More than 20 Korean NGOs, including human rights groups, protested the Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation’s recent decision to award Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this year’s Seoul Peace Prize, saying he does not deserve the honor as he has a history of being complicit in violence against Muslims in India.　“We demand (the Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation) retract its decision to give the Seoul Peace Prize to Mr. Modi,” the 26 groups, including the Center for Refugee Rights in Korea

A Korean chef and restaurateur was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting on the northwest side of Chicago in Belmont Gardens early Thursday morning (local time), police reported. According to witnesses, the 46-year-old man, identified as Peter Rim, was reported to have been sitting on the passenger side of his own vehicle when a person in a large SUV pulled up next to him and opened fire. Peter Rim (Facebook)The gunman reportedly said something to Rim before shooting, but the victim, who had sever

South Korea has been selected as the host country for the upcoming 19th International Anti-Corruption Conference, one of the biggest events of its kind, slated for June 2020, the country’s Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced Thursday.　　The conference is a biannual global anti-corruption event co-hosted by the host country and Transparency International, a Berlin-based international nongovernmental organization devoted to combating global corruption. Each event brings together s

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday stressed the need to start easing international sanctions against North Korea to further motivate the communist state in its efforts to denuclearize in a summit with British Prime Minister Theresa May.    The British leader agreed on the need to come up with ways to move forward the North's denuclearization process while also stressing the need for Pyongyang to more clearly show its commitment to full denuclearization through action. South Korean Pres

BRUSSELS -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged efforts to further develop the countries' bilateral relationship during their meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit in Brussels on Friday.    "The two leaders noted the countries continued to develop their complementary economic cooperation based on the South Korea-EU free trade agreement, and agreed to strengthen their future-oriented cooperation in areas of mutual interest, su

A male passenger on an Asiana Airlines flight from Incheon to Chicago died of a heart attack last Thursday around two to three hours after takeoff, Chicago’s Korean-language media outlet reported Tuesday. The captain reported a medical emergency on board after the man, 76, experienced heart attack symptoms and collapsed. Flight attendants made an announcement and found a physician, who performed CPR in an attempt to save the sick man, but he was pronounced dead. Authorities say the deceased man

South Korea said Wednesday it will extend the mission of two military jets in Indonesia hit by a powerful earthquake and ensuing tsunami.The C-130 Hercules planes were dispatched to the central island of Sulawesi on Sept. 28 to support emergency aid supplies.Their mission was supposed to end Wednesday.But the government has decided to prolong it until Oct. 26 at the request of the Indonesian authorities, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This photo taken on Oct. 2, 2018, shows a coll

HANOI (AFP) -- Vietnam on Friday jailed a blogger who posted critical material on Facebook for five years, his second sentence in less than a month as a hardline administration tightens its grip on dissent.　More than 50 activists, rights campaigners and bloggers have been put behind bars in 2018, in one of the harshest crackdowns in years. 　Observers say a conservative administration in charge since 2016 is behind the sweeping campaign, which shows few signs of easing. Vietnam`s Prime Minister N

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Francis accepted the resignation Friday of Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl after he became entangled in two major sexual abuse and cover-up scandals and lost the support of many in his flock.　 　But in a letter released by Wuerl‘s office, Francis praised his longtime ally and suggested Wuerl had unfairly become a scapegoat, having made some “mistakes” in handling sex abuse cases, but not having covered them up.  　 　With the resignation, Wuerl becomes the most prominent

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has discussed with Vietnam‘s leader efforts by their countries to delineate their maritime boundaries in the disputed South China Sea, most of which is claimed by China.　 　Duterte said Friday, without elaborating, that he told Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in a meeting in Indonesia that such boundary talks may take longer because the Philippines is still establishing its continental shelf limit, or the country’s outerm

LONDON (AFP) -- Queen Elizabeth II‘s granddaughter Princess Eugenie married a wine merchant on Friday in a Windsor wedding clouded by complaints over costs and struggling to recapture the magic of past royal nuptials.　The big day for the ninth in line to the throne and Jack Brooksbank -- a “commoner” with blue-blood friends -- comes on the heels of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s fairytale service in May.　That event was watched by adoring masses and followed by months of fawning UK headlines ab

INCHEON -- A UN panel on climate change released a special report Monday calling for urgent action to cut carbon emissions so as to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change unveiled the "Summary for Policymakers" of the "Special Report on 1.5 degrees" after unanimously adopting it at last week's meeting in Incheon, west of Seoul.(Yonhap)IPCC Chair Lee Hoe-sung of South Korea said during a press briefing Monday that it's

Japan has decided to skip an international naval event in South Korea next week amid a dispute over its plan to fly the Rising Sun flag, a Seoul government source said Friday.Japan informed South Korea of the decision to not send a warship to the International Fleet Review to open for a five-day run at a military port on Jeju Island on Wednesday.(AP/Yonhap)"This morning, Japan notified South Korea that it won't send a Maritime Self-Defense Forces warship to the Jeju International Fleet Review,"

South Korean companies are joining international efforts to support Indonesia, which was hit by a deadly earthquake and tsunami, amid rising concerns over the safety of survivors in the region, firms said Thursday.KT&G Corp., a major tobacco maker, said it will offer 100 million won ($88,700) to Indonesia, becoming the latest South Korean firm to provide emergency relief aid.The sum will be handed over to the Korean Red Cross for the purchase of relief goods and restoration of damaged areas, it