Prosecutors on Friday indicted Rep. Jang Kyung-tae without physical detention over allegations that he sexually harassed a female aide of another lawmaker. Jang, an independent who left the ruling Democratic Party of Korea in March over the scandal, is accused of sexually harassing the aide at a restaurant in western Seoul in October 2024, according to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office. The lawmaker also faces charges of partially exposing the aide's identity in violation of the sexual violence punishment law. The indictment comes after the aide filed a complaint with the police last year. A police committee, convened at the lawmaker's request, recommended in March that he be referred to prosecutors over the allegations. The prosecution said it decided to indict Jang, who has denied the sexual harassment allegations, after questioning those involved in the case and reviewing evidence, including video footage of the incident.

North Korea on Friday denounced the ongoing combined air drills between South Korea and the United States, vowing to "thoroughly" deter the allies' exercise with force, Pyongyang's state media reported. A spokesperson at North Korea's defense ministry issued the statement as Seoul and Washington launched the biannual Freedom Flag exercise on Monday for a two-week run. "The U.S. and the ROK military warmongers launched the provocative large-scale joint air drill Freedom Flag against our state on Oct. 26 by mobilizing huge air forces," read the statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. North Korea said the drills involved the Army, Navy and Marines from allied forces and mobilized air refueling tanker and attack drones, citing them as evidence for their "military purpose" contrary to the defensive character as proclaimed by the allies. "Our armed forces will thoroughly deter threats with force and only act in such manner that the enemy states can understand," it said. North Korea has long

Police will deploy around 7,800 personnel across the nation to manage crowds celebrating Halloween over the weekend, officials said Friday, as the country prepares for its fourth Halloween since the deadly 2022 Itaewon crowd crush. The National Police Agency (NPA) said it will operate a special safety management period from Friday to Sunday. During the period, riot police, regional patrol teams and detectives will be dispatched mainly to 28 key areas, including 14 locations in Seoul. The government is seeking to prevent any recurrence of the Oct. 29, 2022, tragedy in Itaewon, a popular nightlife district in Seoul, where 159 people died in a surge through a narrow alleyway. Police will split pedestrian traffic in narrow bottleneck areas and guide crowds to walk in a single direction, officials said. If crowd density rises dangerously, police will restrict incoming traffic from the perimeter to secure open space for people to disperse. Police said they will share real-time data with relevant agencies and dispatch officers immediately to scenes in case of crowd-related reports. Officers will

A check-in system malfunction occurred at Incheon International Airport on Friday, causing major delays in passenger processing, the airport operator said. The malfunction began at 4:30 a.m. in an airline network connecting ticketing systems at the country's main gateway, leading to intermittent connectivity issues at eight airlines at Terminal 1 and five airlines at Terminal 2, according to Incheon International Airport Corp. By afternoon, ticketing was effectively halted at three airlines — China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Air China. Long lines of passengers formed at check-in counters, with some protesting that their airlines were not informing them of expected recovery times despite their approaching departures. The airport operator said the disruption appeared to have been caused by a glitch in the global network of American aviation service provider ARINC and that it was looking for solutions.

Hanwha Systems has won a contract to develop synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites for Korea's microsatellite constellation aimed at enhancing national security and disaster response capabilities, data showed Friday. The defense solutions arm of Hanwha Group was selected for the SAR satellite development project commissioned by the state-run Agency for Defense Development (ADD), according to the Public Procurement Service. The microsatellite development project is a joint initiative involving the defense ministry, the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) and the Korea Coast Guard to strengthen surveillance of security threats and natural disasters on the Korean Peninsula and in surrounding waters. SAR satellites can capture images of land and sea regardless of weather conditions or time of day. Operating a constellation of small satellites allows for more frequent monitoring of specific areas and faster intelligence gathering. Hanwha Systems has previously supplied SAR sensors and data links for Korea's military reconnaissance satellites.

LOS ANGELES — Patrick Stewart, the classically trained actor who added Shakespearean gravitas to the “Star Trek” and “X-Men” franchises, has died. He was 86. Stewart died Wednesday in Los Angeles , following “a brief and poignant journey” with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy Body Dementia, spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak said. Stewart’s diagnoses had not been previously disclosed. “We lost one of the greats of stage and screen today,” Hugh Jackman, a frequent Stewart co-star in the “X-Men” universe, said on social media. “And, in my book, a tremendous friend and man. I learned so much from him. I will miss you, Patrick Stewart, all of my days.” While best known as Professor Charles Xavier and Captain Jean-Luc Picard from the “X-Men” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation” series and films, respectively, Stewart spent more of his career onstage than in the X-Mansion or on the USS Enterprise. Besides playing everyone from Claudius to Macbeth, he often performed a one-man rendition of “A Christmas Carol” and did West End and Broadway runs of Harold Pinter's

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Um telescópio no Chile detetou um objeto gelado para lá de Plutão. Se for confirmado, 2026 ED138 torna-se o sexto planeta anão do sistema solar — e um dos maiores. Uma equipa de astrónomos encontrou um objeto gelado a orbitar para lá de Plutão que pode vir a ser o sexto planeta anão do sistema solar. O candidato chama-se 2026 ED138 e tem um diâmetro estimado entre 600 e 1.500 quilómetros. Orbita o Sol a uma distância cerca de 46 vezes maior do que a da Terra.  Plutão está a uma distância média de cerca de 40 vezes. Foi detetado

Patrocinado

Patrocinado

Primo intervento pubblico dal suo ritorno, dopo 10 mesi di esilio

A Seoul district court on Friday acquitted a lawmaker of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) of anti-graft charges over a luxury bag gifted to former first lady Kim Keon Hee. The Seoul Central District Court found Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon not guilty of violating the anti-graft law over the Roger Vivier clutch bag his wife gave to the then first lady, wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, in March 2023. Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team had sought a one-year prison sentence for the lawmaker, accusing the couple of gifting the bag worth 2.67 million won ($2,000) in return for her support in his election as the PPP's leader earlier that month. The court, however, convicted the lawmaker's wife of the charges, sentencing her to a fine of 5 million won. Min's team had sought a six-month prison term for Kim's wife. The court rejected arguments by Kim's wife that the clutch bag was merely a customary gift, ruling that it constituted a violation of the anti-graft law given the former first lady's position. It also rejected the special counsel team's argument that the couple had conspired to

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday conferred certificates of appointment on the presidential special inspector and others. Lee presented the documents at a ceremony to 10 high-level officials and leaders of government bodies, including Choi Kil-su, who took office a week earlier as a special inspector tasked with inspecting irregularities involving the president's spouse, close relatives and senior presidential officials, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said. The recipients included Ha Jung-woo, a former presidential secretary to Lee for artificial intelligence (AI) policy, who was newly appointed vice chairman of the presidential committee on national AI strategy. Lee chairs the committee. Ha left his former post to run for a parliamentary seat in the June by-elections but failed to win the seat. During a subsequent meeting with the recipients, Lee told Choi that the inspector has a lot to do and stressed the importance of responding promptly at the initial stage of a problem and making preemptive efforts to prevent any problems, according to Kang.

K-pop group BOYNEXTDOOR will kick off its first-ever North American tour Friday (U.S. time) with a show in Dallas, the group's agency, Koz Entertainment, said. Following the Dallas concert, the sextet is scheduled to perform in Florida, Chicago, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Mexico City through Nov. 24. "Every visit to the United States has given us meaningful memories and positive inspiration, so we are excited for this trip too," the group said in a release. "We will perform with passion and return with happy memories. We hope audiences look forward to our explosive energy and chemistry with them." The North American dates are part of BOYNEXTDOOR's first-ever world tour, titled "Knock on Vol. 2," which began in Seoul in July and continued across Japan. Following the North American leg, the group is set to perform in six other Asian regions into January 2027.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with his Indonesian counterpart in Atlanta to discuss ways to strengthen strategic communication and expand bilateral cooperation in defense, energy and other sectors, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday. Cho met with Indonesian Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir on Thursday (U.S. time), as the two ministers were in the United States to attend the Group of 20 (G20) foreign ministers' meeting scheduled for Oct. 30-31, according to the ministry. It marked the first talks between the countries' foreign ministers since Nasir took office on Oct. 1, it added. During the talks, the two sides recalled that bilateral ties were elevated to a special comprehensive strategic partnership during Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's state visit to Korea in April and agreed to further develop cooperation based on the upgraded relationship. They also agreed to strengthen strategic communication in the diplomatic and security fields. The ministers discussed ways to expand mutually beneficial cooperation in defense and the defense industry, trade and investment, energy and a

Senior diplomats from South Korea, the United States and Japan held telephone consultations Friday to share information and discuss responses to North Korea's latest ballistic missile launches, Seoul's foreign ministry said. On Thursday, North Korea fired around 10 short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The North's state media reported Friday that it fired a 600-millimeter multiple rocket launcher, tactical cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles during the weapons demonstration the previous day. Baek Yong-jin, director general for Korean Peninsula policy at Seoul's foreign ministry, spoke with David Wilezol, deputy assistant secretary for Northeast Asia at the U.S. State Department, and Takashi Ariyoshi, a senior official at Japan's foreign ministry, the ministry said. "The three officials shared relevant information and discussed future responses," the ministry said in a press release. "The foreign affairs authorities of the three countries operate a channel for promptly sharing information and

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has arrived in North Korea, Pyongyang's state media reported Friday, as Switzerland has opened its first diplomatic office in the North. Cassis arrived in Pyongyang the previous day, greeted by North Korean foreign ministry officials, the North's ambassador to Switzerland and others at the airport, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The KCNA did not elaborate on other details, such as the purpose of his visit and itinerary. The Swiss government earlier said Cassis will visit North Korea on a two-day trip from Thursday to attend the official reopening of the Swiss diplomatic office in Pyongyang and hold political talks with North Korean officials. Cassis will then travel to Seoul to meet with South Korean government officials, the release said, noting the visit is part of "Switzerland's long-standing commitment to peace on the Korean Peninsula." The establishment of the diplomatic office marks Switzerland's first political and diplomatic installations in Pyongyang since the two countries forged diplomatic relations in 1974. "Against a b

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook called for greater cooperation with Germany in the battery, semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors Friday, saying the two countries are trustworthy partners that enhance their competitiveness by leveraging each other's strengths. Han made the remark in a keynote speech at the 19th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business attended by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and business leaders from the European nation. Merz was in Seoul for a summit with Korean President Lee Jae Myung. "Korea and Germany are reliable partners that enhance their competitiveness together by connecting each other's strengths. In particular, we look forward to deeper and broader cooperation between the two countries in three fields where their strengths stand out," Han said, referring to battery, semiconductor and AI sectors. "At a time when German companies diversify their supply chains toward the Asia-Pacific and seek new growth opportunities, Korea will serve as a crucial strategic hub connecting Asia, the Pacific and Europe, as well as a reliable partner that trul