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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.”

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

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

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

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