issues, including Thursday’s World Heritage Committee decision calling on Japan to fully reflect the “whole history”— notably wartime forced labor of Koreans — at the Sado Island Gold Mines, Eloundou Assomo framed the committee’s process as one

SAN FRANCISCO — President Lee Jae Myung said Saturday that Korea and the United States should advance their ties beyond their time-honored alliance by expanding cooperation into technology, innovation and startups. Lee made the remarks at a meeting in San Francisco with venture capitalists investing in Silicon Valley. The Korean president arrived here Friday en route to Brazil, the first destination of his three-nation trip to South America. The meeting was attended by executives from six venture capital firms based in Silicon Valley, including Martin Casado of Andreessen Horowitz; Alfred Lin of Sequoia Capital; and Hemant Taneja of General Catalyst. "Korea and the U.S. should expand the scope of their cooperation beyond the longstanding security alliance to include technology, innovation and startups," Lee said. He insisted that combining the U.S.' world-class venture capital capacity and global networks with Korea's advanced technology and manufacturing competitiveness would create new global innovators, the likes of global chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, that will lead

LONDON — Samsung Electronics is distinguishing its upcoming smart glasses from rival products in the market, defining them as a “wearable device made by a smartphone specialist.” During a press briefing after Galaxy Unpacked 2026 in London on Thursday, Samsung Electronics Head of Extended Reality Research & Development Team Choi Jae-in said the company's smart glasses are not intended to replace smartphones but to extend the mobile experience through a new wearable device. “Smart glasses are an extension of the experience centered on the smartphone, rather than being a post-smartphone device,” Choi said. “Running artificial intelligence (AI) effectively requires significant computing power, but packing all the necessary chips into a pair of glasses makes it difficult to deliver a lightweight and comfortable experience that smart glasses should provide. … That's where our technological strength lies. As the first major smartphone brand to enter the smart glasses market, we have a lot of things to offer (to the market).” At Galaxy Unpacked 2026, Samsung showcased four smart

WASHINGTON/ATHENS — The Iran war broadened over the weekend despite a pause in U.S. strikes, as Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis attacked Saudi oil installations along the Red Sea coast and Iran accused Ukraine of targeting one of its vessels in the Caspian Sea. The U.S. military said on Saturday its naval blockade against Iran "remains in full effect" but did not explain why it halted a streak of 13 nights of escalating strikes. There were also no weekend reports of attacks by Iran on neighbors, similar to its daily rejoinders to the U.S. attacks. Asked about the pause, a senior official in President Donald Trump's administration said Trump "has always been clear that his preference is diplomacy, but he has shown Iran what will happen if they fail to come to the table in a serious way." Trump has decided, for now, to back away from plans to ramp up attacks on Iran, the New York Times said on Saturday, citing two people briefed on the discussion. The president and his advisers, the newspaper said, have concerns about expanding the conflict, depleting defense stockpiles, alienating Middle Ea

SAN FRANCISCO — President Lee Jae Myung said Saturday that the emergence of an artificial intelligence (AI) era offers a new opportunity for Korea, vowing to turn the country from a follower into a global leader. The president made the remarks at a meeting with Korean residents in San Francisco on the second day of his two-day visit aimed at promoting AI investment and cooperation between global tech giants and Korea. "Just as humanity's discovery of fire ushered in new history, a new era is coming in which we cannot live without AI," the president said. The new AI era presents "a truly new opportunity for Korea," he also said, adding that he seeks to make Korea "an irreplaceable country" and ensure that other countries think "nothing can be done without Korea." His remarks come one day after a number of U.S.-based global tech giants, such as Nvidia, OpenAI and Anthropic, agreed to a series of business deals and partnership agreements with Korean firms, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, in a high-level event attended by Lee. Such business partnerships would amount to $950 bill

Russia is preparing to bring in an additional 30,000 North Korean troops to its war against Ukraine, with Pyongyang also planning to send more missile launchers to Moscow to support the war effort, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy made the remarks in an X posting summarizing his nightly video address, saying that Moscow has been preparing since last month to deploy the troops to a border region in the southwest. "Russia wants to receive another 30,000 troops from North Korea. Since June, preparations have been under way in Russia's Voronezh region to receive them," Zelenskyy said in the posting. "North Korea is also preparing to transfer additional launchers for ballistic missiles to Russia," he said. Zelenskyy warned that the potential deployment would pose a threat to other Asian countries within range of the North's missile launches. "This is a threat not only to Ukraine. Russia is helping North Korea learn how to wage war, improve its weapons and gain real combat experience in using them," he said. "All of this is a threat to everyone in Asia who is within range

As the summer heat settles heavily over the urban basin of Seoul, the capital is offering its residents a familiar, albeit revitalized, reprieve: turning its public riverfronts, neighborhood plazas and parks into sprawling aquatic sanctuaries. For millions of families navigating the humid stretch of school vacations, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and several district offices have unveiled an expanded network of outdoor pools and water play parks. Designed as low-cost, accessible escapes, these public facilities reflect a broader municipal effort to adapt the dense, high-rise metropolis into a more livable — and cooler — summer environment. At the heart of the city’s aquatic strategy is the Han River, the wide ribbon of water that bisects the city. On June 19, the city’s Han River Parks system launched six public swimming and splash facilities for a 73-day season running through Aug. 30. Full-scale outdoor pools have returned to the popular riverside parks at Ttukseom and Yeouido. Meanwhile, shallow water play areas — designed with younger children in mind and requiring min

The creature genre continues to evolve in Korea's content industry. Once dominated by zombie stories, K-creatures have expanded into a wider range of supernatural beings, including ghosts and extraterrestrials. Netflix's "The East Palace" and the film "Hope" exemplify this evolution, introducing new creatures rooted in Korean culture and tradition. Netflix original series "The East Palace," which premiered on July 17, follows Gucheon (Nam Joo-hyuk), who possesses the ability to traverse the world of spirits, and court lady Saenggang (Roh Yoon-seo), who harbors a secret. Summoned by the king (Cho Seung-woo), the two investigate a mysterious curse haunting the Eastern Palace. Meanwhile, "Hope," which opened in theaters on July 15, centers on Beom-seok, the head of a small administrative office near the demilitarized zone, who is alerted by local youths about the appearance of a tiger. As the village descends into panic, the residents are confronted with an unbelievable reality. Both productions continue the lineage of K-creatures by bringing ghosts, extraterrestrial beings and other fanta

During a surprise announcement at San Diego Comic-Con, the actor says the character is one he has "wanted to play for a very long time".

The duke surprises his wife with a video call during her guest judge appearance on MasterChef Australia.

UNESCO has added the iconic D-Day landing beaches in Normandy to its World Heritage List, marking the culmination of a project launched nearly two decades ago.

The former minister for children Katherine Zappone has called for a pause to a plan to build apartments on the site of the former mother and baby home in Bessborough in Co Cork.

A raging wildfire in southwest France forced the evacuation of 55,000 people overnight Sunday, bringing the total forced out of their homes to a staggering 220,000 in one region alone, as flames crept ever closer to the wine region city of Bordeaux. Neighboring Spain oversaw its own fire evacuations on the country's east coast. Shifting, gusting winds and arid conditions complicated massive efforts to limit the spread of the monster blaze that has burned out of control since midweek in France's

The company behind the TV drama asks to make permanent the site of its current set in Leeds.

Two mosques in the Israeli-occupied West Bank were set on fire overnight in an apparent Israeli settler attack, officials said Sunday, after a spate of deadly violence that killed four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers.

A country long known as a meeting point of civilizations, Syria stands once again at a crossroads.

When 10-year-old Ukrainian gymnast Sasha Paskal stepped onto the stage in New York's Times Square this week, she carried a message far bigger than her performance.

Shortly before sunrise, Palestinian Fathi Hajji begins an arduous thrice-weekly journey to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

A man has been charged after an eight-year-old girl and a man were seriously injured in a collision in Co Tyrone.

The City of Edmonton says some roads have reopened, but numerous others remain flooded after Saturday night's powerful thunderstorm.

Iran said on Sunday it has halted retaliatory attacks against US allies in the Middle East after Washington stopped its strikes on the country for the past two nights. The Iranian declaration came after Washington paused a war nearing its fifth month and reports emerged that concerns over dwindling munitions were restraining plans for further escalation. "These attacks continued until two nights ago, but over the past two nights the Americans have stopped their attacks," said army spokesman Moha

The Bishops of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) have pledged to make young people the Church's shared pastoral priority for the next four years, while calling on political leaders across the region to end the exploitation of youth

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Pope Leo XIV expresses closeness to those affected by wildfires in France and Spain and calls for prayers for victims and emergency responders. He also recalls the Sixth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, celebrated on 26 July.

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There was one winner of last night's Lotto jackpot worth over €8.2 million. The winning numbers were 23, 24, 25, 42, 43, 46 and the bonus was 37.

Some local governments said they hope hosting the agency's regional offices would help correct the overconcentration of functions in Tokyo and revitalize regional economies.

A raging wildfire in southwest France forced the evacuation of 55,000 people overnight Sunday, bringing the total forced out of their homes to a staggering 220,000 in one region alone as flames crept ever closer to the wine region city of Bordeaux.

Members of Berlin's LGBTQ community and ⁠others voiced grief, anger and solidarity on after a vehicle rammed into crowds at the city's annual Christopher Street Day Pride celebrations, killing one person and injuring more than a dozen.

At the Angelus, Pope Leo XIV praises the beatification of Patriarch Elias Hoayek, praying that the new Blessed's intercession will bring peace to Lebanon and strengthen Maronite faithful worldwide.

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The armed forces said the joint drills show the Philippines' commitment to ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight in the West Philippine Sea.

During the Angelus in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV appeals for an end to violence in the Holy Land and the Middle East, urging dialogue, diplomacy, and prayers for peace.

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Toronto police are investigating after two separate locations of a Jewish-owned bakery chain reported damage, with one hit by gunfire, on Sunday morning.

The Philippines, Japan and the US completed their latest round of joint defense exercises in the South China Sea as tensions between Manila and Beijing escalate in the contested waterway. In a statement on Sunday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said the three countries had deployed naval vessels and aircraft as part of the drill from July 21 to July 25. The exercises “underscore the enduring partnership among the partner nations in promoting peace, stability, and security in the Indo-Pacifi

A regional security forum has issued a statement calling for the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula for the second straight year, adding to diplomatic pressure on North Korea to abandon its nuclear program. The chair's statement, released Saturday after the annual foreign ministers' meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, also expressed grave concern over North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. "The Meeting called for the full implemen

Fr. Ibrahim Faltas, Head of Schools of the Custody of the Holy Land, deplores the situation in the West Bank and issues a warning both to those who fuel the violence and to those "who fail to intervene to stop this endless spiral." He expresses hope that the elections announced in Israel and Palestine will bring "new balance and genuine justice to both peoples."

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The latest attacks come two days after a clash between settlers and Palestinians near the village of Tell, which left four Palestinians and two Israelis dead.

A man in his 50s is in critical condition, and a man in his 20s and a teenage girl remain in hospital.

In his Angelus address from Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV reflected on the Kingdom of God as a treasure that transforms lives, calling Christians to recognise what truly matters.

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A new Heritage Minute honouring Capt. Jonathan Snyder and the men and women who served in Afghanistan was being film at CFB Wainwright.

The Israeli military said troops sent to Qusra, which sits near several large Israeli settlements, had found graffiti and signs of arson and ‌were searching for suspects.

The defence secretary warns Britain "stands ready to respond to any attacks Iran wishes to wage against this country or our allies".

Despite the fact that most are relatively new to Japan, konbini officials say foreign staff display impressive language and customer service skills.

A wildfire on Slievenamon in Co Tipperary has "reduced significantly", according to Tipperary County Council, however firefighters are continuing to tackle a number of isolated hotspots.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has called three byelections in the B.C. riding of North Vancouver–Capilano, the Ontario riding of Beaches-East York and the Quebec riding of Chicoutimi—Le Fjord.

In a separate incident on Friday, a different Vietnamese vessel sank amid rough seas in the area, with 33 fishermen rescued and three missing

Israeli officials have said they intend to keep forces in a "security zone" in southern Syria, where they seek a broader demilitarized zone.

The suspect in the deadly Berlin Pride attack that left one person dead and 29 injured was shot and killed by police during a confrontation on Sunday in a suburb of Germany's capital city, authorities said.

A man in his 50s has died following a single-vehicle road traffic crash in Co Clare. The death was the third on Irish roads over 24 hours.

The former FAI football coach Eamonn Collins, who was arrested as part of an investigation into allegations of historical sexual abuse relating to the Ladies Football Association of Ireland three decades ago, has been released from detention.

Almost four decades on I delved into this complex case with fresh eyes - who really was behind the bombing?

Japanese people traditionally eat grilled eel on the midsummer Day of the Ox, believing it helps replenish energy and endure the summer heat.

Many fans waited more than a day to get inside Comic-Con's most-anticipated panel. Marvel Studios hopes it will act as a reset for its brand.

Buoyed by the development, the small southern African country is determined to go much further in its drive for local processing of its resources.

Typhoon Noul made landfall early Sunday, bringing winds and heavy rain to southern China, including Hong Kong.

Fringe anti-foreigner groups had set June 30 as an unofficial deadline for undocumented migrants to go home, triggering an exodus.

The rapper has been taking on challenges to raise awareness and money for the Down's Syndrome Association.

The resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan hands a clear win to ​the Cockroach Janta Party.

Two big hospital builds in Whangārei and Nelson will hire a digital system integrator.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and Cardinal Jose Advincula urged Catholics at the 12th Philippine Conference on the New Evangelization to embrace authentic friendship and patient accompaniment as essential paths to evangelization, Christian discipleship, and communion.

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In a video message for the Brazilian Catholic music festival, Halleluya, Pope Leo encourages young people to transform their youth into a force for evangelization, in order for others to get to know Jesus, answers people’s “deepest longings, revealing to every person the truth about themselves.”

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Chimney swifts, a threatened migratory bird species, have taken up residence in a Winnipeg couple's 91-year-old home.

Elle’s Café has been visited by people from all over the world after its social media posts went viral this spring.

The concept of "coolcations" — vacations in a cooler clime — has been gathering pace in recent years and appears to have exploded in 2026.

Photographer Scott Johnson's studio is close to where a fire triggered a massive explosion.

The pause could reflect pressure on stockpiles of Patriot interceptors and other defensive weapons, U.S. media reports said.

The writer behind breakout K-drama hit "Lovely Runner" is returning with a new romance series, with Nam Joo-hyuk in talks to lead alongside Han So-hee, whose casting is currently under consideration. Lee Si-eun, the screenwriter behind hit romance K-dramas including "True Beauty" and "Lovely Runner," is developing her next fantasy romance, "Heartbeat." The series follows a romance between a woman who can see people's pasts and a man who must conceal his own. Lee's "Lovely Runner," starring Byun

Severe weather forecasts had spurred authorities to evacuate more than 340,000 people and suspend work and rail services.

Rep. Na Kyung-won of the People Power Party dismissed President Lee Jae Myung's trip to the San Francisco AI Summit as "piggyback diplomacy," saying that he exploited the trip to take political credit for deals secured by Korean companies. The meeting, hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT, brought together Lee and the chiefs of prominent global technology companies to San Francisco. This included the heads of Anthropic, OpenAI, Nvidia and Broadcom, as well as those of domestic firms such as

Main opposition People Power Party's chairman Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok on Sunday criticized President Lee Jae Myung for raising the possibility of electronic voting for overseas Koreans, saying it could undermine the integrity of the country's voting system. Jang wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday that Lee should not discuss changing the overseas voting system, accusing the president of "taking away the people's right to vote." "People do not trust the current voting system," Jang wrote. "A computin

HD Hyundai Samho said Sunday that it has won an order to supply four cranes to Washington United Terminals at the Port of Tacoma, in a deal linked to the Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation initiative known as MASGA. WUT, the US subsidiary of HMM, operates eight quay cranes at the terminal, including four delivered by HD Hyundai Samho in 1999. The latest order is part of a modernization project to replace aging equipment and accommodate larger container ships. Under the deal, HD Hyundai Samho will

Allegations of political interference by the religious sect Shincheonji have once again risen, this time engulfing the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s leadership race after former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok vowed to prevent interference by the religious group. Kim first raised the issue on July 19, describing the leadership race as a confrontation with disguised anti-Lee Jae Myung forces, divisive factionalism and Shincheonji. “The essence of this convention is ultimately a major battle agai

A six-car pileup in northeastern Seoul on Sunday led to nine injuries, including two police officers, as the driver responsible for the initial crash claimed that her car abruptly accelerated out of control. The accident occurred at around 8:08 a.m. near Nowon Station of subway Line No. 4, located in Nowon-gu district. The driver in her 60s rammed her car into another vehicle, the impact from which forced the vehicle to collide with other cars. One of the six vehicles was a police patrol car, an

Including natural heritage sites, the total number of World Heritage properties in Japan now stands at 27.

Two Aer Lingus pilots made history earlier this week after becoming the first mother and daughter to operate a commercial flight together for the airline.

Derry-born designer Jonathan Anderson announced earlier this week that he will unveil the Dior Fall/Winter 2027 collection in Dublin.

As Prime Minister, what Andy Burnham says will be analysed both nationally and internationally in a way his pronouncements have not been until now, writes Fiona Mitchell.

Kei Suzuki's feature-length debut, adapted from a popular light novel, is a competent but ultimately uninspired take on an all-too-familiar premise.

A Malaysian man in his 40s was arrested Sunday for allegedly killing a Malaysian man in his 20s during a group brawl in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province, police said. The suspect is accused of fatally stabbing the other man during a fight involving about 10 people at a commercial building at around 3 a.m. Sunday, according to the Eumseong Police Station. Police said the brawl involved two opposing groups that had reportedly been at odds with each other and had agreed in advance to meet for a

Local festivals in Korea rarely attract national attention, but Cheorwon in Gangwon Province is in the spotlight after it was revealed that both BTS and the rising girl group Rescene performed there before achieving major success. "The groups that once performed on our stages have become such major stars that inviting them back now would be difficult," a Cheorwon county official reportedly said Sunday. Interest in Cheorwon's festivals has grown after videos of Rescene's performance at last year'

Former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder and winger Lee Kang-in has signed with La Liga club Atletico Madrid. Atletico Madrid announced Saturday that the South Korean player has signed a five-year contract through June 2031. He will wear No. 7, which has traditionally been assigned to one of the club’s star players. On Sunday, Lee greeted fans in Spanish through Atletico Madrid's official social media account. "I’m so happy to join this big club. I can't wait to wear our Atleti colors and enjoy tog

Daegu, traditionally known as South Korea's hottest city and nicknamed "Daefrica," is no longer the sole area affected by extreme summer heat. Scorching temperatures are now impacting North Gyeongsang Province, leading weather authorities to expand severe heat wave warnings on Sunday. "High temperatures are becoming increasingly widespread, not only in Daegu but also across inland and eastern coastal areas of North Gyeongsang Province," a Korea Meteorological Administration official said. At 11

Takaichi is set to appear at the Lower House Budget Committee during a review that follows Saturday's adjournment of parliament.

The only person who died in Thursday's suspected arson attack in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, was described by neighbors and family as beloved by everyone, who was at the scene to warn others about surveillance cameras being disconnected in the apartment complex. The victim, a woman in her 50s, visited the apartment's management office Thursday morning to notify the managers about the the disconnected cameras she and her husband found the previous day. A 71-year-old man is thought to ha

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won's nearly 1 trillion won ($685 million) divorce case has shifted investor attention to SK Group shares as markets assess how he will finance the record settlement while maintaining his grip on the energy-to-chip conglomerate. The Seoul High Court on Friday ordered Chey to pay 944 billion won to his former wife Roh Soh-yeong in the country's largest-ever divorce settlement, ending a yearslong legal battle. With the order stating the settlement to be paid in cash rath

President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday highlighted the potential synergy between South Korea and the US, saying that collaboration could give rise to the next generation of mega companies like Samsung and Hyundai, at a meeting with representatives of US venture capital firms in Silicon Valley. Such potential rests on South Korean firms' technological prowess and their ability to deliver fast execution, manufacturing capacity, advanced digital infrastructure, human talent and cultural competitivenes

Two Uzbek students were each fined 5 million won ($3,400) for attempting to cheat on the Test of Proficiency in Korean by having one take the exam on behalf of the other, the Chuncheon District Court said Saturday. The court found the defendants guilty of obstructing performance of official duties by fraudulent means, for the proxy testing at the Korean test conducted on Nov. 16. According to the court, a 27-year-old Uzbek student met a 29-year-old student of the same nationality outside an elem

Abandoned by his mother and spurned by some peers, the young macaque shot to stardom after he was seen clinging to a plush orangutan toy for comfort at Ichikawa City Zoo.

Shin Ji-eun remained in control of the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open after retaining the outright lead through the third round. Playing at Dundonald Links in North Ayrshire, Scotland, Saturday,　Shin carded a 1-under 71 with two birdies and one bogey. She improved to 12-under 204 for the tournament, holding a five-shot advantage over second-place Pajaree Anannarukarn of Thailand, who stands at 7-under 209. Shin shared the first-round lead before taking sole possession of first place in the sec

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea's push for the complete removal of the prosecution's investigative power is now in its final stretch, despite a range of concerns over the monumental change in South Korea's criminal justice system. On Friday, the party announced its plan to confirm a revision to the Criminal Procedure Act, which would remove the prosecution's power to investigate without exceptions, on a party-line bill. At present, the prosecution can investigate a criminal case if it is d

South Korea's top trade negotiator traveled to Washington last week to ease US concerns over alleged discrimination against Coupang, the US-listed e-commerce giant at the center of a trade flashpoint between the two allies. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resource on Sunday, Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo met with 10 senators and representatives — including Sen. Bill Hagerty and Rep. Adrian Smith — from Tuesday to Friday to clarify that Korea's digital laws and policies are not bias

Tom Kim climbed three spots on the leaderboard after carding a 4-under 67 in the third round of the PGA Tour‘s 3M Open, which carries a purse of $8.8 million. Playing at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota, on Saturday, Kim recorded five birdies and one bogey to finish the round at 4-under. After making the cut in a tie for 31st at 5-under through two rounds, Kim improved to 9-under 204 overall, moving into a tie for 28th. Kim is seeking another strong finish after ending a 33-month title droug

South Korea's Song Se-ra, ranked No. 4 in the world, has captured the gold medal in the women's individual epee event at the International Fencing Federation (FIE) World Championships, winning the title for the second time in her career. Song defeated Italy's Giulia Rizzi, the world No. 8, 9-8 in the final at the World Championships in Hong Kong on Saturday, sealing victory by a single touch. It was Song's second individual world title, after her first at the 2022 World Championships in Cairo, E

Pulmuone said Sunday that sales from its US kimchi business rose 12.3 percent in the first half, driven by growing demand for authentic Korean fermented foods. The company produces the kimchi at its global plant in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, for export to the US. Its proprietary Kimjangdok Cooling System controls temperature throughout production, shipping and distribution to maintain freshness and optimal fermentation. Pulmuone’s US kimchi sales recorded a compound annual growth rate of 7.5

Income and pension requirements are expected to be part of revised requirements for foreign residents seeking the status.

South Korean authorities have asked the police to investigate the bullets that apparently went missing at a correctional facility in Daejeon, a month after the shortage was reported to the authorities. The Korea Correctional Service under the Ministry of Justice made the request, after its investigation launched in June failed to recover 100 rounds of live ammunition missing from Daejeon Correctional Institution. The ministry on June 13 announced that its inspection of the facility showed the pr

A South Korean man in his 60s who had planned to die by suicide with his wife but survived alone was given a suspended prison sentence for abetting suicide, a local court said Sunday. The Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, branch of the Cheongju District Court sentenced the man to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years. The couple suffered financial difficulties after being victimized by a voice phishing scam and made a suicide pact in August 2025. However, only the wife died, and the

South Korea international Lee Kang-in has completed a transfer from Paris Saint-Germain to Atletico Madrid, the Spanish club announced on Friday. Atletico Madrid confirmed the signing through its official website and social media channels. Lee has signed a five-year contract that runs through June 30, 2031. "The club has reached an agreement with Paris Saint-Germain for the transfer of South Korea international Lee Kang-in," Atletico said in a statement. The club described Lee as a midfielder fo

The new prime minister told Laura Kuenssberg that people "voted for a manifesto" that he would honour, when pressed on whether there will be an early general election.

Speaking exclusively to the BBC, the prime minister says he had a good first conversation with the US president and insists "you have to defend your own national interest".

Chris Murphy has spent most of his career playing songs with Sloan that are a part of Canadiana such as Money City Maniacs and The Rest of My Life, but his newest gig will find him playing music by an American rock institution.

After small changes began affecting his daily life, Richard Jamieson learned he had young-onset dementia. He wants people to recognize the warning signs that go beyond memory loss.

The People Power Party on Saturday raised the pressure on the ruling bloc, claiming Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho's recent offer to resign marked the beginning of the Lee Jae Myung administration's "lame duck phase." "The lame duck era of Lee's administration has begun," People Power Party Floor Leader Rep. Jeong Jeom-sig wrote in a Facebook post, after Jung reportedly offered to resign. Jung offered to step down after the Democratic Party decided to adopt the abolition of prosecutors' supplemen

Police investigating last week's fatal apartment complex fire said Sunday they are considering the possibility that it was an act of vengeance by the suspect against a resident who filed a criminal complaint against him. Police officials are reportedly reviewing several possibilities in Thursday's fire and explosion at an apartment in Gyeongsan, Gyeongsang Province, including a suspicion that it was a targeted attack against a specific individual. The incident led to seven injuries and one death

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said Friday it is expanding its research partnership with US chip giant Nvidia through two major initiatives spanning physical artificial intelligence and agentic AI. The cooperation includes a $300 million joint research program, aimed at developing next-generation AI technology tailored to the Korean language and domestic industries, according to one of the top tertiary education institutes here. “This collaboration marks the beginning of

More than 300 people have lost their jobs over the past nine years after refusing their mandatory military service, according to a report from the Military Manpower Administration. The MMA requested the dismissal of 329 conscientious objectors between 2017 and the first half of 2026. The number of dismissal requests has increased sharply in recent years, based on information disclosed through a local media outlet. Under the Military Service Act, the head of a government agency, local government

Fire crews in France and Spain battling unchecked wildfires that have forced more than 300,000 people to flee were overwhelmed as the unpredictable blazes advanced.

Prince George is at a point of major transition in his life, as the eldest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales sets off for boarding school in September and public interest grows in the second in line to the throne.

It's a sweet discovery that has the science world talking — and may help us better understand the origins of life on Earth.

When Edlyn To's grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, she thought she knew what it meant: memory loss, confusion, forgetfulness. However, she didn’t realize it would challenge her ideas of unconditional love, identity and acceptance.

Creative entrepreneurs are finding their way into people's hearts — and mailboxes — by offering snail-mail subscriptions. Creators, subscribers and academic experts alike say they're tapping into a desire to seek healthier relationships with technology and more personal, tangible — and tactile — ways of communicating.

They have seen a flurry of recent wins, but Michigan will test their ability to win back working-class voters in crucial states.

Iran will halt its own attacks as long as the United States maintains its latest pause on air strikes, a senior Iranian official has said, after President Donald Trump abruptly called off his two-week-old bombing campaign.

The design for Christchurch's new 800-seat Catholic cathedral has been unveiled as the diocese launches a $16 million fundraising appeal.

The ACT Party wants to increase the health budget spent on Pharmac by one percent a year, to bring New Zealand in line with Australia and closer to the OECD average.

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea has unveiled works by the four artists selected for its annual Korea Artist Prize that explore how images, technology and memory shape the way we perceive the world. The exhibition, which runs July 24 to Dec. 6 at MMCA Seoul, features newly commissioned works by Lee Haeminseon, Lee Jung-woo, Jeon Hyun-sun and Hong Jin-hwon. The four artists, who work in painting, installation, photography, video and digital media, explore how images, tech

SBS' new reality dating show "Love Against Time," featuring contestants in their 20s and 30s who have received terminal diagnoses in the past or experienced life-threatening illnesses, is drawing scrutiny over the ethics of turning such deeply personal experiences into entertainment ahead of its August premiere. The broadcaster is set to premiere the series Aug. 3. Details about how the format will unfold remain under wraps, but the network has revealed one of its central mechanics. Each night,

Motorists and pedestrians have been asked to avoid the area.

A victim of Ian Wilson says the former Dilworth housemaster would "take another boy's innocence in a heartbeat".

It was the first time since Narendra Modi took power in 2014 that one of his Cabinet ministers had resigned under public pressure, a sign of the threat posed to the prime minister.

A record-low number of South Koreans in their 20s and 30s owned their own homes in 2025, while the percentage of financially-challenged homeowners also marked the lowest ever. Some 27.7 percent of Koreans under the age of 40 owned homes last year, down 2.4 percentage points compared to the year before, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. It was the lowest figure since the government started the tally in 2017, and substantially less than the 40.7 percent in 2018 and 2019. The propor

Fans around the world will be able to watch Cortis' upcoming Los Angeles concert in movie theaters, extending the reach of the rookie boy group's first world tour. The group’s Aug. 13 concert at YouTube Theater in Los Angeles, part of the North American leg of its “Put Your Phone Down” world tour, will be broadcast through a live-viewing event, Big Hit Music announced Sunday. The concert will be screened at more than 870 cinemas across 29 countries and regions, including South Korea. Some market

The incident shattered what had been a day of celebration for hundreds of thousands attending one of Europe's largest Pride events.

The Greens want a pause on data centre consents, after a huge AI project was given full consents - which she says will use six percent of New Zealand's electricity supply, meaning Kiwis shoulder costs.

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US President Donald Trump issued an executive order Friday to install signage that warns visitors of inaccurate historical information inside The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington. The highly unusual move marks the 80-year-old Republican's latest battle in his ideological war on American cultural institutions and monuments, some of which he has renamed for himself and renovated to his liking despite legal challenges. The order calls on federal of

Temperatures hit sweltering highs across much of the central US Saturday as forecasters warned that dangerously hot weather from Dallas to North Dakota would push into next week, with roughly 80 million people facing heat advisories. A heat dome, where atmospheric conditions trap heat, was forecast to create sustained high temperatures and accumulating discomfort. Meanwhile overnight lows were not expected to come down enough for people to have much chance to recover, allowing heat stress to bui

France sent a hulking military cargo plane to dump tons of flame retardants as it battled raging wildfires Saturday and slashed the final stage of Tour de France to redeploy security personnel to the blazes that forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. The latest wildfires in southern Europe this week have displaced more than 250,000 people, including some 70,000 people who were evacuated in central Spain. One man died in Manises, the municipality reported on its Facebook page, th

Nearly five weeks after the leaders of India's youth Cockroach Janta Party began their protest demanding the resignation of the education minister over exam ‌paper leaks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 75, posted a rare selfie video: he said he was pained by their suffering and promised remedial steps. The video, posted late on Thursday on Instagram, where CJP amassed 22 million mainly Gen Z followers in a matter of days in May, was not enough to satisfy the thousands of protesters who had gather

Canada on Friday celebrated the completion of a new bridge to the US over the Detroit River, cutting a ceremonial ribbon on a multibillion-dollar, multiyear project that will serve as a critical path for trade, jobs and tourism between the countries. As the six-lane Gordie Howe International Bridge dominated the skyline behind them, officials lined up in Windsor, Ontario, to hail what one described as “one of the most significant infrastructure achievements in Canada's history.” The bridge opens

One person has been killed and 17 injured, with some in life-threatening condition, after a vehicle mowed down a crowd near Berlin's Pride celebrations on Saturday evening, setting off a manhunt for those responsible, the police said. Hours after the apparent attack many details remained unclear, but police said ‌the vehicle struck multiple people after charging into the city's central Tiergarten park close to the Brandenburg Gate. They later said they had identified an Islamist as a suspect and

LG Household & Health Care said Sunday that its beauty brand The Face Shop will roll out five products, including items from its flagship Rice Water Bright cleansing line, at more than 1,600 Walmart stores across the US. Inspired by the traditional Korean practice of washing the face with rice water, Rice Water Bright has sold more than 49 million units worldwide. The line combines rice-derived ingredients with LG Household & Health Care’s skincare technology. The Walmart rollout significantly e

A motorcyclist has died following a two-vehicle crash involving a car and a motorcycle in the Northland township of Awanui. Police were called to the crash on SH1 at around...

South Korea moved to cement its role in the global artificial intelligence supply chain Friday as Samsung Electronics and SK Group unveiled massive AI infrastructure partnerships with leading US technology companies under President Lee Jae Myung's "San Francisco AI Declaration." The initiatives, announced at the San Francisco AI Summit, form part of nearly $950 billion (about 1,390 trillion won) in planned cooperation spanning semiconductors, AI infrastructure, robotics and autonomous driving. T

LONDON — Barely into a 2.5-kilometer run through St. James’s Park, a warning flashed on the Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Watch9 strapped to my wrist: At my current pace, I was unlikely to make it to the finish. I had gone out too fast. I eased off, followed the prompts and began distributing my energy more carefully. By the end, I had enough left to complete the course. This Korea Herald reporter's run took place Thursday, a day after Samsung unveiled the Watch9 at Galaxy Unpacked 2026 in London.

A police spokesperson says no arrests have been made.

An increasing number of South Koreans are filing objections to police decisions to close criminal cases, a National Police Agency report showed Sunday. The number of objections more than doubled from 27,262 in 2021 to 56,165 in 2025, according to data submitted to Rep. Kim Jae-sub of the main opposition People Power Party. The report also showed that 34,001 objections were filed from January to June of this year, possibly indicating that a new record could be set by the end of the year. People

The legislation's passage ended a week of intense debate and cleared the way for parliament to end Saturday after 158 days.

South Korea's travel account posted a surplus for the third consecutive month in May, driven by an increase in foreign visitors, government data showed Sunday. The travel account recorded a surplus of $220.5 million in May, compared with a deficit of $820.2 million a year earlier, according to data from the Korea Tourism Organization. It marked the third consecutive monthly surplus since March, when the account recorded a surplus of $263.8 million, snapping a 72-month streak of deficits that beg

Thailand is seeking to build a comprehensive biotechnology partnership with South Korea in linking universities, startups and major corporations between the two countries, while easing regulatory hurdles for Korean companies looking to enter the Thai market, Deputy Prime Minister Yodchanan Wongsawat said. Wongsawat, who also serves as Thailand’s minister of higher education, science, research and innovation, said cooperation should go beyond attracting individual Korean companies and instead cre

The Ukrainian leader said North Korea is also preparing to transfer additional ballistic missile launchers to Russia.

LONDON — Samsung Electronics is betting that a lighter design and all-day comfort will help its first Galaxy AI glasses challenge Meta in the fast-growing smart eyewear market. “Meta and other competitors already have glasses on the market, but Samsung is taking a different approach,” Choi Jae-in, head of the extended reality research and development team at Samsung Electronics’ Mobile eXperience division, said at a product briefing at Old Billingsgate in London on Thursday. “We believe Samsung

This year marks the second year of regular dispatches of assistant language teachers from India under the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program.

The chief suspect in a deadly attack near Berlin's Pride parade has been shot dead, police said this evening.

Kanagawa Gov. Yuji Kuroiwa, bereaved family members and others connected with the facility took part.

A newly discovered out-of-control wildfire burning in B.C.’s Central Okanagan has prompted an evacuation alert for more than 500 properties in a popular vacation destination north of West Kelowna.

Competition from ultra-cheap Chinese retailers and the cost of living crisis could be putting some people off shopping at the store, analysts say.

July's full Moon, know as the Buck Moon, is set to light up the night sky next week.

Agents say some renters wrongly believe permission to have a pet is guaranteed.

Three 15-year-olds tell the BBC how their outlook changed after one week in the world of work.

Each summer, false claims about sunscreen causing cancer continue to spread online.

From women making the first move to shifting relationship dynamics, Love Island has become a window into Britain's evolving dating culture

The Mediterranean diet was a blueprint for healthy living, yet Italian children are among the most overweight in Europe according to WHO.

Temperatures are forecast to surge next week as another UK heatwave begins.

The Police Eagle helicopter was deployed to Taranaki to assist officers on the ground.

MetService recorded the lowest temperature at Mount Cook, where the mercury plunged to -6.3C on Sunday morning.

Pope Leo encourages Portuguese young people to allow their restlessness to bring them closer to God and put before Him their biggest questions and deepest desires, in a video message to those participating in the Second “Rejoice - National Youth Day” meeting in the northern city of Lamego.

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Health Minister Simeon Brown said the new LINAC machine is the first of two coming to the hospital.

At least one person was killed and around 15 wounded after a car hit the crowd on the outskirts of the Berlin Gay Pride parade.

Gardaí investigating allegations of historical sexual abuse at the Football Association of Ireland three decades ago have arrested former coach Eamonn Collins.

In a message to young people of Chota and Cutervo, Pope Leo XIV urges them to embrace a “holy rebellion” and transform situations of suffering into places of hope through joyful service.

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Kapiti Coast resident Chrissie Blake said her husband's phone pinged twice with the alert.

A non-profit called Buckets & Borders travels the country building and restoring outdoor basketball courts through various sponsors. Its goal is to improve community life through the sport. The group's latest initiative is the revamped, colourful courts in Martin-Luther-King Park in Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood.

Emergency services were called to the crash on Ararua Road just before 2.30pm.

The quake was reportedly felt across much of the North Island, including Auckland, and the top of the South.

A man has been charged in connection with a garda investigation in which an explosive device was found in a car in Co Monaghan.

German authorities on Sunday issued a wanted notice for a fugitive suspect in a van ramming near Berlin's Pride festival that left one person dead and injured at least 16 others.

A civic reception for Crumlin man and Cape Verde international Pico Lopes has taken place in the capital to honour his achievements in the World Cup.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she does not plan to retaliate against U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian goods with an alcohol ban, after the province banned American alcohol for several months last year.

The Israeli Defence Forces are preparing an extensive operation in the West Bank following a deadly incident near the Palestinian village of Tal.

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At least 16 people were killed in Ukrainian and Russian strikes, in a deadly fifth summer of war as both sides intensify attacks, with diplomacy at a deadlock.

Health workers at an Ebola treatment centre in eastern Congo went on strike on Saturday, demanding their pay. The walkout disrupted care for patients in the epicentre of the country's rapidly growing outbreak.

Amid rows of camp beds and stacks of food supplies at a makeshift shelter in Bordeaux, thousands of tourists and locals try to regain their composure after fleeing wildfires sweeping through southwest France.

The minor Rebuilding Korea Party on Saturday elected Rep. Shin Jang-sik as its new leader after former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, who founded and led the party, stepped down last month following the June 3 local elections. Shin was the sole candidate at the party's national convention Saturday and was elected with the support of 96.7 percent of party members who cast ballots. It marked the first time the party had elected a leader at a national convention since Cho was elected to the post in November 2025 following the party's foundation. Shin has pledged to pursue a more assertive reform agenda than the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), a political ally, saying his party should "broaden the playing field on the left." He is expected to take a tougher line than the DPK on prosecutorial reform, including efforts to abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigative powers. "We will remain vigilant until the moment the prosecutorial reform bill passes a plenary session of the National Assembly," Shin said. He has made strengthening the party a priority and rejected the prospect of it bein

Singer Lee Hyori expressed both regret and concern toward students at her yoga studio, asking them to respect its rules. On July 23, Lee posted a notice through the studio's social media account, saying, "There are occasionally people who come even though their membership has expired or they were unable to purchase a one-day pass. There are no exceptions, so please make sure to follow the studio's rules." She also offered a pointed reminder, writing, "If you came here to learn, you're a student. If you want to teach, please do so at your own yoga studio." Lee has previously spoken about the challenges of running the studio. On July 22, she shared, "At our Ananda Yoga studio, we meditated while listening to the sound of rain and birds and also practiced 30 minutes of stillness." She added, "Lately, I wonder if things have become a little overheated. I feel both sorry and grateful." Lee debuted as a member of the girl group Fin.K.L in 1998 and married singer-songwriter Lee Sang-soon in 2013. After showcasing their life on Jeju Island through various television programs, the couple wrapped

The seating arrangement of the two pianos was the same as at their duo recital a year ago, but this time pianist Yunchan Lim, 22, and his teacher Sohn Min-soo, a professor at the New England Conservatory in Boston, took the stage not simply as teacher and student, but as artistic partners. At the KBS Symphony Orchestra's special concert marking its 70th anniversary at Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul, July 22, Lim stood at the center of the performance, revealing a more flexible and profound musical maturity, supported by Sohn's steadfast presence. Led by Japanese conductor Masato Suzuki, the orchestra also departed from its usual stage setup. The second violins were placed on the far right of the stage, while the cellos were moved beside the first violins to create a more spatially defined sound. The concert opened with the overture to Mozart's "Don Giovanni," an opera with historical significance for the orchestra, which performed it during the National Opera of Korea's first Korean production in 1962. The orchestra's nimble and energetic playing immediately set a celebratory tone. The high

“Can the Han River ever beat the sea? Come visit Busan!” The celebratory remark by Busan's Kyungnam High School baseball team after winning a championship charmed many with its youthful wit. In reality, however, Nobel laureate Han Kang, who shares a name with the wide river running through Seoul, has been defeated by something else: real estate. Onul Books, the small independent bookstore run by Han in central Seoul's Seochon neighborhood, closed its doors this month after a change in ownership forced all tenants to vacate the building. It was not a closure the author had wanted. The bookstore first opened in Seoul's affluent Gangnam District in 2018. Struggling with mounting costs, it relocated in 2023 to a modest 33-square-meter space in Seochon, but could not survive there either. Once again, it fell victim to the power of money. When Han won the Nobel Prize in literature in 2024, the bookstore briefly shut its doors amid the public frenzy surrounding the award. The lights eventually came back on, that time. This time, they have gone out for good. During its final week, devoted p

More than 52,000 people have visited a large-scale pavilion built to showcase Korea's heritage, to mark the country's first hosting of a UNESCO World Heritage Committee session under way in the southeastern city of Busan, data showed Saturday. As of Friday, a total of 52,758 people had visited the K-Heritage House set up at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center where the 48th session of the committee is taking place from July 20-29, according to the data from the Korea Heritage Service. Dozens of institutions, including government bodies, local authorities and Buddhist organizations, took part in organizing the pavilion, which provides exhibitions, performances and hands-on programs for delegates and visitors. Among the installed booths are those that promote heritage sites and candidates on UNESCO's tentative list. These include the Gaya Tumuli, a group of ancient burial mounds; the Getbol Korean Tidal Flats, a vast expanse of biodiverse wetlands; the Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream, featuring prehistoric rock carvings; and the Sansa, or Buddhist mountain monasteries of Ko

SAN FRANCISCO — Korean conglomerates and global tech giants, including Nvidia Corp., agreed Friday to pursue a series of cooperation projects that together are worth $950 billion, a senior presidential official said. The projects include a long-term deal under which SK Group will supply $750 billion worth of high-performance semiconductors to global tech firms, including Nvidia, presidential chief of staff for policy Kim Yong-beom said at a press briefing. The agreement was reached during a high-level meeting in San Francisco that brought together the chiefs of global tech firms and the heads of Korean conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang were also among those who attended the meeting. During the meeting, Korean firms and global tech companies also agreed to pursue joint investment in large-scale AI data centers with a combined capacity of 5 gigawatts and 2 million graphics processing units (GPUs), Kim said. Korea's internet portal Naver will also establish globa

BUSAN — A UNESCO committee approved a major expansion to Korea’s "Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats" World Heritage site on Saturday, adding four key coastal regions to bolster protection for endangered migratory birds and marine life. The decision by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, meeting for its 48th session in Busan, adopts a significant boundary modification for the natural heritage property first inscribed in 2021, which originally covered four zones: Gochang, Boseong-Suncheon and Sinan in Jeolla provinces and Seocheon in South Chungcheong Province. The Phase 2 expansion incorporates crucial tidal flats in Yeosu, Goheung and Muan in South Jeolla Province, as well as Seosan in South Chungcheong Province. The World Heritage Committee recognized that the tidal flats satisfy the World Heritage criterion for the conservation of biodiversity and endangered species. In particular, it highly valued the natural heritage site for contributing to the conservation of internationally important migratory waterbirds and diverse marine life as a key habitat within the West Sea ecosystem and the

Naver, the country's leading internet portal operator, has received a combined $10 billion investment commitment from Nvidia and Canadian asset manager Brookfield to finance its project to build an artificial intelligence (AI) data center here. With the funding, Naver, also a major cloud service provider, will be able to accelerate its project, according to Lee Hae-jin, founder and chairman of Naver, in an AI summit held in San Francisco on Friday (local time). Earlier, Naver said it would work with Nvidia to build large-scale, global AI infrastructure, starting with an expansion of its data center in South Korea. The expanded infrastructure will give South Korean and U.S. AI developers access to production-scale computing capacity to build next-generation AI models, agents and AI-powered services, Naver said in a press release. Under the agreements, Brookfield will provide up to $9 billion as the exclusive capital partner, while Nvidia will invest $1 billion and Naver will provide the remaining funding for the $10 billion project, the company said. "Leveraging the strong partnerships wit

Cellist and conductor Chang Han-na, president of the Seoul Arts Center, reported assets totaling 7.82 billion won (about $5.62 million), including a cello valued at more than 1.37 billion won, a Steinway piano worth 133.75 million won and holdings in major U.S. technology stocks such as Nvidia, Apple and Meta. According to the Government Public Ethics Committee's disclosure of public officials' assets released Thursday, Chang reported total assets of 7.817 billion won, the largest amount among the six heads of organizations under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism subject to the latest disclosure. Her reported assets include 1.93 billion won in real estate, 2.78 billion won in bank deposits, 1.74 billion won in securities and 1.5 billion won in antiques and artworks. Chang reported ownership of an apartment in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul, valued at 1.28 billion won, and a stake in a detached house in Pomona, New York, valued at 653.49 million won. She also reported more than 2.7 billion won in deposits at domestic and overseas financial institutions. Her securities portfolio consists en

Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. Daiso has emerged as a must-visit shopping destination for foreign tourists visiting Korea, thanks to its reputation for offering a wide range of products at affordable prices. As interest in weight management and healthy eating continues to grow, diet-related products are also drawing attention. Reflecting the trend, domestic health supplement companies are introducing K-diet products through Daiso. Health Balance, a Korean health supplement company, recently launched V-Rex Press Pop Multivitamin under its secondary brand V-Rex by SkinnyLab, exclusively for Daiso. The product is available in apple and grape flavors at Daiso's online mall and stores nationwide. Each pack contains four capsules and is priced at 5,000 won. A key feature of the product is its use of the patented Pop Cap technology, which has won beverage manufacturing innovation awards at international food exhibitions including SIAL Paris and SIAL Jakarta. The cap attaches to the opening of a plastic bottle containing up to 500 milliliters of still or sparkling water. By pressin

Renowned director Christopher Nolan has returned to the big screen with "The Odyssey," taking on one of humanity's oldest epics and reinterpreting it into an immersive, deeply human drama. Based on Homer's ancient Greek epic poem, the 172-minute film follows Odysseus (Matt Damon) on his grueling 20-year journey back to his homeland of Ithaca after leading the Greeks to victory in the Trojan War. Along the way, Odysseus faces tough challenges from gods and monsters, including the giant Polyphemus, the witch Circe and the sea goddess Calypso. Meanwhile, back in his home of Ithaca, his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) stands up against dangerous men trying to take his throne, while his son Telemachus (Tom Holland) struggles with growing up without a father. Nolan uses his signature nonlinear storytelling to condense the vast 20-year narrative into a tight, compelling structure. Instead of showing Odysseus as an unbeatable mythic hero, the film focuses on the mind of a lonely, tired soldier. He is driven not by victory, but by trauma and a deep longing to find redemption and return home. The dir

SAN FRANCISCO — Chiefs of Korean tech giants, such as Samsung Electronics, met with Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of Nvida, Friday, to discuss cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI) and other fields. Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung and Lee Hae-jin, founder of South Korea's top portal operator Naver, visited Nvidia's headquarters to meet Huang, according to the companies. Details of each meeting were not immediately unveiled, but they are presumed to have discussed their cooperation and investment plans between Nvidia and Korean companies. On Thursday, Huang also met with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to expand their business cooperation. The Korean business leaders are accompanying President Lee Jae Myung, who was visiting to promote the country's AI vision and business cooperation with global Big Tech firms, on his way to South America. They also attended a Korean government-backed summit meeting with leaders of global big tech firms, such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Broadcom CEO Hock

SAN FRANCISCO — President Lee Jae Myung met with the heads of four global tech giants, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, on Friday and called for their greater participation in Korea's artificial intelligence (AI) investment plans. The meetings took place on the first day of Lee's two-day trip to San Francisco aimed at promoting AI investment and cooperation between global tech giants and South Korea. Lee also met separately with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic PBC CEO Dario Amodei and Broadcom CEO Hock Tan. During the meeting, the president praised Huang as being at the forefront of a "fundamental shift" taking place around the world and introduced Korea's recently announced large-scale investment plans to build a semiconductor production cluster and AI data centers. The plans aim to provide further momentum after growing global demand for semiconductors amid the AI boom has helped push South Korean into becoming one of the world's major chip supply hubs. Lee expressed hope that the Nvidia CEO will play a greater role in South Korea's investment drive, saying the projects will help t

SAN FRANCISCO — President Lee Jae Myung declared a vision Friday to make Korea a trustworthy production base and supply partner for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors, vowing to lead the country into a key global player in the AI supply chain. The president made the remarks as he unveiled his "San Francisco AI Declaration" at a high-level meeting in the namesake city that brought together the chiefs of global tech firms and the heads of South Korean conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won. OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also attended the meeting. "South Korea will make a leap forward to become an irreplaceable, core nation in the AI supply chain," Lee said. "Based on the world's highest-level competitiveness and production capacity in memory semiconductors we have, (Korea) will become a trustworthy AI chip production base and supply chain partner," the president said. The declaration came as Seoul seeks to provide further momentum after growing global demand for semico

SAN FRANCISCO — President Lee Jae Myung held a meeting with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Friday, during which the tech executive unveiled a series of large cooperation projects with South Korean tech firms, including a $500 billion business partnership with SK Group. The meeting took place on the first day of Lee's two-day trip to San Francisco aimed at promoting AI investment and cooperation between global tech giants and South Korea. Huang was referring to investment plans that Nvidia is expected to commit to during an artificial intelligence (AI) meeting in San Francisco, which brought together the chiefs of global tech firms and the heads of South Korean conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won. During the meeting with Lee, Huang also announced plans to jointly develop a self-driving Genesis sedan with Korea's Hyundai Motor Group and make a large-scale investment in internet portal Naver to help the company further expand its presence at home and abroad. With SK hynix and Samsung Electronics in particular, Nvidia plans

WASHINGTON — Two small U.S. businesses on Friday filed a lawsuit against new tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration announced the previous day over forced labor concerns, according to a litigation firm. The Liberty Justice Center said that it filed the lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade on behalf of Burlap & Barrel, a New York-based online retailer, and Collective Horology, a California-based retailer, after the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced new tariffs of up to 12.5 percent on Korea and other economies. The latest U.S. duties came after the USTR conducted investigations into 60 economies under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act to determine whether they had taken sufficient steps to ban imports made with forced labor. The duties took effect Friday as the administration's 150-day 10 percent global tariff lapsed on the day. The complaint alleges that the USTR acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" by imposing near-uniform tariffs across 60 materially different economies "without a reasoned, record-based expla

Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho is said to have offered to resign, according to political sources Friday, amid a move by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) to scrap the prosecution's right to supplementary investigations. Jung recently offered his resignation to President Lee Jae Myung, according to the sources. Earlier in the day, the DPK adopted as its official party line a revision to the Criminal Procedure Act aimed at stripping the prosecution of its right to conduct direct investigations, including supplementary investigations. Jung has expressed concerns that scrapping the prosecution's right to supplementary investigations could negatively affect victims. The DPK has been pushing ahead with the prosecution reform legislation that calls for dismantling the prosecution and creating two new agencies each tasked with handling investigations and indictments.

SAN FRANCISCO — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met with Dario Amodei, chief executive officer of U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic PBC, on Friday and asked for his special attention to South Korea's AI sector. The meeting took place on the first day of Lee's two-day trip to San Francisco aimed at promoting AI investment and cooperation between global tech giants and South Korea. "I am very glad and delighted to meet someone who is world-famous. You are also very well known in South Korea," Lee told Amodei. The president added, "As South Korea plans to significantly expand investment in the AI sector, I hope for Anthropic's special attention, investment and contributions." Amodei thanked Lee, noting the Korean government's priority on AI, and said he expects a wide range of cooperation with South Korea. He said Anthropic places the highest priority on cooperation with other companies and expressed hope for cooperation with Korea in various areas, including data centers. Amodei said his company and Korea's science ministry will sign a memorandum of understanding on

The Seoul city government has partnered with CU, Korea’s largest convenience store chain, to launch a line of low-sugar, high-protein packaged meals intended to make healthy eating cheaper and more accessible, municipal officials said earlier this week. The five-item lineup, branded “Seoul My Soul Healthy Convenience Foods,” includes a bento-style boxed lunch, a rolled gimbap — seaweed-wrapped rice rolls packed with vegetables and other fillings — two triangle-shaped rice balls, known as "samgak-gimbap," and a chicken sandwich. "This collaboration was designed to help residents easily and affordably embrace healthy living in their daily routines," said Kim Hyoung-rae, director-general of the city's public communications bureau. "We will continue working with private companies to introduce products and content that showcase the value and appeal of Seoul." The boxed lunch, rolled gimbap, tuna-mayonnaise rice ball and sandwich hit shelves Tuesday, with a bulgogi-flavored rice ball following on Wednesday. All five items will be available at CU locations across the greater Seoul me

Let's start with a quiz: Which Korean actor is the most popular among international fans of the Korean Wave? While recent hitmakers like Lee Jung-jae of the "Squid Game" series (2021–2025), Kim Ji-won of "Queen of Tears" (2024) and Park Bo-gum of "When Life Gives You Tangerines" (2025) might seem like obvious candidates, the survey data points elsewhere. According to the 2026 Overseas Hallyu Survey released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, global fans selected Lee Min-ho for a 13th consecutive year as their favorite actor. Actress Song Hye-kyo and singer-actress IU followed in second and third place, respectively, in the poll of 27,400 international viewers of Korean content across 30 countries. Respondents answered open-ended questions. The proportion of respondents who named Lee was 7.1 percent, more than double that of Song at 2.6 percent and IU at 2.3 percent. This indicates how strongly global consumers of the Korean wave regard Lee as Korea's leading actor. Lee's presence extended beyond acting. In the ranking of influential Korean wave figures, he placed second o

Fr. Matthew Hong Sung-nam, director of the Catholic Psycho-Spiritual Counseling Center in Seoul, says he is "more interested in people than in God." "I asked, 'God, what should I do?' and the answer that came back was, 'Make people happy,'" Hong said. "Since then, I have lived worrying about people instead of worrying about God." Born in 1953, Hong followed an unconventional path to his calling. He struggled with anxiety during his youth, describing himself as an "obnoxious Catholic fanatic." As a young adult seeking financial security, he apprenticed under a Korean shaman — a traditional folk spiritualist — before abandoning the training. After seeing Jesus in a dream, he entered a seminary and was ordained as a priest in 1987. Yet ordination did not bring him peace. The demands of parish ministry soon overwhelmed him. Hong began drinking heavily as his mental health deteriorated to the point of contemplating suicide. Professional therapy from a Jesuit priest helped him overcome the crisis. Reinvigorated, Hong earned a master's degree in psychological counseling and launched a new m

200,000 people have been displaced in France while around 70,000 in Spain, as firefighters struggle to contain fires spreading through the two countries. Western Europe has seen exceptionally high temperatures this summer, making it harder to contain fires.

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Some residents in the village of Nethy Bridge have left their homes over the threat the wildfire spreading.

Churches across Italy take up a nationwide collection on Sunday, 26 July, to support victims of Venezuela's devastating earthquakes, as humanitarian needs continue to grow.

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See inside Andy Burnham's first week in charge, with an exclusive behind the scenes look with Laura Kuenssberg.

Israel's military says it detained more than 70 suspects across the occupied West Bank overnight and on Saturday, a day after troops deployed across the territory following violence that left four Palestinian villagers and two Israeli soldiers dead.

Syria has an opportunity not only to recover from conflict but to build “a future that is more stable, more inclusive and more prosperous for all Syrians”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in Damascus on Saturday as he began a landmark visit to the country.

When Samantha Richards and Angela Hifume walked into the Hall of Flags at United Nations Headquarters last week, they carried more than a folder of paper. They carried the voices of hundreds of street-connected children who had never expected anyone to listen.

Families visiting France from the UK and elsewhere have told the BBC how their holidays have become evacuation missions.

Three Kimberley, B.C., residents describe what they would pack, leave behind and hope to return to as the Matthew Creek wildfire keeps the city under evacuation alert.

A French foreign minister has urged tourists not to cancel their travel plans despite unprecedented wildfires in the country's southwest.

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Archbishop Christophe-Zakhia El-Kassis as the Holy See's new Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York, where he will represent the Holy See at the UN headquarters.

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Supporters of the International Criminal Court work to chart a course forward a day after the global institution was plunged into uncharted territory following the ouster Friday of its chief prosecutor over sexual misconduct allegations.

Hugging Face said the hack was done at superhuman speed by an AI with little or no human guidance.

FENZ said trucks had arrived to the scene on Saturday night at the blaze near Laura Ave.

US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order to install signage that warns visitors of inaccurate historical information inside The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington.

Police said they were called to the scene of the serious crash near the East Tamaki off-ramp on Saturday night.

India's "cockroach" party has said it was ending its youth-led protests in New Delhi after the government "accepted" all its demands, a spokesperson for the movement said.

A Canadian woman who was an intern at NATO's military headquarters in Belgium has been arrested on spying charges, Belgian prosecutors say.

Yemen's Houthi rebels said on Saturday they fired missiles and drones on Saudi Arabia in response to Saudi airstrikes on the strategic Red Sea city of Hodeida.

Seven-year-old Miles Phillips' hit song has now had 1.5m views and was even played on the radio.

A woman in her 50s has died and a child has been seriously injured following a collision between a car and a truck in Co Cavan yesterday.

Pope Leo invites Bishops gathered in Jakarta, Indonesia, for the 12th Plenary Assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences to be an ever greater sign of God's presence in their various countries, as they discuss the important issues affecting the life and future of the Catholic Church in Asia.

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The death of a man reported by Manises municipality in Spain comes as wildfires also raging in France have displaced more than 250,000 people.

Taking place in a version of Japan that espouses tolerance and acceptance, the espionage drama's first season feels increasingly at odds with today's reality.

India's education minister resigned on Saturday, handing a major victory to youth protesters who had demanded he quit to take responsibility for examination paper leaks and erupted in celebration on news of his departure.

Officials have held wargaming exercises to address such a scenario, and are planning to conduct drills to escort and reroute ships and to store and distribute key supplies.

The prime minister said on X that the necessary amount of crude oil for this month is set to be procured and that oil stockpiles will not be released.

Typhoon Noul is bringing winds and heavy rain to southern China and Hong Kong over the weekend, with the region on high alert and dozens of flights cancelled.

One woman is leading the charge to build a community where a life without children — whether by choice or circumstance — is an accepted social norm.

One of the finest geological collections in the USA could once be found in a Catholic College in Kentucky.

Fire services personnel in Co Tipperary are tackling blazes at Slievenamon for a sixth day, while Wicklow County Council said the main fire in Glencree has been extinguished but said some "areas remain smouldering".

This was the longest streak in which temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius or higher had been observed since comparative records began being kept in 2011.

Out-of-control wildfires raging in France and Spain have forced the evacuation of more than 260,000 people in total, authorities in both countries have said.

진행자: 홍유, Tannith Kriel Beyond hanbok, foreign tourists now craft their own K-accessories 기사요약: 한복 체험을 넘어 노리개와 댕기 등 전통 장신구를 직접 만들어보는 프로그램이 외국인 관광객들 사이에서 인기를 끌고 있다. [1] International visitors to Korea are moving beyond wearing hanbok for photos and are now making their own traditional accessories to take home. to move beyond A: A를 넘어서다, A에서 한 단계 더 나아가다 [2] Hands-on workshops where tourists craft "norigae," ornamental pendants hung from hanbok, and "daenggi," traditional ribbons used to tie braided

In a compact gallery a short walk from Seoul Station, a strand of light circles an oval room. Step into its path and the space answers with sound. Linger, and the tones you set off drift into the ones left by whoever crossed the beam before you, so that strangers end up in a chord none of them planned. That work, Bak Yu-seok's "Cylinder Movement," sets the tone for "Media Sullae: When Technique Follows," the 2026 disability-and-technology exhibition organized by the Korea Disability Arts & Cultu

As the Church celebrates the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Fr. Marion Nguyen, OSB, offers his thoughts on the day’s liturgical readings under the theme: “The Treasure Hidden Twice."

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Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation hosted a spiritual gathering and cultural exchange with 10 Tibetan monks from Nepal this week, as a healing exercise for the community.

Seoul is betting on overnight camping, late-night swimming and food delivery along the Han River to revive a night economy that has struggled to regain its prepandemic momentum. The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Thursday unveiled the first project under its new night economy strategy, aimed at encouraging visitors to stay longer at Han River parks after sunset and spend more in nearby commercial districts. “The Han River is one of Seoul’s strongest assets for the night economy, bringing trans

Over nearly two decades, Tiffany Young has performed as a member of Girls' Generation, its sub-unit TaeTiSeo, and as a soloist. She has mastered the three-minute pop stage and made her own music. In 2011, she made her foray into musical theater with "Fame," then established herself as a stage actor, appearing in "Chicago" for two seasons in 2021 and 2024. But stepping into an original production made her nervous, she said during an interview on Tuesday. That production is "Yumi's Cells," a new m

"Hope" (South Korea) Opened July 15 Sci-Fi/Action Directed by Na Hong-jin A police chief and a band of hunters fight off mysterious alien creatures tearing their small coastal town apart. "Minions & Monsters" (US) Opened July 15 Animation/Comedy Directed by Pierre Coffin Three Minions go hunting for real-life creatures to shoot their own monster movie, in this seventh installment in the Despicable Me franchise. "David" (US) Opened July 10 Animation/Musical Directed by Phil Cunningham and Brent D

North Korea’s latest answer to chocolate does not start with cocoa. Choson Sinbo, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan, reported last month that researchers at Ryanggang University of Industry had developed chocolate made with “purple beans” instead of cocoa powder. The report said the technology had been registered as a North Korean patent and that the product had been put into production at a food factory in Ryanggang Province. While the report touted the bean-based chocolate as an achievement,

Andaz Seoul pairs breakfast, bingsu in summer package Andaz Seoul Gangnam, near Apgujeong Station, has launched its Summer Essential Package, available for stays through Aug. 31. The package pairs the breakfast buffet at Jogakbo with a premium bingsu at Bites & Wine on the second floor. Guests choose from the hotel's signature mango bingsu, honey tomato bingsu or organic red bean bingsu, served once per stay. Also included are complimentary minibar access covering snacks, nonalcoholic drinks and

The event celebrated press freedom after the first dinner was cancelled by a shooting in April.

US military says it disabled a tanker that was attempting to evade the American blockade on Iranian ports.

Watch: Rebekah Ward watched floodwaters surge down Wellington's Tinakori Road while having breakfast, while questions are being raised about the cause.

BuzzBallz cannot be recycled because the metal lid and plastic body are attached, say experts.

More than 52,000 people have visited a large-scale pavilion built to showcase South Korea's heritage, to mark the country's first hosting of a UNESCO World Heritage Committee session under way in the southeastern city of Busan, data showed Saturday. As of Friday, a total of 52,758 people had visited the "K-Heritage House" set up at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center where the 48th session of the committee is taking place from July 20-29, according to the data from the Korea Heritage Serv

Support for Ukraine's EU ambitions and careful diplomacy over the Aughinish Alumina investigation summed up Taoiseach Micheál Martin's visit to the Ukrainian capital on Thursday this week.

OpenAI revealed this week that an AI agent went rogue and escaped during a security test. It sparked renewed calls for greater protections and guardrails for artificial intelligence.

Department of Justice officials in Ireland linked a "marked increase" in Jordanian asylum seekers to British visa changes - months before the loophole was eventually closed, according to documents released to RTÉ News under Freedom of Information.

With one week to go, we round up our top ten acts to see at All Together Now in Waterford . . .

The founder of Rusal, the owner of Aughinish Alumina plant in Co Limerick, Oleg Deripaska, officially stood down as its leader seven years ago but remains a key figure in Russia's economy and politics.

Can you imagine dating someone who agrees with everything you say without you ever having to contribute to the relationship? According to two University of Waterloo researchers, that’s what it’s like dating an AI companion.

Elder Harold Gatensby, a longtime advocate for Tlingit culture and known for bringing restorative justice programs to the Yukon, has died at the age of 74.

"Open your heart": Learning te reo has brought Gael Finlayson-Davis wonderful insight and enjoyment, and she hopes to encourage more New Zealanders to take their first step.

South Korean and US technology giants agreed to pursue $950 billion in semiconductor supply and manufacturing partnerships over the next five years, unveiling a sweeping series of deals at the San Francisco AI Summit. The partnerships, announced during President Lee Jae Myung’s visit to San Francisco, are intended to advance the Lee administration’s flagship megaprojects across semiconductors, AI data centers and physical AI. “We have developed concrete investment and cooperation plans with glob

Farmers talk of attacks as police receive nearly 9,000 reports of banned hare coursing, the BBC finds.

Several European countries have introduced e-scooter measures, researchers still have limited evidence showing which regulations are most effective at reducing harm

Some of Prince Edward Island’s oldest cemeteries are increasingly at risk as coastal erosion eats away at the land beneath burial grounds that date back more than two centuries.

"How Are You, Really?" is a meetup at Open Book Coffee in Halifax that aims to support men through their life problems via open and heartfelt conversations. Men meet at the coffee shop after hours to talk with each other in constructive ways.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have claimed a missile attack on Saudi Arabia, as US President Donald Trump mulled fresh strikes on Iran in the deepening Middle East war.

One of OpenAI's most advanced models broke out of a locked-down test and attacked another company's website — reviving fears that AI is becoming too powerful.

The party says it wants to give hunters a "real stake in managing and looking after our conservation estate".

Canadian Blood Services is appealing for people across the country to donate blood, saying its supply has dropped significantly in the last several weeks.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge serving Windsor-Detroit may be making recent headlines, but residents of Saskatoon are more familiar with their city's Gordie Howe Bridge — which was built more than a decade ago.

Hockey-player-turned-Ukrainian-soldier Oleksandr Matviychuk is recovering after nearly being killed while on a military mission last year. Plastic surgeons have spent the past year reconstructing his face, one painful surgery at a time.

Though it will soon be easier for Canadians to buy alcohol from outside their home provinces, a litany of other barriers remain. Here's a look at some key issues that hinder the free flow of goods, services and labour between provinces.

Waymo driverless cars were involved in 68 per cent fewer crashes than human drivers over a three-year period across four U.S. cities, according to new data from the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The exam paper leak has fueled nationwide protests and public anger over an education system many students say is stacked against them.

US President Donald Trump has confirmed ⁠that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the US next week.

UNESCO's World Heritage Committee on Saturday approved the expansion of South Korea's "getbol," or tidal flats, adding four new coastal areas to the World Heritage List during its annual session in Busan. The inscription expands the site, first listed in 2021, from four to six components with the addition of tidal flats in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, and Goheung, Muan and Yeosu in South Jeolla Province. The four original tidal flat properties are listed as the Boseong-Suncheon Getbol, th

Seven & i was unable to reach a deal that would be "in the best interests" of the company and its shareholders, it said in a statement Saturday.

President Lee Jae Myung dined with the leaders of some of the world’s most valuable technology companies Friday evening at a casual San Francisco restaurant popular with local residents and AI researchers. The gathering at The Ramp restaurant brought together Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Broadcom President and CEO Hock Tan, and Lani Borkar, president of Azure Hardware Systems and Infrastructure at Microsoft. The summit also brought together some of South Korea’s most prominent industrial and technol

The tenants looked out at a giant urn-like water feature that was dry because the landlords could not get it to work.

The legislation's passage ended a week of intense debate and cleared the way for parliament to end Saturday after 158 days.

Mark Mitchell met with the National Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday.

Battered by a string of political crises, Flavio Bolsonaro will today formally launch his candidacy for Brazil's October presidential election, seeking to follow in the footsteps of his father, Jair Bolsonaro.

For 120 years, the Franklin family has farmed celery. Now it also has sunflower patches, butterfly houses and a cheeky goat who's become a bit of a celebrity.

K-pop group Riize has wrapped up its Japan fan meeting tour, drawing about 50,000 people across six shows, SM Entertainment said. The tour ran July 10 in Fukuoka, July 15-16 in Tokyo and July 23-24 in Hyogo. All six shows sold out. Built around a game concept, the fan meetings featured dance and mission challenges as well as talk segments. The group performed "Kill Shot," the ending theme for the Japanese animated series "Kill Blue," for the first time, along with "All of You" and "Flashlight" f

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Friday that the AI chip giant and South Korea’s SK Group would unveil business partnerships worth more than $500 billion. “The SK Group and I are announcing today that our two companies will enter into business partnerships that will represent over $500 billion of business together,” Huang said during a one-on-one meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in San Francisco. Huang didn’t provide details on how the figure was calculated or over what period the p

Spain declared a state of emergency and sent the military to try to contain wildfires near Madrid, while France evacuated thousands of tourists threatened by a blaze west of Bordeaux. More than 10,000 people have been evacuated from areas as close as 50 kilometers (31 miles) to the Spanish capital, with more than 270 firefighters trying to extinguish the blazes. In Ávila province, about 1,500 people have been evacuated. Spain and France have been at the epicenter of Europe’s wildfire season, whi

RNZ's money correspondent answers your questions.

Sweltering heat will continue across the country Saturday, with heat wave advisories and warnings in effect in most regions, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. Daytime highs were forecast at 29 to 37 degrees Celsius. Temperatures will stay near or slightly above seasonal averages for the time being, with lows of 21 to 24 degrees Celsius and highs of 28 to 32 degrees Celsius. Southern regions will run warmer than usual. A severe heat warning was in effect along the southeastern coast o

President Lee Jae Myung unveiled the San Francisco Declaration on AI, laying claim to an indispensable role for South Korea in the global AI economy. His vision casts Korea as a place where AI is built and supplied, swiftly put to work and carried into new markets — with responsible, human-centered development turning its gains into opportunity for all. “From now on, the Republic of Korea will chart a vision for the future of AI, work with the world and help build a better future for humanity,”

President Lee Jae Myung held a meeting with Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jensen Huang on Friday, during which the tech executive unveiled a series of large cooperation projects with South Korean tech firms, including a US$500 billion business partnership with SK Group. The meeting took place on the first day of Lee's two-day trip to San Francisco aimed at promoting AI investment and cooperation between global tech giants and South Korea. Huang was referring to investment plans that

The primary goals of this 13th test launch were to once again demonstrate redesigns in flight, this time without any hiccups.

The highly unusual move marks the 80-year-old Republican's latest battle in his ideological war on American cultural institutions and monuments.

Meta has abandoned a global pledge made by leading companies to source all of their electricity from renewable sources, the social media giant has confirmed.

President Lee Jae Myung held a meeting with Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang on Friday, during which the tech executive said his company will announce a $500 billion business partnership with South Korea's SK Group. The meeting took place on the first day of Lee's two-day trip to San Francisco aimed at promoting AI investment and cooperation between global tech giants and South Korea. During the meeting, Huang also announced plans to jointly develop a self-driving Genesis sedan with S

Papua New Guinea authorities are managing several separate cases of missing people due to boating incidents in recent days.

A Defense Ministry official said that Tokyo is currently in a situation where it is virtually unable to exercise jurisdiction over the Russian-controlled Northern Territories.

Japan's currency is approaching the closely watched ¥165-per-dollar level after hitting a fresh 40-year low of ¥163.99 on Thursday.

The United States is in the midst of its worst measles outbreak in 35 years as vaccine hesitancy grows.

Madrid and Paris have called in EU help as flames whipped up by strong winds and boosted by drought tore through tinder-dry forests.

A leader who has long resisted the path of retreat, Trump has now gone into revenge mode against the Islamic Republic, according to one insider.

For men, average life expectancy was 81.35 years, up 0.25 years from the previous year. For women, the figure was 87.33 years, up by 0.2 years.

An analysis of mud from off Minamitorishima island found medium and heavy rare earth elements accounted for about 54% of the total rare earth content.

The government wants to relax wedding laws so couples can get married almost anywhere.

The best tips and tricks to have a fun - yet affordable - summer break with the family.

The presenter said she was "incredibly grateful" for the opportunity but simply "too nervous to enjoy it".

As ADHD diagnoses have risen, have workplaces caught up with the needs of the workforce?

President Lee Jae Myung called on Anthropic to significantly expand its investment in and cooperation with South Korean companies, pitching the country as an ideal Asian hub for the AI company’s infrastructure, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Lee made the call Friday during a meeting with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei in San Francisco, his first official engagement after arriving in the city. The meeting was also the first in a series of one-on-one talks with global technology executives seeking strate

Muna discuss disastrous gigs, putting political action into music and the meaning of "queer pop".

Protests have continued over Zelensky's decision to dismiss Mykhailo Fedorov, and some commentators believe he has been damaged politically.

The Government has announced the appointment of Ireland's first financial literacy ambassadors.

The remote communities of Unnan, Okuizumo and Yasugi were once historical centers of steel production for katana. Today, artisans and experts are keeping that history alive.

The White House Correspondents' Association event in Washington, D.C., was rescheduled after the original dinner in April was called off following a shooting.

Five London police officers were injured yesterday after their boat patrolling the River Thames struck Westminster Bridge and they went into the water, the UK capital's Metropolitan Police Service said.

It was the 1990s when many farms were looking to diversify. 'Why not llamas?', thought Southland spinner and farmer Janette Buckingham.

A US poultry farmer and educator shares her experience of an H5N1 outbreak, the loss of 148,000 birds, and biosecurity lessons she believes every farmer should know.

The federal government says it won't support Ontario Premier Doug Ford's plan to expand Billy Bishop Airport to allow jets to take off and land there.

Brandon Klayme, who spent 18 months in jail for child luring and possession of child pornography after an investigative mix-up between two nearly identical online usernames, has been acquitted on all charges on appeal.

Five British police officers were injured after their boat struck Westminster Bridge

International Criminal Court member states have voted to dismiss prosecutor Karim Khan, diplomatic sources told AFP, following disputed allegations that he sexually assaulted a female member of his staff.

Nunavut Liberal MP Lori Idlout didn't break any laws as she put as she put her stake in Ottawa-based consulting company in a trust, but a democracy watchdog says she might have still acted unethically.

A 25-year-old woman has been charged in connection with the interception of a bomb that was discovered in a car in Carrickmacross in Co Monaghan on Wednesday.

New Zealand's special agricultural trade envoy Nathan Guy says exporters across the board are bracing for more uncertainty.

The CEO of Irish Continental Group (ICG) Eamonn Rothwell is leading a management buyout of the Irish Ferries parent company that values the firm at €1.2 billion.

One person has died following a two-vehicle collision in Shercock, Co Cavan, yesterday evening.

Exercise Tauwharenīkau is the largest Reserve Force-led warfighting exercise conducted in the South Island in decades.

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has spurred a frenzy amongst movie lovers trying to see it in Imax 70-mm, widely considered the highest quality cinematic format. But for some, excitement turned to disappointment when a projector broke.

The Department of Children has defended work carried out by the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation at Bessborough, following renewed calls for a fresh forensic investigation of the site.

A pair of hikers with an off-leash dog were charged after coming close to a well-known grizzly bear on a popular hiking trail in Banff National Park.

Youth from Bush Kids Cultural Club, with the YWCA of Regina, learn traditional games and how to make the items needed to play at home.

Elections Alberta has verified the signatures for a citizen initiative petition looking to force a vote on whether the province should separate from Canada.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the establishment of new settler outposts in the occupied West Bank after deadly clashes.

The NHK Symphony Orchestra is celebrating its 100-year anniversary with an unwavering commitment to classical music, as well as new programs such as Pokemon concerts.

The discovery of a bomb in a car being driven across the border to Northern Ireland has been described as "extremely significant" by Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly.

A campaign group has described Ireland's inheritance tax system as unfair and discriminatory towards childless people, ahead of possible Budget reforms.

The Taoiseach Micheál Martin and the Enterprise Minister Peter Burke have written to other Cabinet members asking them to cut red tape for business and respond with a list of actions by the end of September.

For nearly a week now, Ukraine has repeatedly attacked huge warehouses belonging to Wildberries, the massive online retailer often referred to as the Amazon of Russia. The drone attacks have destroyed billions of dollars worth of goods.

People have been posting pictures of the whale swimming around the Canso Causeway on social media. The CBC's Ethan Hunt has the story.

The High Court will give its ruling next week in 11 cases where people have challenged their detention in prison because they did not have solicitors due to the current dispute over legal aid.

U.S. President Donald Trump returned to making tariff-related threats against Canada on Friday afternoon, restating his intent to impose tariffs in retaliation for wildfire smoke drifting across the border into the United States.

Number 10 North opens its doors for the first time.

When Anita LeBrun discovered her assisted living facility in Minnesota couldn’t legally serve residents booze because it didn’t have a liquor licence, she decided to take action. The 82-year-old testified before lawmakers twice, helping pave the way for a new law nicknamed the "Grandparents' Happy Hour."

Sage Advocacy saw its highest annual increase in referrals last year, following implementation of the Assisted Decision-Making legislation.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are widening their investigation into a cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to shredded iceberg lettuce from central Mexico after identifying cases in four additional states.

A Galway-based doctor has been spared jail for careless driving causing the death of his six-year-old daughter in the midlands over two years ago.

The crisis-hit homeless and housing charity, the Peter McVerry Trust, which has received a Government €15m bail-out, recorded a loss of €1.36m in 2024 "and is experiencing ongoing cash flow and funding challenges".

A victim of marital rape has described how she had to defend her reputation against "false allegations to Tusla and the guards".

Author and food advocate Sophie Morris "woke to sirens, flames and a race to escape" after being caught up in a wildfire in southern France.

Donations from the community are getting two cyclists who had their bikes stolen in downtown Winnipeg on Friday morning back on the road.

Two gardaí travelled to Jordan to liaise with the authorities following the arrest of a man there whom they want to speak to in connection with the murder of a 42-year-old woman in Co Kerry earlier this month.

IRBIL, Iraq — Drones carrying explosives targeted a city in northern Iraq where U.S. forces are stationed, and sirens rang out in Bahrain on Friday, hours after the American military said it finished its 13th night of strikes against Iran . The conflict has flared again over the past week, as the U.S. pounded Iran while Tehran attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz and targeted U.S. assets and allies in the region. The strait, which is a crucial passage for the world’s energy supplies, is at the center of the latest fighting since Iranian attacks can effectively shut the waterway, sending fuel prices soaring worldwide and causing widespread economic turmoil. The Iranian-allied Houthi rebels added further pressure this week by targeting two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, making good on a threat to cut off an alternative route for the region’s oil. Despite the war's unpopularity — and its widespread damage to Iran and the global economy — the latest round of fighting has no clear off-ramp. Iran’s Health Ministry said 55 people have been killed and over 600 wounded in strikes in

MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK, Uganda — On a cold morning in Uganda’s largest national park, rangers chat and sing to lift their spirits ahead of the start of a daunting wildlife project considered critical to conservation: moving the Nubian giraffe to a new home. Rangers at Murchison Falls National Park on Tuesday began to translocate 12 endangered Nubian giraffes, Earth's tallest land mammal, 106 kilometers to Ajai Wildlife Reserve. The project, expected to last a couple of days, is intended to preserve the species’ population, enhance biodiversity and diversify tourism opportunities. An estimated 40 percent of Uganda’s oil deposits are in the Murchison Falls area and within the park. In recent months, there have been increased oil drilling activities including heavy machinery movement through the national park despite years of opposition from environmentalists. Uganda is pushing to produce its first oil from the area. In June 2023, TotalEnergies officially began drilling for oil in the Tilenga project area within the park. Patrick Atimnedi, the Uganda Wildlife Authority assist

MONROVIA — Liberian authorities have seized around $317 million worth of cocaine that was bound for Europe, a senior police official said, in one of the West African country's largest recorded drug busts. Officers found 3,971 kg of cocaine in the town of Duazon, east of the capital Monrovia, on Tuesday, Gregory Coleman, inspector general of the Liberian National Police, told Reuters. They arrested two suspects, one with passports from both Spain and Colombia, the other with a Serbian passport, he added. Video and pictures released by the force showed a house filled with cardboard boxes and suitcases wrapped in cling film and marked "Coco" and "Poseidon". It was unclear where the drugs came from, Coleman said. A chemical analysis needed to be done and markings examined to identify the country of origin, he added. Drug smugglers often use West African countries as a transit point to smuggle large volumes of cocaine from South America to Europe. Last month Liberian authorities seized 237.6 kg of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than $19 million at Roberts International Airport

NAVALUENGA, Spain/LEGE-CAP-FERRET, France — Spain declared a national emergency over wildfires for the first time on Friday and France asked for help from the European Union to tackle a blaze on the Atlantic coast as searing heat fuelled fires across Europe and forced tens of thousands of evacuations. French authorities ordered the total evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula, a tourism hotspot busy for the summer season, as smoke and flames drew closer to homes. About 63,000 people were evacuated from the area, many brought to safety by boat, officials said. Close by, in the town of Biscarrosse, another large fire also forced residents to leave their homes. "From our home, we had a view of the fires ... We could see the clouds becoming darker and darker," said Yoan Urien, 26, who left late on Thursday after police told everyone in his neighbourhood to leave. "I was able to find somewhere to take shelter with my pets, but ... it's quite a shock," he told Reuters. A fire that began in Saumos, north of Cap Ferret, is threatening to cut off the only road out of the peninsula and is the lar

The explosion at Hanwha Aerospace’s missile production facility in Daejeon in June has raised fresh questions about the resilience of Korea’s defense supply chain, where many critical weapons components often rely on a single qualified manufacturer. Authorities have not confirmed any impact on production or export deliveries, but defense officials and industry sources say the accident has exposed a long-standing vulnerability at a time when Korea's defense exports are growing faster than ever. Guided missiles are produced through a network of specialized manufacturers responsible for propulsion systems, warheads, fuzes and guidance equipment. Because many of those components require proprietary technologies, dedicated production facilities and lengthy qualification processes, replacing a supplier is neither quick nor easy. “If one supplier stops production, another company cannot simply step in and make the same component,” an industry source familiar with the defense sector said. “This accident isn’t the real issue. The risk has always been there.” The issue resurfaced aft

Korean beauty labels are replacing French luxury brands in the global cosmetic and skin care market, leveraging on their technical qualities and gaining over the European legacy labels, according to the North American marketing chief of K-beauty brand Anua. Michelle Miller, chief marketing officer for Anua in the United States and Canada, said the next generation increasingly values product performance over brand reputation and legacy. She has witnessed the shift in consumer preferences through Anua's nationwide expansion. The brand is now sold at all 1,500 Ulta Beauty stores across the United States, as well as on Amazon, Ulta and Anua's online store. Since it was launched by The Founders in 2019, Anua has rapidly gained ground against established French luxury brands such as Chanel, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent and Guerlain. “French beauty has historically defined luxury through heritage, elegance and prestige. K-beauty brings different kinds of premium values such as innovation, efficacy, advanced textures and a deep cultural expertise in skin care,” Miller said in an interview with T

Korea’s major financial groups extended their strong earnings momentum in the second quarter, as KB, Shinhan and Hana posted record quarterly and first-half profits, industry officials said Friday. Woori Financial Group also staged a turnaround in the second quarter, delivering year-on-year growth in first-half net profit despite market forecasts for a decline. The four largest groups' combined first-half of the year net profit of more than 11 trillion won ($7.5 billion) was supported by higher interest rates and a strong stock market rally. The strong performance prompted the companies to announce enhanced shareholder return plans, including larger share buybacks and higher cash dividends. According to company filings, KB Financial Group reported a record quarterly net profit of 1.99 trillion won in the second quarter, up 14.6 percent from a year earlier. First-half net profit also hit a record 3.88 trillion won, increasing 13.1 percent year-on-year. Its nonbanking affiliates accounted for 44 percent of first-half earnings, with KB Securities contributing about one-fifth of total prof

Investigators have widened the scope of their probe into allegations involving the Shincheonji Church of Jesus after detecting evidence that suggested its followers may have also been forced to join the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), in addition to the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), legal sources said Friday. A police-prosecution task force has questioned people with knowledge of the case amid suspicions the nonmainstream sect pressured its followers to join the DPK to help gain authorities' approval for the conversion of its properties into religious facilities, according to the sources. In the event the alleged action was aimed at meddling in the DPK's primaries or elections, those responsible could face charges of violating the election law, the task force has said. Until now, the task force had focused on suspicions that Shincheonji forced its followers to join the PPP from 2021-2024 in an attempt to influence the outcome of the party's 2021 presidential primary and 2024 general election primaries. Earlier this month, it indicted the sect's founder, Lee Man-hee, o

President Lee Jae Myung has decided not to go on summer vacation this year, a Cheong Wa Dae official said Friday. In the past, presidents have often taken their summer breaks in late July or early August. Lee will spend that time focusing on "sales diplomacy" as he departed earlier Friday on an 11-day trip to San Francisco, Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Germany, the official said.

It took Sandara Park 22 years to finally use her voice to sing a song of her own. Those years saw her debut and build a career in the Philippines, move to Korea, perform as a member of a K-pop group and eventually go solo. Now, the seasoned veteran is ready to let go of the industry’s established formulas for success, which she knows all too well, and embark on a new journey as an artist making music of her own. “This is the biggest turning point in my life,” Park said in an interview with the Hankook Ilbo. “Over the past 22 years, I’ve worn many hats, from singer and television host to variety-show personality and musical actor. But the one thing I never got to do was create my own music and sing my own songs.” Park had accumulated plenty of stories over the years, many of which she had kept to herself. There was no shortage of material. Whenever something came to mind, she made sure to write it down in her smartphone notes or diaries. The problem was that she did not quite know how to convey those thoughts to her listeners. That uncertainty was what had held her back from

The government will continue to support workers and businesses affected by the recent financial troubles at Homeplus, the finance ministry said Friday. The Ministry of Finance and Economy held a task force meeting to review the progress of support measures for those affected by the rehabilitation proceedings of the struggling retail giant, including the operation of a consultation channel for workers at the labor ministry. The labor ministry has provided consultation services in 1,935 cases as of Thursday, offering guidance on available government support measures. The government earlier pledged to provide up to 21 million won ($14,300) to each employee with unpaid wages, along with low-interest loans of up to 10 million won at an interest rate of 1.5 percent. South Korea has so far provided 41 billion won through the low-interest loan program in 8,934 cases as of the previous day. Homeplus earlier faced financial troubles amid an industrywide downturn in the discount retail sector and entered court-led rehabilitation proceedings in March last year. The proceedings were terminated by a loc

"Spirits' Homecoming," a widely discussed movie addressing the tragedy of Japanese military sexual slavery, is returning to theaters in an extended cut to mark its 10th anniversary, bringing renewed attention to an issue with only five surviving victims remaining. Connect Pictures, the film's distributor, said Friday that the extended version of "Spirits' Homecoming" — subtitled "Sister, Let's Go Home" in Korean — will open in theaters nationwide on Aug. 26. Directed by Cho Jung-rae, the original 2016 film was based on traumatic experiences of the late Kang Il-chul, one of the victims, and her drawing “Burning Women.” Made possible through crowdfunded donations from more than 75,000 citizens, the movie drew more than 3.58 million viewers and sparked nationwide attention upon its release. The updated 132-minute version adds six minutes of previously unreleased footage. By incorporating the stories of women from other Asian nations who suffered under the same system during World War II, the new version expands its narrative scope to emphasize cross-border solidarity and friendship

Korea's three major shipbuilders — Hanwha Ocean, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) and Samsung Heavy Industries — are expanding cooperation with the United States across a wide range of areas. Taking the launch of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center as an opportunity, they are broadening partnerships in naval ship design and construction, smart shipyard development, workforce training and supply chain expansion, positioning themselves as key contributors to Washington's efforts to rebuild its shipbuilding industry. The two countries had previously agreed to allocate $150 billion of a broader $350 billion investment package toward shipbuilding cooperation. Hanwha Ocean signed a Professional Services Agreement with Leidos to design the Global Fast Sealift, advancing an April memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on next-generation naval ship design, strengthen U.S. shipbuilding capacity and pursue global defense opportunities. Leidos subsidiary Gibbs & Cox has designed more than 70 percent of U.S. Navy surface combatants since World War II. Th

Korea's summers are becoming longer and more intense as heat waves arrive earlier, persist longer, with tropical nights growing increasingly common. A new analysis released by the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), Friday, compared heat wave and tropical night patterns from 2016 to 2025 with those recorded from 1973 to 1982. It found that heat waves now begin 10 to 30 days earlier nationwide and end about 10 days later than five decades ago. A heat wave is defined as a day with a high of at least 33 degrees Celsius, while a tropical night refers to one in which temperatures stay above 25 degrees overnight. In Gangneung and parts of the Yeongnam region, including Daegu, Hapcheon, Miryang, Yeongdeok and Pohang, where heat waves tend to arrive earlier than in other parts of the country, the onset of heat waves has shifted to early June over the past decade, more than 10 days earlier than during the 1973 to 1982 period, when they typically began in mid- to late June. A similar shift has been seen across inland central regions, including Seoul, Icheon, Chuncheon and Cheongju, where he

With the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) leadership contest now set as a three-way race, the final stretch to the Aug. 17 national convention is shaping up as a battle between continuity and closer alignment with the presidential office. Kim Min-seok, Jung Chung-rae and Song Young-gil emerged from the party's preliminary round Thursday as the three finalists — in order of candidate registration number. The party said 581,872 of its 1,554,259 eligible voters cast ballots, a turnout of 37.44 percent. In accordance with party rules, neither the vote totals nor the rankings of the candidates were disclosed. The contest is now widely expected to unfold as a showdown pitting Jung, the party's former chairman seeking reelection, against Kim and Song, both regarded as close allies of President Lee Jae Myung. Kim, who served as the first prime minister under the Lee administration from July 2025 to June, has positioned himself as the candidate best suited to ensure close coordination between the party and the government. Emphasizing the need for unity under the new administration, he

ASTRO member and actor Cha Eun-woo has drawn attention after making a rare public appearance during his military service, with fans quickly noticing his noticeably more muscular physique. The singer appeared at the 2026 Ministry of National Defense Music Battalion Regular Concert held Thursday, where he is currently serving as part of the Army military band. The appearance came to light after traditional Korean music performer Shin Sua shared photos with Cha on social media, writing, "With Sergeant Lee Dong-min," in reference to the actor's real name. Dressed in an all-white hanbok, Cha impressed fans with his signature visuals despite his military buzz cut. Many online comments also focused on his broader shoulders and bulked-up build, suggesting military life has made him appear stronger than before. Shin shared several commemorative photos with the star and also showed off an autograph she received from him. She described herself as a "successful fan," expressing excitement over meeting the celebrity in person. Cha enlisted as an active-duty Army soldier in July last year and is curren

Nearly four in 10 adult Korean men have paid for sex at least once in their lifetime, while the starting age for sexually exploited minors dropped to 14, falling below the previous benchmark of 16, a recent survey showed. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family convened the third Specialized Committee on Prevention of Violence Against Women on Friday. The task force discussed measures to combat prostitution based on the triennial 2025 Sex Trade Survey, conducted between April and December 2025 by the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice and the Hansei University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation. The survey of 1,500 adult Korean men showed 37.7 percent have paid for sex at least once in their lifetime. The rate remained virtually unchanged from 37.4 percent in 2022, but dropped 13 percentage points from 50.7 percent in 2016. Men who paid for sex within the past year accounted for 8.5 percent — or 128 respondents — marking a sharp decline from 20.9 percent in 2016. Men aged 20 to 24 recorded the highest rate of paying for sex for the first time at 45.4 percent, follo

Long celebrated for its volcanic peaks and coastal tourism, Korea’s Jeju Island is engineering a new identity as a cross-border tech incubator. Local authorities said Friday that a newly launched 10.1 billion won ($7.3 million) venture fund — backed jointly by Korean capital, local enterprises and Japan-based ethnic Korean investors — has deployed its debut capital investment, signaling a fresh pipeline of cross-border funding for regional entrepreneurs. The fund's premier investment goes to Seropim, an artificial intelligence (AI) startup specializing in 3D content creation tools aimed at the global media and gaming markets. Jointly managed by the Jeju Center for Creative Economy and Innovation and Sevenstar Partners, the fund selected Seropim after a rigorous screening process involving more than 15 investor pitch sessions and detailed financial audits. The Startup Korea Korea-Japan Jeju Fund was established specifically to solve a chronic hurdle for regional entrepreneurs: securing early-to-mid-stage capital while building bridges to international markets, particularly Japan an

The death of a junior official at the newly launched Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment has cast a harsh spotlight on its organizational culture, as allegations of workplace bullying surface alongside long-standing concerns about chronic understaffing. The official, in his second year of civil service and responsible for climate adaptation and energy policy, was found dead at his home in Sejong on July 16, according to police and the ministry. Following the official's death, allegations emerged within the ministry that the civil servant had been subjected to excessive workload and workplace bullying by a supervisor. Colleagues said the official had complained of personal attacks and unrealistic demands for high-quality work without sufficient guidance. They also alleged that requests for support were met with reprimands rather than support. The supervisor accused of workplace bullying has been relieved of duties pending investigation. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the official's death, including interviews with acquaintances and a review of relevant reco

BUSAN — Inspired by the 22nd hexagram of the I Ching — symbolizing "refined beauty resting upon true essence" — the performance "Sanhwabi: HEXAGRAM 22," a special congratulatory show for Korea's hosting of the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee here, transformed the stage into a vibrant intersection of past and present. Held "in search of the core strength and new frontiers of intangible cultural heritage," the production presented a sweeping reinterpretation of Korea's centuries-old artistic traditions, fusing classical masterworks with striking contemporary elements. Organized into seven thematic movements — breath, sound, line, light, pan (communal space), rite and harmony — the showcase demonstrated how living heritage can evolve while honoring its roots. The performance opened with a grand entrance from behind the audience as members of "Daechwita" (traditional Korean military music), dressed in traditional yellow robes with blue sashes, marched in to recreate the royal processionals of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). The stately opening transitioned into

Confectionary and food makers decided to increase prices of their products amid persisting cost pressure stemming from the war in the Middle East, according to the companies Friday. Nongshim, the producer behind the globally popular Shin Ramyun, will increase the wholesale price of products from 43 brands by an average of 5.8 percent starting next month, which included cup noodles, snacks and beverages, the company said. Following the increase, the retail price of the company's flagship Shrimp Crackers is expected to increase to 1,600 won ($1.09) from 1,500 won. It marks the first time in 17 months since the company raised the price of the snack brand. Nongshim explained the latest price hike was an "inevitable" decision, given worsening business conditions and increasing cost pressures, due to the Korean won's depreciation and rising oil prices amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. But the company decided to exclude packaged instant "ramyun" from the price hike this time, in an effort to tame inflation, despite it accounting for 63 percent of its sales, it said. CJ Foodville also s

Activist fund Align Partners Capital Management's proposal to merge BNK Financial Group and JB Financial Group has sparked fierce opposition from regional business groups and labor unions, which argue the deal would prioritize short-term shareholder returns at the expense of the public role and regional identity of local lenders, industry officials said Friday. Align holds a 14.83 percent stake in JB Financial, making it the group's second-largest shareholder, and owns more than a 1 percent stake in BNK Financial. JB Financial is the holding company of Jeonbuk Bank and Kwangju Bank, while BNK Financial controls Busan Bank and Kyongnam Bank. The activist fund has urged the two regional financial groups to review the strategic merits of a merger, arguing that consolidation would strengthen their long-term competitiveness. At a July 14 press conference, Align CEO Lee Chang-hwan asked the companies to announce by Aug. 7 whether they would begin a formal review and disclose any implementation plan when they report third-quarter earnings. The proposal has since faced mounting opposition from r

Amid the densely packed alleyways and high-rise corporate towers of central Seoul, a quiet green revolution is taking root. Jongno District, the historic core of the Korean capital, said Friday that it is rolling out "Jongno Gardener Village 2.0" — a major expansion of its public urban gardening initiative designed to transform municipal spaces and neighborhood lanes into vibrant, resident-tended micro-gardens. The initiative, launched last year as a public-private partnership, bridges civic engagement with corporate social responsibility. By teaming up with local nongovernmental organizations such as Forest for Life and corporate sponsors such as Kakao Makers, the district has cultivated a sustainable governance model that cuts municipal costs while delivering green welfare directly to residents. Under the initial phase of the project, volunteer gardener crews focused on four primary hubs: Bukchon, Seochon, Sajik-dong and the Cheongjin-Insa-dong corridor. Phase 2.0 shifts this strategy from isolated hub gardens to a district-wide web of green space, empowering local residents to cult

The Rural Development Administration (RDA) will next month mark the 18th anniversary of its Global Seed Vault's designation as Asia's first official preservation center for vegetable seeds from around the world. The designation followed a partnership agreement the agency signed with the Germany-based Global Crop Diversity Trust in 2008. The trust was jointly established in 2004 by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research for protection of the seeds. The RDA said Friday it will expand its services on safety duplication of the genetic sources of agricultural produces from around the world. The agency believes the efforts will contribute to strengthening Korea's agricultural cooperation with the international community. The Global Seed Vault in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, currently protects 336,872 types of vegetable seed from 12 national agencies in countries around the world, as well as Korean universities, local governments and research institutes. The World Vegetable Center in Taiwan stores more than 52,0

When the Korean Meteorological Administration launched its proprietary weather forecasting framework in 2020, it placed Korea in an elite fraternity: one of just nine nations worldwide to build an independent, end-to-end global numerical prediction system. Now, Seoul is broadening its operational footprint into Southeast Asia and Oceania, crossing the equator to deliver real-time data to some of the most climate-vulnerable regions. The agency said Friday that it has officially broadened the operational reach of its signature system — the Korean Integrated Model, or KIM — to encompass 33 distinct meteorological data feeds across Southeast Asia and Oceania. The expansion brings granular, high-altitude wind and temperature intelligence to 117 cities across five island states: Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Brunei. The initiative aligns with the World Meteorological Organization’s Severe Weather Forecasting Program, a global effort designed to equip developing and archipelagic nations with advanced forecasting tools to anticipate extreme weather events before di

For millions of Seoul residents, dialing 120 connects them to a 24-hour lifeline for city transit schedules, social welfare inquiries and municipal services. But behind the scenes, answering the phone can also mean confronting severe verbal abuse, sexual harassment and hostile callers. To protect these frontline workers — and meet surging global demand for its call-center operation protocols — the city-run 120 Dasan Call Foundation said Friday that it published a tactical desktop response playbook alongside a dedicated English edition. The decision to launch an English version follows a steady stream of visits to the foundation from public sector officials representing Japan, Mongolia, Ukraine, Romania and Iran. By codifying its emotional-labor protections into a multilanguage resource, Seoul aims to pioneer a standardized international framework for protecting public service personnel against caller hostility. Public call center workers in Korea have long faced steep emotional labor demands, often expected to endure extreme rudeness under the traditional mantle of public service. T

Korea’s renewed inclusion on the U.S. Treasury Department’s currency monitoring list is unlikely to have a significant impact on the local foreign exchange market, analysts in Seoul said Friday, dismissing the semiannual report as a largely routine event with limited immediate policy implications. “The report drew much more attention early in President Donald Trump’s term last year. But it doesn’t result in any concrete measures, so it has become something of an old issue," said Lee Jung-hoon, an analyst at Daishin Securities. "I don’t expect it to have much impact on the market." Kwon A-min, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, also said the Treasury's foreign exchange report has become increasingly formulaic in recent years, shedding much of the political undertone it once carried. "I expect little impact on the market from the report," Kwon said. The Treasury, in its Report to Congress on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States, kept Korea on its currency monitoring list alongside China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Singa

NewJeans member Haerin has sparked online discussion after fans noticed a subtle but significant change in her appearance in newly released anniversary content, with many pointing to the apparent disappearance of one of her signature features. The group's agency, Ador, released new videos and photos Wednesday to celebrate its fourth debut anniversary. The content drew particular attention because it marked the first newly released material distributed through Ador following a legal battle between the agency and the NewJeans members. In 2024, the five members declared they were terminating their exclusive contracts with the agency. However, members Hanni, Haerin and Hyein eventually returned to the agency after a Seoul district court ruled in favor of Ador, confirming the validity of their contracts. Danielle has since been removed from the group after Ador terminated her contract, while Minji's status remains unconfirmed. Still, the anniversary content featured Hanni, Haerin and Hyein with Minji, delighting fans by showing the group with the same polished image they were known for befor

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won was ordered Friday to pay 944 billion won ($644 million) to his former wife, Art Center Nabi Director Roh Soh-yeong, in a retrial of their high-profile property division lawsuit. The Seoul High Court handed down the ruling during a hearing, concluding the latest round of the long-running dispute over the division of the couple's marital assets. The court treated Chey's stake in SK Inc., the group's holding company, as property subject to division. The court said a third of Chey’s share property is subject to Roh and two thirds to him. The court added Chey should pay in cash for any insufficient amount of share due for Roh. The court said it has calculated the property division using an earlier appellate court's closing date of April 16, 2024. “Although SK’s share price rose significantly between the close of arguments in the appellate trial and that of the remanded trial, it cannot be said that Chey’s managerial contributions had no impact," the court said. The court, however, added that “to ensure an equitable division of marital property, the sub

Inside the sprawling, subterranean convention halls of Coex in southern Seoul this week, the battlefield was entirely silent, marked only by the rhythm of frantic keystrokes and the blue glow of monitors. More than 3,300 digital combatants from 88 countries had spent months attempting to breach lines of code. By Thursday, only a select few remained for the main event: Codegate 2026, Korea’s premier international hacking defense tournament and one of the world’s most prestigious arenas for white-hat hackers. Now in its 18th year, the annual event has evolved far beyond a routine cybersecurity convention. In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) threatens to supercharge digital warfare, Codegate has become a critical proving ground — a place where the world's elite ethical hackers stress-test the digital infrastructure powering our interconnected lives. This year's competition delivered high-stakes drama. In the open division, Japanese powerhouse squad BunkyoWesterns claimed top honors and the 50 million won ($36,000) grand prize, navigating complex cryptographic puzzles and syst

Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. SBS' Friday-Saturday drama "Agent Kim Reactivated" is enjoying a remarkable rise in popularity. Starring So Ji-sub, the series follows a devoted father who embarks on a relentless quest for revenge after his daughter goes missing. On Saturday, the eighth episode recorded a nationwide viewership rating of 23.1 percent, setting a new series high. It became the second highest-rated SBS Friday-Saturday drama of all time, behind only "The Penthouse 2" with 29.2 percent, surpassing its previous record of 22.3 percent set by episode 6. Netflix original series "Teach You a Lesson" has also emerged as one of this summer's biggest hits. According to Netflix, the drama ranked sixth among the most-watched titles worldwide on the platform during the first half of 2026. The two dramas share one defining characteristic: neither shies away from graphic violence. "Agent Kim Reactivated" features bloody revenge scenes in nearly every episode as the protagonist fights to rescue his daughter. Graphic depictions of bodily mutilation — including scenes of scalping

Hyundai Motor's union said Friday its workers will extend partial strikes next week in a bid to secure higher wages, raising concerns about production disruptions at South Korea's largest automaker. Hyundai workers already staged partial strikes this week, with employees on the day and night shifts each walking off the job for four hours a day from Monday through Wednesday after failing to reach a wage agreement with the company, according to the union. The union plans to stage four-hour strikes during their respective shifts from Wednesday to next Friday, marking its third round of walkouts this year. The two sides have held 15 rounds of wage negotiations this year but have failed to narrow their differences over pay. The 40,000-member union is demanding a 149,600-won increase in monthly base pay and a performance-based bonus equivalent to 30 percent of the company's net profit for last year. The maker of Sonata sedans and Palisade sport utility vehicles (SUVs) posted a net profit of 10.36 trillion won ($7.07 billion) last year. The company, however, has offered an 80,000-won increase in

Korea's bourse operator on Friday activated a sell-side sidecar for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) after the index fell sharply, led by losses in tech heavyweights. Program trading in KOSPI-listed shares was suspended for five minutes around 11:28 a.m., according to the Korea Exchange (KRX). The KOSPI fell by more than 4 percent as of 11:32 a.m. The decline came amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, after U.S. President Donald Trump said in a media interview he is deciding whether to launch a "massive attack" on Iran that could be "bigger than ever before." A sell-side sidecar is triggered when the KOSPI 200 Futures Index falls 5 percent or more for at least one minute.

GYEONGSAN — A woman died Friday after sustaining injuries in an arson attack in an apartment management office in the southeastern city of Gyeongsan this week, police said. The woman in her 50s was pronounced dead at a hospital where she was being treated following the Thursday attack that triggered a fire and an explosion at the office, according to the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police. The victim was among eight people injured from the arson. The police have booked a 71-year-old man, surnamed Yoo, as a suspect behind the arson. He was also sent to a hospital to receive treatment for full-body burns. Following the victim's death, the police have charged him with arson resulting in death. Police investigators also executed a search-and-seizure warrant of the suspect's residence and vehicle on Friday to determine the motive behind the attack.

T'way Air's first long-haul route has become one of the budget carrier's biggest success stories, surpassing 400,000 cumulative passengers as the airline prepares to expand daily service between Incheon and Sydney later this year. The carrier said Friday that its Incheon-Sydney route has carried more than 400,000 passengers since launching in December 2022, underscoring steady demand for both leisure and business travel between Korea and Australia. The route has operated 1,350 flights since its debut and has transported an average of about 120,000 passengers a year. The airline said the service has consistently maintained an average load factor close to 90 percent, making it one of the company's strongest-performing long-haul routes. The milestone also reflects continued growth in exchanges between Korea and Australia following the pandemic, with the route supporting both passenger travel and cargo transportation, the airline said. Beyond passenger traffic, the route has become an increasingly important cargo corridor using the belly cargo capacity of the Airbus A330 aircraft. The airline

Every day, thousands of home-visit care workers step across unfamiliar thresholds into private residences. They enter these spaces alone, tasked with delivering essential health care, mobility support and housekeeping to Seoul’s most vulnerable residents. Yet behind closed doors, their workplace carries invisible hazards — ranging from sudden verbal abuse and physical aggression to sexual harassment, dangerous fall risks and exposure to infectious diseases. To bridge a long-standing protection gap, the Seoul Welfare Foundation said Friday that it has published and distributed a comprehensive safety and rights protection guidebook tailored specifically for the city's home-visit social service workforce. For years, frontline caregivers have had to navigate high-stress field emergencies without a standardized, action-oriented playbook. When faced with aggressive behavior or unsafe sanitary conditions, workers were forced to rely on personal intuition rather than official protocol. The new manual changes that dynamic by translating abstract safety regulations into clear, step-by-step i

Kookmin University presented its mobility design project at the World Design Capital Campus Exhibition 2026 in Frankfurt, Germany, on July 3, the university said Thursday. At the exhibition held at the Museum Angewandte Kunst, the university’s Department of Automotive and Transportation Design displayed concept videos, exhibition panels, scale models and a 3D topographic map of the project site, showcasing the outcomes of the collaborative project. On July 4, Roe Jae-seung, a professor in the department who led the design project, delivered a presentation during the Design Talk session, offering an in-depth overview of the project’s research theme, development process and final outcomes. The exhibition was organized by the World Design Organization (WDO), which designates a World Design Capital every two years. Frankfurt was named the World Design Capital 2026, while Busan was selected as the World Design Capital 2028. Seoul is scheduled to host the World Design Congress 2027. The exhibition served as a platform for introducing next-generation design research projects led by universit

The national Olympic committee said Friday it will pursue legal action against protesters and the top election body over damage incurred during the ongoing ballot-shortage controversy. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) said it will once again attempt to send nine of its member associations back to their offices inside Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in southern Seoul next week. The stadium served as a ballot counting site for the June 3 local elections. When ballot shortages temporarily suspended voting at several polling stations, protesters showed up on June 5 to block access to the gym, claiming election fraud and demanding a rerun of the elections. Nine national sports federations, including those for handball and fencing, are housed inside the stadium. They have not been able to get past the protesters despite a few attempts. Athletes for those sports have been forced to compete internationally using borrowed equipment and uniforms, while the federations' staffers have been forced to set up temporary offices to handle administrative work, such as organizing international

During the darkest days of the 1950-53 Korean War, an elite contingent of Ethiopian soldiers traveled thousands of miles across oceans to defend a nation they had never known. The Kagnew Battalion — whose name translates to "destroyers of the enemy" — compiled a legendary record on the central front, engaging in 253 battles with no prisoners of war surrendered. Today, the blood shed by those 6,000 soldiers remains a fundamental bedrock of Korea's modern peace and prosperity. Seven decades later, that historical debt is being repaid through music. Korean electronics giant LG on Friday announced a comprehensive support program for the Kagnew Choir, a musical ensemble composed of third-generation descendants of the Ethiopian veterans. In collaboration with Korea's Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and the nonprofit Warm Mind, LG will construct a state-of-the-art practice studio inside the Korean War Veterans Hall in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, equipped with soundproofing, audio systems and digital IT hardware. Since its founding in 2018, the choir had operated without

Jeonbuk National University and Sunchang County in North Jeolla Province have signed an agreement to foster talent capable of driving regional growth and expand cooperation between the two institutions. The agreement was signed by Yang O-bong, president of the university, and Choi Young-il, mayor of the county, at the university’s campus in Jeonju on Thursday. The university said the partnership is in line with the Ministry of Education’s regional growth-linked talent development program, also known as the “10 Seoul National Universities” initiative. The program is designed to elevate regional universities to the level of Seoul National University by transforming them into flagship regional hub institutions. Under the agreement, both sides plan to establish a cooperation framework for mutual growth between the university and the region, laying the foundation for balanced national development. The two institutions pledged to jointly develop programs to nurture professionals who will lead the growth of regional strategic industries such as advanced robotics foundries, green hydroge

Korea’s top agricultural research authority has unveiled an ambitious green-biotech agenda alongside European scientists, seeking to build sustainable food systems as global agriculture grapples with climate volatility, land degradation and shifting energy dynamics. At the 18th Europe-Korea Conference on Science and Technology in Toulouse, France, the Rural Development Administration (RDA) — Korea’s central government agency for agricultural research — hosted a specialized session showcasing how artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced biotechnology are redefining modern farming. The conference, which drew roughly 1,000 researchers, policymakers and industry experts under the theme "The Future of Science and Technology Driven by AI," provided an unprecedented stage for Korean agricultural innovation. Rather than focusing merely on conventional crop yields or traditional farm machinery, the Korean delegation presented high-value biological applications engineered for a decarbonized economy. Among the key breakthroughs highlighted were AI-guided precision systems for rearing ins

Nestled in the center of Korea’s capital, Yongsan District has long played an important role in the nation’s international identity. Home to dozens of foreign embassies, leafy diplomatic enclaves and vibrant multicultural corridors, it serves as the country's default gateway to the world. Now, local policymakers are attempting to translate that distinct feature into a bold educational blueprint. Yongsan District officials on Friday formally accelerated their push to become Seoul’s first designated Special International Education Zone. The effort anchors on the newly established Yongsan Global Education Support Center, an ambitious hub designed to transform the district’s unique cosmopolitan fabric into an incubator for globally minded youth. The initiative represents a fundamental shift in how local governments approach public education. Rather than treating global engagement as an afterthought, Yongsan is embedding international governance, digital fluency and cultural literacy directly into the local curriculum. "Education is the most valuable investment we can make for future

Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. Eating tofu the same way every day can quickly become monotonous and may leave your diet nutritionally unbalanced. However, changing how you prepare tofu can make meals more enjoyable while maintaining good nutrition and keeping calories in check. During the hot summer months, tofu noodles, tofu rice and chilled tofu dishes can add variety to a weight-loss meal plan without sacrificing satisfaction. Block of tofu helps meet protein needs, preserve muscle Tofu, made from soybeans, is a plant-based protein that contains about 8 grams of protein per 100 grams. It is relatively low in calories while providing a feeling of fullness, making it a useful food for replenishing protein during weight loss. Adequate protein intake is particularly important when dieting because cutting carbohydrates too aggressively can lead to muscle loss. Beyond protein, tofu also provides calcium, magnesium, iron and other essential nutrients. However, relying solely on tofu as part of a one-food diet can result in deficiencies in healthy fats, dietary fiber and other ke

Inside a naval bridge simulator in the southern coastal city of Changwon, an officer issued a sharp navigational command: "Port five degrees, hold course 330!" The voice that echoed back was not that of a young sailor, but the metallic confirmation of a humanoid robot. "Port five degrees, hold course 330," the machine repeated, its mechanical hands gripping the wheel to adjust the ship's heading before reporting completion: "Holding course 330." The Korean Navy conducted Thursday its first-ever combat experiment utilizing PIBOT, a physical artificial intelligence (AI) humanoid robot designed to replace human sailors at the helm. Developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) with 5.7 billion won ($4.1 million) in defense funding, the initiative represents a high-tech gamble to solve a looming national existential crisis: a demographic cliff that is rapidly draining the country's military recruitment pool. The simulation tested PIBOT’s ability to process verbal orders via a large language model, repeat commands to avoid miscommunication and physically manipu

Deep inside Lotte World Adventure in southeastern Seoul's Jamsil, a massive metal door slides open to reveal a dark hallway. Monitors flicker with technical data, while alarms hum faintly in the background. This is Base M-42, a fictional secret outpost of Monarch, the research organization tracking giant monsters known as Titans. The theme park is set to officially open its newest multimedia dark ride, Kong X Godzilla: The Ride, this Friday. Ahead of the grand opening, Lotte World held a special media preview, allowing reporters to step into the boots of a rookie Monarch agent and experience what is arguably the park's most ambitious project to date. The new ride marks the world’s first attraction built around Legendary Entertainment's Monsterverse IP, bringing popular characters Kong and Godzilla to life in an immersive indoor setting. Covering roughly 5,120 square meters on the third floor of Lotte World Adventure, the project represents the largest single-attraction investment in the park’s history. While Lotte World did not disclose the exact cost, officials confirmed that it com

TAEAN, South Chungcheong Province — Along the windswept west coast of Korea, a unique botanical garden has spent over half a century proving that the best way to grow a forest is to leave it completely alone. Founded in 1970, Chollipo Arboretum holds the historic distinction of being Korea’s first private arboretum. It was established by Carl Ferris Miller, a former U.S. Navy officer who naturalized as a Korean citizen under the name Min Pyong-gal. Miller passed away in 2002, but his foundational philosophy remains strictly intact at the arboretum, where human intervention is kept to an absolute minimum. The garden’s beginning was notoriously difficult. It was planted on a barren, sandy shoreline constantly battered by harsh coastal winds and salty marine air. Instead of fighting these elements, the arboretum allowed the environment to naturally shape the landscape. What makes this a cultural and ecological marvel is its radical policy against artificial pruning. In a region where traditional gardens often feature meticulously sculpted hedges and geometrically balanced trees, Chol

With the COVID-19 pandemic exposing the critical need for domestic vaccine production, Korea signaled Friday that it intends to be among the nations capable of addressing this necessity, advancing a homegrown messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine candidate into Phase II clinical trials. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) and the National Institute of Health said pharmaceutical giant GC Biopharma submitted its Phase II trial plan to regulatory authorities. The filing marks a critical bridge between preliminary safety checks and the rigorous, large-scale human testing required to validate efficacy. For a nation that navigated the COVID-19 era largely reliant on Western biopharmaceutical giants, KDCA said the milestone represents not just routine medical progress but a calculated leap toward national self-reliance. At the heart of Seoul’s ambitious push is the mRNA Vaccine Development Support Program for Pandemic Preparedness. The initiative is built around the government's bid to engineer a versatile, domestic mRNA platform capable of producing a targeted vaccine within 200 d

CHUNGJU — A court on Friday sentenced the owner of a guesthouse in the central city of Chungju to a fine of 3 million won ($2,049) for a pet peacock's attack on a visitor last year. The Chungju branch of the Cheongju District Court convicted the guesthouse owner of failing to properly manage the peacock, which attacked a 6-year-old boy in the face in August 2025, causing injuries that required two weeks of treatment. The 58-year-old defendant claimed there must have been some provocation, citing the gentle nature of peacocks. The court, however, said the defendant failed to fulfill the duty to protect guests from the facility's pet animals through measures, such as keeping the animals in cages or putting up a warning sign notifying visitors of possible dangers.

The players race across the football field on crutches. One plants his crutches, swings his remaining leg and strikes the ball with all his strength. The goalkeeper leaps, stretching out his one arm, but the ball curves beyond his reach and into the net, tracing an arc that would be difficult to replicate even on two legs. In footage provided by the Palestine Amputee Football Association (PAFA), footballers in Gaza embodied the conviction that “life is stronger than death,” refusing to let their physical disabilities keep them off the pitch. War-wounded footballers As the 2026 World Cup unfolded across North America, airstrikes continued to ravage the Gaza Strip. With barely any electricity, residents gathered in small groups in the streets and beneath crumbling buildings to watch the matches. When the Hankook Ilbo interviewed Gaza’s amputee footballers through voice messages on a messaging app Monday and Tuesday, shortly after Spain, the team they had supported, won the final, the players shared the same buoyant spirit felt by football fans around the world. “We may run across th

A U.S. Forces Korea soldier has been fined for driving about 260 kilometers from the southwestern city of Gwangju to the southeastern port city of Busan while intoxicated last year, a court said Friday. The Busan District Court said the soldier, identified only as a technical noncommissioned officer, was sentenced to a fine of 15 million won ($10,240) on charges including drunk driving. The soldier was accused of driving a Lincoln while intoxicated with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.223 percent on the night of Dec. 17 last year, far exceeding South Korea's 0.08 percent threshold for driver's license revocation. The investigation also found that the Lincoln was not covered by mandatory insurance, in violation of South Korean law. The defendant claimed that the blood alcohol concentration reading may have been affected by an alcohol-based mouthwash used about one hour before the test. But the court rejected the claim.

The government said Friday that the United States has reaffirmed its commitment to honoring the existing Seoul-Washington tariff agreement regarding newly announced Section 301 tariffs on trading partners. "We have requested that the U.S. side comply with the Korea-U.S. trade agreement," said the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources in a statement, referring to the tariff agreement reached last year that set reciprocal tariffs on South Korean goods at 15 percent. "The U.S. side also reaffirmed its position that the existing trade agreement must be upheld," it added. Washington announced overnight a set of new forced-labor tariffs on imports from 60 trade partners, ranging from 10 percent to 12.5 percent, effective Friday (U.S. time), under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act. The new tariffs were announced after temporary 10 percent worldwide tariffs expired Friday, following the Supreme Court's decision in February to strike down the Trump administration's reciprocal tariffs. Under the new scheme, South Korea is subject to 12.5 percent tariffs along with Japan and Switzerland. The trad

A special counsel team on Friday requested a five-year prison term for former President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of helping a former defense minister evade a criminal investigation by appointing him as ambassador to Australia in 2023. Special counsel Lee Myeong-hyeon's team requested the sentence during the final hearing of Yoon's trial at the Seoul Central District Court on charges of aiding a criminal's flight and abuse of power. The former president is accused of appointing former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup as ambassador to Australia in November 2023 to help him evade an investigation into the alleged cover-up of a Marine's death earlier that year. A central allegation in the cover-up case is that Yoon exerted pressure to reverse the findings of a Marine inquiry into the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun to clear a Marine commander of responsibility. Chae died in July 2023 during an operation to rescue heavy rain victims in Yecheon, some 160 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Lee, who was the defense minister at the time, was found to have spoken by phone with Yoon in the process, and the spe

The presidential office said Friday that it will closely consult with the United States to keep U.S. import tariffs on South Korean goods at the current level of 15 percent after Washington announced new tariffs of up to 12.5 percent on trading partners, including South Korea. The reaction from Cheong Wa Dae came after Washington announced its decision to impose the new tariffs on 60 trading partners over forced labor concerns under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act. Through tariff negotiations, Seoul and Washington reduced U.S. reciprocal tariffs on South Korean goods to 15 percent last year. The new forced labor tariffs, if combined with excess production duties that Washington is expected to impose soon, could push the overall tariff rate above 15 percent. "(The government) plans to hold close consultations with the U.S. to ensure that the mutually agreed 15 percent (tariff rate) is maintained," the presidential office said, citing what it called a mutual understanding between the two countries that their tariff agreement should be honored.

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President Lee Jae Myung left Friday for San Francisco, where he will begin his 11-day overseas trip that includes visits to three South American countries, his first visit to the region since taking office in June 2025. During a two-day visit to San Francisco from Friday (local time), the president will meet with the heads of four global tech giants, including OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman and Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, to discuss investment and cooperation plans. The other tech firms are Anthropic and Broadcom. In a high-level event on artificial intelligence (AI) later in the day, the president plans to issue a "San Francisco AI declaration," outlining South Korea's vision for advancing the AI industry and enhancing global cooperation, according to presidential officials. From Sunday through Wednesday, Lee will pay a state visit to Brazil as part of broader efforts to expand South Korea's diplomatic and economic outreach in South America. The trip will include a summit with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the capital, Brasilia, and a business roundtable inv

Seoul stocks were trading sharply lower late Friday morning as investors sold off tech heavyweights amid concerns over escalating tensions in the Middle East. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 345.3 points, or 4.87 percent, to 6,751.56 as of 11:36 a.m. After opening lower, the index widened its losses as foreigners and institutional investors dumped shares in tech, finance and automakers, triggering the bourse operator to temporarily halt program trading for KOSPI-listed stocks at 11:28 a.m. U.S. stocks closed lower overnight, as U.S. President Donald Trump's threat he could decide on a "massive attack" on Iran heightened anxiety over the ongoing war between Washington and Tehran. Oil prices also moved upward, with Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, topping US$100 per barrel. Most market top-caps were trading lower. Chip giant Samsung Electronics dipped 6.39 percent, while industry rival SK hynix shed 6.2 percent. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor sank 8.45 percent, defense giant Hanwha Aerospace added 3.34 percent, and major financial company KB Financial fe

South Korea will maintain reduced fuel tax rates through the end of September, the finance ministry said Friday, amid renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Under the measure, the current tax reductions of 15 percent for gasoline and 25 percent for diesel and butane, originally set to expire at the end of this month, will remain in place through Sept. 30, according to the Ministry of Finance and Economy. "Amid lingering geopolitical instability in the Middle East, the government has decided to leave room for future fuel tax adjustments to address further volatility in oil prices," the finance ministry said. The latest decision is expected to ease the public's energy cost burden by managing the prices of diesel used in logistics and butane used for small trucks, the finance ministry said.

SAN DIEGO — K-pop group ENHYPEN joined Catherine Hardwicke, director of the first “Twilight” film, and franchise actors Peter Facinelli and Ashley Greene at US' biggest pop culture convention, Thursday. More than 120,000 people are expected at the four-day convention, which began in 1970 with a gathering of several hundred sci-fi and comics fans and an in-person appearance from Marvel icon Jack Kirby. The band joined a Thursday panel about vampire storytelling. It marked one of many moments of cross-pop culture exchanges. Members of distinct fandoms unite through cosplay, showing off handmade costumes and exchanging photos. Brionna Slavalk, 27, traveled from Indiana to attend the convention dressed as the elf paladin Vaelus from “Critical Role,” a Dungeons & Dragons-themed web series. Her skin was painted purple. “Obviously I am partial to the body paint. I think it looks really neat when people do that. I saw somebody who was red, who I think is from ‘Hazbin Hotel,’ who was amazing. We just saw three Doctor Dooms over there!” she said. “It’s a blast.” Johnny Depp

Director Lee Chang-dong's "Possible Love" has been officially invited to compete for the Golden Lion at this year's prestigious Venice International Film Festival. Lee's feature was included in the lineup of 20 films nominated for the main competition section at the event scheduled for Sept. 2-12, in an announcement made at a press conference Thursday. "Possible Love" is Lee's first feature film in eight years following the critically acclaimed "Burning" (2018). The Netflix film centers on the intertwined lives of two married couples -- a laid-off worker and his wife and an affluent documentary filmmaker and her husband -- and the story that unfolds as they meet. It features a star-studded cast, including Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong. The invitation marks the auteur's return to the film festival after 24 years, following the drama romance "Oasis" (2002). The film won the Silver Lion for best director and the FIPRESCI critics award, while lead actress Moon So-ri won the Marcello Mastroianni Award presented to emerging actors. In 2012, Korean director Kim Ki-duk's

CAIRO — Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea on Thursday, potentially widening the Iran war as international oil topped $100 a barrel. The Houthis have threatened to shut down another key trade route, with the world economy already reeling from Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Iran and the U.S. have stepped up their attacks as they vie for control of the strait, through which a fifth of the world's oil and gas transited in peacetime, setting off a scramble for alternative routes. As the U.S. carried out a 12th night of strikes across Iran, President Donald Trump threatened “major military punishment” against the Houthis if their attacks on ships continue. “If they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves,” Trump wrote on social media. As the rhetoric escalated, so did the economic fallout. The price of Brent crude oil, the international stand

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump is going ahead with new double-digit tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners just as the clock runs out Friday on stopgap levies he imposed after a stinging defeat at the Supreme Court. The United States will slap taxes of 10 percent to 12.5 percent on imports from 60 trading partners accounting for 99 percent of U.S. imports, charging that they have inadequately enforced bans on goods produced by forced labor. “The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The new tariffs will take effect just as temporary 10 percent worldwide tariffs expire at 12:01 a.m. Friday. Trump had turned to those temporary levies after the Supreme Court struck down his biggest and boldest tariffs in February. Now he's tapping more durable tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 , which permits the president to impose import taxes and other sanctions against countries found to engage in

WASHINGTON — U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday stressed the importance of producing tangible results from shipbuilding cooperation with South Korea, pledging to help address regulatory roadblocks that Korean enterprises may face in the United States. Lutnick made the remarks during an event marking the opening of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center (KUSPC) in Washington — a platform to facilitate the $150 billion investment in the U.S. shipbuilding sector that Seoul has committed to as part of last year's bilateral trade and investment deal. "The center is not an outcome. It is the most important work that produces the outcome of how many ships that are built," he said. "Talking is not a thing. It sets the stage, but the reality is (that) it is vital for America to produce ships in America. Not talk about producing ships in America, not having meetings about ships in America, but actually building ships in America," he added. He highlighted that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration will "judge" the center by actual results rather than by "how many

WASHINGTON — New U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel on Thursday hailed Korea's shipbuilding cooperation with the United States as an expansion of the bilateral alliance into a "new" and "important" territory, stressing that reinforcing the alliance is her "top priority." Steel made the remarks during an event marking the opening of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center (KUSPC) in Washington — a platform to facilitate the $150 billion investment in the U.S. shipbuilding sector that Seoul has committed to as part of last year's bilateral trade and investment deal. "What we have discussed today is proof that our alliance is expanding into a new, incredibly important territory: the vitalization of the American industry, including in shipbuilding," she said in her first major public remarks since her Senate confirmation last month. She enumerated a set of shipbuilding cooperation endeavors, such as Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group's $5 billion infrastructure plan for a major shipyard in Philadelphia, Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai's multi-billion-dollar investment fund

Federal health officials are investigating a new outbreak involving the diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora. The outbreak included 72 people as of Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration has not yet identified which products are linked to the illnesses. Officials also have not said where the cases are located. “This is an active investigation, and officials are working together to determine the specific cause of illnesses in this cluster,” the Department of Health and Human Services said in an email Thursday. Federal officials earlier this week said they remained focused on lettuce from Taylor Farms as the source of a separate, multistate outbreak. The company last week announced it was recalling iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico. Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that infects food that has come into contact with human feces, most commonly when produce is irrigated or washed with contaminated water. When ingested, the parasite causes intestinal illness marked by “frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Preve

SEOUL/WASHINGTON — South Korea and the United States on Thursday launched a shipbuilding cooperation center in Washington to facilitate the planned $150 billion investment in the U.S. shipbuilding sector that Seoul committed to under last year's bilateral trade and investment deal. Senior officials and industry leaders from the two countries joined an event marking the opening of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center (KUSPC), a platform to advance the "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again (MASGA)" initiative aimed at revitalizing America's shipbuilding industry. The opening came two months after the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in May to establish the center and strengthen bilateral shipbuilding cooperation. In his welcoming remarks, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan called the center a symbol of South Korea's "strong" commitment to supporting America's shipbuilding industry. "Korea strongly supports President Trump's maritime action plan. We are ready to work side by side with the U.S. Today is the beginning of a new chapter -- a new chapter for ou

WASHINGTON — New U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel said Thursday that she will depart for Seoul next week, as she highlighted the task of strengthening the Seoul-Washington alliance as her "top priority." Steel made the remarks in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency while attending an event marking the opening of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center (KUSPC) in Washington — a platform to facilitate Korea's planned $150 billion investment in the U.S. shipbuilding sector. "Next week," she said, referring Yonhap News Agency to the State Department for other questions. The top envoy is widely expected to depart for Korea around Wednesday next week as Seoul and Washington face a series of pending issues, including implementing bilateral agreements on security, trade and investment and continuing joint efforts to "modernize" the decades-old alliance. Steel, a former two-term congresswoman, is set to fill the ambassador post, which has been left vacant since former Ambassador Philip Goldberg left Korea in January last year. She is the second Korean American to

WASHINGTON — The United States has kept South Korea and nine other economies on its watch list of countries to monitor for their foreign exchange policies, a Treasury Department report showed Thursday. The department's semiannual "Report to Congress on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States" showed the latest monitoring list comprising South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Germany, Ireland and Switzerland. All 10 countries were on the list in the previous report released in January. South Korea was excluded from the list in November 2023 for the first time since April 2016 but was placed back on it in November 2024. It has since remained on the list. The report pointed out that the size of Korea's current account surplus grew "considerably" to 6.6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) last year, up from 5.3 percent in 2024, attributing the rise largely to the goods trade, primarily semiconductors and other technology-related products. It also underscored the Korean won has come under "sustained" depreci

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday announced its final decision to impose new tariffs of up to 12.5 percent on South Korea, Japan and 58 other trading partners over forced labor concerns. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) unveiled new tariffs ranging from 10 percent to 12.5 percent, effective Friday (Washington time), after conducting probes into 60 economies under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act to determine whether they had taken sufficient steps to ban imports made with forced labor. The announcement came as the administration's temporary 10-percent global tariffs were set to expire Friday. The across-the-board duties were rolled out after the Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration's country-specific "reciprocal tariffs" in February. Under the latest tariff decision, products from Korea, Japan and Switzerland will face additional Section 301 tariffs to the extent that the total U.S. tariff rate reaches 12.5 percent. Products already subject to most-favored nation (MFN) tariffs of 12.5 percent or higher will not face

Rounded pebble beaches, hiking trails and sunsets over the West Sea — Boryeong Mayor Uhm Seung-young rattles off the city's coastal assets with the confidence of someone certain the rest of the world just hasn't caught on yet. “Anyone who has visited Boryeong's islands knows they offer scenery that rivals anywhere abroad," Uhm said in an interview with The Korea Times, pointing to beaches, trails and sunsets that characterize the area. That confidence underpins his belief that the city can draw more visitors who stay longer, building on the natural beauty of its coast and islands. Located in South Chungcheong Province, Boryeong has long put that coastal beauty to use through tourism. Its best-known showcase is the Boryeong Mud Festival, held every summer around Daecheon Beach. The festival drew 1.69 million visitors last year, including roughly 90,000 foreign visitors. This year's event, beginning Friday and running through Aug. 9, will feature a new mud massage zone with 20 facilities and a Mud Infinity Pool overlooking the sea, along with a Mud on the Beach segment featuring electr

GEOJE, South Gyeongsang Province ― The men at the next table did not ask for a long conversation. They simply reached over, set down a few freshly shucked conch with a few words and a shy chuckle, then went back to their soju as if nothing had happened. This was Gohyeon Market on a recent Monday afternoon, and this reporter, a stranger from Seoul with a plate of raw sea bass, had just been adopted for an hour by a table of middle-aged men of South Gyeongsang Province. People from this southeastern province carry a reputation, even among Koreans, for being gruff, blunt, allergic to compliments and small talk. What those conch delivered instead was something closer to the opposite: a simple, unsentimental welcome that asked for nothing back. It is the kind that no K-pop music video can stage, and on Geoje, an island of 230,000 people off Korea's southeastern coast better known for building supertankers than for making memories, it turned out to be everywhere. The island drew thousands of local tourists as a K-pop rookie born on the island has become a YouTube influencer with her vlogs an

Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. On sweltering days when cooking over a hot stove feels unbearable, many people turn to frozen foods. Frozen rice, dumplings and pizza can be ready in just a few minutes in the microwave, making them a convenient option. However, improper handling can lead to safety risks. Knowing what to check before microwaving can help you enjoy frozen meals safely. Check packaging before microwaving The first thing to check when heating frozen food is the packaging. Some products are designed to be microwaved in their original packaging, but not all plastic wraps or containers are microwave-safe. Aluminum packaging or containers with metallic coatings should always be removed, as they can produce sparks inside the microwave. Plastic containers should also be labeled as microwave-safe. If there is no such indication, transfer the food to a microwave-safe dish before heating. Extra caution is needed with takeout containers and disposable plastic containers, which are often not intended for microwave use. Stir or turn halfway through for even heating Microwave o

The number of measles cases in the U.S. this year has already surpassed the record-breaking tally for all of 2025.

A rescue operation is under way following a deadly Russian missile strike just outside of the Ukrainian capital

Tsuut'ina Nation near Calgary is looking to add about 375 hectares of land to its reserve for commercial and residential development.

Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, looks at the key role local churches play in carrying forward the synodal journey as he addresses participants at the 12th Plenary Assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) in Jakarta, Indonesia.

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The car left the road and crashed on Liverpool Road in Huyton just before 02:00 BST.

BBC Verify has looked at how much Burnham's new spending commitments cost and how they will be paid for

The fledgling Burnham administration has been seeking to find its feet and make a decent first impression at the same time, the BBC's political editor Chris Mason explains.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are set to unveil major agreements involving “very large” sums with leading US technology companies during President Lee Jae Myung’s visit to Silicon Valley, a senior presidential official said. The announcements would likely include new long-term memory chip supply deals, strategic investment partnerships and memorandums of understanding, presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom told reporters Thursday. He declined to disclose the value of the deals ahead of comp

Filmmaker Juan Carlos Dávila’s new film for PBS, Farmers of the Sea, documents climate change’s threats to the fishing industry and food security in Vieques, Puerto Rico. For islands in the Caribbean, explains Dávila, “we are situated geographically in one of the frontlines of climate change. [We’re] not only facing stronger hurricanes now, [but] we could face food shortages, especially the islands that depend so much on the food that comes from the sea.”

Two people are arrested after a vehicle was stopped in County Monaghan in an operation targeting dissident republican activity.

Four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed near a Palestinian village on Friday in a confrontation that added to a growing toll over recent weeks as Israeli settler violence has intensified against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

After failing to overturn birthright citizenship at the Supreme Court, Republican legislators are turning to new tactics to disenfranchise people born on U.S. soil. Their latest targets are those born to noncitizen or permanent resident parents in U.S. territories like Puerto Rico, where the Supreme Court has said citizenship is granted by statute and full constitutional protections do not apply. The proposed “End Birthright Citizenship for the Territories Act” would create “a subclass of people who can be discriminated against” and “disregarded as human beings” in the U.S. territories, says Puerto Rican legal scholar Efrén Rivera Ramos, who joins Democracy Now! from Puerto Rico’s capital city, San Juan. While the bill’s sponsor, Republican Congressmember Morgan Griffith of Virginia, says he’s focused only on so-called birth tourism, Rivera Ramos says the language of the law is less clear.

The quasi-colonial status of Puerto Rico is also being highlighted by the 10th anniversary of PROMESA, the Obama-era legislation that created a U.S.-appointed fiscal control board to manage the island’s finances and restructure debt. In practice, PROMESA “has been a failure,” says Rivera Ramos, asserting the anti-democratic structure has imposed austerity measures and done little to address corruption, waste and inefficiency that plague the economy.

Imposed citing forced labour concerns, the levies replace a temporary global duty brought in after the US Supreme Court struck down tariffs in February.

Assault and grievous bodily harm (GBH) charges against the US singer and a co-defendant are dropped.

Shares of SK Eternix, an energy unit of SK Group, have more than doubled over the past month as investors bet that AI-driven power demand will boost South Korea's renewable energy sector. The stock closed at 80,900 won($55.35) on Friday, up 114.6 percent from a month earlier. Over the same period, the Kospi fell 20.9 percent, while shares of SK hynix, the group's flagship chipmaker, dropped 31.2 percent. The rally accelerated this week, with the stock gaining 44.9 percent over the past five trad

South Korea's outstanding margin loans, a key gauge of leveraged stock investment by retail investors, fell to their lowest level in more than three months as the prolonged market correction prompted investors to scale back leveraged bets. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association on Friday, outstanding margin loans stood at 32.75 trillion won ($22.4 billion) as of Wednesday, coming down to its lowest level since April 9. Margin loans have been on a steady decline alongside the Kos

A number of guests said they would be reluctant to appear at conventions again after cases of recordings taking place without their knowledge.

A Hamilton man who offered to look after his girlfriend's baby girl to show her that he could "step up" when needed has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2023 death of the 3½-month-old.

A San Juan Island EMS member says bystanders were “heroes” Thursday night when a seaplane crashed and later caught fire while making an emergency landing on the shoreline of Sucia Island near the B.C.-Washington border.

A youth-led protest movement in India is demanding an end to the country’s status quo. Sparked by the leak of national exam questions, tens of thousands of young people have taken to the streets. They are protesting under the banner of the Cockroach Janta (People’s) Party — a new party named to reflect the words of India’s chief justice, who compared unemployed youth to cockroaches and parasites. The movement has only swelled in response to a violent crackdown on protesters. Although the protesters’ initial demands were for the resignation of the country’s education minister, “everything has shifted to directly attacking [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi,” says Indian writer Arundhati Roy, who joins us from New Delhi, the physical center of a movement that first found exponential success online. The erosion of democratic principles under Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata (Indian People’s) Party is being contested on a large scale for the first time, says Roy. “It’s really a generation whose parents and grandparents wore those Modi masks and chanted 'Modi, Modi, Modi,' and got him into power. It is their children now who are saying the emperor has no clothes.”

R&B singer Chris Brown has pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court in London to affray after a confrontation at a Mayfair club in 2023.

The housing secretary tells the BBC that the Renters Rights' Act is already having a significant impact on the market.

The status of a newly signed U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal is in question after President Trump made the surprise announcement that the deal is off unless Saudi Arabia normalizes relations with Israel. The deal paves the way for Saudi civil nuclear development, although critics warn that it could lead to the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the politically volatile Middle East.

Saudi Arabia has long maintained that it would not officially recognize Israel by joining the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-negotiated diplomatic deal between Israel and a number of Arab states, until there is a pathway toward the creation of a Palestinian state. The Abraham Accords provision indicates that “Israel is calling the shots again,” when it comes to U.S. policy in the Middle East, notes Daniel Levy of the U.S./Middle East Project. Levy says it is unlikely that Saudi Arabia will agree to Trump’s new conditions, at a cost to U.S. business interests, which stand to profit handily from the sale of nuclear energy technology to the oil-rich kingdom.

Sarah’s Trust had previously said it was closing “for the foreseeable future”.

A military audit has found unauthorized access to online records of soldiers' personal medical information occurred late last year, prompting the military to shut down the program over a potential data breach, according to a lawmaker's office Friday. The breach targeted the Picture Archiving and Communication System, operated by the Armed Forces Medical Command, between November and December, affecting approximately 8 gigabytes of data, equivalent to around 1,000 files, according to Rep. Lim Jon

When conflict erupts, disasters strike or political crises unfold, courts are among the few institutions expected to keep functioning – ensuring the essential rule of law is maintained.

Member States of the International Criminal Court dismissed its Prosecutor Karim Khan following disciplinary proceedings related to widely reported sexual misconduct allegations at an emergency session at UN Headquarters in New York on Friday.

The world needs more critical minerals than ever before for electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels, batteries and smartphones.

One month after twin earthquakes rocked Venezuela, thousands of women and girls continue to face difficulty in accessing essential healthcare and protection services, a senior official with the UN reproductive and sexual health agency UNFPA said on Friday.

A new mobile UN peacekeeping base in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has allowed local authorities to continue responding to the fast-moving Ebola outbreak there after violence disrupted the work of medics at a treatment centre set up to contain the spread.

As fighting intensifies in the Middle East, the United Nations on Friday warned against further escalation in the US-Iran war and the risks to global shipping amid the fight over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

In El Obeid, women and girls now face an impossible choice over something as basic as a bucket of water: risk a drone strike by collecting it in daylight, or risk rape by waiting until dark.

The amount of land burned by wildfires across Europe has increased by 57 per cent in four years, according to new data from the World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe.

Last week the YWCA in Regina's Bush Kids Culture Club had Indigenous youth ages 10-20 participating in traditional games and they also learned to make the tools to play.

U.S. Bombs Iran for 13th Night as Pentagon “Lowers” Iran War Death Toll from 18 to 14, House Approves Another War Powers Resolution Seeking to Rein In Trump’s Attacks, Iran War Sends Diesel Prices Soaring, Costing U.S. Farmers Additional $1.4 Billion, FAO: Millions Face Prolonged Hunger as Iran War Drives Up Food Prices, Four Palestinians and One Israeli Are Killed as Dozens of Settlers Attack West Bank Town, WaPo: Trump Administration Is Considering Strikes on Mali, Trump Administration Cites Anti-Slavery Law to Impose Tariffs of Up to 12.5% on Trading Partners, DA Promises Criminal Probe as ICE Refuses to Name Officer Who Killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, Minnesota Man Who Murdered Democratic Lawmaker and Husband Gets Two Life Sentences, DOJ Drops Subpoenas Against New York Times Reporters After Grilling by Federal Judge, New York City Landlords Sue Mamdani Administration to Reverse Rent Freeze, Brooklyn Protesters Target Crye Precision, Supplier of Tactical Gear to ICE and Israel

The fire has raged in the region for several days with officials now ordering the evacuation of the entire Cap Ferret peninsula.

On Thursday, Axel Rudakubana was moved from prison to a secure psychiatric hospital in Berkshire.

Ireland's Presidency of the EU Council has begun talks on one of the most significant overhauls of Europe's climate policy as divisions emerge.

Veterans Minister Kwon Oh-eul said Friday he would make efforts to further eliminate blind spots in compensation for surviving family members of war veterans and descendants of independence activists. Kwon made the remarks as he marked his first year in office. His ministry launched a subsidy program for surviving spouses of deceased war veterans in March as part of its efforts to expand compensation for low-income veterans, patriots and their family members. The benefits are available to about

South Korea's five largest financial groups posted a record 13.12 trillion won ($8.97 billion) in combined first-half net income, marking the first time the total topped 13 trillion won, as a stock market rally boosted brokerage and asset management fees. Combined profit rose 9.7 percent from a year earlier, according to filings released Thursday and Friday. KB Financial Group led with 3.88 trillion won, followed by Shinhan Financial Group at 3.44 trillion won and Hana Financial Group at 2.4 tri

In an interview with Vatican Media, Cardinal Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo, Secretary General of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences, reflects on the fruits of the FABC Plenary Assembly, highlighting faith, the protection of human dignity, and an urgent pastoral response to migration as shared priorities for the Church across Asia.

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The late actor's siblings claim she has mishandled distribution of the funds and "cannot be trusted".

South Korea kept its current fuel price caps unchanged Friday amid renewed tensions in the Middle East, while leaving open the possibility of adjustments down the road. Maximum prices for regular gasoline, diesel and kerosene supplied to gas stations by local oil refiners will remain at 1,784 won ($1.21), 1,773 won and 1,380 won per liter, respectively, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources. The latest decision will take effect for four weeks starting Saturday. "With the int

A historic cyclospora outbreak spreading across the US is causing havoc in pockets of Michigan, the hardest hit state.

A 42-year-old man who was convicted of incitement to hatred following an Instagram livestream has had his sentence adjourned after he told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court he wanted a solicitor.

The BBC's Samira Hussain explains how President Trump's tariffs affect US economy, who pays the price, and whether they're working.

Witnesses say the unnamed rescuer dived into the water three times to save the children.

A major rail infrastructure programme expected to cost hundreds of millions of euro has been announced by Iarnród Éireann.

A major rail infrastructure programme expected to cost hundreds of millions of euro has been announced by Iarnród Éireann.

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly has described as "extremely significant" the discovery of a bomb in a car intercepted as it was being driven across the border to Northern Ireland.

A New York jury heard a three-hour recording Thursday that was captured in a police cruiser last July as officers searched for a missing nine-year-old Montreal girl.

Andrea Urmston knew she had a brother who had been adopted by another family, only to discover he was already her closest friend.

A Co Offaly garda station has re-opened following an incident during which two gardaí were hospitalised.

South Korea may face less immediate job disruption from generative artificial intelligence than other members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. But its workers and businesses could also miss out on much of the technology’s productivity boost. According to a report released by the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training, Korea ranked 33rd out of the 34 OECD countries analyzed in terms of the share of jobs highly exposed to generative AI. An esti

Russia struck an arms show near Kyiv today, killing at least 10 people and wounding a hundred, Ukrainian officials said, in an incident that raised questions around the safety of such events.

It comes as Iran condemned the US plan to use frozen Iranian assets to pay for war damages.

The U.S. military said Friday that it fired on another merchant vessel that was trying to breach its blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran targeted American strongholds around the Persian Gulf.

In a letter signed by the Executive Director of the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Bishops urge the state’s governor Ron DeSantis to stay the executions of two men, stressing that their crimes “are gravely evil”, yet “it is possible both to uphold justice and to exercise mercy.”

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As the LDP considers its options, an opposition party leader has threatened a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Sanae Takachi's government.

New 4K restorations of two films from the 2000s by Ryosuke Hashiguchi bring his masterful storytelling back to the silver screen.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has seen the establishment of the bureau as a first step for the country's intelligence reform.

Despite Health Canada's warnings against the use of unauthorized peptides as a health and fitness shortcut, a CBC News investigation uncovered doctors using a regulatory loophole to administer one of the unproven products to patients.

South Korean carmaker Kia said Friday its operating profit fell 4.9 percent in the second quarter, as US auto tariffs and higher sales incentives offset record revenue and vehicle sales fueled by surging demand for hybrid and electric models. Operating profit declined to 2.63 trillion won ($1.79 billion) in the April-June period from a year earlier, according to Kia. Revenue rose 12.6 percent to 33.04 trillion won, marking the highest quarterly figure, while net profit increased 2.6 percent to 2

Amid heat wave warnings and temperatures climbing over 30 degrees Celsius on Friday, the zookeepers at Jeonju Zoo prepared customized summer care, unique to each species. For 36-year-old Asian elephant Kkamdori, the relief arrived in the form of three whole watermelons. Keepers said the animals are given water-rich fruits and vegetables as special treats once a month during summer. Additional canopies have also been installed to provide shade. Indoors, the zoo introduced another summer novelty:

Strong domestic demand for jewelry has helped lift the outlook for Japan's luxury market as a whole, as the sector faces headwinds including a slowdown in inbound tourism.

A nationwide hosepipe ban has come into effect today and will remain in place until 26 August.

On Thursday afternoon delegates to the 12th Plenary Assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) present the results of their table discussions and agree that the Church in the continent is called to be a bridge builder and renew its missionary vocation in the face of the world's challenges.

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The South Korean government has submitted a formal rebuttal to a US House Judiciary Committee report alleging that Seoul discriminated against US-listed e-commerce company Coupang through regulatory actions, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. According to the ministry, the South Korean Embassy in Washington delivered a detailed statement to the committee on Thursday, seeking to correct what Seoul described as factual errors in the committee's interim staff report released on July 1 and to explain

Dame Helene was honoured for her work in the public service over 45 years.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham will on Friday open a new government base in Manchester dubbed "No. 10 North" in a nod to his 10 Downing Street office in London, as he seeks to shift ‌economic decision-making away from the capital.

Seoul stocks snapped their three-day winning streak to plummet nearly 6 percent on Friday, as escalating tensions in the Middle East sapped risk appetite. The local currency rose against the greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 406.27 points, or 5.72 percent, to 6,690.62 after falling as low as 6,650.41. The sharp decline triggered the country's bourse operator to suspend program trading for five minutes in early trading. Trade volume was moderate at 395.1 million shar

The group will consider the social and economic impacts of immigration and help the government compile its basic policy.

A councilor who briefly served on the city council of Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, received about 2.3 million won ($1,570) in pay for his 16 days in office. He resigned just over two weeks after his term began amid a police investigation into alleged sex offenses involving a middle school student. Police allege that Choi Young-jung had sexual contact with the student two or three times in a vehicle and a motel between October 2024 and May 2025 and produced sexually exploitative material

Hybe and Geffen Records' multinational girl group Katseye released "Animal" on Friday, featuring songwriting by Ed Sheeran and a cameo appearance by actor Demi Moore. Sheeran co-wrote the new single with Snow Patrol member and producer Johnny McDaid, Grammy-winning producer Blake Slatkin and songwriter Omer Fedi, whose credits include numerous international hits. The uptempo pop track, built on driving rhythms and electronic beats, explores the contrast between outward composure and instinctive

Port Taranaki has reassured nearby residents that initial assessments of a proposed LNG import terminal indicate it is unlikely "risk management zones" will impact on the community or popular nearby recreational areas.

Bridge designer and builder Dan Crocker says creating the country's longest suspension bridge involved unique challenges.

A newly signed civilian nuclear cooperation agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia is drawing attention in Seoul as a potential opening for South Korea’s efforts to secure greater authority over uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. The agreement, signed Wednesday by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, establishes the legal framework for American companies to supply nuclear reactors, materials, equipment and tech

This is the first time for the National Police Agency to designate such a restriction area under the revised drone regulation law enacted in June.

Kenya’s Bishop of Embu Diocese and Vice Chair of the Commission for Youth at the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), Peter Kemani, says young people in the AMECEA region are seeking answers, inclusion, involvement and want to participate as serious collaborators, including in the Church’s leadership structures.

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Unlike the triple-E movement of decades past, Albertans are being asked to consider a more dramatic gambit as part of October's referendum: abolishing the Red Chamber entirely. That would be no easy feat.

EuBiologics said Friday it has completed registration of its proprietary vaccine adjuvant EcML with the US Food and Drug Administration's Drug Master File system, obtaining an official filing number that is expected to facilitate future vaccine development and licensing partnerships. The registration contains key chemistry, manufacturing and controls, or CMC, data, including information on EcML's raw materials, manufacturing process and quality specifications. EuBiologics said the filing allows

South Korea and the US opened a joint shipbuilding cooperation center in Washington on Thursday, officially kicking off a broad initiative aimed at revitalizing America’s shipbuilding industry through investment, technology sharing and workforce training. Senior government officials, lawmakers and business executives from both countries attended the opening ceremony for the Korea-US Shipbuilding Partnership Center, which will serve as a hub for the two countries’ joint initiative to rebuild the

A Ground Self-Defense Force unit made assessments about patriotism, beliefs and sexual preferences, news reports alleged.

Japan's government is probably seeking effective timing — a moment when yen-buying pressure increases — to amplify its effect, some say.

The chair of the committee on Ukraine's integration with the European Union has said there is a way to protect jobs at Aughinish Alumina if the company is sanctioned, should the Irish Government have "the political will" to do so.

Patients waiting for life-changing medicines to be funded say people should not have to fundraise, go into debt, or travel overseas for treatments and therapies that could be administered here.

President Lee Jae Myung will be skipping his summer vacation this year. Instead, his calendar will be filled with a trip to the US and South America, followed by another round of government policy briefings back in South Korea, the presidential office said Friday. Lee embarked Friday on an 11-day trip that will take him to San Francisco, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. He will resume official duties after returning to Seoul, including receiving briefings from government ministries. “Presidents gen

A Seoul appellate court on Friday ordered SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to pay 944 billion won ($644 million) to his former wife, Roh Soh-yeong, cutting the earlier award by nearly a third while again ruling that his shares in the group's holding company belonged in the marital estate. The Seoul High Court's family division, presided over by Judge Lee Sang-joo, set Roh's recognized contribution at one-third and Chey's at two-thirds. That ratio applies to the pool of divisible assets. It does no

South Korea welcomed a total of 10.7 million international visitors from January through June, up 21.3 percent from 8.8 million during the same period last year, according to data released by the Korea Tourism Organization on Thursday. The figure exceeded the first-half total in 2019 by 26.9 percent, marking not only a full recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, but continued growth beyond prepandemic levels. China remained the largest source of visitors with 3.21 million arrivals, followed by Jap

Police investigating a homicide in the Wellington region want information about sightings of two cars.

Rescuers had grave concerns for an elderly fisherman stranded at night in the cold by a South Island river, until they called in a farmer with local knowledge who was able to locate the man in the dark.

Police have apprehended 40 alleged members of four organized crime groups in Seoul on charges including participation in a criminal organization and violent assault, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Thursday. The suspects included 21 members of the Dongdaemun gang and 19 members of three allied groups. Thirty-two were referred to prosecutors, including 14 who were detained, while arrest warrants were issued for two members believed to be staying in the Philippines and Cambodia. Most of

A quiet Seoul letter shop is the latest setting to carry South Korea's bestselling "healing fiction" overseas, with the English release of Baek Seung-yeon's novel "The Seoul Letter Shop." Published by Fourth Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins, the English edition translated by Clare Richards was released on July 16. Translation rights have also been sold in 12 countries, including the United States, according to the publisher. The novel follows Hyo-young, a 28-year-old woman who abandons her dr

Government funding for in-school teacher training heavily favoured a newcomer to teacher education that was headed at the time by the chair of the Teaching Council.

An independent review into Aughinish Alumina exports to Russia has made no "adverse findings" against the plant.

Ten years ago, on 26 July 2016, Father Jacques Hamel, pastor of the parish of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray in northern France, was murdered while celebrating Mass. Two terrorists who had pledged allegiance to the so-called Islamic State slit his throat. One member of the congregation who was attending Mass was also seriously injured.

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The Government has announced a list of projects which are to be fast-tracked under new legislation which prioritises critical infrastructure, with Dublin's MetroLink and the Galway ring road among them.

Premier Wab Kinew has yet to make a public visit to Steinbach — the province’s third-largest city — nearly three years into his term in office, despite repeatedly promoting a “One Manitoba” message and emphasizing his ties to communities outside Winnipeg.

Why Canadians across the country are pushing back against AI data centres in their communities.

A bridge linking Michigan to Ontario is about to open but Canada has disinvited US dignitaries from the ceremony.

The National Theater of Korea will hold a three-week cinema screening series featuring filmed versions of its steady-selling stage productions at CGV Yongsan from Aug. 4-18 as part of an initiative to broaden public access to the performing arts. Three productions will be screened on consecutive Tuesdays. The series opens on Aug. 4 at 7 p.m. with the National Changgeuk Company's "Farewell My Concubine," which has sold out every run since its 2019 premiere. Directed by Taiwanese Peking opera vete

Rapper E Sens has requested a formal trial after receiving a summary fine of 5 million won ($3,400) on charges of forcible molestation. According to local media reports Thursday, the 39-year-old musician is accused of forcibly molesting a woman in her 30s he met for the first time at a nightclub in Itaewon, Seoul, in August 2025. Prosecutors allege E Sens continued making physical contact and attempted to kiss the woman after she expressed her refusal. He is also accused of biting her neck and e

A giant mushroom described as a globally rare species has been found for the 13th consecutive year at a farm near Mount Jiri in southwestern South Korea, local officials said Thursday. The white, ball-shaped mushroom, known in Korean as daenggual, was discovered recently by 63-year-old farmer Ju Ji-hwan at his black raspberry farm in Sannae-myeon, Namwon, North Jeolla Province, according to the city government. The mushroom typically measures about 30 centimeters in diameter and has a white surf

The Police Sergeant's family gave powerful statements, saying while he took her life, she will never be forgotten.

Ocean World, a water park in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, will hold a three-week festival to mark 20 years since its opening. The 2026 Ocean World Blue Splash Festival runs from Saturday to Aug. 15. The festival's centerpiece is the Blue Wave Concert, held at 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays on a temporary stage at Surfing Mount. The lineup includes Dynamic Duo, tripleS, Daybreak, Hynn, Nowz and Giriboy. On weekdays, that time slot is filled instead by magic shows, dance performances and indie vo

The US has imposed new tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners, including the EU and China, over allegations of lax enforcement of forced labour bans.

Sempio is expanding its live online Korean cooking program for consumers in the United States in partnership with Asian supermarket chain H Mart, extending participation to the West Coast after a successful pilot on the East Coast earlier this year. The Korean fermented food company said Friday that its "Cook Korean Live" classes will become a regular bimonthly program beginning in August with sessions held on the first Sunday of every even-numbered month. According to the 2026 Global Hallyu Sur

AMD has begun production of Helios, the AI server rack it is positioning against Nvidia's data center systems, with Samsung Electronics supplying the high-bandwidth memory inside it. AMD CEO Lisa Su announced the milestone Thursday at the company's Advancing AI conference held in Seoul. According to Su, shipments will begin late in the third quarter and expand in the fourth. Helios is sold as a complete cabinet rather than as individual chips. Each unit contains 72 Instinct MI455X accelerators t

The airport massacre in Israel turned a little-known, communist-espousing band of a Japanese militant squad into an internationally notorious movement.

South Korean cosmetics manufacturer Cosmax is launching a specialized overseas export support platform to provide services for domestic companies seeking to enter the global market. The company announced Friday that it added a section for export and import support on its e-biz system for client company communication, and will provide support services across the entire process. Areas of support include major difficulties faced throughout the import and export process, such as understanding countr

Hanwha Ocean has signed three agreements in the US covering joint ship design, workforce training and supply chain development, as the South Korean shipbuilder moves to strengthen its local business base and expand bilateral shipbuilding cooperation. At the opening ceremony of the Korea-US Shipbuilding Partnership Center in Washington on Thursday, the company signed a professional services agreement for the design of the Global Fast Sealift with Leidos Gibbs & Cox. This follows a memorandum of u

At York Station, 152 birds were shot in one day, a Freedom of Information Request has found.

Education Outdoors says the government has dropped outdoor education from its list of subjects that will be re-developed.

A resident and a passerby helped subdue a teenager accused of stabbing a female high school student in a residential neighborhood in western Seoul, police said Friday. The suspect was arrested at the scene at about 1 p.m. Thursday on suspicion of attempted murder, according to Seoul Gangseo Police Station. Police said he knew the victim. After the attack, the suspect fled but was chased and restrained by the two men after the victim’s mother called for help. The victim was taken to a hospital wi

A former Fiji chief prosecutor claims there was a racist, government-led conspiracy to get rid of him.

Norton the burmese cat travelled all the way from Hataitai to Johnsonville hidden inside the unsuspecting driver's bonnet.

The community of Harbour Round, N.L. is mourning two fishermen who died at sea — while rallying around the survivor. At the same time, family members are calling for changes in the fishery, so harvesters don’t feel pressured to fish in dangerous weather.

Students at University of Otago accommodation who are experiencing flu-like symptoms have been asked to self-isolate whenever possible.

Chang Han-na, president and CEO of Seoul Arts Center Korea, has disclosed ownership of a rare cello valued at 1.37 billion won ($940,000), according to a government asset filing released Friday. Her cello was reportedly made by celebrated Italian luthier Giovanni Battista Guadagnini in 1757. It was purchased and presented to Chang in 1995 by South Korean corporate sponsors and arts patrons after her victory at the Rostropovich International Cello Competition at age 11. The instrument, together w

The High Court has placed six firms associated with Rangiora investment company Chance Voight in liquidation after finding the group was insolvent and operating an unsustainable business

Women said their partners had pushed or coerced them into taking part in swinging.

Kerry will bid for an unprecedented 40th All-Ireland football title when they take on Mayo in Croke Park on Sunday.

A man from Stoney Creek, Ont., is in Halifax to meet the two Nova Scotia nurses who saved his life during a hockey tournament in February. Melissa Hines and Terri Arnold were attending the tournament when the referee collapsed.

Guidelines on esthetic procedures recently got a face lift in Ontario, and they've largely been welcomed by nurses and doctors alike. But additional changes could impact how some nurses practice, and they're drawing mixed reactions from medical professionals.

French authorities ordered on Friday the total evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula, a tourism hotspot on the Atlantic Coast, sending boats to remove people from an area threatened by a major wildfire.

Daewoo Engineering & Construction said Friday it has signed a strategic partnership with an internet infrastructure and data center operator as it looks to establish itself as a full-service developer in the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence infrastructure market. Under the partnership, the Korean builder and Korea Internet Neutral eXchange will jointly explore opportunities for hyperscale and AI data center projects; establish a collaboration model linking development, construction and

DK of Seventeen is set to contribute to the soundtrack for “Spooky in Love.” His song “Stay With Me” will be released Sunday as the second song on the soundtrack for the Netflix series, which follows a ghost-seeing heiress and a prosecutor who is seriously afraid of ghosts. The dramatic tune begins with lyrical piano sounds and builds to an explosive rock number. On Thursday, DK left for Kaohsiung, Taiwan, with Seungkwan for the subunit's upcoming concerts, which kick off Friday. The Taipei gig

Homeplus has secured emergency financing to restart operations, but has yet to say when employees and former workers will receive unpaid wages and retirement benefits, leaving thousands in limbo even as plans to reopen stores move forward. The retailer said the debtor-in-possession, or DIP, loan of 200 billion won ($137 million) will be used to reopen 67 key stores currently under temporary closure and gradually resume online operations beginning with 16 stores in the Seoul metropolitan area. Ho

Actor Shin Min-a has been named a brand ambassador for Swiss watchmaker Omega, the company said Thursday. She joins other ambassadors including George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Hyun Bin and Park Bo-gum. "One of the first meaningful gifts I bought for myself as an adult was a wristwatch. To me, time represents more than simply the passing of moments. It symbolizes responsibility, commitment and the precious experiences we share with the people around us," Shin said in a statement. Shin, who debuted

Strong winds could close the Auckland Harbour Bridge this weekend, with forecasters warning of storms, snow and the risk of tornadoes, for various parts of the country.

Evacuees staying in Thunder Bay, Ont., received free shuttle services from hotels to Dilico Anishinabek Family Care's eighth annual powwow in Fort William First Nation, an event promoting togetherness amid a wildfire season that's displaced over 2,800 people from about a dozen communities. "I'm dancing as hard as I can for them," says a grass dancer originally from a First Nation in Manitoba.

Canadian videogame developers Behaviour Interactive have unveiled a new First Nations playable character in the game Dead by Daylight. The character was developed with Anishinaabe consultants and artists and voiced by Dakota/Dine actor Dallas Goldtooth.

Alberta's proposal for a new pipeline through southern B.C. has been billed as a duplication of the 2024 Trans Mountain expansion, but a deviation to another terminal in the Fraser Valley is unearthing familiar challenges including seismic and environmental concerns and possible objections by First Nations.

After 25 years of planning, seven years of construction and months of delays, the first trucks are finally set to roll over the Gordie Howe bridge on Monday. In tow will be some of the billions of dollars worth of goods that pass through the Windsor-Detroit corridor, which the bridge will help get to their destinations faster — saving time and money.

Saturday will mark 10 years since Abdirahman Abdi died after a violent arrest by Ottawa police, and advocates say that while some positive steps have been taken in the last decade to help people in mental health distress, the changes so far need to be followed by more.

The Carney government's financial support for the oil and gas industry amounts to breaking a federal commitment to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, according to environmental advocates.

Some providers point to the federal government’s $10-a-day child-care program as a cause, saying they’re forced to choose between making string-thin profit margins, losing clients or shutting down altogether. Meanwhile, experts suggest the decline is part of a longer trend of parents turning away from home-based child care.

Police had been appealing for information about the 20-year-old since she disappeared last week.

Renovations are set to begin in August on the Dome, which will be operated by Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, and run through early 2028.

The latest duties aim to restore U.S. President Donald Trump's protectionist regime after his earlier levies were struck down by the Supreme Court.

The incident in the suburb of Tawa earlier this month caused multiple signal issues and disrupted rail services.

Highs of 30C are expected in the south on Friday before wet weather arrives for the weekend - although it is unlikely to be enough, as Ben Rich explains.

He faces four charges - assault, indecent assault, and two counts of sexual violation.

South Korea said Friday it would move up the implementation of stricter rules on single-stock leveraged products after criticism that the measures would take too long to take effect. The Financial Services Commission said it would implement stricter minimum deposit requirements, originally planned for August, earlier on July 31 to help stabilize demand for the products. The FSC unveiled the measures on July 16, raising the minimum cash deposit required to trade single-stock leveraged products to

RNZ earlier revealed an internal police review found an investigation by former Detective Senior Sergeant Darren Folau was "poor", that the complainant was "not listened to and not believed".

Two recent official trips by Solomon Islands' leaders leave no clues as to where their preference currently leans: China or the West.

A woman in her 50s who suffered burns across her body in an arson-related explosion at an apartment management office has died while receiving treatment. The woman was pronounced dead at a hospital at about 11:10 a.m. Friday, a day after the incident, according to the North Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency. She had initially been treated at a burn center in Daegu before being transferred to Seoul as her condition worsened. Police upgraded the 71-year-old suspect’s alleged offense from arson c

A newly released briefing paper has highlighted a lack of awareness among police, retailers and the public about the law.

Analysis- The US government is unlikely to budge on the new round of trade tariffs they have slapped on most imports from New Zealand, writes Corin Dann.

The change comes as the upper chamber's current name sometimes causes confusion outside of Japan.

The BNP Paribas Green Tigers Fund has returned 34% year-to-date, fueled by bets on Japanese equities that sit at the core of its stock-selection strategy.

The uncertain trajectory of the U.S. war with Iran will complicate the work of officials now shaping the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's future defense policies.

Posco's employee volunteers are expanding their marine cleanup activities beyond waters near the steelmaker's main operations in Pohang and Gwangyang to remote islands and waters surrounding Jeju Island, Ulleungdo and Dokdo. Established in 2009, Posco Volunteers for Clean Ocean is an employee-led group made up of workers who share a passion for the ocean and a commitment to protecting the marine environment. Since its founding, the volunteer group has carried out activities such as collecting m

The US Treasury kept South Korea on its currency monitoring list, noting that the won remained under sustained depreciation pressure despite the country's large current account surplus and strong economic fundamentals. In its semiannual foreign exchange report released Thursday, the Treasury retained Korea alongside China, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and Thailand. The list was unchanged from its January report. Korea met two of the three criteria for inclusio

Girl group aespa released its first EP in Japan, “Kiss N Tell,” on Friday. The six-track set is fronted by a dance pop title track, the music video for which follows the four members at an amusement park. The members' cute and silly sides feel like an about-face from Aespa's biting second studio album in Korea, “Lemonade.” Two songs from “Kiss N Tell” were unveiled in advance: “Attitude,” which was also the opening theme song for the animation “Kill Blue;” and “In Halo,” which is part of the sou

Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 1.6% in June from a year earlier.

Musinsa Standard opened a seasonal preview to consumers for the first time Thursday, using its 2026 fall-winter showcase to introduce a premium collection and expand the City Leisure line that has become its signature. The private label brand of fashion platform Musinsa built the event around a campaign it calls "Seoul Standard." The company describes it as an effort to carry product and brand experience tested in Seoul into overseas markets. Visitors were able to try on unreleased pieces, leave

Kokohu Vi escaped from custody at the Central Police Station in Nuku'alofa on Sunday.

There were mix results for the Pacific contingents of the first day of competition as the 2026 Commonwealth Games got underway in Glasgow, Scotland, early on Friday morning.

The Government has announced it is drafting a new National Parks Bill that would allow for by-laws prohibiting or restricting certain activities, like the use of disposable barbecues, alongside other sanctions, in the country's national parks.

Ok Taecyeon of 2PM announced Friday, via his agency 51K, that he will be visiting fans in Asia this fall. The singer and actor shared his plans to meet and greet fans in Taipei and Beijing in October and Macao in November, with more destinations to be confirmed soon. The “TodaY” tour will be his first tour in the region in about three years. Next month, Taecyeon will perform alongside his bandmates for two concerts, titled “The Return,” at Inspire Area in Incheon. The six members celebrated 2PM'

The Law Commission this week released the final report from its review on hate crime laws.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee made the request as it adopted a resolution on the conservation status of the gold mines during a meeting in Busan, South Korea.

South Korea will add hidden-camera detection systems to the safety equipment installed in public restrooms under a legal revision passed by the National Assembly on Thursday. The amendment to the Public Toilets Act requires local governments to install safety equipment including emergency bells and systems designed to detect illegal recording devices. Municipal authorities will also be required to inspect how the equipment is operated. The current law requires mayors, county chiefs and district

South Korea said Friday it would continue consultations with the Trump administration to ensure that new US tariffs imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act do not push the tariffs on Korean goods above the 15 percent agreed upon by the two countries last year. “South Korea and the United States share the understanding that the tariff agreement should be honored,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said on condition of anonymity. “We plan to consult closely with the US side to ensure that the 15 percent

UK Home Office figures show overseas passport applications almost tripled to more than 300,000 in the first quarter of 2026.

But the minister in charge, Brooke van Velden, says she has no plans to review the law.

Fears that disruption could further widen to block another sea route sent global oil prices surging in one of the steepest rises of the war.

The move suggests Tehran is seeking to strengthen the ability of its Houthi allies to threaten Red Sea shipping.

A US service member stationed in South Korea has been fined 15 million won ($10,200) for driving about 260 kilometers from Gwangju to Busan while heavily intoxicated, a court said Friday. The Busan District Court convicted the technical sergeant of drunken driving and operating a vehicle without mandatory insurance. The defendant drove a Lincoln sedan from Gwangsan-gu in Gwangju to Busanjin-gu in Busan at about 9 p.m. on Dec. 17 last year, according to the court. A breath test showed a blood alc

Chinese actress Tang Wei, the wife of South Korean film director Kim Tae-yong, has given birth to the couple's second child, a baby boy, according to local reports quoting her aide on Thursday. The person close to Tang confirmed that the actor recently delivered a son, Yonhap reported. Tang, 47, announced the birth herself a day earlier on social media, sharing a photo of the family of four holding hands. It was not known when she actually delivered the child. In the post, she quoted her 10-year

Visitors cool off at Saedori Mul, a spring-fed swimming spot in Samyang-dong, Jeju City, on Friday, as the scorching weather continues to bake the island. The summer heat continues across most of the country on Saturday, with daytime highs reaching 37 degrees Celsius and tropical nights — when temperatures remain above 25 C after sunset — expected to continue, according to the weather agency. Rain is expected in the greater Seoul area and inland Gangwon Province, while scattered showers are expe

South Korea will step up efforts to ease upward pressure on consumer prices amid renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and announce detailed measures to address unfair market practices next month, the finance minister said Friday. Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol made the remarks during a meeting to examine consumer prices with relevant ministries, as renewed tensions between the United States and Iran are feared to lead to yet another disruption in global supply chains. "We will make t

The collaboration between Le Sserafim, Illit and Katseye reached 100 million streams on Spotify as of Friday, just 41 days after its release. The single “Iconic By Mistake” sits high on major music charts worldwide: at No. 21 on Spotify’s Weekly Top Songs Global, No. 38 on Billboard’s Hot 100, and No. 22 on UK Official Singles Top 100. The single's music video is closing in on 100 million plays on YouTube, at over 93 million. Le Sserafim flew to Osaka on Friday for the Japan leg of its tour. Dur

Liuaki Kokohu VI, a 35-year-old New Zealand citizen of Tongan descent, who is considered a high-risk escapee due to his criminal history, remains on the run.

The spy was at the center of a secret operation to smuggle high-tech weapon components into Russia.

US President Donald Trump has said that he had not decided on whether to launch major strikes on Iran yet, as Tehran was now getting "serious" in talks with Washington.

Over the past three days, ​tens of thousands have gathered in New Delhi demanding the resignation of India's education minister, and at the center of it all is Abhijeet Dipke.

Tonga Police are offering a reward of up to 5,000 Pa'anga (approx. NZ$3400) each for information leading to the capture of two escaped foreign remandees.

"They're looking for any way to put a tariff rate back on," the trade minister said, adding that Trump was "going to do" what he was going to do.

The community and two "outstanding" fire chiefs have "led the charge" to challenge a Fire and Emergency ban, a mayor says.

It's regarded as one of the most significant archaeological discoveries ever made in Aotearoa and the wider Pacific.

Eight of Matthew Ryan's companies were placed into interim receivership by the High Court it was revealed earlier this week.

The Fijian Drua Women will be aiming to secure their third Super Rugby Women's title when they host the defending champion NSW Waratahs in Ba.

U.S. President Donald Trump's surprising demand, coming less than 24 hours after the deal was announced, throws a wrench into its implementation.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says now that there was no impact, that staff had other devices that did work.

In Tauranga, burial costs rose 50 percent and ash burial 200 percent.

Injured climbers recovering after sliding into 'dangerous little gully' that doesn't get any sun in winter.

Extreme heat can take a toll on mental health - and young people and women are among the groups most at risk, according to one study.

All 16 tenants will be exiting, making way for redevelopment.

TEKenable, which provides AI, data and cloud services, has announced plans to create at least 30 jobs over the next 12 months.

A Cobden resident says he's never seen rainfall so "quick and furious" in his time on the West Coast.

Twenty-year-old Wolvedi Ding was last seen in the western suburb of Swanson on Friday morning.

French authorities ordered the total evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula on the Atlantic Coast, sending boats to remove people from an area threatened by a major wildfire, while 40,000 people have been told to evacuate or shelter in the Madrid region.

The US says it's to combat imports made with forced labour - a claim previously rejected by New Zealand.

Three boating incidents have been reported in Papua New Guinea waters, resulting in several confirmed deaths and dozens still missing.

Hannah and Max continued to pool finances after Max was made redundant but took "drastic measures" to cut spending.

"I'd spent half my life feeling like what happened to me wasn't bad enough for the police to do anything, felt shame and blame."

Two principals have opposing views on why classrooms without walls do or don't work for them.

The Canadian Armed Forces says three of its members were injured last week after falling into a crevasse during a training exercise in Jasper National Park.

Emergency services are at the scene at the State Highway 1 on-off ramps near Te Oko Horoi Bridge in Cambridge.

US President Donald Trump said that a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia depends on the kingdom recognising Israel, throwing the agreement into turmoil just the day after it was signed.

Toronto Blue Jays fans Joseph Debenedictis and Steven Cipollone tell The National about the moment they held a Davis Schneider lookalike contest outside the Rogers Centre before the game.

The Scottish capital has become the first city in the country to introduce a charge for overnight stays.

The Trump administration will impose new tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on 60 trading partners, including the EU, over allegations of lax enforcement of forced labour bans, senior administration officials said.

Insurance had the largest increase of any item in the consumer price index since 2000, up 916 percent.

FENZ chief executive Kerry Gregory was grilled by MPs earlier this year about taking a hard line on motorised water rescues, which he defended.

WestJet is giving passengers with bookings from July 30 to Aug. 4 the opportunity to cancel or change their flights for free in light of the ongoing labour dispute with flight attendants.

The wife of a man who took his own life while receiving psychiatric treatment in Cork has questioned how he was able to do so while he was being held in a secure mental health unit

A reward of up to £3,000 (€3,509) is being offered for information leading to any arrest and conviction after a monkey was abandoned on a London bus.

The highly infectious skin condition is caused by a parasitic mite that burrows into human skin to lay its eggs.

A Scarborough auto repair shop owner says he has been told by the city to clear more than a thousand scrap tires from his business, but he cannot get anyone to pick them up following changes to provincial tire recycling rules.

A dual Canadian-American citizen has pleaded guilty to her role in a human smuggling operation that resulted in the deaths of a Romanian family of four and a boat operator in the St. Lawrence River.

In a telegram marking the Italian President's 85th birthday, Pope Leo XIV assures Italian President, Sergio Mattarella, of his prayers and entrusts him to the protection of the country's patron saints, Francis of Assisi and Catherine of Siena.

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The B.C. government will soon monitor more than 350 repeat offenders in the Lower Mainland as it launches seven new intervention and monitoring hubs in the region.

RCMP say the incident took place Saturday night in a parking lot on Mountain Road, and the investigation is ongoing.

Free daytime energy, Canada's fire crisis, and how to stay safe within the smoke

The Iran-backed Hezbollah group branded Lebanese President Joseph Aoun's recent visit to Washington a failure and said it showed the government's submission to a foreign power.

Former Ireland rugby star and TV analyst Shane Horgan has been sued by Pepper Finance Corporation for repossession of his €675,000 Dublin property.

The Trump administration is imposing a new global tariff regime designed to take the place of a temporary 10 per cent tariff that expires Friday.

US President Donald Trump will not stop the extradition of influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan to the UK on sex crime charges, the White House said.

The Government has published a new plan to make Ireland a key player in quantum computing by 2030.

The long-awaited bill banning goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied territories in Palestine has been signed into law, despite ongoing criticism it does not include a ban on services.

The Minister for Health has indicated that contractor BAM should not tender for the new National Maternity Hospital as she confirms fire certification problems at the National Children's Hospital.

As British Columbia faces yet another difficult wildfire season, one region is rolling out a new tool aimed at protecting some of its most vulnerable residents.

A truck driver who referred to refugees as "rape-ugees" and threatened to throw their "bleeding corpses into the sea" will be sentenced tomorrow morning for incitement to hatred.

Less than a year after the Blue Jays came within inches of being champions of baseball, the club is struggling to keep its playoff hopes alive. As the Jays try to stave off a sweep against Tampa Bay Thursday and start climbing back in the standings, fans are wondering what happened.

The Bank of Canada has been ordered for the second time this month to stop using the services of contract workers while its security officers are on strike.

Criticized by a federal judge for sloppy legal work, the U.S. government on Thursday withdrew subpoenas that would have compelled three New York Times reporters to testify about their sources for articles about U.S. President Donald Trump's Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet.

The European Union agreed to allow online platforms to scan for child sexual abuse material in users' chats but with an exemption for encrypted messaging services.

The Prime Minister orders an ‘urgent review’ into plan to release some prisoners early.

A judge has told a court that those travelling to the month-long matchmaking festival in Lisdoonvarna in north Clare in September will "have to get their courting done early".

‌U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will discuss artificial ​intelligence with Chinese President Xi ​Jinping when he visits the United States on Sept. ​24.

Disgraced former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has been stripped of his knighthood.

US homeland security officials would have the power to order AI firms to shut down models that put human life or the economy at risk, under proposed legislation.

The mayor of North Bay and a Jewish advocacy organization are condemning a weekend gathering that appears to be taking place somewhere in the area— that organizers themselves are calling “Bigotfest”— saying hate and discrimination have no place in the community.

An Irish woman living in Spain has described trying to live and work in Malaga at the moment as difficult due to temperatures topping 40C.

The cost of rebuilding Gaza after nearly two years of war will top €60 billion, according to Oxfam.

The owner of a beloved restaurant-bakery in Millbank in southern Ontario is doing everything she can to let people know the business is still open after Google's AI overview said it would close for good at the end of the month. It turns out the AI had mistaken Anna Mae's for a bakery of the same name in Illinois.

Google has today launched a new selfie video sign-in feature, allowing users another option to log in to their accounts or recover them in case they are locked out due to forgotten passwords or lack of access to their preferred devices.

University of Toronto math professor Jacob Tsimerman has won the Fields Medal, the top global honour in mathematics.

Friends and family of Minnesota Democratic lawmaker Melissa Hortman said the man sentenced Thursday to two life terms plus 40 years after pleading guilty to her murder failed to eliminate her spirit and her legacy, but caused enduring fear and fury as he changed their lives forever.

In this issue of our environmental newsletter, CBC's Nicole Mortillaro shares her experience buying a used EV, we catch up with former environment minister Stephen Guilbeault on a new adventure and check what science and government policy say about relocating nuisance bears instead of killing them.

The parents of two young brothers who drowned in the fast-moving currents of Nutimik Lake in the Whiteshell over the weekend say the the outpouring of support from community is helping sustain them through their loss.

The British Security Service MI5 and the Police Service of Northern Ireland have been ordered to pay damages to journalist Vincent Kearney for illegally accessing his phone data.

Intensifying attacks by the Israeli military have killed and injured dozens of Palestinians in the last week. ​

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The world’s leading authority on food insecurity said Thursday that the situation in Gaza had improved since famine was declared in parts of the Palestinian territory last year, but warned that conditions remained at crisis levels and could slip back into catastrophe. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, said a reduction in fighting and the fact that Israel was allowing more aid into Gaza had a “significant impact, albeit unevenly across areas.” But it noted that most families living in the war-battered enclave still weren't getting nearly enough to eat. “Even small disruptions to humanitarian access could rapidly reverse recent gains,” the report warned. The designation underscored how conditions in Gaza have both markedly improved since last year and remain at crisis levels without immediate prospects for recovery. More than 1,185 people have been killed by Israeli strikes and shelling since last October’s agreement, according to the territory's health ministry. Israel controls more than half the territory, leaving Palestinians confined to squalid tent

The foreign ministry plans to change all diplomats' email addresses to prevent potential misuse following a data breach at an affiliated think tank, according to people close to the matter Thursday. The personal information of all diplomats was presumed to have been leaked due to the data breach at an online education system run by the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA), in a suspected hacking that went unnoticed for 10 months until February this year. The system had about 10,000 personal data records, most of which are believed to have been exposed in the hack. The ministry is concerned that compromised data could be used for phishing or other sorts of cybercrimes, which could cause unforeseen damage and undermine credibility in diplomatic engagements. The ministry was unaware that an unidentified hacker had breached the KNDA's server and it had stayed undetected since April last year, until it was alerted by a related government agency in February. The compromised server is believed to have stored educational videos and information on trainees, including their names, user IDs, pos

A Korean appellate court has reduced sentences of a hospital director and a surgeon convicted of killing a newborn baby shortly after it was delivered via cesarean section, while acquitting the mother of all charges. The Seoul High Court sentenced the hospital director surnamed Yoon to four years in prison, along with a fine of 1.5 million won ($1,000) and forfeiture of 9 million won. The operating surgeon, identified as Shim, received a sentence of two years and six months. Both were also banned from working at child-related institutions for five years. Their sentences were reduced from six years and four years, respectively, in the first trial. The mother, Kwon, who had previously been convicted as an accomplice to murder and given a suspended three-year sentence, was acquitted on appeal. The court ruled that she may have believed the fetus had already died in utero and found insufficient evidence that she was aware the doctors would kill a live-born infant. The court upheld the finding that Yoon and Shim performed a cesarean section in June 2024 when Kwon was 34 to 36 weeks pregnant,

A ceremony marking the return of a pair of Qing Dynasty stone lion statues from a Seoul museum to the Chinese government took place Thursday, officials said. The event took place some six months after the two countries signed a document during a summit meeting in January, pledging the return of the statues purchased by the Kansong Art and Culture Foundation in the 1930s. At the ceremony held at Kansong Art Museum, the museum and the National Museum of Korea (NMK) signed a document on transferring the ownership of the statues and the statues themselves to Chinese cultural authorities. Attending Thursday's event were NMK Director You Hong-june, Kansong Art Museum Director Chun In-keon, Rao Quan, chief of China's National Cultural Heritage Administration, and Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Dai Bing. The statues, each standing 1.9 meters tall and weighing 1.25 tons, were purchased at an auction market in Japan and had been a symbolic fixture welcoming visitors at the museum in Seoul. Korean art collector "Kansong" Jeon Hyeong-pil, who died in 1962, is believed to have said the statues shou

Korean firms are reconsidering whether to proceed with the investments in Canada that they had pledged as part of Seoul's bid for Ottawa's multibillion-dollar submarine procurement project after the Korean consortium lost the competition. Hanwha Ocean lost to Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) in the roughly 60 trillion won ($39.3 billion) competition to replace the Royal Canadian Navy's aging fleet of four Victoria-class submarines with up to 12 new 3,000-ton diesel-electric vessels. Contrary to speculation that Korean firms would abandon their Canadian investment plans following the failed bid, the companies are still weighing their next steps. The uncertainty comes even as the Canadian government continues to emphasize the importance of expanding bilateral business ties. Hyundai Motor Group, which had proposed building a nationwide hydrogen mobility and logistics ecosystem in Canada, said that it has not decided to abandon the so-called Project Beaver and is considering its next steps. “Our hydrogen business in Canada was part of Team Korea's package deal that was tied to

South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said the Lee Jae Myung government has effectively abandoned the previous administration’s denuclearization-first policy toward North Korea, reorienting its approach around a peace-first strategy aimed at eventually achieving a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. "In its first year, the Lee Jae Myung administration virtually scrapped the prior administration's stance of 'denuclearization-first' and Complete, Verifiable and Irreversible Dismantlement (CVID), shifting its policy focus to a peace-first policy instead,” Chung told reporters during a press conference marking his first year in the post, which falls on July 25. Chung said the government has also dropped the term "denuclearization of North Korea" from its official vocabulary, replacing it with the broader goal of a "nuclear-free Korean Peninsula." "We reestablished the goal to build a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and decided not to use the term 'denuclearization of North Korea,'" he said. The minister outlined a strategy centered on first freezing North Korea's nuclear program ra

Global pop star Shakira delighted fans after sharing a backstage photo with K-pop supergroup BTS and surprised fans with a Korean greeting following their performances at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final halftime show. The photo posted by Shakira on social media showed her posing arm in arm with BTS members backstage, creating a warm and friendly atmosphere. Both artists performed during the halftime show at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on earlier this week. BTS energized the crowd with its global hit “Dynamite,” while Shakira closed the show with her official World Cup anthem, “Dai Dai.” Alongside the photo, Shakira simply wrote "BTS" and added a heart emoji, drawing enthusiastic reactions from fans. She also uploaded a short video in which she greeted viewers in Korean, earning praise from Korean fans for the unexpected gesture. The Korean greeting was reportedly coached by global choreographer Kany, who has previously appeared on Korean entertainment programs. Kany serves as the lead choreographer for “Dai Dai,” the official song of the 2026 F

Police recently apprehended a new generation of organized crime members who maintained traditional gang rituals — such as communal living, forced chest tattoos and rigid codes of conduct — while expanding into emerging financial cybercrimes, including voice phishing and online investment scams. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Metropolitan Crime Investigation Division said Thursday that it arrested 40 members of the Seoul-based Dongdaemun gang and three affiliated syndicates on charges of forming and participating in a criminal organization under organized crime statutes. With the exception of the boss and senior advisers, all gang members are in their 20s and 30s. Police placed 14 individuals in pretrial detention, including a 33-year-old gang enforcer. Investigators established the organization's structure for the first time by analyzing criminal records, seized evidence, communication logs and surveillance video. Police launched the investigation in February after obtaining surveillance footage of a group assault committed by Dongdaemun gang members in Gangnam District in S

For Lee Dong-wook, returning to Disney+’s “A Shop for Killers” meant more than reviving a once-presumed-dead uncle who runs a clandestine weapons mall for assassins — it meant quietly adding 8 kilograms, guzzling water to “not look older” and rethinking what it means to be a guardian. Lee plays Jeong Jin-man in the Disney+ action thriller, a former team leader for the mercenary company Babylon, now the operator of a clandestine shopping mall, fighting to protect his niece Ji-an and push back against Babylon’s network. The first season drew strong international acclaim, landing on The New York Times’ best international TV show list and among Time magazine’s top four Korean dramas of the year in 2024. Released Wednesday with two episodes and rolling out two more every Wednesday for a total of eight, Season 2 follows Ji-an as the mall’s new CEO join forces with her uncle to launch a full-scale counterattack. “I’m grateful we could come back with Season 2 because Season 1 was loved so much,” Lee said during an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul Thursday. “It

Actor Yoo Ah-in has fueled fresh speculation about a possible return to acting after making a rare public appearance alongside director Jang Jae-hyun at the VIP premiere of the movie "Hope." Following his career-halting drug scandal, the actor had largely stayed out of the public eye until he appeared before audience members and industry peers with Jang, prompting speculation over whether he is preparing to resume his professional career. Yoo attended the VIP screening of the movie "Hope" at Megabox Coex in Gangnam District, Seoul, on July 13. He arrived with Jang and greeted film industry executives and colleagues before the screening. The outing drew heavy media attention as his first major public appearance since the Supreme Court upheld his suspended prison sentence on charges of habitual drug use. Prosecutors indicted Yoo in 2023 on multiple drug-related charges. Investigators found that he illegally used controlled medical anesthetics, including propofol, 181 times between September 2020 and March 2022. He also fraudulently purchased roughly 1,100 sleeping pills under other people

Growing up in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City with one Korean parent, military service in a distant homeland often feels like a foreign obligation. Korea’s Military Manpower Administration set out to change that Thursday, opening its doors to a group of multicultural Korean-Vietnamese youth for an immersive trial of the nation's draft system. South Korea enforces a mandatory military service system requiring all able-bodied adult men to serve for 18 to 21 months to maintain defense readiness against North Korea. The new initiative brought about 20 youths and chaperones to military facilities in Daejeon and North Chungcheong Province, marking an expansion of government efforts to integrate the diaspora into that national defense apparatus. Under the banner of the "Overseas Citizens Military Service Connection Project," the program targets young dual-nationals and overseas residents, helping them navigate a complex civic duty every South Korean male must eventually face. Three participants born in 2007 — who reached the official draft age this year — found that the experience went beyond s

NEW DELHI — Thousands of young protesters were camped on the streets of India’s capital New Delhi on Thursday, defying new restrictions in the latest show of strength for a movement that has become one of the biggest challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. India’s “Cockroach” protests began more than a month ago over alleged leaks in some of the country’s most competitive entrance exams for medical colleges and government jobs. The movement has since expanded beyond exam grievances, drawing professionals and families while channeling broader frustration. Thursday’s demonstrations at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site in New Delhi, followed overnight clashes in which police used tear gas and batons to disperse crowds, the second such confrontation this week. On Monday, thousands of protesters had defied restrictions and marched toward Parliament before police broke up the demonstration with tear gas and batons. Protesters regrouped by Thursday morning, returning to the protest site despite roadblocks, while authorities suspended Delhi Metro services

The government finalized a budget proposal for official development assistance (ODA) for 2027 at 6.3 trillion won ($4.6 billion) on Thursday, marking an increase of 871.2 billion won from this year. The budget proposal was part of the comprehensive ODA plan for 2027 approved during a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Han Seong-sook. The budget will be finalized after a review by the ministry of planning and budget and then approval from the National Assembly. Next year's plan, drawn up based on a mid-term ODA strategy that the government announced in May, calls for focusing on healthcare, culture and artificial intelligence -- strategic cooperation sectors designated in the mid-term plan for the next five years. Drought and flood prevention projects, such as dam construction and river management, are among the high priorities. The government will also push for projects based on specific needs of recipient nations while actively utilizing culture and artificial intelligence (AI), areas that South Korea has an edge over other nations, officials said. In particular, AI is the signatur

Four days from application to license In many countries, obtaining a driver's license means waiting weeks between separate appointments. Korea consolidates the process into a single facility. Applicants complete a pretest traffic safety education, a written exam, a practical test and an on-road test — a sequence that can be finished in as little as four days for a Type 2 automatic license. Korea has signed mutual recognition agreements with more than 140 countries and territories, allowing holders to exchange their license for a local one without retesting. Standardized procedures, automated scoring Examiner assignments are drawn at random each morning, so neither examiner nor applicant knows the pairing in advance. The on-road test is unforgiving by design: examiners sit in the passenger seat with auxiliary brakes and use them the moment an error creates risk, and any intervention ends the attempt. The practical test course, which candidates drive alone, is monitored by in-vehicle sensors that score lane position, stopping accuracy and signal use automatically. The person who decides T

Woodz, widely recognized for his hit song “Drowning,” is set to join the cast of a historical action film scheduled to begin shooting in the second half of the year. The singer’s participation was announced Thursday by Hive Media Corp., the production company behind the tentatively titled film “Nambeol,” or “The Southern Campaign” in English. Set in Korea during the 1392-1910 Joseon Dynasty era, the film is billed as a hard-boiled, wuxia-style action feature. Its story follows nine warriors of disparate social backgrounds and talents who embark on a campaign to Japan’s Tsushima Island to rescue Korean captives held by local pirate lords. Woodz will play Cheonnom, whose name literally means “firstborn,” a skilled archer who never misses his mark. He joins the perilous campaign to support his family. Devoted both to his family and his fellow warriors, Cheonnom is determined to bring every member of the expedition home alive. The film is directed by Lee Mo-gae, who previously oversaw the cinematography for “12.12: The Day,” “Exhuma,” “Hunt,” “Yadang: The Sn

The Korean won strengthened to a more than two-month high against the U.S. dollar Thursday, as the nation's economy reported better-than-expected growth in the second quarter on firmer exports of semiconductors. The won was quoted at 1,466.8 won per dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 13.3 won from the previous day. The won started the day at 1,478 won per dollar and rose to as high as 1,457.9 won, marking the strongest level since May 8. The country's real gross domestic product rose 0.6 percent in the April-June period from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea, exceeding the central bank's May forecast of 0.2 percent growth. With the Japanese yen tumbling to its lowest level against the dollar in about 40 years, the won-yen arbitrated exchange rate hovers below 900 won per 100 yen. It was the first time in about 20 months that the won-yen exchange rate fell below the 900 level. The U.S. dollar serves as the benchmark currency for the exchange rate between the two. Overseas investors bought a net 2.1 trillion won ($1.4 billion) worth of local stocks on Thursday, with the benchmark Kore

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on Thursday called on North Korea to respond to Seoul's offers for dialogue and join efforts to promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula at a regional security forum in Manila, the foreign ministry said. Cho made the remarks during the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), a 27-member multilateral security forum attended by the 11 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states and major regional powers, including the United States, China, Japan and Russia. The ARF is the only regional multilateral security forum in which both South and North Korea participate, but Pyongyang was absent from this year's session for the second consecutive year. Cho said peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula remain essential to the security and prosperity of the region, reaffirming Seoul's efforts to build a peninsula where the two Koreas can coexist peacefully and grow together. "Such efforts cannot bear fruit through the will of one side alone. I hope North Korea would respond to our sincere efforts for dialogue and cooperation," Cho was quoted as saying by th

The Supreme Court said Thursday it has postponed the sentencing hearing of former first lady Kim Keon Hee's corruption trial in order to refer the case to its full bench. The hearing had been scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday following deliberations by Division 2 of the court. The new date was not immediately disclosed. The trial centers on charges that Kim, the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, was involved in a stock price manipulation scheme, accepted luxury gifts from the Unification Church and received free opinion poll results from a self-proclaimed power broker. The full bench referral was likely caused by conflicting rulings from lower courts regarding the opinion polls, as Kim was acquitted while her husband was found partially guilty on the same charge. In a separate case, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was also found guilty Wednesday on charges of receiving free opinion poll results from the power broker, Myung Tae-kyun, and having one of his supporters pay the cost. Full bench referrals are typically decided when a ruling by a four-member panel of judges is deemed inappropriate or whe

The government finalized a budget proposal for official development assistance (ODA) for 2027 at 6.3 trillion won ($4.6 billion) on Thursday, marking an increase of 871.2 billion won from this year. The budget proposal was part of the comprehensive ODA plan for 2027 approved during a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Han Seong-sook. The budget will be finalized after a review by the ministry of planning and budget and then approval from the National Assembly. Next year's plan, drawn up based on a mid-term ODA strategy that the government announced in May, calls for focusing on healthcare, culture and artificial intelligence — strategic cooperation sectors designated in the mid-term plan for the next five years. Drought and flood prevention projects, such as dam construction and river management, are among the high priorities. The government will also push for projects based on specific needs of recipient nations while actively utilizing culture and artificial intelligence (AI), areas that Korea has an edge over other nations, officials said. In particular, AI is the signature age

A live, nationally televised housing policy forum led Thursday by the president himself, a rarity in many countries, highlighted the outsized role real estate plays in Korea’s economy and society. Experts say housing has become more than just shelter for Koreans, serving as a primary store of wealth, a means of securing retirement and a pathway to social mobility amid scarce supply in the Seoul metropolitan area. President Lee Jae Myung convened the public discussion on real estate policy, bringing together some 140 participants, including Prime Minister Han Seong-sook, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol, as well as representatives from the financial and construction industries, academia, civic groups, real estate brokers and social media influencers. The level of public engagement was evident even before the cameras started rolling. Since the forum’s official website opened on July 12, people have submitted more than 6,300 policy proposals. What was scheduled as a 100-minute discussion ultimately stretched beyond three hours as participants continued to debate the country’s housing ch

Just weeks after winning an unprecedented fifth term as Seoul mayor, Oh Se-hoon now finds himself fighting for his political survival after a Seoul court fined him 10 million won ($6,820) Wednesday for violating the Political Funds Act, a sentence that would cost him his mayoralty if upheld. Under the special counsel law's "6-3-3 rule," the case must clear the appeals court within three months and the Supreme Court within another three. With the first ruling handed down Wednesday, the appeals court would technically be required to rule by Oct. 22, with the Supreme Court completing its review by Jan. 22. If that timetable holds, Oh could learn within six months whether he remains Seoul mayor and whether he retains any realistic path to the presidency. The Seoul Central District Court found Oh guilty of receiving polling results from political broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the 2021 mayoral by-election and having businessman Kim Han-jung cover part of the cost. Of 10 polls cited by prosecutors, the court found that Oh had commissioned five — three private polls and two published polls

President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday signaled stronger property holding taxes to curb housing speculation, saying speculative real estate investors owning multiple homes should bear a heavier tax burden than owner-occupiers. Lee pointed to Japan's housing bubble as a cautionary case, saying soaring real estate prices eventually led to what became known as the country's "lost 20 years" or "lost 30 years." "Some people worry that we are heading toward the same peak," he said. The remarks came during a televised public forum on housing policy ahead of the government's tax reform package expected later this month. The package is aimed at reining in runaway housing prices, as many people are unable to afford to own their own homes due to speculative purchases driving up home prices. "To bring Korea's property holding taxes in line with those of advanced economies, they would have to be raised at least threefold. But if we tripled them now, it could trigger something close to a public uprising," Lee said. "If we leave things as they are, the problem will deal a massive blow to the country. We ne

Kumho Petrochemical Group is accelerating its shift toward research and development to reshape its business around higher-value products and advanced materials as the global petrochemical industry grapples with weakening demand and persistent oversupply. The group said Thursday it is directing more investment toward specialty chemicals, sustainable materials and manufacturing process innovation as it seeks to improve profitability while positioning itself for long-term growth. The strategy also reflects a broader shift from being primarily a materials supplier to providing technology-based solutions tailored to customers' evolving needs and tightening environmental regulations. “Kumho Petrochemical Group is moving beyond a business model dependent on market cycles by leveraging technology to improve profitability while proactively securing new growth opportunities for the future,” the company said. One of the group's main priorities is expanding its portfolio of specialty products. Kumho Petrochemical has increased production capacity for solution styrene butadiene rubber, a synthetic

The dayslong fire at a Coupang logistics center in Incheon has highlighted growing fire safety challenges, as factories and warehouses become increasingly automated and reliant on lithium-ion battery-powered robots that could cause a massive explosion when heated. This new industrial environment is raising concerns that existing safety standards may not be keeping pace. Fire officials said one of their top priorities during efforts to contain the blaze at the site was preventing flames from spreading from the sixth floor, where the fire began, to the fifth floor, where hundreds of lithium-ion battery-powered warehouse robots were housed. They estimated the batteries had a combined capacity roughly equivalent to those used in about 20 electric vehicles (EVs). The fire, which broke out on Saturday, was brought under initial control after about 61 hours without spreading significantly to the fifth floor and was fully extinguished on Wednesday. The spread of physical artificial intelligence (AI) is expanding the deployment of autonomous mobile robots, automated guided vehicles and automated

The ongoing monsoon season is expected to end early next week and be followed by an intense heat wave, the state weather agency said Thursday. This year's heavy downpours are determined to have already ended on the southern island of Jeju on Sunday, and are expected to end in the central and southern regions around next Monday, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said. Starting late next week, a heat wave is forecast to sweep across the nation with morning temperatures ranging between 23 C and 26 C and daytime temperatures ranging from 29 C to 37 C from next Monday through Aug. 2. The monsoon season started later than usual this year, on June 30 in Jeju and the southern region, and on July 1 in the central region, according to the KMA. If it ends as forecast, this year's monsoon will have been shorter than the typical year. The agency, however, noted localized heavy downpours could still occur at any time, with high temperatures and humidity brought by the North Pacific High possibly leading to the sudden development of strong rain clouds.

South Korea, China and Japan on Thursday called for stronger cooperation on supply chains and food and energy security at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-related ministerial meeting amid the continued Middle East crisis, Seoul's foreign ministry said. The consensus was reached during the 27th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Manila, which brought together top diplomats from the 11 ASEAN member states and the three Northeast Asian countries to discuss ways to advance practical cooperation, according to the ministry. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi attended the meeting, while China was represented by Vice Foreign Minister Hua Chunying in place of Foreign Minister Wang Yi amid tensions between Beijing and Tokyo. "Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have exposed vulnerabilities which had long been simply hypothetical. They have placed both our food and energy security under severe strain," Cho said. "Yet, paradoxically, this crisis also opens a window of opportunity for ASEAN Plus Three to once again

KOSPI surged back above the 7,000 level after five trading sessions on Thursday as Alphabet’s stronger-than-expected capital spending outlook reignited optimism over the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The Kosdaq also jumped sharply, triggering a temporary halt on program buying orders. The benchmark KOSPI opened 2.44 percent higher at 6,963.35, up 165.65 points from the previous session, and ended at 7,096.89, gaining 299.19 points, or 4.40 percent. The rally followed Alphabet, Google’s parent company, raising its 2026 capital expenditures (CAPEX) guidance, a move that eased concerns over a slowdown in AI-related investment momentum. “Alphabet lifted its 2026 CAPEX forecast to $195 billion-$205 billion from $180 billion-$190 billion,” said Kim Joong-han, an analyst at Samsung Securities. “The higher spending guidance showed that concerns over a slowdown in the AI cycle and capital expenditure were overdone.” He added that enterprise demand momentum is likely to strengthen further in the second half. Amid renewed AI optimism, shares of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the c

Korea’s advanced banking and payments infrastructure may be masking the urgency around digital assets, even as the technology is rapidly emerging as a matter of national interest and broader national security worldwide, a Circle executive said Thursday. While the country can afford to take a cautious approach to regulation, it should not move so slowly that it falls behind in digital asset adoption, he said. Circle is the issuer of USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. "The urgency, I believe, isn't widely understood nor shared (in Korea)," Circle Chief Strategy Officer Dante Disparte said at a media briefing in Seoul. He argued that trillions of dollars are already circulating through digital asset products, and the market could expand further as blockchain technology converges with artificial intelligence and autonomous digital agents. "That's where the urgency comes into play," Disparte said. "You could afford to be late to the regulation, but you don't necessarily want to be late to the technology (adoption)." He made the comments ahead of Current Seoul, a private industry ga

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee on Thursday adopted a resolution calling on Japan to reflect the "whole history" across all periods of mining exploitation in on-site interpretation and displays at the Sado mines. The adoption supports the Korean government's demand that Japan mention the mine's history of using wartime forced laborers from the Korean Peninsula and other Asian countries on signposts located in the heritage site. During the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee held at BEXCO in Busan, member states adopted the decision regarding Japan’s State of Conservation report by consensus without debate. The decision emphasized that Tokyo's follow-up measures regarding wartime history remain insufficient, stating that "further clarification is needed regarding how the interpretation and presentation strategy and facilities comprehensively address, at the site level, the whole history of the property throughout all periods of mining exploitation." The committee requested that Japan keep the World Heritage Committee regularly informed of its progress and recommended that i

CAIRO — The Iranian-aligned Houthis said on Thursday they struck two Saudi oil tankers as part of a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, threatening to create a second chokepoint on global oil supplies alongside Iran's near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile the U.S. military completed a new round of strikes on Iran at President Donald Trump's direction, marking a 12th successive night of American attacks and prompting further Iranian retaliation. Iran said it attacked U.S. missile systems, weapons and fuel storages in Jordan, as well as U.S. military posts in Kuwait including Al-Adiri Camp, Ali Al Salem Air Base, Doha Camp and Arifjan Camp. Even before the renewed threats to shipping traffic in the Red Sea, Iran's near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz had stoked inflation around the world, pushing up oil prices and squeezing U.S. gasoline consumers at a time when the unpopular war has put Trump's Republican allies under pressure ahead of congressional elections in November. The Yemen-based Houthi militants, who control areas near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on the opposite end

As summer temperatures peak across the Korean peninsula, the municipal government is taking a bold gamble on the economic potential of the midnight hour. City officials unveiled a major initiative, Thursday, to transform the banks of the Han River into a bustling, 24-hour cultural ecosystem, anchoring the capital’s broader bid to build a thriving nighttime economy. At the center of the initiative is "Han River Bamping" — a portmanteau of the Korean word for "night" and the English word "camping" — a monthlong pilot program launching in August that will place up to 200 temporary campsites along the riverbanks in Yeouido and Ttukseom. Running daily from 5:00 pm to 9:00 am, the free-of-charge campgrounds aim to seamlessly blend outdoor recreation with the city’s famed nocturnal energy. Rather than treating night leisure as an afterthought, municipal planners are attempting to link previously disconnected waterfront services into a single, continuous experience. Under the new model, a visitor might board a water bus in Jamsil, rent a bicycle to ride along the riverside, cool off at

For most theatergoers, the magic of the performing arts exists entirely on stage, where a curated world of soft spotlighting, flawless acoustics and synchronized cues are enjoyed by the audience at a distance. To close that gap, the Incheon Culture and Arts Center will invite the public to enter the complex, high-stakes engine room behind the spectacle on Aug. 19. The center said Thursday that it will host its 2026 Backstage Tour, offering ordinary citizens unprecedented access to the hidden architecture of live performances. The initiative follows a highly successful trial run last September ahead of the venue's major renovation, expanding on a public demand to see the innerworkings of a theatrical performance. Rather than a passive walk-through, the tour promises an immersive technical showcase led by the venue’s primary architects of illusion: stage managers, lighting directors, sound engineers and house managers. Participants will ascend onto the main stage to witness synchronized technical demonstrations before stepping directly onto the revolving stage and riding the hydraulic o

Korea's science minister expressed willingness to promote investments in local companies from U.S. big tech firms, ahead of his planned trip to Silicon Valley later Thursday. The key point of the visit will be to "strengthen cooperation so that big tech companies can invest in Korea," Minister Bae Kyung-hoon told reporters after a meeting with chief executive officers (CEOs) of local telecom operators held in central Seoul. Discussions will center on artificial intelligence (AI) cooperation and market expansion, AI data centers and semiconductors, he added. Bae also said he plans to use the trip to promote Korea's AI ecosystem, describing the trip as a summit aimed at showing the world what K-AI is. The science minister is set to depart for San Francisco in the evening and meet with officials from U.S. big tech companies, including Broadcom, OpenAI, Anthropic and Nvidia.

MANILA — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday in the Philippines for talks where he was expected to renew the prospect of the U.S. trying to broker an end to the war in Ukraine. The U.S. and Russia did not immediately provide details of the meeting on the sidelines of an annual gathering by foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Manila. Three days of closed-door talks that started Tuesday have focused on the resurgent war in the Middle East , the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and, closer to home, the South China Sea, where a new clash flared Thursday. U.S. efforts to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war have dropped off as indirect talks stalled and the Iran war took center stage. Renewed strikes by Washington and Tehran have been intensifying after an interim ceasefire deal collapsed. Rubio told reporters in Manila on Wednesday that he plans to raise the conflict in Ukraine with Lavrov, saying that the U.S. remained open to playing a role in ending the conflict “if that opportunity presents it

The voices of one of the world’s oldest collegiate a cappella groups filled a Seoul gallery this week as Yale University’s Whiffenpoofs performed Korean songs, offering residents a musical respite amid the summer heat. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday evening’s performance by the Whiffenpoofs at Seoul Gallery drew about 80 attendees, including officials from the U.S. Embassy in Korea, Yale University guests and visitors to the venue. The group performed Toy’s “Still Beautiful,” singing the Korean lyrics as part of an event highlighting ongoing cultural and educational cooperation between Seoul and Yale. Founded in 1909, the Whiffenpoofs are known as one of the most recognized university a cappella groups in the United States, holding more than 100 concerts annually across six continents and performing at major venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center. The performance also featured guest appearances by classical ensemble Eumak Hase, made up of Son Hyung-bin and Baek Dong-hyun, as well as haegeum musician Eunhan, adding Korean tradit

The Woongjin Foundation held its annual summer mentoring session for math scholars at the Korea Press Center in Seoul on Thursday, marking the foundation's 18th anniversary. Established in 2008 by the Woongjin Group, the organization provides academic support to high school and university students across Korea. Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Woongjin Group Chairman Yoon Seok-keum and former Seoul National University President Oh Se-jung gave congratulatory remarks, with Oh speaking on the role of mathematicians and scientists in the era of artificial intelligence (AI). Mathematician Kim Min-hyong, a chair professor at the University of Edinburgh who has mentored Woongjin scholars for 11 years and recently proved a long-standing conjecture related to Fermat's equation, lectured on Diophantine equations, a category of polynomial equations central to number theory. Sociologist Song Ho-keun of Hallym University's Institute of Advanced Studies, meanwhile, spoke on reading and writing. Mathematician Baek Jin-eon, a Woongjin scholarship alumnus and fellow at the Korea Institute for

Koreans are living longer, healthier lives than almost anywhere else in the industrialized world, even as the nation operates with one of the most severe shortages of practicing physicians among developed economies. According to new data released Thursday by the Ministry of Health and Welfare based on the OECD Health Statistics 2026, life expectancy in Korea reached a record high of 83.7 years. The figure places the nation comfortably above the OECD average of 81.2 years and just behind Switzerland, which leads the 38-member bloc at 84.2 years. The statistics reveal a health care ecosystem defined by extraordinary access and world-class preventive care, alongside mounting structural strains. Korea’s rate of avoidable mortality — deaths preventable through timely medical intervention or public health measures — stood at 139.0 per 100,000 people, far below the OECD benchmark of 208.8. Yet this longevity is supported by a strikingly lean clinical workforce. Korea recorded just 2.6 practicing physicians per 1,000 people (including practitioners of traditional Korean medicine), the seco

Nearly seven years after global travel ground to a sudden halt, Korea’s inbound tourism market has not merely rebounded — it has decisively expanded past its historical benchmarks. According to data released Thursday by the Korea Tourism Organization, nearly 2 million foreign visitors arrived in June, marking a 23.1 percent increase compared to the same month last year. More significantly, the total of 1.99 million visitors represents a striking 35 percent surge over prepandemic levels recorded in June 2019, underscoring the enduring global appetite for Korean cultural exports and revamped travel infrastructure. The rally was heavily anchored by strong gains across key Asian and Western markets. Mainland China led the influx with nearly 650,000 arrivals — accounting for roughly one in three foreign visitors and jumping 36.8 percent from 2019 levels. Japan followed as the second-largest source market with 348,000 visitors, while Taiwan sent 223,000 travelers, an 88.4 percent leap over prepandemic figures. Western long-haul travel also demonstrated robust momentum, with U.S. arrival

Long celebrated as one of East Asia’s most uncompromising genre purveyors, Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin arrived at Lincoln Center this week to do what he does best: leave audiences entirely unnerved and thoroughly exhilarated. At the 25th New York Asian Film Festival, Na’s latest cinematic juggernaut, "Hope," held its North American premiere as the festival’s centerpiece selection. The film — a sprawling, claustrophobic thriller set in Hopohang, an isolated port town near the demilitarized zone, where local police officer Beom-seok investigates reports of a tiger, only to confront an unexplainable threat — has dominated Korea's domestic box office since its release. Following the screening Monday, Na was presented with the Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema, a prestigious honor recognizing creators who push the physical architecture of film forward. The director, celebrating his birthday on the night of the premiere, was serenaded by the audience before accepting the prize. "I find myself celebrating my birthday for a third consecutive day — before I left,

For centuries, Gwanghwamun — the majestic main gate of Seoul’s Gyeongbok Palace — has stood as the symbolic heart of Korean nationhood. Yet its signboard, restored in 2023 to mirror the original 19th-century Chinese calligraphy, remains a flashpoint in a long-simmering battle over culture, history and national identity. The government will launch its first National Forum for All on Sunday, inviting 200 citizens to Yonsei University for an eight-hour marathon debate on the question: Should Korea add a Hangeul (Korean alphabet) plaque alongside the historic Chinese character sign at Gwanghwamun? Organized jointly by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the deliberation seeks to move beyond binary political shouting matches. Through small-group breakouts, expert panel presentations and real-time mobile polling, participants will wrestle with the tensions between preserving historic authenticity and asserting modern linguistic pride. The stakes go far beyond typography. Purists argue that cultural heritage requires absolute fidelity t

Upstage, a Korean artificial intelligence (AI) company, said Thursday it has released Solar Open 2, an open-weight large language model designed to complete multistep tasks rather than simply answer questions. The company published the model's weights, the underlying parameters that determine how the AI processes information, on Hugging Face, a global open-source platform, along with a technical report detailing its architecture and training methods. The model was developed under a government-backed project to build Korea's own foundation AI models, in which Upstage serves as the lead organization. Solar Open 2 has 250 billion parameters but activates only 15 billion at a time, using a "mixture of experts" structure that Upstage said makes it more efficient for token-heavy agent tasks. It can process up to 1 million tokens of context and, when compressed through quantization, can run on two Nvidia H200 chips. The company said the model outperformed DeepSeek's V4 Flash, Mistral's Medium 3.5 and Cohere's Command A+ on benchmarks measuring instruction-following, tool use and overall agent p

Just 50 days after making her quiet debut at Everland theme park, a newborn female giant panda is undergoing a dramatic change, offering a vivid portrait of early development as she reaches key growth benchmarks. Born on June 3 at a delicate 171 grams, the unnamed cub — the fourth female giant panda naturally bred in Korea following the celebrated births of Fu Bao in 2020 and twins Rui Bao and Hui Bao in 2023 — has transformed into a robust 2.3-kilogram infant. The 13-fold weight gain reflects both the formidable maternal instincts of her mother, Ai Bao, and the meticulous round-the-clock monitoring of a specialized care team. During a routine health assessment, Thursday, veterinary staff confirmed that the cub’s physical development is progressing ahead of schedule. Her fuzzy, translucent newborn coat has steadily given way to the plush, iconic black-and-white patterning characteristic of her species. More significantly, the infant has opened both eyes, gained the cervical strength required to lift her head independently and begun attempting her first tentative scoots across the

The Kia Sportage has claimed the top spot in a comparison of compact SUVs by one of Germany's leading automotive magazines, underscoring the model's continued strength in one of the world's most competitive vehicle markets. The automaker said Thursday that the Sportage ranked first overall in a recent comparison test conducted by Auto Motor und Sport. The German publication evaluated four compact SUVs: the Kia Sportage, the Mazda CX-5, the Ford Kuga and the Citroën C5 Aircross. The vehicles were assessed across seven categories: body, safety, convenience, powertrain, driving performance, environmental performance and cost. The Sportage earned 541 points to finish first overall, ahead of the Mazda CX-5 and Ford Kuga, which tied for second with 535 points each, and the Citroën C5 Aircross, which scored 533 points. The Sportage received the highest scores in four categories: body, convenience, powertrain and driving performance. The magazine said the Sportage stood out for its high-quality interior materials, solid fit and finish, spacious cabin and intuitive physical controls, giving it th

Hyundai Motor reported a 20.8 percent decline in second-quarter operating profit Thursday, as production disruptions — caused by a fire at its key supplier's plant — compounded the impact of slowing global vehicle demand. In a regulatory filing, the carmaker reported an operating profit of 2.85 trillion won ($1.94 billion) between April and June. Its sales edged up 1.9 percent to 49.2 trillion won during the same period. The weakening profit reflected softer global automobile demand, but was also affected by production disruptions stemming from a major fire in March at its key auto parts supplier. The incident disrupted components supply and constrained vehicle output during the quarter. Hit by the fire, the carmaker’s domestic sales dropped 16.4 percent to 157,647. Hyundai Motor also reported a fall of 4.9 percent in its vehicle sales abroad amid an unfavorable management environment triggered by shrinking vehicle demand. Despite the earnings decline, Hyundai expressed confidence in achieving a major rebound in the second half, supported by a broad lineup of new vehicle launches a

Team Naver, the official, company-wide moniker for Naver's collaborative organizational structure, is bringing the smart building technologies developed at its 1784 headquarters in Korea to a major commercial complex in Tokyo, marking the first external deployment of its robotics-based building operating system. Naver said Tuesday that it will apply its smart building technology solutions to Tokyo Midtown Yaesu in partnership with NTT East and Mitsui Fudosan. The 45-story mixed-use complex connected to Tokyo Station includes offices, retail facilities, a hotel, a bus terminal and an elementary school. Team Naver will provide core technologies from 1784, including autonomous mobile robots, a cloud-based robot control system, digital twin technology and vision-based positioning solutions. Mitsui Fudosan will operate robot delivery services at Tokyo Midtown Yaesu and manage integration with building facilities, while NTT East will oversee digital twin construction and maintenance of delivery robots. The project marks the first commercial application of the smart building model that Team Nave

The latest album from K-pop boy group Cortis has sold more than 3 million copies, its agency said Thursday, making it the second triple million-seller among albums released so far this year. BigHit Music said Cortis' second EP, "GreenGreen," recorded cumulative sales of 3,099,000 copies, citing data released by Circle Chart for the week of July 12-18. It took 11 weeks for the group to hit the milestone since the album was released May 4. "GreenGreen" became the second album released in Korea this year to become a triple million-seller, following BTS' fifth studio album, "Arirang." The album's lead track, "RedRed," has remained high on domestic music charts, including Melon, one of the country's leading streaming platforms. Cortis will launch its six-city North American tour next month, stopping in Toronto and San Francisco, among other cities, running from Aug. 4-16 (local time).

Hyundai Motor and Kia said Thursday they opened a new user experience research center in Shanghai to study Chinese consumer trends and apply them to future vehicle development. The facility, called UX Studio Shanghai, relocated from the automakers' previous site in Shanghai's Huangpu district to a standalone building in the busy Jing'an district, making it more accessible to visitors. The companies said China's advanced digital ecosystem and high consumer receptiveness to new technology, including multiscreen interfaces, voice-based services and connected in-car systems, make it a key market for studying future mobility trends. Researchers at the site will study Chinese consumers' lifestyles and travel habits to shape what the companies call AI-Defined Vehicles — a concept in which artificial intelligence (AI) continuously learns from and optimizes a vehicle's functions, performance and user experience. The companies said they also plan to work with local academic institutions, including Fudan University's School of Management, to study how social and cultural trends shape mobility ex

Mirae Asset Financial Group is set to take near-complete control of domestic cryptocurrency exchange Korbit as its affiliate Mirae Asset Consulting acquired a 91.73 percent stake on Wednesday and plans to buy the remaining 5.42 percent on Friday, bringing its ownership to 97.15 percent, company officials said Thursday. The additional share purchase will increase Mirae Asset's holdings in Korbit from about 26.9 million shares to some 28.5 million shares, while its cumulative investment in the cryptocurrency exchange will rise from 133.5 billion won ($91 million) to 141.4 billion won. The acquisition came as Mirae Asset Consulting completed the required regulatory filing procedures on July 9. The Fair Trade Commission determined that the acquisition was unlikely to significantly restrict competition in the market, given Korbit's 0.5 percent share of Korea's cryptocurrency trading market in 2025. The deal marks the first time an affiliate of a financial group has acquired control of a domestic cryptocurrency exchange. As part of its mid- to long-term strategy, Mirae Asset Financial Group ai

Long dependent on foreign suppliers for critical aviation components, Korea is rapidly asserting itself as a high-tech manufacturing power in the global aerospace supply chain. At the Farnborough International Airshow on Wednesday, the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) showcased a breakthrough suite of domestically developed lightweight aviation materials. The unveiling marks a pivotal moment for the nation’s aerospace ambitions, backed by cumulative export contracts and deals totaling 40 billion won ($29 million). The exhibition highlighted nine specialized alloys — including advanced aluminum extrusions and super-heat-resistant nickel fasteners — developed under a state-led project aimed at localizing crucial aerospace materials. Led by KASA alongside the Korea Institute of Materials Science and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the initiative established K-MIDAS, a standardized design allowable software platform built on international aerospace certifications. For global aircraft manufacturers, the Korean-made components are already proving their mettle. The high-performanc

A Korean living in Vietnam has won the country's largest-ever lottery prize claimed by a foreigner, taking home a jackpot worth about 102.8 billion Vietnamese dong, or approximately 5.8 billion won (about $4.2 million), according to local officials. Vietnamese media outlet VN Express reported Tuesday that state-run lottery operator Vietlott awarded the winner, identified only as Mr. A, the top prize in its Power 6/55 lottery. The odds of matching all six winning numbers were approximately one in 28.9 million. Mr. A, who lives in Hanoi and works for a foreign-invested company, said he had been buying 20 to 30 tickets twice a week for the past four to five years. When jackpots grew particularly large, he sometimes purchased as many as 50 tickets for a single drawing. The winning ticket was selected using numbers he chose himself. The win marks the fourth time a foreign national has claimed a Vietlott jackpot. Previous winners included two Koreans and one Chinese citizen, but Mr. A's prize is the largest ever won by a foreigner in Vietnam. The previous record belonged to another Korean, who

The launch of Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 has revived an intense debate that has raged in Silicon Valley ever since DeepSeek's shock breakthrough last year: whether China can overcome its limited access to advanced chips to match the performance of the United States' frontier artificial intelligence models. Trillions of U.S. dollars might rest on the answer, as some see Chinese developers' success in increasing performance through architectural innovation as weakening the rationale for America's vast spending on AI infrastructure. The arrival of K3 has sent shock waves across the global AI industry. The 2.8-trillion-parameter open-weight model performed close to the latest frontier systems from OpenAI and Anthropic, fuelling concerns in Silicon Valley that China had closed its model-development gap with the U.S. to weeks rather than months. For some analysts, the launch is about more than a shift in the benchmark contest between U.S. and Chinese models. It offers a test of how China's advances in AI software could affect an industry built around US dominance in frontier models - and the compu

When Design Miami first touched down in Asia last year, it offered a focused lens on the region’s creative output. This autumn, the world’s premier fair for collectible design — limited-edition, museum-quality furniture and functional art — returns to Seoul in a vastly expanded format, signaling the city’s rapid transformation into an indispensable global capital for contemporary art and design. The Seoul Design Foundation said Thursday that Design Miami Seoul 2026 will run from Sept. 1-6 at the landmark Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), following a VIP preview on Aug. 31. The event officially anchors Design Miami’s prestigious annual circuit, kick-starting a global calendar that moves to Paris in October and culminates in Miami Beach in December. The expansion marks a significant evolution from the 2025 iteration, which was staged as a singular curated showcase titled "In Situ." This year, the fair broadens into a full-scale international platform featuring leading global galleries, major brand collaborations, specialized talks and dedicated collector programs. Under the curat

The South Korean military on Thursday called for caution against land mines planted by the North being washed into the South amid recent heavy downpours. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) issued the call, saying it found signs that some of the land mines planted en masse along the heavily guarded Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas were washed away by the recent downpours in the North. "There is a high probability that the land mines lost in water could be washed into the South via the inter-Korean rivers, raising concerns over massive damage in the event of an explosion," JCS spokesperson Capt. Jang Do-young told a press briefing. The JCS urged the public to be cautious about such land mines when near the inter-Korean rivers, as some parts are connected to the Han River estuary, and to report any suspected land mine to police or a nearby military unit. The warning comes days after South Korea upgraded a flood alert to a full warning for the Imjin River near the inter-Korean border due to heavy downpours and the North's release of water. Authorities lifted the flood warning

The labor force participation rate among Koreans aged 15 to 29 fell in May from a year earlier, data showed Thursday, reflecting growing difficulties in finding jobs amid economic uncertainties. The rate of economically active people in the age group stood at 47.2 percent in May, down 2.3 percentage points from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. The figure includes those who are employed as well as those actively seeking work. The unemployment rate for the age group came to 7.2 percent, up 0.6 percentage point from a year earlier, with the number of unemployed youths reaching 266,000, the data showed. The employment rate stood at 43.8 percent, down 2.4 percentage points over the period. The data also showed it took an average of four years and 5.7 months to complete college, including two-year degree programs, up 1.3 months from a year earlier. It marked the longest period since the agency started compiling related data in 2007. "It seems that the period was extended as more people opted to take a leave of absence from school to prepare for employment or prof

The Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed a suspended prison term for a former prosecutor for bribing former first lady Kim Keon Hee in exchange for her help in his bid to run in an election. The top court upheld an appellate ruling that convicted Kim Sang-min on charges that included gifting a 140 million-won ($95,400) painting by renowned artist Lee Ufan to the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol in 2023. The former prosecutor was indicted on charges of violating the anti-graft law for giving the painting to the then first lady in return for her support for his bid to win a nomination for the 2024 general elections. He was also charged with violating the Political Funds Act for receiving illegal political donations of over 41 million won in the lead-up to the 2024 elections. The Seoul High Court found the former prosecutor guilty on both charges, sentencing him to two years in prison suspended for three years for the graft charge and to a one-year term suspended for three years for the other charge. The top court said it did not find errors with the ruling. A Seoul district court senten

The government has newly added hate speech as one of the categories subject to disciplinary measures for public servants in an effort to strengthen punishment for such behavior, officials said Thursday. Currently, public officials accused of hate speech can be punished for violating the obligation to maintain decency under an "other" category, but the ministry of personnel management has revised the decree on disciplinary action against public officials to create the hate speech category. The revision, set to take effect Oct. 1, calls for the maximum disciplinary action of "removal" for those who seriously harm their decency with hate speech while restricting the reduction of penalties even for those with a record of awards for meritorious acts. It is seen as an expression of the government's commitment against hate speech. The ministry also strengthened penalties for neglect of duty and passive administration, raising the minimum disciplinary action from a warning to a reduction in wages. "By strengthening the criteria for punishing passive administration and hate speech, we will make pr

HiteJinro is turning to one of Korea's biggest cultural exports, BTS member V, to expand Jinro's reach worldwide with a new campaign aimed at making the soju brand a more familiar presence in consumers' everyday lives. The company said Thursday it launched its first global campaign featuring V, titled "My Favorite JINRO," as part of efforts to communicate the brand's values to consumers around the world. The campaign began with the release of its main advertisement Thursday and will continue with digital content, consumer participation events and offline promotions. The commercial features V's charismatic and playful image through a polished storyline in which he mistakenly arrives at the wrong party after being invited to an event. The advertisement then reveals a twist as guests from both parties come together with V to enjoy Jinro, highlighting the brand's message of connecting people and creating memorable moments. HiteJinro said the campaign reflects Jinro's effort to build a younger and more sophisticated global brand identity. The commercial also includes symbols representing the co

Korea's customs service said Thursday it has collected 1.3 billion won ($880,000) from delinquent taxpayers through a joint investigation with the tax agency. Under the joint investigation conducted by the Korea Customs Service and the National Tax Service, the two agencies shared their respective databases to track the concealed assets of delinquent taxpayers. The shared database included information on the taxpayers' asset concealment, as well as comparisons between their actual residences and the addresses registered for their personal customs clearance codes with the customs service. Through the investigation, the agencies found one delinquent taxpayer running a business under the father's name, discovering cash and checks hidden in a travel suitcase. In another case, a delinquent taxpayer was suspected of having staged a divorce only on paper while continuing to live in an apartment owned by the former spouse. The agencies confiscated foreign currency, premium whisky and other luxury goods from the house. Through the investigation, the agencies collected 1 billion won in cash, along

Korea has become the centerpiece of Speak's global growth strategy, as learners here have few chances to practice speaking despite their high level of exam-focused grammar and reading skills, the firm's chief operating officer said. He described the country as its most strategically important market and a proving ground for products that are now expanding globally. "Korea is and will always be a key market for us," Colton Gyulay, chief operating officer at Speak, said in a recent interview, noting that the company chose Korea as its first market when it launched in 2019. According to Gyulay, Korea's English education environment made it an ideal place to develop Speak's conversational artificial intelligence (AI) platform. While Korean learners typically acquire strong grammar and reading skills through years of exam-oriented education, they have relatively few opportunities to practice speaking. That gap, combined with high motivation to improve English proficiency and rapid adoption of new technologies, helped shape Speak's early growth, he said. Gyulay said Japan shares a similarly tes

GWACHEON — Former Land Minister Won Hee-ryong appeared before a special counsel team Thursday for questioning over an expressway project linked to former first lady Kim Keon Hee's family, officials said. Special counsel Kwon Chang-young's team summoned Won to its office in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, to question him about suspicions he tried to alter the endpoint of a planned Seoul-Yangpyeong expressway during his time in office to benefit Kim, the wife of then President Yoon Suk Yeol. The changed endpoint would have come close to land owned by Kim's family, but Won canceled the entire project in July 2023 following controversy about the alleged special favor. The special counsel team has also been looking into whether Won bypassed due procedures in the cancellation process. Won denied any wrongdoing to reporters as he arrived for interrogation.

Trading volume at major Korean crypto exchanges have shrunk to account for around 1 percent of the corresponding figure for the local stock market, industry data showed Thursday. The daily average trading volume at Korea's five major virtual asset exchanges from July 1 to Tuesday stood at 597.8 billion won ($406.5 million), according to CoinGecko, a crypto market watcher. The five exchanges are Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax. The tally represents 1.59 percent of the daily average trading volume on the benchmark KOSPI market, which stood at 37.6 trillion won during the cited period. The share of trading volume in the crypto market relative to the KOSPI market shrunk from 11.29 percent in January to around 6 percent in March and April, and to some 2 percent in May. Such a trend is in stark contrast compared with November 2024, when crypto trading volume rose to as high as 21 trillion won on anticipation that U.S. President Donald Trump's second administration would implement crypto-friendly policies going forward. The data also showed that Korea's crypto market was heavily concent

Korea's privacy watchdog said Thursday it has fined TikTok 10.3 billion won ($7 million) for unlawfully collecting and using users' behavioral data from third-party services to personalize advertisements. The Personal Information Protection Commission said it levied the fine on Singapore-based TikTok, which operates the social media giant's services in Korea, for violating the personal information law. The watchdog said TikTok collected behavioral data from 9.45 million users in Korea through tools distributed to third-party websites and applications, and used them for personalized advertisements. The commission said the company failed to properly notify users of such actions. Separately, the watchdog ordered corrective measures against two Apple subsidiaries and fined them a combined 252 million won for personal information violations, such as collecting voice recordings and transcripts of users of the company's Siri voice assistant without consent. The commission said Apple collected voice recordings of Siri users and text transcripts of the recordings without their permission until Aug

Actress Tang Wei and her husband, Korean film director Kim Tae-yong, have welcomed their second child, ending months of pregnancy speculation with a heartfelt family announcement. On Wednesday, Tang shared the news through her WeChat Moments account, posting a photo of four family members holding hands alongside a drawing of a foal created by Kim for their newborn. Quoting their daughter Summer, Tang wrote, "Now the journey of our family of four begins." According to Chinese entertainment outlet Sina Entertainment, the couple's second child is a boy. The announcement follows months of public speculation. In April, Tang sparked pregnancy rumors after appearing with a visible baby bump at a luxury brand event in Shanghai. She later confirmed the pregnancy on social media by sharing a family photo with Kim and their daughter holding horse toys. "It was a huge joy we truly didn't expect. We are so happy," Tang wrote at the time. "A new member is joining our family, and everyone is looking forward to meeting the baby." Last month, the couple was also spotted traveling together to Hong Kong, prom

For many people, a car is more than a means of transportation — it is where daily life unfolds. From the morning commute and school pickups to weekend getaways and long-distance road trips, drivers and passengers spend hours inside their vehicles. As expectations evolve, comfort, convenience and a people-first driving experience have become just as important as performance. Renault Korea's flagship crossover, the Filante, reflects that shift by placing people at the center of its design philosophy. Rather than focusing solely on driving dynamics, the model is designed to create a quieter, more comfortable and intuitive environment for drivers and passengers alike. One of the Filante's defining features is its emphasis on cabin refinement. Active noise cancellation comes standard across all trims, continuously analyzing and reducing low-frequency road noise to create a quieter interior. Higher trims further enhance cabin serenity with double-laminated acoustic glass and additional sound insulation, allowing conversations, phone calls and music to be enjoyed with fewer distractions, even

Actor Nam Joo-hyuk has been cast for the upcoming Disney+ original Korean series "Code," set to premiere next year, the streaming platform said Thursday. In the crime thriller, Nam portrays Yoon Tae-joo, a prosecution investigator-turned-lawyer striving to become a partner at a top-notch law firm. The 12-part series unfolds as Yoon comes across a mysterious app called "Code," which makes wishes come true — but at a price. It is based on the Taiwan series that was released in two seasons in 2016 and 2019, respectively. A Japanese remake starring Kentaro Sakaguchi was produced in 2023. "Code" is directed by Yoo Su-min, known for the first and second seasons of the action-packed school drama series "Weak Hero."

LONDON — Samsung Electronics' new Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and Galaxy Watch 9 will be powered by Qualcomm application processors (APs) for the first time, marking another step away from the company’s in-house Exynos APs. The move highlights Samsung's continued reliance on Qualcomm’s logic chips, eroding one of the Korean tech giant's key competitive strengths as a company that develops both devices and the semiconductors that power them. During Galaxy Unpacked 2026 in London, Wednesday, Samsung Electronics unveiled the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and Galaxy Watch 9, the company's first smartwatches powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear Elite APs. So far, Samsung has used Exynos W application processors designed by its Device Solutions Division for the Galaxy Watch lineup. This year, however, the premium Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and the mainstream Galaxy Watch 9 are both powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear Elite, with Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon taking the stage at the launch event to highlight the companies' deepening partnership. “The Qualcomm and Samsung partnership is also expanding into sm

North Korea appears likely to skip a major regional security forum hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the second consecutive year, Seoul officials said, amid Pyongyang's growing focus on ties with Russia and China. The annual ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), set to take place in Manila later in the day, has long drawn attention as the only multilateral security forum that North Korea regularly attended and that brings together major powers, including the United States, China, Japan and Russia. North Korea, however, was absent from last year's forum for the first time since joining the ARF in 2000. Diplomatic sources said the North is likely to skip this year's gathering as well, citing no signs of its participation. "Pyongyang has not responded to the host country's invitation, and no announcement has been made regarding its attendance," a source familiar with the matter said. North Korea joined the ARF in 2000, six years after the forum was launched, and had previously participated regularly, either through its foreign minister or ambassadors stationed in Southe

Officials from a U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee visited shipyards in Korea operated by major shipbuilders earlier this month to inspect their capabilities to build warships, sources said Thursday. Eight officials from the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense toured the shipyard of Hanwha Ocean in Geoje, about 330 kilometers south of Seoul, on July 11, industry and government sources familiar with the matter told Yonhap News Agency. The same group visited the main shipyard run by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in the southeastern city of Ulsan a day earlier, according to the sources. The U.S. officials also visited the shipyard of Samsung Heavy Industries in Geoje to inspect the firm's overall shipbuilding capabilities, including its replenishment oilers, sources said, without disclosing the date of the visit. At the Hanwha plant, the officials were briefed on and observed firsthand the 3,600-ton Ulsan-class Chungnam frigate and the 3,600-ton Jang Bogo submarine. While touring HD Hyundai's plant, they inspected the 8,200-ton Aegis-equipped Daeho Kim Jong Seo destroyer and

WASHINGTON — The United States on Wednesday announced a landmark deal with Saudi Arabia that would establish a civilian nuclear program in the Gulf country, with Washington insisting the agreement includes nonproliferation safeguards. The move comes as the United States under President Donald Trump fights a war with Iran that began in large part over concerns with Tehran's nuclear program — an issue that remains a key point of contention during now-stalled peace talks. Two agreements — one on "peaceful nuclear cooperation" and another on "bilateral safeguards" — were signed by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the U.S. Energy Department said. The text of the deals was not immediately made public. "Together, these two agreements lay the legal foundation for a decades-long, multi-billion-dollar partnership that advances several priority economic and strategic objectives, including nuclear nonproliferation," the department said in a statement. A provision in the deal would potentially see U.S. companies build a uranium enrichmen

A joint investigation team visited the offices of the National Election Commission (NEC) Thursday to seize evidence over allegations that officials falsified voter turnout figures for the June 3 local elections to conceal their own errors. The new allegation emerged in addition to the ballot shortage incident, further eroding public trust in the commission. The investigation is likely to expand, as the commission's problem now goes beyond lax operations and dereliction of duty to falsification of election data, which could constitute a criminal offense. The joint team, comprising police officers and prosecutors, visited NEC headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, and its regional office of the province. Their warrants state the searches were based on suspicions of falsification of official electronic records and obstruction of official duties. It found circumstances in which working-level officials at the regional office made a mistake in recording the number of voters and, to cover it up, fabricated the numbers in the data on their own without authorization. In the event that such

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on Thursday was set to announce the top three candidates to advance to the main race for the party leadership ahead of the party's national convention next month. Three candidates will be shortlisted among five based on 35 percent of the votes cast by the party's central committee members, 35 percent from dues-paying members and the remaining 30 percent from public opinion poll results. The five candidates are former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, former DPK leader Jung Chung-rae, Reps. Song Young-gil and Ko Min-jung, and former Gangjin councilmember Kim Bo-mi. For the party's supreme council, 8 out of 14 candidates will make the final cut. The DPK plans to hold the national convention on Aug. 17 to elect a new leader, who will play a key role in overseeing the nomination of candidates for the April 2028 parliamentary elections. Four-term lawmaker Jung Chung-rae, who announced his bid last week, is widely expected to be included among the top three candidates. Jung has faced criticism from some party members closely aligned with President Lee Jae M

Professional gamer Lee Sang-hyeok, better known as "Faker," has been appointed an honorary police officer and ambassador for a campaign aimed at preventing cyber gambling among teenagers in Korea. The Korean National Police Agency said Wednesday that it appointed Lee as an honorary police officer and public ambassador for its youth cyber gambling prevention campaign during a ceremony at its headquarters in Seoul. As part of the initiative, Lee will appear in promotional videos and posters encouraging teenagers to voluntarily report their involvement in cyber gambling under a self-reporting program that runs through August. Police said they chose Lee because his long career as a professional gamer has demonstrated the values of self-discipline, concentration and restraint, making him a positive role model for young people. He was given the honorary rank of senior patrol officer, matching the entry-level rank for officers recruited through the police's cyber investigation career track. During the appointment ceremony, Lee also donated a personally signed team jersey to teenagers who succes

President Lee Jae Myung was set to preside over a public discussion on real estate policy Thursday as the government prepares to revise real estate taxes to rein in runaway home prices. The discussion, to be televised live at 10 a.m., will bring together around 140 participants, including YouTubers, internet users, real estate agents and representatives from the financial, media and academic sectors, along with Prime Minister Han Seong-sook and other Cabinet members. During the meeting, experts on the housing supply, financing and taxation will give presentations before participants join a discussion on real estate policy. The discussion comes as the government reportedly plans to announce a revision to property holding taxes as early as late this month in a bid to rein in runaway home prices. One of the key issues expected to be discussed is the housing price threshold at which higher property holding taxes should apply. The outcome of the discussion is expected to be reflected in the government's expected tax revision.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed an annual defense policy bill for fiscal year 2027, containing language that tightens restrictions on the use of funds to reduce the number of U.S. troops stationed in Korea. The House voted 216 to 212 to approve the nearly $1.15 trillion bill, called the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), for the fiscal year running from October to September next year, according to The Hill and other media outlets. In the section on the oversight of U.S. military posture on the Korean Peninsula, this year's NDAA says that amounts authorized to be appropriated by the act may not be obligated or expended to curtail the number of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) troops below the current 28,500. But the latest bill stipulates that none of the amounts, authorized to be appropriated by the act or "otherwise made available for fiscal years 2026 or 2027," may be obligated or expended to curtail the number of USFK troops below the current level. The change, if enforced, would restrict the use of federal funds — allocated not only by the NDAA but also by oth

Seoul stocks were trading sharply higher late Thursday morning, while investors digest the latest earnings release from Google's parent company. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 164.22 points, or 2.42 percent, to 6,961.92 as of 11:20 a.m., after rising as high as 7,083.15 points. Overnight, Alphabet released its second-quarter earnings results, which beat market expectations as its cloud business grew 82 percent on-year. The company also stated it is raising capital expenditures for the year to meet booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI). Major U.S. stock indexes closed lower, with the S&P500 inching down 0.14 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq retreating 0.57 percent. In Seoul, most shares were trading higher. Market top-cap Samsung Electronics added 2.3 percent, while its industry rival SK hynix advanced 2.19 percent. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor rose 1.56 percent, shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries jumped 3.98 percent, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace climbed 5.5 percent. The Korean won was quoted at 1,467.2 won against the U.S. dollar, up 10.3 w

Eight people were injured Thursday after suspected arson led to a fire and an explosion in an apartment management office in the southeastern city of Gyeongsan, police and city officials said. The fire and explosion occurred inside the office at 8:29 a.m. in suspected arson committed by an apartment resident, according to the officials. Firefighters extinguished the blaze about 20 minutes later. One of the injured was in critical condition, while the rest included five elderly people inside a senior center next to the office. People had reportedly gathered at the office at the time to discuss the apartment's management regulations. A man believed to be behind the suspected arson was taken to a hospital. Police believe he entered the office with flammable material shortly before setting it on fire. Another witness recounted hearing the sounds of explosions and seeing multiple people with their bodies on fire running out of the building. Police plan to investigate the exact cause of the incident by questioning those at the scene.

The number of incarcerated North Korean defectors in South Korea stood at 172 last year, up 8.2 percent from the previous year, a government report showed Thursday. Of the total, 128 had received finalized sentences, while 44 were awaiting trial, according to the justice ministry's annual report on correctional statistics. Among those serving finalized sentences, 34.4 percent were imprisoned for drug-related crimes, followed by 14.8 percent for sexual violence, 10.9 percent for murder and 9.4 percent for fraud or embezzlement. There were no death row inmates, while four were serving life sentences and 16 were serving a term of five years or longer. As of last year, 34,538 North Koreans had fled their country and resettled in South Korea, including 224 who arrived in 2025, according to the unification ministry. Separately, the average daily number of people held in correctional facilities nationwide stood at 63,680 last year, up 3.8 percent from the previous year, the justice ministry report showed. The figure represents an occupancy rate of 125.8 percent against the system's capacity of 50

ChatGPT maker OpenAI says it is still investigating the “unprecedented cyber incident” that led its artificial intelligence systems to break out of a testing environment and hack into another AI company. OpenAI said Tuesday two of its most capable AI models were responsible for the cyberattack targeting AI startup Hugging Face. The incident is stirring debates over the need for stronger AI guardrails and the extent to which AI agents are capable of acting on their own. Hugging Face said last week that it had detected an intrusion into its data processing systems that it suspected was caused by an AI agent acting on its own. But the New York-based startup said it wasn't until this week that it learned OpenAI was responsible, and it worked with the larger company to contain what Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue called “an attack unlike anything we’ve seen before.” San Francisco-based OpenAI said its AI used stolen credentials and discovered a previously unknown vulnerability to access Hugging Face's servers. It was working with reduced guardrails because it was supposed to be

PARIS, France — Human-caused climate change has intensified a drought across Europe with extreme heat, rather than low rainfall driving the exceptionally dry conditions, a team of international scientists said Thursday. The continent is gripped by a major drought with countries from France to Romania confronting parched rivers, water restrictions and devastating wildfires after a historic heatwave in June. A new study has found that today's hotter climate has accelerated moisture loss from Europe's soils, lakes and rivers, increasing the likelihood of bone-dry conditions. Much of Europe received below-average rainfall during spring but it was climate-driven heat that made the drought "more severe," said Mariam Zachariah, who co-authored the World Weather Attribution group study. "Overall, our results show that this drought is not primarily a story of low rainfalls but of a warmer atmosphere that is causing more moisture deficits on the land," Zachariah, from Imperial College London, told reporters. "This means that even in regions where the rainfall has changed little or is projected to

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. military announced Wednesday that it was conducting a 12th night of strikes against Iran as both sides increasingly targeted civilian infrastructure. U.S. Central Command said the attacks were designed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters,” as the Americans push to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz and restore the flow of international shipping. President Donald Trump warned earlier Wednesday that the U.S. will destroy one bridge or power plant each time Iran shoots at a ship in the strait . “From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,” Trump wrote on social media. The continued American airstrikes are occurring even as diplomatic efforts show little public sign of progress and officials on both sides have dug in on the dispute over the crucial waterway for

WASHINGTON — Korea's first project for investment in the United States under a bilateral trade deal is expected to be announced as early as late next month, with the two countries' relevant discussions centering on the energy sector, Seoul's industry minister said Wednesday. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan made the remarks in a meeting with Korean reporters after arriving at an airport near Washington for a four-day visit during which he plans to meet Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other officials to discuss investment, trade and other issues. Korea and the U.S. have been in talks to decide investment projects as part of last year's trade deal under which Seoul has committed to investing $350 billion in the U.S. with an annual cap of $20 billion. "From our standpoint, projects with stable cash flows are more desirable projects. That said, we believe energy-related projects are more advantageous in that respect (for Korea). So our discussions with the U.S. are proceeding with a focus on such energy projects," he said. "Currently, (the talks) are almost in the last phase. If we co

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that the United States will bomb an Iranian bridge or power plant whenever the Islamic Republic fires at a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, amid growing concerns over a potential return to full-scale war between the two countries. Trump made the remarks in a social media post after he threatened last week to "knock out" Iran's power plants and bridges unless Tehran returns to the negotiating table to negotiate an end to the Middle East conflict. "From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran," he wrote on Truth Social. His remarks came as military tensions between Washington and Tehran continued to escalate, with the two countries hardening their rhetoric against each other and trading strikes. Concerns have also lingered that a new front in their conflict could emerge

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Korea and other allies would "benefit" from joining an effort to secure the crucial Strait of Hormuz, noting that some of them "may eventually do so" because it is "in their interest." Rubio made the remarks during a meeting with reporters on the margins of annual forums involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Manila, following a report in Seoul that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration recently requested Korea to deploy a warship to help secure the strait. "We didn't ask them that today. Look, I think it's to their benefit, right? If you look at the region, they heavily depend on oil and natural gas that comes from this part of the world," Rubio said, according to a transcript provided by the State Department. "The straits remain an important source of energy for many of the countries in this region. It's about 20 percent of the global oil that's purchased. So ... we think it would be to their benefit to participate in an effort," he added. The secretary said that the U.S. had conversa

WASHINGTON — U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer said Wednesday that his office will release its "final responsive action" on its trade investigations into 60 trading partners over forced labor concerns as soon as Thursday, as Korea and other countries await new U.S. tariffs. Greer made the remarks in a written statement submitted to the Senate Committee on Finance, as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is expected to unveil its new tariffs based on the investigations that the USTR had conducted for months since March under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act. Washington carried out the investigations, as well as separate Section 301 probes into Korea and 15 other economies to uncover "unfair" trade practices related to "structural" excess capacity and production, as it has sought to replace country-specific "reciprocal" tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court in February. "As soon as tomorrow, USTR will release its final responsive action on its Section 301 investigation of our top 60 trading partners' failure to address international trade in forced goods at the

LONDON — Samsung Electronics has unveiled the global prices for its new Galaxy Z8 foldable smartphone lineup, which are up to 48 percent higher than the launch prices in Korea. With soaring memory prices making the pricing of new smartphones more challenging than ever, Samsung has adopted a more aggressive pricing strategy in its home market, a move that can prompt complaints from overseas consumers who are being asked to pay significantly more for the same products. However, Samsung Electronics co-CEO Roh Tae-moon said offering Galaxy devices at lower prices in Korea will remain the company's direction and goal, describing the Korean market as the foundation for strengthening the Galaxy brand's global competitiveness. During Wednesday's Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event here, Samsung announced that the flagship Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra with 256 gigabytes (GB) of storage will be priced at $2,099 in the United States and 2,199 euros ($2,509.5) in Europe. The prices are 20.4 percent and 44 percent higher, respectively, than the model's launch price in Korea of 2.58 million won ($1,743). The price g

Korea’s economy expanded 0.6 percent in the second quarter from the previous quarter, extending its stronger-than-expected recovery on the back of booming semiconductor exports and a rebound in domestic demand despite Middle East-related risks, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Thursday. The back-to-back surprise expansions in the first and second quarters have raised the prospect of annual growth exceeding 3 percent, which would mark the fastest pace in five years. Preliminary data from the central bank showed that real gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.6 percent in the April-June period. The reading beat both the median market forecast of 0.3 percent and the BOK’s own projection of 0.2 percent for the quarter. Quarterly growth rebounded sharply from a 0.1 percent contraction in the fourth quarter of last year to 1.8 percent in the first quarter, before maintaining a solid pace in the second quarter despite a high base effect. The expansion was supported by a 1.4 percent increase in exports, driven by semiconductors and machinery and equipment, while private consumption rose 0.4 percen

The European Union's latest anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese-made tires are poised to accelerate a strategic realignment across Korea's tire industry, prompting local manufacturers to curb their production reliance on China as geopolitical risks increasingly reshape global supply chains. Under the latest regulatory measure, Hankook Tire received an anti-dumping duty of 4.3 percent, while Kumho Tire and Nexen Tire were each hit with a 24.4 percent levy. The effective tariff burden rises to 8.8 percent for Hankook and 28.9 percent for its domestic rivals, after calculating the EU’s existing 4.5 percent import tariff. The disparity reflects years of divergent manufacturing strategies rather than differences in product competitiveness. Hankook Tire established a substantial European manufacturing base through its plant in Hungary, allowing it to supply much of the region's demand locally despite maintaining three production facilities in China. The firm's strong regional production network has significantly reduced its exposure to the new trade measures from the EU. Kumho Tire, by contrast,

Having reached its goal of attracting 300,000 international students two years ahead of schedule, a university international affairs leader emphasized that Korea must now shift its focus from enrollment targets to helping international students build lasting lives in the country. “The focus should no longer be on how many international students Korea attracts, but on how the country can build an inclusive society with them,” said Jin Chang-hyun, chair of the Korean Association of Foreign Students Administrators (KAFSA) and chief of international affairs at Kyonggi University. For years, universities equated internationalization with rising enrollment. But with the number of international students now exceeding 300,000, Jin said that the recruitment-driven model has run its course. “Internationalization is no longer optional. It is a matter of survival for universities,” he said. “But using international students simply to fill empty seats risks higher dropout rates, visa overstays and an exodus of graduates soon after completing their studies.” In response, KAFSA's 2026 visio

A 31-year-old office worker in Seoul surnamed Lee says she has recently stopped putting new money into stocks and instead plans to park her spare cash in a bank deposit. "Most of my investments are in semiconductor stocks like Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, and I'm in the red," she said. "After seeing some banks offering deposit rates of more than 3 percent, I decided to move some cash from my brokerage account and other spare funds into a one-year deposit." Lee is among a growing number of investors shifting money back into bank deposits as lenders raise deposit rates following the central bank's latest interest rate hike. The Bank of Korea (BOK) last Thursday raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 2.75 percent, marking its first increase in three and a half years. Commercial banks have since lifted deposit rates above 3 percent for the first time in more than a year. KB Kookmin Bank said Wednesday it would raise rates on major deposit and savings products by up to 0.3 percentage point. The rate on its flagship one-year KB Star Deposit will increase to 3.2 per

A crocodile caught in a stream in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, has been identified as a Siamese crocodile, reviving concerns over abandoned exotic pets threatening Korea's ecosystem. The city of Yeoju said Tuesday that an analysis by the National Institute of Biological Resources confirmed the animal as a Siamese crocodile. It is listed as a Class 1 internationally endangered species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The crocodile, measuring 50 centimeters, was captured Saturday after the fire department received a report of what appeared to be a pet crocodile. It is now being temporarily housed at a privately run animal protection center under the city's care. Adult Siamese crocodiles typically grow 2 to 3 meters long and inhabit rivers and swamps across Southeast Asia. Poaching and habitat destruction have driven down their population, prompting international restrictions on commercial trade in the species. Yeoju initially planned to post a notice and search for the owner over a 10-day period, but is now reportedly weighing how to h

On a snowy night, a motorcycle pursues a black sedan into a mountain tunnel. A wire trap overturns the lead escort vehicle and a mysterious man wearing a mask and a North Korean military uniform approaches the sedan. A gunfight and hand-to-hand combat follow. Overpowering the bodyguard, the man forces the terrified North Korean official into the passenger seat and speeds out of the tunnel. "You’re going to die here with me," the man says, before the sedan crashes through a bridge railing and plunges into the river below. This is the opening scene of the second episode of SBS weekend drama "Agent Kim Reactivated." Presented as a flashback to 2008, the sequence shows the protagonist, Manager Kim (So Ji-sub) — a recruited agent — being sent to a solo covert mission into North Korea to eliminate a hardliner hostile to the South. The sequence packs in nearly every action movie staple, including car chases, a gunfight, hand-to-hand combat and an underwater escape. But So did not film a single frame. The entire three-minute sequence was generated by artificial intelligence (AI), marking

Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. An umbrella in one hand, a handheld fan in the other. If you could bring only one while heading out in sweltering summer heat, which should it be? If you have to walk under direct sunlight, an umbrella should come first. While a handheld fan creates airflow, it cannot block the heat your body absorbs from the sun. Block sun’s heat first The reason it feels especially scorching under direct sunlight is that your body is exposed not only to the air temperature but also to radiant heat from the sun. A handheld fan cannot block this heat. It simply helps sweat evaporate, making you feel cooler. An umbrella, by contrast, shields you from direct sunlight and reduces the amount of heat reaching your body. It also creates shade over your head, face, shoulders and part of your upper body. A study by Japanese researchers found that under intense sunlight, using an umbrella lowered the heat stress index at head level by an average of 1.8 degrees Celsius compared with having no shade. The index takes into account air temperature, humidity, solar radiation

Most of those evacuated were tourists from campsites around Arcachon Bay in France's Gironde region.

The heat wave that has scorched southern British Columbia this week has seen temperatures pass 40 degrees for a second consecutive day in the Fraser Canyon, marking the two hottest temperatures recorded in Canada this year.

Deninu Kųę́ First Nation has been working to map the graves of those who died at residential school in Fort Resolution, N.W.T. and identify unmarked graves while connecting family with their missing loved ones. It’s a process that takes years of work, ground penetrating radar, DNA testing and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Kemi Badenoch tells the BBC she leads a "new party full of new people" as ex-MP is rejected as a candidate.

A judge at Galway Circuit Court has apologised to a victim of domestic violence for what he called "this stupid and ridiculous legal system".

Greater Manchester Police apologises because Jihad Al-Shamie's devices were not reviewed before the attack.

New Brunswick's police watchdog agency has created its first Indigenous investigator position following calls from First Nations leaders for greater Indigenous representation in investigations into police shootings. The move comes after four First Nations people died in police shootings in the province since 2020.

The US president says the landmark agreement to help Saudis develop nuclear energy is dependent on it joining the Abraham Accords.

Past US presidents insisted that Saudi Arabia normalise relations with Israel in exchange for nuclear technology.

Hyundai Motor Co.’s labor union has decided to stage another round of partial strikes next week after failing to reach a wage agreement with management. The union said Thursday that its central strike committee had decided to hold four-hour walkouts each day from July 29 to 31. This follows two earlier rounds of strikes, with workers walking out for two hours a day from July 13 to 15 and for four hours a day from July 20 to 22. The union opted for additional strikes after negotiations with manag

US President Donald Trump has said a nuclear deal between the United States and Saudi Arabia was "totally subject" to Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords recognising Israel.

The family of five siblings killed in a two-vehicle crash in Mapleton Township in southern Ontario last month have hired a Windsor-area lawyer to help them get answers about what exactly happened. Provincial police say the collision remains under investigation.

After nearly five hours, officials captured the animal and it was later released back into the wild, local authorities confirmed.

Israeli American Holocaust scholar Omer Bartov says Israel’s assault on Gaza predicts “the future of genocide,” with the perpetrator not only enjoying impunity for crimes against humanity but also profiting from the death and destruction. He says Israeli leaders will almost certainly escape accountability because international allies, including the United States and many European states, have failed to uphold international law.

“The denial of what Israel has done is ubiquitous because there is no [accountability] mechanism that kicks into place,” he says. “If you don’t bring people to account, you’re sliding back into what the international community tried to prevent after 1945.”

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on Thursday called on North Korea to respond to Seoul's offers for dialogue and join efforts to promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula at a regional security forum in Manila, the foreign ministry said. Cho made the remarks during the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), a 27-member multilateral security forum attended by the 11 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states and major regional powers, including the United States, China, Japan and Russia

Police said Thursday it raided Andong City Hall as part of an investigation into alleged corruption in the procurement of temporary housing for the region’s wildfire victims. North Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency’s anti-corruption investigators searched the city’s construction department, seizing computers and related documents to examine the allegations. The investigation comes after several temporary homes provided to Andong wildfire victims were swept away by flood during heavy rain last

Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi, whose arrest by masked and hooded ICE agents when he arrived for his naturalization interview to become a U.S. citizen made national headlines last year, is facing a new deportation threat after a three-judge panel overturned a lower court ruling that had freed him from ICE custody. Mahdawi was involved in pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University, where he was a student, demanding an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. He says he is being targeted solely for his advocacy.

“Enough is enough,” Mahdawi says. “Palestinian people deserve to have safety, freedom and equal rights between the river and the sea, and this government is trying to silence me.”

“That is just textbook censorship, and the First Amendment doesn’t allow it,” adds ACLU attorney Nathan Freed Wessler, a member of Mahdawi’s legal team.

Chiefs of four Algonquin First Nations are upset with what they see as Hydro-Québec's apparent disinterest in settling a compensation claim for damming a key watershed over the decades.

A group including the former England footballer write to the new PM telling him "we can afford it".

One month after devastating earthquakes struck northern and central Venezuela, the country's bishops call for a reconstruction process free from negligence, corruption and political interests, while urging solidarity with survivors and thanking rescuers, volunteers and Pope Leo XIV for their closeness.

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We speak with Salah Sarsour, a Palestinian community leader in Wisconsin, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee and a legal permanent resident of the United States for over 30 years. He faces possible deportation after being arrested in March and detained in an ICE jail for 80 days. The Department of Homeland Security claims Sarsour was arrested for lying on his 1993 green card application about a conviction in Israeli military courts when he was a teenager in the occupied West Bank, but Sarsour’s lawyers say he is being targeted by the federal government over his advocacy for Palestinian human rights. Although a judge ordered Sarsour’s release from detention in June, he still faces deportation proceedings set to resume next week.

“In ICE detention,” says Sarsour, “it brought to me these bad memories from my childhood, when I was under the Israeli military occupation and Israeli military rules in Palestine.”

The couple won the first series of the spin-off edition of the hit dating show in 2024.

In their meeting, the two leaders discussed regional affairs, apparently with China's growing military and economic coercion in mind.

A man in his 40s has been charged with the murder of Paul Mackin Jnr in Belfast.

Syria is not alone in tackling challenges, including the hundreds of thousands who remain missing during past tumultuous decades, the head of a UN institution said on Thursday as António Guterres departs on his first visit to the country in his current capacity as Secretary-General.

Independent UN human rights investigators on Thursday called for Iran to immediately halt the execution of 10 men who took part in a protest in the central city of Isfahan earlier this year, warning that some of their relatives have already been called for final visits.

Food security and child nutrition have improved across the Gaza Strip largely due to a scale-up in humanitarian assistance and commercial traffic, but progress remains fragile and could quickly reverse without sustained access, funding and recovery support.

In the Security Council debate on Thursday on how best to settle disputes between States peacefully, ambassadors provided examples of success and challenges ahead under such themes as effective early warning and how to move from rhetorical support for preventive diplomacy to ensuring more consistent use of its Chapter VI powers under the UN Charter.

As the Iran-US war continues, the key question remains unanswered about how shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will be managed in future – although the UN has reiterated that charging tolls for safe passage runs contrary to international law.

Satellites can now spot major methane leaks from space within days. Yet only 13 per cent of those alerts lead to any response from the governments or companies responsible.

Amar Bendjama, Permanent Representative of Algeria to the UN, was elected on Thursday to serve as the next president of the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

House GOP Approves $73B in New Pentagon Funding, $10B for Voting Restrictions, U.S. Strikes Southern Iran, Iraq Border Crossing on 12th Straight Night of Attacks, Nonproliferation Experts Warn U.S. Deal Could Lead to Nuclear-Armed Saudi Arabia, Judge Sets June 2027 Trial Date for Abducted Venezuelan Leaders Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores, Witnesses Say ICE Agents Rammed Their Van Before Fatally Shooting Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, Mexican Tourist Who Died Fleeing ICE Agents Was Visiting Florida on Vacation, Lawmakers Press ICE Officials on Training and Vehicle Stops After Killings of Immigrants, Police in Madison, Wisconsin, Fatally Shoot Black Man, Sparking Protests, Protests Erupt After Death of Moroccan-Born Man in Police Custody in Italy, GOP-Led House Ways and Means Committee Subpoenas BreakThrough News, NYC Mayor Mamdani Says He Does Not Have the Authority to Arrest Netanyahu

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Washington against making "unacceptable" arms deliveries to Ukraine during a Thursday meeting in Manila with US counterpart Marco Rubio, Moscow said. Lavrov and Rubio's meeting on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit, their first since September 2025, came as Washington's focus has switched from mediating in Ukraine to dealing with war in the Middle East. Lavrov told the US secretary of state "it was unacceptable to continue supplying weapons to

Irish engineering group Entegro has announced the acquisition of renewable energy company ACEL Energy.

Talking to The Economist, Musk said he doesn't care if people hate him and said he was not a racist.

The collecting and trading of cards, once a pastime confined to the schoolyard, is now a lucrative global market.

A ceremony marking the return of a pair of Qing Dynasty stone lion statues from a Seoul museum to the Chinese government took place Thursday, officials said. The event took place some six months after the two countries signed a document during a summit meeting in January, pledging the return of the statues purchased by the Kansong Art and Culture Foundation in the 1930s. At the ceremony held at Kansong Art Museum, the museum and the National Museum of Korea (NMK) signed a document on transferrin

The cost of parking closest to the terminal has hit £10 at two of the UK's airports.

South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is set to change the email addresses of its diplomats after a cyberattack on the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA) exposed some of the personal information of all of its diplomats. According to industry sources on Thursday, the ministry is reviewing the timing, scope and implementation details of replacing its diplomats’ email addresses following a major security breach. Carried out over a 10-month period between April last year and February this

From wildfires to deadly heatwaves and soaring demand for air conditioning in Dublin, experts say this summer has offered a glimpse of how climate change is reshaping life

The weather is set to take a change this coming weekend following the recent warm spell, Met Éireann has said.

Niagara regional police in Ontario say a car driven by two murder suspects wanted on a Canada-wide warrant has been found in Quebec.

The service in Swansea on 17 August will be live streamed on the star's official website.

As the deadline for releases approaches, Andy Burnham has reignited a row over the legislation after he said he would review the plans.

At the end of his six-day mission to Ukraine, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher reflects on the resilience of a people "willing to suffer for freedom and peace." Speaking to Vatican Media, the Holy See's Secretary for Relations with States recalls those who have "lost everything," reiterates the Holy See's commitment to humanitarian efforts and peace, and says Pope Leo XIV takes seriously the invitation to visit Ukraine when the time and circumstances can be "as fruitful as possible."

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Some 15 students from Japanese universities and graduate schools will be sent to St. Petersburg for about 10 days.

Amnesty International Regional Office for West and Central Africa has urged Ghanaian authorities to sign the Anti-Witchcraft Accusations Bill into law, passed in July 2023. In a statement, Amnesty International Regional Manager Elise Cannuel said the Bill was a significant step towards protecting victims of witchcraft accusations. Six years ago, on 23 July 2020, 90-year-old Akua Denteh, accused of being a witch, was lynched to death in Ghana.

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Serving the most vulnerable with compassion, the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood in Mozambique provide food, shelter, and dignity to hundreds of people displaced by devastating floods in southern Mozambique.

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The 55-year-old former president of New Look is suspected of evading some ¥367 million in income tax by concealing about ¥2.276 billion in income in 2023.

A three-way leadership race for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea was confirmed Thursday, after two of the five candidates dropped out. The three shortlisted to vie for party leadership are former Prime Minister and four-term lawmaker Rep. Kim Min-seok; former Democratic Party chair and four-term lawmaker Rep. Jung Chung-rae, who is running again; and six-term lawmaker Rep. Song Young-gil, who succeeded Lee Jae Myung after Lee became president. Two-term lawmaker Rep. Ko Min-jung and Kim Bo-mi

South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Thursday the government has shifted away from a policy focused on the denuclearization of North Korea, instead pointing to peace as a precondition to resuming stalled talks with Pyongyang. Chung's remarks come as Pyongyang has been doubling down on its nuclear and missile programs, while seeking to have its status as a nuclear state recognized by other world powers, notably China and Russia. "For the past year, the Lee Jae Myung government

U.S. President Donald Trump promised on Thursday "major military ‌punishment" for Iran and its Houthi allies, after the Yemeni fighters struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, extending the Middle East war to a second major shipping chokepoint.

Officers have been searching for 20-year-old Wolvedi Ding who was last seen in the suburb of Swanson on 17 July.

A month after the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, humanitarian efforts continue to address urgent needs while supporting long-term recovery in the country. The Missionary Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth (MHSFN), in collaboration with CADIS International, are restoring access to education by reopening their school to serve both existing and displaced students.

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Dismissed workers from Korea Optical High-Tech, who staged a 600-day rooftop protest after the company shut its fire-damaged plant, suffered another legal setback Thursday as an appeals court rejected their claim that another Nitto Denko affiliate should have taken over their employment. The Seoul High Court upheld a ruling that Korea Nitto Optical did not commit unfair dismissal by refusing to hire the former workers, according to the Korean Metal Workers’ Union. The dispute began after a fire

President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday that Korea would need to triple its property holding tax rate to meet levels in other advanced economies, but warned that such a sharp increase would face strong public resistance. Lee made the remarks during a national forum on real estate policy held at KBS in Yeouido, Seoul. Property holding taxes refer collectively to the local property tax and the national comprehensive real estate holding tax, which is imposed on owners whose combined property value ex

A South Korean appeals court on Thursday acquitted a woman who had been convicted of murder after undergoing a late-term abortion, ruling that prosecutors failed to prove she knew the baby would be born alive and then killed by medical staff. The Seoul High Court overturned a lower court ruling that had sentenced the woman to three years in prison, suspended for five years, over the 2024 procedure performed when she was about 36 weeks pregnant. The court upheld the murder convictions of the hosp

IKEA Korea opened its first store in Incheon on Wednesday, expanding its urban-format outlet strategy as the Swedish home furnishings retailer broadens its offline footprint in major cities. The new IKEA Hyundai Premium Outlet Songdo store, located on the basement level of Hyundai Premium Outlet Songdo, is the company's second urban-format outlet following its Seoul launch. IKEA plans to open additional stores in Daegu and Daejeon later this year. Occupying about 600 square meters, the store com

Lawyers are expected to make their opening arguments this morning in the trial of a man accused of killing his nine-year-old daughter, Melina Frattolin, in 2025 during a trip to New York.

Eleven Dongduk Women’s University students pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges stemming from a 2024 campus occupation against the school’s proposed transition to coeducation, arguing that their actions did not constitute the crimes alleged by prosecutors. The students were indicted on charges including property damage, obstruction of business and jointly refusing to comply with orders to leave university buildings. Their trial opened Thursday at the Seoul Northern District Court. Prosecutors

The Liberal Democratic Party no longer finds itself strictly needing the Japan Innovation Party's support, yet the latter's priorities continue to shape the parliamentary agenda.

Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has said he will meet the Law Society to discuss the dispute over the new legal aid payments system, which has led to widespread disruption in criminal courts.

"Hope" has practically owned the Korean box office since it opened July 15. That grip might not hold much longer. The threat comes from a familiar face. "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" opens here July 29, two days ahead of North America, and the numbers suggest it will hit the ground running. As of Thursday morning, more than 357,000 tickets had been booked, keeping the Marvel sequel at No. 1 on the presales chart for a fifth straight day, according to the Korean Film Council's tracking service. Tha

The 22-year-old had not been seen or heard from for three weeks.

Sightings of giant Nomura’s jellyfish in Korean waters have increased fivefold from a year earlier and spread across a wider area, the National Institute of Fisheries Science said Thursday. The institute said it has not yet determined the exact cause of the surge. Nomura’s jellyfish can grow up to 2 meters in diameter and deliver painful stings that may cause swelling, fever and numbness, or even shock in severe cases. The species typically drifts into Korean waters from the East China Sea durin

The new prime minister plans to work with influencers and social media creators to get his message out.

Cortis has surpassed 3 million cumulative sales with its second EP, becoming a triple million-seller less than three months after the album’s release. According to the latest weekly album chart released by Circle Chart on Thursday, the group’s second EP, “GreenGreen,” has sold approximately 3.1 million copies since its release on May 4. The milestone was reached just 11 weeks after the album’s release. Among albums released in Korea this year, only BTS’ fifth LP, “Arirang,” and “GreenGreen” have

Sudan's army is relying on a new coalition of militias to fight against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, itself a militia that had come under the auspices of the state.

Seoul has come under fire for offering users of its public bike-sharing service, Ttareungyi, a 30-day pass valued at 5,000 won ($3.41) following a cyberattack that exposed the personal information of 4.62 million members. The leaked data included user IDs, phone numbers, dates of birth, gender, email addresses, postal codes, home addresses and body weight. For some users, guardians' phone numbers, dates of birth and gender were also exposed. "This makes me feel as though my personal information

This is the first time that construction of public housing units for victims of the January 2024 earthquake has been completed in the prefecture.

There were reportedly cases where owners and employees bought up or set aside such products before putting them on store shelves and reselling them.

South Korean police are investigating whether Thursday’s explosion and fire at an apartment complex in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, was a premeditated attack by a resident who had been in a long-running dispute with the complex’s management. Police booked the suspect, a resident in his 70s, without detention on suspicion of setting fire to an occupied building and causing injuries. The fire, believed to have been deliberately set, broke out inside the management office of an apartment c

The government is looking into "marriage penalties" in housing financing, and will roll out measures to address the issue, President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday. Speaking at Thursday's real estate policy forum, Lee said that he is aware of the issue and has instructed the Prime Minister's Office to conduct a comprehensive investigation to ensure that married couples would not face disadvantages in purchasing or renting homes or in applying for housing subscriptions. "Regarding the issue of 'marr

Oil prices hit their highest in nearly two months today, rising for a fifth day after Yemen's Houthis said they struck two Saudi oil tankers, widening disruption to global oil shipping through both the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.

2FM presenter Roz Purcell has described the fear and exhaustion of watching the Slievenamon wildfire burn close to her and her family's homes in Co Tipperary.

UNESCO's World Heritage Committee on Thursday adopted a decision urging Japan to better present the history of the Sado Gold Mine, saying Tokyo has yet to fully honor its commitment to reflect the wartime mobilization of Korean laborers at the site. The decision, adopted without amendment or debate during the committee's 48th session in Busan, calls on Japan to further develop its interpretation and exhibition strategy to ensure it reflects the site's "whole history," including the forced mobili

Fire crews remain on Slievenamon today as they continue to monitor a major wildfire following several days of intensive firefighting operations.

Domestic manufacturers face waits of up to eight months for domestic components to replace Chinese imports.

Hyundai Motor and Kia said Thursday that they have opened UX Studio Shanghai, a user experience research hub in Shanghai's Jing'an District, to deepen China-specific vehicle development as competition intensifies in the world's largest auto market. The new facility will study China's fast-changing smart mobility market and consumer trends, with insights incorporated into the development of next-generation vehicles and AI-defined mobility technologies. Relocated from Huangpu District to a standal

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) Report, prepared by five UN agencies, reveals that nearly eight percent of the world's population experienced hunger last year and that, despite documented improvements, the phenomenon still affects nearly 650 million people worldwide.

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OCI Holdings returned to solid profitability in the second quarter, driven by strong earnings from its US solar business, as the company accelerated efforts to strengthen its US-focused supply chain and expand capacity to meet growing artificial intelligence-driven power demand. The company said Thursday it posted 1.23 trillion won ($838 million) in revenue, 108 billion won in operating profit and 60.6 billion won in net profit for the April-June period, extending profitability for a third conse

Google was fined a total of 890 million euros ($1.01 billion US, or $1.43 billion Cdn) on Thursday for flouting European Union rules aimed at reining in ‌the power of Big Tech, the European Commission said.

European Union envoys agreed on a 21st sanctions package against Russia over its war in Ukraine, imposing curbs on its banking sector while also finding a compromise with Greece to soften restrictions on Russian LNG, four EU diplomats said.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Thursday he had spoken briefly with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, a day earlier on the sidelines of ASEAN-related meetings in Manila.

OpenAI said in a blog post that the "unprecedented" hack at Hugging Face occurred after its own AI models escaped a testing environment to reach the wider internet.

Seoul stocks spiked by more than 4 percent on a tech rally following Alphabet's second-quarter earnings release. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed up 299.19 points, or 4.4 percent, to 7,096.89. Trade volume was moderate at 392.3 million shares worth 26.7 trillion won ($18.2 billion). Winners outnumbered losers 829 to 73. "The Kospi recovered to land at the 7,000-point level, helped by foreign investors who snapped up semiconductors,

The Summer Economic Statement did not include any details on supports in Budget 2027 for those on lower incomes, according to Social Justice Ireland.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government is seen as a key obstacle to further action, according to a survey.

An investigation is under way after two gardaí were hospitalised following an incident yesterday involving vape products which are believed to have contained cannabis.

The Lower House's rules committee turned down requests from senior Liberal Democratic Party officials so they would be available to respond to questions during the extension.

South Korea risks falling behind in stablecoins as regulatory uncertainty keeps banks and fintech firms from moving beyond pilot projects, according to Circle's chief strategist. "You can afford to be late to the regulation, but you don't necessarily want to be late to the technology," Dante Disparte, Circle's chief strategy officer and head of global policy and operations, said in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Thursday. Korea's sophisticated banking and payments infrastructure

The nationalist Sanseito and the centrist Democratic Party for the People are struggling to maintain the momentum — and distinct political identities — that powered their rise.

A judge has reserved his decision in the case against two former police officers accused of perverting the course of justice in the 1985 trial of Alan Hall.

BYD is betting that plug-in hybrids will become the next major growth engine in the global electrified vehicle market, with its Sealion 6 DM-i emerging as one of the company's strongest-selling models across Europe, Australia, Latin America and Southeast Asia. The Chinese automaker's success reflects a broader shift in the global market, where consumers are increasingly turning to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles as a practical alternative to battery electric vehicles. Offering electric driving

South Korea’s arms procurement agency outlined a plan Thursday to accelerate the domestic development and production of defense semiconductors, with an aim to reduce the country’s heavy reliance on overseas suppliers. The strategy was reviewed at the 11th ministerial meeting on science and technology held Thursday, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. Under the plan, the government will use stable demand generated by future weapons acquisition programs to support the rapi

Renault Korea said Thursday it has expanded the summer comfort features of its flagship crossover Filante, introducing a powered sunshade for the panoramic glass roof as demand grows for cooler, more comfortable cabins. The move reflects a broader industry trend, with automakers increasingly emphasizing cabin comfort — from climate control and ventilated seats to noise reduction and ride quality — as hotter summers reshape consumer expectations and vehicles evolve into more comfortable spaces. D

Rookie girl group KiiiKiii and sibling duo AKMU topped Billboard's editorial picks for the best K-pop releases of 2026 so far, with KiiiKiii's "404 (New Era)" named the midyear's best K-pop song and AKMU's fourth full-length album "Flowering" selected as the best K-pop album. Billboard recently unveiled its Best K-pop Songs of 2026 and Best K-pop Albums of 2026 lists, highlighting standout releases from the first half of the year. Despite a wave of high-profile comebacks from industry heavyweigh

Two major supermarket chains have cut prices for their mainstay grilled eel items after a bountiful fry catch last year.

Tourists from 13 countries participate in Kyochon F&B's Kyochon 1991 School in Seoul ahead of chobok. The 24 participants learned to make Kyochon's signature fried chicken, sampled its sauces and experienced Korean food culture through the company's culinary program. (Kyochon F&B)

The European Central Bank decided to keep interest rates unchanged today, but at their meeting some ECB governors asked whether the bank should hike rates.

Weight loss and diabetes drugs like Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy are linked to an increased risk of hair loss, according to researchers.

South Korea on Thursday called for stronger regional cooperation to bolster supply chain resilience and energy security while seeking continued support for the efforts to promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula at a gathering led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun made the remarks during the 27th ASEAN Plus Three foreign ministers' meeting in Manila, where he met counterparts from the 11 ASEAN member states, Japan and China to discus

Hyundai Motor said Thursday that its second-quarter operating profit dropped about 21 percent as rising raw materials costs and production disruptions outweighed record-breaking revenue and robust demand for its hybrid vehicles. South Korea's largest automaker reported an operating profit of 2.85 trillion won ($1.94 billion) for the April-June period, down 20.8 percent from 3.6 trillion won a year earlier. Revenue rose 1.9 percent to 49.22 trillion won, marking the highest quarterly figure in th

The newlyweds say they can now see the funny side after local venues stepped in on their big day.

The 12-hour procedure saw the teenager conscious throughout and asked questions by surgeons.

A submission to An Coimisiún Pleanála by former minister for children Katherine Zappone raised serious concerns over the mother and baby home site at Bessborough in Cork.

Fuji Rock Festival has long been known for its international headliners, but Kaze Fujii is poised to make a big splash on the Green Stage.

Is there a path back to peace after the latest escalation in the U.S. war with Iran?

Justin Prinstein, who previously worked as a foreign player scout for the KIA Tigers and LG Twins in the Korean Baseball Organization, has been fired in the US after being caught secretly filming an opposing team's coach. US sports outlet The Athletic reported Wednesday that Prinstein, who had been working as a scout for the Los Angeles Angels, was dismissed after filming a Colorado Rockies coach with his cellphone from the stands. The incident occurred in June during a game against Colorado. Wh

LG Energy Solution has filed patent infringement complaints in the US against Chinese battery maker EVE Energy, seeking to block imports of allegedly infringing cylindrical batteries and products containing them. Tulip Innovation, which manages and licenses patents on behalf of the South Korean battery manufacturer, said Wednesday that it had filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission and a patent infringement lawsuit in a federal court in Texas against EVE Energy. The legal ac

San Francisco Giants' Lee Jung-hoo recorded his fourth triple of the season. Lee started in right field and batted sixth in the Giants' road game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday. He went 1-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored. Lee has now recorded one hit in four consecutive games, raising his season batting average to .302. Lee grounded out on a line drive directly to the shortstop in the second inning. The inning ended in a double play

South Korea's economy extended its growth in the second quarter, weathering oil price volatility sparked by conflict in the Middle East, as robust chip exports fueled the expansion. According to preliminary data released by the Bank of Korea on Thursday, the country's real gross domestic product — a key gauge of economic growth — expanded 0.6 percent in the April-June period from the previous quarter, following a revised growth of 1.8 percent in the first months of this year. "Although (gross d

A South Korean national residing in Vietnam has won the country's 102.8 billion Vietnamese dong ($3.9 million) lottery jackpot, the largest prize ever awarded to a foreigner in Vietnam. According to Vietnamese media reports, the Vietnam Computerized Lottery Company on Tuesday presented the jackpot for its "Power 6/55" lottery to the South Korean winner. The winner received approximately 92.5 billion Vietnamese dong after paying 10.28 billion dong in personal income tax in Bac Ninh Province, wher

Lee Kang-in could be on the verge of a transfer, according to a report from a Spanish outlet. Spanish newspaper Marca reported Wednesday that "the final details of Lee Kang-in's transfer from Paris Saint-Germain to Atletico Madrid have been sorted out, and an official announcement is imminent." Regarding Lee's impending arrival, the outlet said, "After resolving the remaining details with PSG, Lee Kang-in will soon sign the contract that was agreed upon in advance. Atletico hopes to announce him

Samsung Display and LG Display each unveiled OLED panels designed for humanoid robot faces at K-Display 2026 in Seoul on Wednesday, marking an attempt to open a new application for screen technology already refined in smartphones and cars. Samsung Display placed a humanoid head at the front of its booth, fitted with a 6.9-inch curved OLED that displays expressions and status cues and tracks visitors' gaze with eye-tracking. The company also showed a 1.3-inch circular OLED built into a companion

The Japan Fair Trade Commission aims to curb the market dominance of companies like Google and Apple and ensure fairer transactions for small businesses.

The church says it will close for a day to mourn if the religious artworks are not returned by Tuesday.

A South Korea-backed vocational education program is helping young Africans turn skills in agriculture, food processing and beauty services into jobs and small businesses, according to UNESCO. The Better Education for Africa’s Rise initiative, known as BEAR, has trained more than 10,000 young people and supported over 5,800 vocational teachers in 14 African countries since it was launched in 2011. Funded by Korea as one of its flagship education development assistance projects, BEAR works with U

HD Hyundai XiteSolution said Thursday it has developed a low-temperature curing paint that cuts carbon emissions generated during the manufacturing process by more than half. Developed after a year of research at the company's technology institute, the new paint reduces carbon emissions when painting excavators and wheel loaders by about 53 percent, equivalent to planting 104,000 pine trees annually. The company achieved the reduction by replacing the paint's acrylic polyurethane resin with poly

Shinsegae Department Store said Thursday that its AI-powered hyperpersonalization technology, developed jointly with Seoul National University, has been accepted for presentation at the International Conference on Machine Learning, one of the world's most prestigious artificial intelligence conferences. The achievement stems from a yearlong industry-academia collaboration launched after Shinsegae and Seoul National University's Graduate School of Data Science signed a memorandum of understanding

Samsung Electro-Mechanics said Thursday it has signed a supply contract worth about 300 billion won ($204 million) for multilayer ceramic capacitors used in artificial intelligence servers, its second such agreement in under a month. The buyer was described only as a large global company. Deliveries will run from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2027. That is the same window covered by a 450 billion won contract announced June 30 with an unnamed global tech firm, bringing disclosed MLCC orders for that singl

Krafton said Thursday it has made a strategic investment in Neon Commerce, a global game commerce infrastructure firm, as the Korean game developer moves to build its own payment ecosystem and strengthen direct engagement with players worldwide. Building on the partnership with Neon Commerce, Krafton plans to accelerate the development of its proprietary payment system and bolster its global commerce capabilities. "This investment is an important step toward building more direct relationships w

GM Korea became the first automaker to reach a tentative wage agreement this year, easing immediate strike concerns as labor disputes intensify across South Korea's auto industry. The company said Thursday that management and its labor union reached a tentative wage and collective bargaining agreement Wednesday after 17 rounds of negotiations. The proposed deal includes a monthly base salary increase of 92,000 won ($63) and a 15 million won performance bonus. GM Korea also pledged to make every

The BBC can reveal that detectives have so far uncovered nine victims of PC Alan Greer but many more are anticipated.

Bernhard Sutter, 58, collapsed while ascending Japan's tallest mountain with his son via the Fujinomiya route — the shortest way up.

HiteJinro said Thursday it had launched its first global campaign for Jinro featuring BTS member V as the brand's global ambassador, as it steps up efforts to expand the world's bestselling soju brand in overseas markets. Titled "My Favorite Jinro," the campaign is designed to introduce Jinro's brand identity to consumers worldwide while celebrating the joy of sharing everyday moments over soju. The campaign kicks off Thursday with the release of its flagship commercial, followed by digital cont

A male gynecologist on Jeju Island has come under fire after multiple women accused him online of making insulting remarks during consultations, according to local media reports Thursday. One woman recounted her experience in a webcomic, saying the doctor asked whether she was married, where she lived and when she planned to have a baby while she was sitting in a gynecological examination chair during a recent visit. The doctor then asked why she had not yet had a baby and what method of contrac

The Minister for Foreign Affairs has announced funding of almost €10 million for 154 peacebuilding and reconciliation projects across Northern Ireland.

London-based Thompson Medical Centre, which operates two clinics in London and one in St. Thomas, has managed to attract 21 new doctors to the region since 2025. The director of the clinic says that amounts to room for roughly 40,000 people to find primary care.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Firefighters in central Spain battled a wildfire Wednesday that has burned over 32,000 hectares in one of the country's largest blazes on record. The fire in rural Guadalajara comes less than two weeks after a deadly blaze devastated a small expat community in southern Spain. That small but extremely virulent fire killed 13 people, including several foreigners, in one of the southern European country's deadliest wildfires. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday

A Pakistani man has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to lure two middle school girls into his car by offering them watermelon, police said Thursday. According to the Gyeonggi Gwangju Police Station, the man stopped the girls as they were walking along a street at around 9:30 p.m. Monday and repeatedly urged them to get into his car to eat watermelon with him. Once they managed to get away, the girls immediately reported the incident to police, who arrested the man at the scene. The girls

Nearly five months on, grief is still raw as a teacher and a mother recall the horror of the attack in Minab.

South Africa boasts advanced digital infrastructure, including connections with international sub-sea cables, helping to make it home to 70% of the continent's data centers.

Residents from the eastern end of Bay of Plenty must still travel to Tauranga for an MRI scan.

The latest in a series of outages took five hospitals across the Waikato region - Waikato, Thames, Te Kūiti, Tokoroa, and Taumarunui - offline for 11 hours on Wednesday, caused by a connection problem with the data centre.

Wildfires in southwest France have forced more than 20,000 residents and holidaymakers to flee.

Kiauna Cote and Ava Roe are two of the 20 First Nations and Métis delegates from across Canada competing this month for the title of 2026 Miss Indigenous Canada.

Haitians' permission to live and work in the U.S. is set to expire in less than a week. In Springfield, Ohio, where Haitians make up roughly one-quarter of the population, there's concern that federal agents could immediately start targeting the community for detention and deportation.

Cindy Thompson and Glenn Brown, who live in Curve Lake, Ont., sent $280,000 Cdn to a company co-owned by a British and Mexican national who promised big returns on a condo-flip play in Playa del Carmen that never materialized.

Italy is seeking to extradite Carlo Bruzzese, a Toronto-area man accused of serving as a high-ranking member of the powerful Calabrian 'ndrangheta criminal syndicate, CBC News has learned. The son of a purported mob boss, the 41-year-old Bruzzese was recently arrested by Toronto police.

A fire in a low-income neighborhood of Lima killed 10 people and destroyed two homes, Peru's civil defense reported yesterday.

Some 10,857 people were transported by ambulance from July 13 through July 19, more than double the same period last year.

Worries about security, weapons proliferation and political complications in a tinderbox region have been central concerns.

The Houthi attacks would be the first in the Red Sea since the Iran-backed group announced a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia.

The second leadership change at President Prabowo Subianto's troubled signature social initiative in less than two months after her predecessor was removed in a corruption probe.

China has been a persistent pain point for CEO Elliott Hill, even as Nike sees signs of progress in regions like North America and demand in its running business.

The most common reason for discipline was acts related to relationships with the opposite sex.

The cat appeared on the Department of Conservation's Northern Royal Albatross cam at Taiaroa Head on Wednesday.

"Unless discussions are held without any taboos, no country can any longer ensure its own security on its own," the defense minister told reporters at NATO headquarters.

The company will seek new clients including those from public and corporate pension funds, as well as endowments and foundations of universities.

They include strangulation, threatening to kill, and making and distributing an intimate recording.

Matthew Ryan has owned more than 100 properties, and regularly spoken to the media about the housing market and property investment.

Matthew Ryan's companies have been put into receivership after a property dispute with his former partner.

More than eight million households have been placed under hosepipe bans - which has raised questions about how effectively water resources are being managed.

The region has marked exactly two years until a total solar eclipse, when the moon's shadow will pass directly over parts of Otago.

The Government's investigation into Aughinish Alumina has not found definitive proof linking its exports to weapons manufacturers in Russia, the Taoiseach has said.

US President Donald Trump has promised "major military punishment" for Iran and its Houthi allies, after the Yemeni fighters struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, extending the Middle East war to a second major shipping chokepoint.

There have also been delays to some flights as fog envelops the airport again.

Teacher Ashton Stuart says the goal is to get students excited about science - and hopefully spark an interest in a STEM career.

Why is it taking so long for the government to regulate them, and what are the consequences of delay?