Society - THE AsiaN

Myeong-dong street vendors face crackdown for fake goods

Seoul’s central Jung-gu district announced Monday that it will crackdown on street vendors selling fake goods in the popular shopping district of Myeong-dong. The district said inspections will start July 16 jointly with the Korea Intellectual Property Office. It will notify and warn street vendors of the enforced measure against…
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Society

UNESCO adds 26 new sites on World Heritage List

PARIS, July 2 (Xinhua) — A total of 26 new sites have been inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List this year, with Russia’s Lena Pillars Nature Park being the last to join in on Monday, the Paris-based UNESCO said in a statement. The inscriptions were approved during the 36th…
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Iran begins missile firing tests

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) began on Monday a missile exercise codenamed Great Prophet 7, Press TV reported. The three-day drill will test Iran’s newest surface-to-surface missile systems in the central Iranian province of Semnan. An assortment of long, medium and short-range missiles will target “aggressor airbases” in the…
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Foreigners face tougher criminal, health checks

The government will tighten entry rules for foreign workers as part of its efforts to keep out immigrants with criminal records or infectious diseases The Korea Immigration Service (KIS) said Monday that it will require low-skilled foreign workers, sailors and short-term employees to submit criminal and health background checks from…
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Society

3 plastic surgeons fined for false claims about K-pop stars

Three plastic surgeons and their marketing agent were fined Monday for respectively approving and creating false advertising that claimed a member of a girl band had undergone facial cosmetic surgery. Seoul Central District Court ordered the four to pay a combined total of 20 million won ($17,500) to Kim Jae-kyung,…
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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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Stem cells may cure liver failure

Pharmicell submits commercialization plan on new therapy A way to revive failed livers through stem cells could be available within the next few years as clinical tests of a new treatment regimen are underway. Pharmicell, a Korean pharmaceutical company developing stem cell therapeutics, said Monday that it has submitted a…
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Society

Rebellion against lame duck

Did foreign minister endorse staff’s criticism of Cheong Wa Dae’s Japan pact handling? President Lee Myung-bak tried to patch up a rift exposed over the handling of a military pact with Japan, admitting to a “procedural” flaw Monday. This came a day after a senior foreign ministry official blamed Cheong…
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Society

China confirms H5N1 bird flu outbreak in Xinjiang

BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhua) — China’s northwestern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has reported an outbreak of H5N1 in poultry, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) announced Monday. The disease has killed 1,600 chickens raised by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a unique economic and semi-military government organization of about…
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Society

Kim Yu-na to retire after 2014 Sochi Olympics

Olympic gold medal-winning figure skater Kim Yu-na said Monday that she will hang up her skates after the 2014 Winter Games. “I will retire after the Sochi Winter Olympics. Although the Vancouver Games were my final destination in my childhood, I have extended it to Sochi,” the 21-year-old said in…
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