• Politics

    Row erupts over lawmaker’s poetry

    Textbook publishers instructed to remove Rep. Do’s poems A government-funded educational institute has recommended that textbook publishers remove poems written by a poet-turned-opposition lawmaker from middle school textbooks to be published next year. The move drew fierce protests from the lawmaker, Do Jong-hwan of the main opposition Democratic United Party…

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  • Politics

    USFK offers apology for handcuffing of Koreans

    The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) apologized Sunday for the handcuffing of three Korean civilians by American troops during a dispute over parking outside a U.S. Air Force base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. USFK Deputy Ccommander Lt. Gen. Jan-Marc Jouas, said in a news conference, “I have ordered a full investigation…

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  • Politics

    Russia-Japan territorial row flares up following Medvedev’s second visit to disputed islands

    MOSCOW, July 3 (Xinhua) — Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has braved both unpredictable weather and quite predictable reactions from Tokyo by visiting for the second time the disputed Southern Kuril archipelago in the Far East. Analysts here say his trip on Tuesday to Kunashir (called Kunashiri in Japan) islet…

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  • Politics

    President’s brother questioned

    Lee’s political mentor may face arrest for bribery Prosecutors questioned President Lee Myung-bak’s elder brother Lee Sang-deuk Tuesday over allegations that he accepted bribes from troubled savings banks. The former National Assembly vice speaker was grilled on whether the money was used for his younger brother’s 2007 presidential campaign. The…

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  • Politics

    Park Geun-hye loyalists clash in power struggle

    Two key supporters of Rep. Park Geun-hye traded barbs over the term “economic democracy” Tuesday for a second day in a row, following the first round of the debate a day ago. The clash of ideas between Kim Jong-in and Rep. Lee Hahn-koo took the form of an ideological divide…

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  • Politics

    Syrian opposition members asked to unite by Turkey, Arab League

    Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby have called on the fragmented Syrian opposition to unite, during a meeting in Cairo on Monday to discuss a new international plan for a transitional government. Davutoğlu and Elaraby addressed nearly 250 members of the Syrian opposition at the…

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  • Politics

    Hu Gives Speech On 15th Anniversary of HK’s Return to China

    HONG KONG, July 1 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Hu Jintao on Sunday delivered a speech at the meeting marking the 15th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China and the inaugural ceremony of the fourth-term government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The attached file is the full text…

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  • Politics

    Activists bolster NK rights drive

    When visiting U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen attended a rally here to call on China to release a group of detained North Korean defectors in May, the moment carried extra significance for American activist Dan Bielefeld. One of the small handful of foreign residents in Seoul specifically to work on North…

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  • Politics

    Hu pledges continuous support for Macao’s development

    MACAO, July 1 (Xinhua) — Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Chui Sai On said here Sunday that Chinese President Hu Jintao had pledged the central government will continue to support the development of the region. Chui, who just finished a two-day visit to Hong Kong for…

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  • UN meeting on Syrian crisis starts in Geneva

    The talks on a way to resolve the increasingly bloody conflict in Syria started in Geneva hosted by the United Nations at its European headquarters. Representatives of global and regional powers along with legions of diplomats from five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council – Britain, China, France, Russia…

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