The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday its plan to inject a total of 80 billion won ($70 million) by the year-end to reduce the number of old diesel cars to fight air pollution in the metropolitan area.The city government’s plan is in line with the government’s effort to reduce the emissions from diesel engine cars, blamed as a major source of fine dust. (Yonhap)With the money, the city will subsidize the early scrapping of old diesel cars, installation of exhaust reduction device

Seoul City said Tuesday that it will begin analyzing soil and groundwater in areas near the US military base in central Seoul over alleged oil leaks, following the kickoff of the US 8th Army’s relocation. The investigation is set to begin this month in a joint effort with Rep. Song Ok-joo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. It will focus on determining whether soil and groundwater have been polluted, the city said. Samples for analysis will be extracted from six of nine sites around the mil

The freedom of the Asian black bear tagged KM-53 is fueling discord between environmental activists and the government over the bear restoration project.An Asian black bear is captured earlier this month at Sudosan in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province. (The Species Restoration Technology Institute)The bear in question was released into the mountainous Jirisan for species restoration, but was found 80 kilometers away, raising concerns of both human safety and habitat protection.In 2004, the Min

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday that it will provide legal and financial support to victims of date crimes, in an effort to respond to the rising number of cases. “We are planning to provide financial support to 20 to 50 victims during the second half of this year, and will gradually increase the number of recipients from next year,” said Bae Hyun-sook, women policy division manager at the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Starting from the end of July, the city government wil

The government will inspect and refurbish some 300 underused riverside parks and sports facilities built along the country’s four major rivers, turning some of them back into farmland. One of the underused riverside park built in 2008. (Yonhap) The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Wednesday it would inspect 297 riverside parks created in 2008 under the four rivers development project, which was conceived and pushed by former President Lee Myung-bak. The 22 trillion won ($19.6

When was the last time that you got soaked in the rain without worrying about acid rain or toxic pollutants in the air? The Seoul Metropolitan Government will be holding a festival that allows the chance to play in the rain from Thursday to Saturday at Seoul Plaza. The event uses recycled and chlorinated rainwater. There will be a swimming pool with slides, as well as programs and activities including a water gun fight. A special booth will provide participants a chance to experience national di

The Ministry of Environment said Tuesday that it designated nitrous oxide, also known as “laughing gas” which is used to fill “happy balloons,” as a type of hallucinogen, banning its use for recreational purposes. (Instagram capture)Nitrous oxide has been used as a party drug by some young partygoers, or at clubs, as it gives a feeling of euphoria and relaxation.Under a new rule approved at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, the sale, inhalation or abuse of nitrous oxide as a party drug is punishable by

Airborne fine dust particles decreased by 15.4 percent in June after the government halted the operation of aged coal-burning power plants in South Chungcheong Province, the Environment Ministry said Tuesday. Kim Beob-jeong, chief of the air quality policy division at the Environment Ministry speaks during a press briefing in Sejong on Tuesday. (Yonhap)As part of the Moon Jae-in administration’s efforts to tackle the nation’s worsening air pollution, the government has shut down eight plants age

The South Korean government is pushing to revise the missile guidelines developed with the United States to double the maximum weight of warheads on Seoul's ballistic missiles from the current 500 kilograms to counter growing threats from the North, sources said Monday.The Seoul government proposed the revision in line with the Seoul-Washington summit last month, and is known to be planning to begin talks regarding the issue during the annual Security Consultative Meeting and the Korea-US Integr

MANILA (AFP) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte vowed Monday to press on with his drug war that has claimed thousands of lives, as he urged lawmakers to endorse "eye-for-an-eye" death penalties.Duterte devoted large chunks of his annual State of the Nation Address to pushing his law-and-order policies that have made him hugely popular with many Filipinos but have been condemned by human rights groups and other critics."No matter how long it takes, the fight against illegal drugs will contin

COLOMBO (AFP) -- Maldives lawmakers were locked out of parliament Monday after President Abdulla Yameen ordered it shut to prevent a vote to impeach his speaker, the opposition said, in the latest turmoil to grip the troubled honeymoon islands.Parliament had been expected to hear a no-confidence motion against the speaker, Abdulla Masheeh, but MPs found their way blocked, the Maldivian Democratic Party said.Party spokesman Hamid Abdul Ghafoor added several opposition MPs broke through the milita

Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo said Monday he will strengthen the country's social safety net and establish a foothold for a welfare state for the next five decades. During his inauguration ceremony held at the government complex in Sejong, south of Seoul, Park said the country should be able to embrace the vulnerable people and become an inclusive society that can bring about growth from all walks of life."To make an inclusive welfare state, there should be harmony between a sound m

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will file a lawsuit against the central government for the cost of cleaning up contaminated underground water near the US military base in Yongsan, central Seoul. (Yonhap)The city government is seeking compensation of 540 million won ($480,000) for the cost of purifying oil-contaminated groundwater around Camp Kim and near Noksapyeong Station. According to the city government’s internal inspection last year, the average benzene concentration near Yongsan Garriso

As many as 1,168 houses, factories and other buildings were waterlogged and over 70 residents were evacuated in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province due to heavy rain over the weekend, the nation’s disaster control center said Monday. Residents clean up the house in Incheon, Monday. (Yonhap)In Incheon, where at least 100 millimeters of rain fell in an hour on Sunday morning, at least 2,000 public officials, fire fighters and volunteer workers were dispatched to help recovery operations, the city govern

Suspected cases of tuberculosis outbreaks at mass facilities more than tripled in South Korea over the past three years, a report showed Thursday. According to a report from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the government conducted 3,502 epidemiological investigations in 2016 for possible TB outbreaks at schools, hospitals and other mass facilities where at least one person was confirmed to have contracted the infectious disease. The number of surveys more than tripled from

ADEN (AFP) -- A Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen has barred a United Nations aid flight from heading to the country's rebel-held capital with journalists on board, the UN and Yemen's government said Wednesday."The coalition suspended the UN flight leaving Djibouti for Sanaa on Tuesday as there were three BBC journalists on board," Saleh Humeidi, a top official with Yemen's information ministry, told AFP. Saudi Arabia leads a pro-government military coalition which is fighting Iran-backed Hu

BANGKOK (AFP) -- A Thai general was found guilty of human trafficking on Wednesday as a Bangkok court convicted scores of people in a mass trial exposing the lynchpin role of corrupt officials in the grim, lucrative trade in Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants.Thailand's junta launched a crackdown in May 2015 on a network funnelling desperate migrants through southern Thailand and onto Malaysia, holding some for ransom in jungle camps.It unspooled a crisis across Southeast Asia as gangmasters aban

TEHRAN (AFP) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that Tehran would "respond appropriately" to new US sanctions but that Iran remained committed to its nuclear deal with world powers."The Islamic Republic of Iran will always stick to its international commitments," Rouhani said in a televised cabinet meeting.But if the US wants "to press forward with new sanctions under any pretext... the great nation of Iran will respond appropriately," he said."We will not forgive violations by t

The country's top diplomat on Wednesday asked her Brazilian counterpart to carry out an additional search operation for crew members who are missing from an ill-fated South Korean cargo ship, the foreign ministry said. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha made the request during a phone conversation with her Brazilian counterpart Aloysio Nunes, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  This file photo, provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 21, 2017, shows South Korea`s Foreign Mini

About half of Korea’s fine dust particles originate from within the country, while one-third is from China, a study jointly conducted by a South Korean institute and NASA showed Wednesday.  (Yonhap)According to the preliminary Korea US-Air Quality (KORUS AQ) study, conducted by NASA and Korea’s National Institute of Environmental Research, about 52 percent of Korea’s fine dust particles and other airborne pollutants have domestic origins. China was the origin of some 34 percent of the particles,