[Newsmaker] India's Supreme Court strikes down law that punished gay sex

NEW DELHI -- India's Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a colonial-era law that made gay sex punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a landmark victory for gay rights that one judge said would "pave the way for a better future.'' The 1861 law, a relic of Victorian England that hung on long after the end of British colonialism, was a weapon used to discriminate against India's gay community, the judges ruled in a unanimous decision. "Constitutional morality cannot be martyred at the altar of s

InternationalSept. 7, 2018

[Newsmaker] Mass food poisoning reported at schools nationwide in South Korea

South Korea's food safety agency on Thursday banned Pulmuone Foodmerce, a major food distribution firm, from distributing chocolate cakes that are believed to have caused some 460 school children nationwide to come down with food poisoning. A school cafeteria in North Jeolla Province is closed during lunchtime, Thursday, after food poisoning was reported in 13 schools nationwide. (Yonhap)The decision was made after food poisoning was reported at 13 schools across the country, including those in

Social AffairsSept. 6, 2018

[Newsmaker] Prosecutors raid Supreme Court in probe of judicial power abuse scandal

Prosecutors raided the Supreme Court on Thursday as part of a widening probe into allegations its previous chief abused his authority to attain his ambitious goal of setting up a court of appeals in the country. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office sent its investigators to accounting and finance divisions at the top court to confiscate evidence related to suspected fund misappropriation by its public relations team. (Yonhap)Prosecutors have been investigating alleged misdeeds of the N

Social AffairsSept. 6, 2018

[Newsmaker] NK efforts to stage ‘grand celebration’ undaunted

With Chinese leader Xi Jinping skipping North Korea’s 70th anniversary celebrations, attention is now on what to expect at the reclusive country’s major national event. According to Chinese and North Korean state-run media, Li Zhanshu, a member of China’s seven-person Communist Party leadership, will travel to Pyongyang as Xi’s envoy Saturday, a day before North Korea commemorates the 70th anniversary of the state’s founding on Sunday. Xi had been expected to attend the celebrations, in what wou

North KoreaSept. 5, 2018

[Newsmaker] Excessive use of police force partly to blame for Yongsan tragedy: internal inquiry

Police pressed ahead with breaking up a 2009 protest by dozens of angry shop tenants and activists in Yongsan that resulted in heavy casualties, even though they were aware of the high risks involved in the quelling, an internal inquiry team at the police agency said Wednesday. The committee released its outcome of the probe into human rights-related matters regarding the Yongsan crackdown of a civilian protest that killed five protesters and one police officer. In January 2009, dozens of renter

Social AffairsSept. 5, 2018

[Newsmaker] Head of Congo’s electoral body says ‘very few’ Congolese oppose Korean-made voting machines

Corneille Nangaa, the head of the electoral commission of the Democratic Republic of Congo, said in Seoul on Tuesday that “very few” in his country are against the idea of using the much-disputed South Korean-made voting machines for the African nation’s long-delayed presidential election set for Dec. 23, just a day after Congolese police violently dispersed a protest against the machines in Kinshasa. Congo will not cancel the deal with the Korean supplier in spite of pressure from the internati

Social AffairsSept. 4, 2018

[Newsmaker] Korea aims for 'zero' use of plastic cups, straws at coffee shops by 2027

South Korea aims to phase out disposable plastic cups and straws at coffee shops and other public places by 2027 as part of a broader initiative to reduce hard-to-recycle waste, the government said Tuesday. The Ministry of Environment and nine other related ministries submitted a 10-year plan for resources recirculation in a Cabinet meeting following the effectuation of a new related law in January.The policy aims to apply waste reduction steps to the whole process of production, consumption, ma

Social AffairsSept. 4, 2018

[Newsmaker] Park pressured court to delay colonial forced labor ruling: report

Ex-President Park Geun-hye ordered the Blue House staff to deliberately delay the Supreme Court’s ruling on a lawsuit filed by Koreans subjected to forced labor during Japan’s colonial rule, according to a local news report, which states that the ex-president gave the order after signing the controversial 2015 Seoul-Tokyo agreement on the issue of Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women. 　　A UN anti-discrimination body recently said the 2015 deal -- in which Japanese Prime Minister Sh

Social AffairsSept. 3, 2018

[Newsmaker] 17.7 cases of spycam crimes occurred daily last year: lawmaker

An average of 17.7 cases of “molka” -- using hidden cameras to take pictures or videos for sexual purposes -- were reported per day last year, a lawmaker said Sunday.According to the data Rep. Park Kyung-mee of ruling Democratic Party of Korea received from the National Police Agency, a total of 6,465 cases molka crimes were reported in 2017, showing an increase of 1,280 cases from the year before.(Yonhap)While the numbers continue to increase, only 1,720 of the 4,499 molka suspects identified b

Social AffairsSept. 2, 2018

[Newsmaker] With gold, Son Heung-min on course for bright future

Mission accomplished. Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min has secured himself a bright future following South Korea's gold medal victory at the 18th Asian Games on Saturday. South Korea beat Japan 2-1 in extra time at Pakansari Stadium in Cibinong, south of Jakarta, and defended their Asiad title. This means Son has cleared what could be the biggest obstacle in his career: military service. All healthy South Korean men between 18 and 35 must serve about two years in the armed forces. But ath

SoccerSept. 2, 2018

[Newsmaker] Tokyo protests UN committee’s advice on ‘comfort women’: local report

After a UN anti-discrimination body on Thursday advised Tokyo to adopt a victim-centered approach to achieve a lasting solution on the issue of Japan’s wartime military sexual slavery, which largely involved Korean women, Tokyo’s UN mission has expressed its regret and lodged a protest with the UN committee, according to local media.　　The 18-member UN body stated that Tokyo’s efforts did not “take a fully victim-centered approach (and) that the surviving (victims) were not adequately consulted.”

Foreign AffairsAug. 31, 2018

[Newsmaker] Friends call John McCain hero, maverick at Arizona funeral

PHOENIX -- A former vice president, an NFL star and other friends remembered Sen. John McCain as a “true American hero” — and a terrible driver with a wicked sense of humor and love of a good battle — at a crowded church service Thursday for the maverick politician that ended to the tune of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”Addressing an estimated 3,500 mourners, former Vice President Joe Biden recalled “the sheer joy that crossed his face when he knew he was about to take the stage of the Senate floor a

World NewsAug. 31, 2018

[Newsmaker] Day care kept mum about leaving behind toddler in vehicle

Police suspect that a day care center tried to cover up a recent incident in which a girl, 3, was left alone in a vehicle for 2 1/2 hours.Parents of the toddler reported the incident to police Monday night when they heard about what had happened in the morning from their child after they returned home from work.The child was on the day care bus when it arrived at the center in Nam-gu, Busan, at about 8:40 a.m. on Monday. The day care center texted the girl’s mother when they did not see the girl

Social AffairsAug. 30, 2018

[Newsmaker] Hong Kong professor charged with murder after wife's body found in suitcase

HONG KONG -- A University of Hong Kong professor was on Wednesday charged with murder after police found his wife's decomposing body stuffed in a suitcase in his office, the latest grisly murder to transfix the crowded city.Officers discovered the woman's body, wearing only underwear and with electric wire around her neck, hidden in the suitcase inside a large wooden box in the office of 53-year-old Cheung Kie-chung.The associate professor from the Department of Mechanical Engineering had report

World NewsAug. 30, 2018

[Newsmaker] Laid-off SsangYong workers blame ex-president for colleagues' deaths

After a special police investigation team on Tuesday concluded that the 2009 crackdown against SsangYong Motors’ laid-off workers was a form of state violence and that it was orchestrated under the leadership and approval of the former President Lee Myung-bak, former SsangYong employees demanded an apology from the government. 　　“I had to watch my colleagues being beaten by SWAT police officers back in 2009, and the traumatic experience still haunts me to this day,” said Kim Sun-dong, one of the

Social AffairsAug. 29, 2018

[Newsmaker] Incheon rape suspects to be tried as juveniles

Two boys were booked without physical detention on rape charges in Incheon on Wednesday, about seven weeks after the victim was found dead in an apparent suicide, Yeonsu police said. The victim’s aunt had discovered the victim’s body upon coming home around 7:25 p.m. on July 20. According to authorities, the two male students are accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl inside a bathroom at a nursing home in Michuhol-gu, central Incheon, Feb. 25.  (Yonhap)During the preliminary investig

Social AffairsAug. 29, 2018

[Newsmaker] Government to boost inter-Korean cooperation fund for 2019

Next year’s allocation to the inter-Korean cooperation fund spiked 14.3 percent on-year to 1.1 trillion won ($994 million) in the government budget announced Tuesday, with the sharp increase reflecting Seoul’s hopes of expanding and making headway in cross-border projects. Unification-related budget stood at 1.3 trillion won.　The larger allocation aims to facilitate the implementation of the Panmunjom Declaration reached between the leaders of the two Koreas in April. The agreement states that t

North KoreaAug. 28, 2018

[Newsmaker] Two dead in traffic accident involving actress Park Hae-mee’s husband

Actress Park Hae-mee’s husband was on the way for another drink when he was involved in a drunk-driving accident Monday night.Two other passengers, 19 and 31, were killed, and three, including the driver, were injured in the accident.The driver, surnamed Hwang, 45, told police he and the crew were on their way to have another drink after watching the Asian Games soccer quarterfinal between South Korea and Uzbekistan. 　 Firefighters respond to Monday’s car accident involving the drunken driving o

Social AffairsAug. 28, 2018

[Newsmaker] Man says he killed wife, three children after living with ‘overwhelming debt’

A 42-year-old man suspected of killing four members of his family, including his three children, has been arrested at a large hospital in Daejeon, police said Monday. According to Okcheon Police Station, the 42-year-old man is accused of murdering his 39-year-old wife and three daughters -- aged 10, 9 and 7 -- at their apartment in Okcheon County, North Chungcheong Province, Saturday. (Yonhap)Dispatched authorities reportedly discovered the victims’ bodies in their separate rooms with foam comin

Social AffairsAug. 27, 2018

[Newsmaker] China’s transport ministry censures Didi after murder

BEIJING (AFP) -- China’s transport ministry on Sunday slammed Didi Chuxing’s safety lapses as the ride-hailing giant said it would suspend its Hitch service after the rape and murder of a passenger, the second such killing this year. A 20-year-old female passenger was raped and killed by her driver on Friday in the eastern city of Wenzhou, barely three months after a similar incident in May. “These two vicious incidents that have violated the life and safety of passengers has exposed the gaping

World BusinessAug. 27, 2018