TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol — Shipping company Gothong Southern has denied involvement in an investigation into the alleged illegal transport of foreign cigarettes, after reports linking shipping industry personalities to the multimillion-peso smuggling case. In a statement, the shipping company said it is not currently under investigation for the alleged violation of customs regulations involving the

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday said it is investigating an alleged data breach involving the Philippine Air Force (PAF) following online claims that sensitive military personnel and administrative records had been compromised. AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said military cybersecurity units were examining the allegations but had

MANILA, Philippines — The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) on Tuesday confirmed that the private plane carrying foreign nationals did not crash and landed safely at an airport in Butuan City. Reports of the aircraft crashing in Barangay Sinoron, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur at around 8 a.m. was confirmed by the Digos

MANILA, Philippines — A firearm was confiscated from a 13-year-old student at school in President Quirino, Sultan Kudarat, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported. According to the PNP, a 9mm pistol with eight rounds of ammunition was found inside the student’s bag. Authorities recovered the firearm and ammunition after the student voluntarily opened his bag

MANILA, Philippines — A defense witness testified in court that the more than P64,000 in compensation Vice President Sara Duterte received from the Davao City government in 2023 represented a salary differential for the time when she served as mayor in 2020 to 2021. She clarified that the fund was not payment for another service

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte is not getting enough for what she is paying her legal team for the impeachment trial if they will present evasive and lying witnesses like the Davao City assessor, prosecution panel spokesperson Robert Ace Barbers said. In a press briefing during a break in Duterte’s trial on Monday,

TACLOBAN CITY – Public elementary and secondary schools here have shifted to holding only morning face-to-face classes to protect students from rising temperatures, as the city government prepares measures to mitigate the effects of the looming very strong El Niño phenomenon. The new class schedule, which took effect on Monday, runs from 7:30 a.m. to

MANILA, Philippines — Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco filed a resolution urging the House of Representatives to allow its own budget to be scrutinized and undergo committee deliberations, according to a statement released by his office on Tuesday. Tiangco introduced House Resolution No. 1590 on Monday, which calls on the House to submit its proposed 2027

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine National Police (PNP) urged motorists to observe traffic rules and cooperate with authorities during the 49th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit from Nov. 15 to 18. “Let us follow traffic protocols and respect our fellow motorists to avoid any incidents and ensure the safety of all travelers during

Najib Razak, who was brought down in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal, was released from prison to serve the rest of his sentence in his mansion.

Seoul's international theater community prepares for battle once again, as the 10-Minute Play Festival (10MPF) takes to the stage to find this year's top playwright. This will mark the 13th year of the contest, brought to the stage at Dulwich College in southern Seoul by Seoul Players, a not-for-profit, volunteer-run English-language theater group founded in 2001. For this year's contest, they received 410 submissions sent in March and April from 354 playwrights based all over the world. The number of submissions has exploded in recent years, peaking at more than 500 for last year's festival in just two weeks, before submissions had to be closed early. "Last year, one of the board [members] felt that many of the hundreds of plays we got were AI-generated," said Lorne Oliver, a producer for Seoul Players. He didn't disagree with the assessment, but he explained why it didn't affect their final decisions: "I just thought most of them were not up to snuff." He added, "We did not bother to run them through an AI check; we just went with the assessment results, since cream floats." This year, th

On paper, Korea's economy looks strong. Fueled by a semiconductor export boom, the country's annual exports are projected to top $1 trillion for the first time this year, making Korea only the fourth country to reach the milestone, after the United States, China and Germany. Forecasts from eight major investment banks put Korea's real gross domestic product growth at an average of 3.5 percent this year, with some expecting growth as high as 4 percent. Per capita gross national income is also expected to surpass $40,000 for the first time, potentially placing Korea sixth in the world by that measure. By those numbers, President Lee Jae Myung's approval ratings should be soaring. The economy, after all, is widely regarded as one of the biggest drivers of presidential popularity. Yet that is far from the case. A Realmeter survey of 2,528 adults nationwide, conducted from Nov. 2 to Friday for the Asia Business Daily, put Lee's approval rating at just 35.9 percent. His ratings have hovered between the high 30s and low 40s since October, a sharp decline from 67 percent seven months earlier. More

A string of recent drug cases is eroding Korea’s lingering reputation as a drug-free country, highlighting how both Koreans and foreign nationals are being increasingly drawn into narcotics crime. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police said Monday that it referred 66 foreign nationals to the prosecution between March and October on charges including violating the Narcotics Control Act, with 30 of them being held in custody. Many of the suspects were Southeast Asian students who entered the country on D-2 student visas or D-4 language training visas. Of the seven separate cases, one involved drug manufacturing plans and another smuggling, while five involved distribution, purchase and use. One suspect set up equipment in a studio apartment to make ecstasy pills from powder and other materials smuggled into Korea, but was caught before obtaining them. Six others were arrested in succession after investigators found evidence that they had smuggled large amounts of ecstasy, ketamine and other drugs into Korea through international mail in March. They operated in isolated cells and took order

Korea and the United States conducted Tuesday a combined aerial resupply exercise aimed at bolstering their capabilities for rapid airborne logistics supply in wartime scenarios, the allies' combined forces said. The exercise, led by the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), is designed to maintain rapid aerial sustainment capabilities using combined air transport assets when ground resupply routes are compromised during wartime, the CFC said in a release. The latest drills focused on air-drop operations delivering both heavy loads and light supplies. In particular, forces practiced cross-aerial resupply of military hardware and equipment around the clock and from varying altitudes of more than 3,000 meters, the CFC said. The exercise enhanced the survivability of transport aircraft during wartime and improved the retrieval rate of air-dropped supplies by ground units, it added. The drills brought together their key military units, including the Army Special Warfare Command, the 1st Logistics Support Command, and the Air Force Air Mobility and Reconnaissance Command from the Korean s

Ninety-two students and teachers from 30 countries wrapped up a five-day immersive camp hosted by the Ministry of Education. A group of 92 secondary school students and teachers from 30 countries completed a five-day immersive journey into Korean language and culture, concluding a nationwide youth camp organized by the Ministry of Education. To mark the end of the 2026 International Korean Education Youth Camp, the ministry and the International Korean Education Foundation held a celebratory ceremony Tuesday evening at Sarangjae, a traditional guest house on the National Assembly grounds in Seoul. Running from Friday to Tuesday across Seoul and Incheon, the camp brought together students enrolled in Korean language classes at their home schools. This year’s cohort welcomed its first-ever participant from Mexico, alongside students from Malaysia and Uzbekistan who were recently featured in a KBS documentary aired on Hangeul Day, the Oct. 9 national holiday celebrating the Korean alphabet. During the program, participants engaged in level-tailored Korean lessons leveraging artificial int

A city-run hospital for houseplants? Welcome to modern Seoul. Seoul’s dedicated emergency room for sickly flora has administered 10,886 diagnoses, treatments and house-call consultations since opening its doors in 2023, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday. Nestled inside the Seoul Agricultural Technology Center in Seocho District, the Companion Plant Hospital functions like a full-scale medical center for dramatic greenery. Resident plant doctors diagnose bug infestations and mysterious wilting, prescribing everything from targeted pesticides to emergency repotting. Plants needing intensive care can even be admitted for up to three months of inpatient recovery, while anxious plant parents leave with tailored home-care prescriptions. The hospital often handles high-stakes, emotional cases. In one instance, a resident rushed in a wilting Chinese money tree — the final gift from their late mother. The facility immediately admitted the botanical heirloom into critical care, nursing it back to life. In another success story, a Rhaphidophora tetrasperma — the trendy "mini monst

The Korean Army has temporarily grounded its Apache military helicopters as U.S. authorities began inspections on the fleet over a possible malfunction of their transmission system, an Army official said Tuesday. The grounding of the AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters has been in place since early October, after the Army received a safety advisory from the U.S. military regarding the transmission component, Army spokesperson Capt. Bae Seok-jin said in a press briefing. "As a safety precaution, the Army temporarily grounded the fleet in early October (for the U.S. side) to conduct technical inspections in phases," Bae said. "Operations will resume sequentially based on the inspection results." While routine training flights are paused during the grounding, the helicopters usually stand ready for an immediate operational launch in the event of a contingency. "There are currently no issues with our readiness or operational posture," the Army spokesperson added. Manufactured by Boeing, the Apache helicopters serve as a key asset for air-to-ground defense for the Korean military, which

A special counsel team said Tuesday it suspects a National Election Commission (NEC) employee concealed and forged a vote tally sheet during the election for education superintendent of Gyeonggi Province in June. Investigators were sent to the Gyeonggi provincial election commission and the election commission in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, earlier in the day to execute a search and seizure warrant and verify the suspicions, according to the team led by independent counsel Lee Tae-han. The team suspects the employee of the Gwangju election commission concealed and forged the vote tally sheet, which the local commission sought to cover up, leading to an incorrect final tally. Lee's team has been investigating various suspected irregularities involving the NEC after it was launched in early September to look mainly into what led to the unprecedented ballot shortages in June's nationwide local elections.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday scheduled another deliberation session on former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's appeal on insurrection charges, raising the likelihood of his release when his detention period runs out next week. The top court said it would hold the second deliberation round on Han's appeal on Nov. 19, a day before his six-month detention period expires over his role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid. Given the schedule, Han, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison by an appellate court, is likely to be released when his detention period runs out as it can no longer be extended. Supreme Court proceedings for Han's appeal have been drawn out after the court referred the case to its full bench in August, citing the public's high interest and its historical importance. A Seoul district court sentenced Han to a 23-year prison term in January after convicting him of multiple charges, including playing a key role in an insurrection under Yoon's short-lived declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024. An appeals court reduced his sentence to 15 years in May aft

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Tuesday called on President Lee Jae Myung to veto a recently passed bill on a special counsel investigation into alleged fabricated indictments targeting Lee and others. The PPP made the appeal as they held a general meeting of its lawmakers outside the presidential office, slamming the bill as a measure aimed at canceling all indictments against Lee. "The special counsel bill marks the final step in a project to free Lee Jae Myung from prison," PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok said. "It is a jailbreak bill designed to get Lee, who should be behind bars, out of jail." The legislation calls for appointing an independent counsel to investigate suspicions the prosecution under former President Yoon Suk Yeol fabricated evidence or induced false testimonies to build cases against then opposition leader Lee and others. "We must resume all trials and make Lee face the judiciary's judgment before his crimes are wiped away," Jang added. Rep. Jeong Jeom-sig, the party's floor leader, also warned, "The project to free Lee from prison will only lead to an ear

President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday that Korea will continue to closely cooperate with the U.S. administration following the recent U.S. midterm elections, while also seeking to expand bipartisan support in Congress for issues related to the country and the alliance. Lee made the remarks at a Cabinet meeting after the opposition Democratic Party in the United States won control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives in last week's midterm elections. "After the U.S. midterm elections, many changes are expected to take place in the external environment," the Korean president said, instructing officials to prepare thoroughly for any possible changes. "Utmost attention should be paid to minimizing negative effects from external uncertainties on the domestic economy." "More important than anything would be strengthening and expanding the foundation for cooperation and trust between the two countries from the mutually beneficial perspective," Lee added, calling for efforts to ensure the implementation of bilateral diplomatic and security agreements. The president, in particular,

A joint research team at Sogang University has developed a new strategy for designing optical materials that enable efficient wavelength conversion by effectively arranging three different optically active components within a single crystal. The university said Monday that the findings were published last month in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, an internationally renowned chemistry journal. The research team was led by Ok Kang-min, a professor in the Department of Chemistry, and Jang Joon-ik, a professor in the Department of Physics. Zeng Wei, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemistry, served as the study’s first author, while Ok and Jang were co-corresponding authors. Nonlinear optical materials enable the conversion of laser light into light of different wavelengths. They are used in a wide range of applications, including high-performance lasers, precision optical measurements, optical communications and advanced photonic technologies. However, achieving superior optical performance requires more than simply combining components that respond strongly to

A small military drone operated by an Army unit crashed in a park in Gimpo, just west of Seoul, on Tuesday morning, with an investigation under way to determine the exact cause, the Army said. No civilian damage was reported. The unmanned vehicle hit the ground following a suspected communication failure during training and was later retrieved, the Army said in a notice to media. "No casualties or civilian damage have been reported, other than the damage to the aircraft itself," Army spokesperson Capt. Bae Seok-jin said in a press briefing. "The military is currently investigating the exact circumstances and cause of the incident." Bae dismissed speculation connecting the crash to North Korea, saying it occurred during training. Gimpo city officials earlier said military authorities were examining the object to determine whether it may be linked to North Korea.

Chungnam National University held an anti-corruption and integrity pledge ceremony at its Daejeon campus on Friday. University President Kim Jeong-kyoum and more than 100 faculty and staff members attended the event, according to the university. It was organized to raise awareness of integrity among university members and promote a fair and transparent organizational culture. At the ceremony, participating faculty and staff members pledged to abide by laws and principles, carry out their duties with integrity, put the public interest first, prevent corruption and strengthen public trust. They also pledged to take the lead in promoting a culture of integrity in public service. “Integrity is an important value that all university members should uphold in their daily work and everyday lives,” Kim said. “I hope everyone will continue to work together to build a transparent and fair Chungnam National University that earns the trust of its members and the local community through open and accountable administration.” Following the pledge ceremony, faculty and staff members took part in a h

The language of sexual predators grooming potential victims may look harmless. But spotting their patterns is necessary for protecting underage internet users. “A teenager posts a short video and receives comments such as ‘You’re pretty’ or ‘How old are you?’ These may seem like harmless compliments or signs of interest. But when they are used to build trust and steer the child toward private contact, they can mark the beginning of online grooming,” an official from the National Center for Digital Sexual Crime Response said during a demonstration for reporters Tuesday. Detecting predators' pattern is the next challenge for the center, where artificial intelligence (AI) has already improved its capacity to detect suspected child sexual exploitation material and streamlined the process of requesting its removal. “Because the individual words are not inherently suspicious, keyword searches alone cannot detect the pattern," the official said. "That is why we’re now developing technology that looks beyond isolated words to examine how an exchange unfolds and identify attemp

Korea has adopted an artificial intelligence (AI) system to strengthen detection and removal of online child sexual abuse material, the gender equality and family ministry said Tuesday. The National Center for Digital Sexual Crime Response introduced the AI-powered system in April as Seoul seeks to better counter evolving digital sex crimes in a highly connected country. The center found 96,210 child sexual abuse materials and notified online platforms to remove them between April and September, or about 202.1 cases a day, compared with last year's daily average of 20.8, according to the ministry. The round-the-clock system allows real-time detection of illegal material on online platforms, including social media and random chat apps, reducing the workload on employees at the center who had previously monitored them in person. Once the AI system flags the material, the workers review it before filing removal requests. The ministry said it plans to expand the system to monitor 139 online platforms next year, up from 79 this year, and improve its accuracy through training with the center's

Vice Unification Minister Kim Nam-jung said Tuesday construction will soon resume on the South Korean section of a railway line meant to link the two Koreas. He made the remarks during a seminar in Seoul, as the government seeks to restore the South Korean section of the Gyeongwon Line, which once connected Seoul and North Korea's eastern port city of Wonsan. The last stop now accessible on the southern section is Cheorwon's Baekmagoji in Gangwon Province, and the ministry plans to resume work on the stretch between Baekmagoji and Woljeong-ri Station, the northernmost station on the South Korean side, close to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas. The planned restoration work is aimed at "preparing a path connecting the two Koreas," Kim said at the forum on peace tourism cooperation on the Korean Peninsula. Earlier this year, the ministry briefed the National Assembly on its plan to carry out preparatory work within this year, and to resume construction on the cross-border line next year. Restoration of the line began in 2015 but stopped in May 2016, following North Kore

Police have found 3,565 people suspected of committing real estate-related crimes, with over 2,100 of them referred to the prosecution and 16 formally arrested, police officials said Tuesday. Following its yearlong special crackdown on such crimes that began October 2025, the police referred 2,151 to prosecutors on various charges, including fixing or inflating home prices, and applying for and winning new apartment purchases through fraudulent means, according to the officials. The special crackdown has been extended by one year to the end of October 2027, they said, amid continued government efforts to curb runaway housing prices. Of those exposed in the crackdown, farmland speculation accounted for the largest share at 25.2 percent, or 898 people, followed by 795 people who allegedly used fraudulent means in apartment applications and 726 accused of illegal brokering, such as inflating home prices. Police have frozen 14.79 billion won ($11.02 million) in illegal profits even before formal indictments and notified relevant authorities about 616 people so that punitive administrative ac

A popular attraction at the Korean Folk Village, where actors dressed as ghosts discipline misbehaving children, has come under scrutiny after complaints prompted the local government to consider investigating possible child abuse. The move has instead sparked controversy, with many online commenters arguing that parents who bring their children to the attraction, rather than the folk village itself, should be held responsible if the experience is deemed abusive. Yongin City, Gyeonggi Province, said Monday that it plans to visit the Korean Folk Village later this month with child welfare experts and police to examine how the so-called "ghost discipline" event is operated. Every autumn, the folk village hosts an event featuring actors dressed as traditional Korean ghosts, including the nine-tailed fox and the virgin ghost. More recently, a segment dubbed "ghost discipline," in which the performers scold and discipline children on behalf of their parents, has gained popularity through word of mouth. However, the event has drawn criticism from some visitors, who argue that it exposes childr

First lady Kim Hea Kyung met Tuesday with female members of an association representing Korean residents in Japan and praised the group's contributions to the development of their home country. Kim, wife of President Lee Jae Myung, made the remarks during an afternoon tea meeting with members of the women's division of the Korean Residents Union in Japan, also known as "Mindan" in Korean. The first lady thanked the compatriots for their service to their home country, saying, "You have worried about and lent support when Korea was in trouble and cheered more enthusiastically than anyone when it grew and developed." The first lady said the compatriots' enduring love had helped make Korea what it is today. "We will cherish our gratitude for a long time," she said, welcoming their visit to their home country. Japan has a large Korean community, partly a legacy of Japan's colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945, during which many Koreans moved to Japan for education and work.