-
East Asia
Wine tops soju in sales
Lotte Mart, the discount chain of retail giant Lotte, said Sunday that its sales of wine exceeded those of soju, the traditional Korean distilled spirit, this year for the first time, by 4.6 percent as of Dec. 9. Wine sales, which accounted for less than 30 percent of soju just…
Read More » -
East Asia
2 contenders fight toe to toe
Moon presses on; Park thrusts and parries in final TV dabate The ruling Saenuri Party’s Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) fought head to head in the third televised presidential debate, Sunday night. The debate on social issues came just ahead of the…
Read More » -
East Asia
Noda Announces Resignation After His Party Suffered Big Loss In General Election
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda arrives for a press conference after his Democratic Party of Japan made a big loss in parliamentary election in Tokyo Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012. Noda announced his resignation as the DPJ chief. Japan’s conservative Liberal Democratic Party returned to power in a landslide election victory…
Read More » -
East Asia
Candidates woo voters in southeastern region
With the Dec. 19 presidential election less than a week away, candidates of the ruling and main opposition party visited the nation’s southeastern region ― South Gyeongsang Province and Busan ― Friday to woo voters there as they enter the final stretch of the presidential race. The area, long regarded as conservative…
Read More » -
East Asia
Pampering or disciplining?
If Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in appear hard to distinguish over their domestic policy, North Korea’s rocket launch should be something to separate one from the other and help voters determine who they will vote for. There is no general standard by which one candidate is better than the other.…
Read More » -
East Asia
Power saving drive
Firms compete to save energy to avoid blackout Companies face increasing pressure to create ideas for reducing electricity consumption as the country is bracing for an “unprecedented” shortage of power during the winter. Scores of ideas have been generated and applied to work places as part of efforts to…
Read More » -
Janssen hit for kickbacks
The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) has banned four pharmaceutical companies from selling some of their products for 30 days for offering kickbacks to doctors and pharmacists. The Korea drug regulator said Friday that it took administrative action against a multinational drug maker and three domestic firms for trying…
Read More » -
East Asia
U.S. may consider buying off improved NK missile capabilities
So it has been almost one year since the world learnt about the sudden and untimely demise of Marshall Kim Jong Il, the Lodestar of the Twenty-first Century. What has happened in North Korea over the last year, what was predicted and what was not? Perhaps, it is a good…
Read More » -
East Asia
Coffee Bar Themed By Cat Opens In Harbin, Northeast China
Shopkeeper Gao Ming feeds a cat at her cat-themed coffee bar in Harbin, capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Dec. 13, 2012. The coffee bar opened recently is themed by cat, with 16 cats and all kinds of decorations related to cat in the bar. Gao Ming, 25-year-old shopkeeper…
Read More » -
East Asia
Plan to punish NK comes into focus
South Korea’s blueprint for penalizing North Korea for its provocative rocket launch took shape Friday, involving the reinforcement of existing sanctions and the addition of new punitive measures. Officials said Seoul was on the same page with Washington and Japan over a shared approach involving desired measures at the U.N.…
Read More »