SEOUL – Since the beginning of the year, South Koreans have been able to get a clearer look at the opaque regime of North Korea through its mouthpiece newspaper Rodong Sinmun. Previously restricted material available only through a permit application, the newspaper is now freely accessible at more than 180 institutions across the country, mostly university and public libraries. The easing of curbs is part of a broader approach by the South Korean government to allow public access to North Korean materials, citing the public’s right to know. But South Koreans have shown little interest so far, with some viewing…
Author: Asia News Network
ISLAMABAD – Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan killed “more than 80 terrorists,” security sources said on Sunday, in a retaliatory operation against groups responsible for recent suicide bombings in Pakistan. Pakistan struck seven “terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to Pakistani Taliban of [Fitna al Khwarij] and its affiliates and [the Islamic State-Khorasan Province] at the border region of Pakistan-Afghanistan border,” the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced in a post early Sunday on the social media platform X. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Security sources said late Sunday…
BEIJING – The spotlight at this year’s Spring Festival Gala wasn’t reserved solely for performers and celebrities, as a lineup of cutting-edge humanoid robots made their highly anticipated debut, generating waves of adulation on social media at home and abroad, and sending consumer interest in homemade bots to a new high. During the Spring Festival Gala, or Chunwan, robots from industry leaders including Noetix Robotics, Unitree Robotics, MagicLab, and Galbot took the stage. The impact on the robotics market was immediate. Data from JD.com revealed that within two hours of the broadcast by the China Media Group, searches for robots…
NEW DELHI – India and the United States are understood to have decided to reschedule a key meeting of their top negotiators over the interim bilateral trade agreement so as to study the implications of the American Supreme Court judgment striking down the tariff hikes by the Trump Administration. A three-day meeting between teams headed by the chief trade negotiators on the two sides was scheduled to take place in the US on February 23. Sources said the Indian team of negotiators will now visit Washington to give the final touches to the trade deal after officials in both India…
JAKARTA – Like last year, the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) plans to continue its flagship free meal program during Ramadan, which officially begins today, despite the fact that most students in Muslim-majority Indonesia will be fasting throughout school hour. To accommodate the shift in timing, the agency has introduced several adjustments, such as distributing non-perishable items like bread and biscuits for students to consume after sunset. A similar scheme is devised for the first three days of the Idul Fitri holiday, providing food packages for students to take home during the break. From a logistical standpoint, the program may well…
MANILA – Malacañang said it would not accept apologies or excuses from persons who recently spread online a fake hospital report on President Marcos’ medical condition, including a vlogger who owned up to the deed when he appeared before investigators on Wednesday. “The law must be enforced. Those who violate the law must be held accountable,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said. “Creating content online should not be taken as a joke, especially when it can affect not only the person who made the subject of the content but also the public as a whole, since communities may be exposed…
THIMPHU – The year 2025 cast a stark light on the evolving and often unsettling nature of crime in Bhutan, with high-profile cases exposing shifting patterns of violence in the country. From the brutal murder of 89-year-old former Dorji Lopen to a high-profile gold smuggling case allegedly involving former monks, these incidents shook public trust and challenged societal norms. Alongside these headline-grabbing cases, rising drug offences, domestic violence, cybercrime, and road accidents underscored the growing complexity of criminal challenges in a rapidly changing society. Murder On July 2, 2025, former Dorji Lopen Yonten Gyeltshen, 89, was killed at his meditation…
SEOUL – Conversations between parents and elementary school children in South Korea are increasingly centered on academic performance rather than aptitude or future aspirations, coinciding with rising levels of depression among younger students. According to a recent report by the Ministry of Education, the proportion of elementary school students who said they discuss their grades or academic performance with their parents every day rose to 30.5 percent in 2025, up from 25.7 percent five years earlier. By contrast, the share of students who reported talking daily about their aptitude, dreams or future school choices remained relatively low, standing at 15…
SEOUL – The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to life imprisonment, finding him guilty of leading an insurrection. “It is recognized that Yoon Suk Yeol acted with the purpose of subverting the Constitution by sending the military to the National Assembly to paralyze or limit its function for a prolonged period,” presiding Judge Ji Gwi-yeon said while delivering the verdict. The special counsel, which prosecuted the case, on Jan. 13 requested the death penalty, arguing that Yoon had shown no remorse and bore primary responsibility for destabilizing the constitutional order. “Yoon Suk Yeol…
TOKYO – Sanae Takaichi was elected as the 105th Prime Minister at a special Diet session Wednesday. She formed her second Cabinet that evening, reappointing all ministers from her first Cabinet after they resigned en masse at an extraordinary Cabinet meeting in the morning. The government is eager to pass a budget for the next fiscal year, following delays in the deliberation process due to the dissolution of the House of Representatives for a general election. At the plenary session of the Diet, prior to the vote to name a prime minister, Liberal Democratic Party member Eisuke Mori was elected…