Hong Kong secures expanded equal treatment and investment guarantees across Asean

Korea’s negotiations with the United States over a $200 billion investment package have run into last-stage hurdles, with the two sides disagreeing over nuclear reactors, energy projects and funding terms. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources postponed a parliamentary briefing initially scheduled for Thursday, which had been expected to clear the way for signing of a memorandum of understanding for the first project as early as Friday. The briefing is now expected to take place Monday or Tuesday, although the timing will depend on progress in the negotiations. President Lee Jae Myung acknowledged that some provisions remained difficult to accept despite the negotiations being close to an agreement. “After reviewing the details, there are parts that are not easy to agree to,” Lee said during a press conference at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Friday. “We are discussing them again.” Lee said the investment negotiations had broad, complex implications for Korea-U.S. relations and that disagreements emerged as the talks moved into specific projects. “There were several points o

The unification ministry has drawn up a list of more than 1,400 medical items, including automated external defibrillators, to send to North Korea as part of a humanitarian medical support program, a document showed Sunday. The ministry plans to send 1,431 medical items covering 166 categories to a hospital in Pyongyang, necessary for diagnosis, surgery and treatment, according to the document submitted to Rep. Kim Dae-sik of the People Power Party by the ministry. The items include diagnostic equipment, such as X-ray machines, stethoscopes and blood pressure monitors, along with operating tables and other surgical and treatment equipment. The ministry said the selection was made in consultation with the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare and medical experts, adding that the plan still hinges on discussions with the North Koran side and could change. Its estimated cost is US$6.75 million. The ministry secured a sanctions exemption in May from the U.N. Security Council's North Korea sanctions committee to provide the equipment. As inter-Korean exchanges and dialogue channels are

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea within hours of each other Sunday, ahead of a high-stakes summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping set for later this week. The missile were detected about three hours apart — the first at around 3:00 p.m. and the second at roughly 5:50 p.m., both launched from the Wonsan area, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The first missile flew about 450 kilometers, while the second flew more than 600 km, the JCS said, adding that further analysis was under way to determine the exact specifications. The JCS said the South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities tracked and shared related details from the initial stage of the launch, and shared information on the missile launch with Japan as well. "We are closely monitoring North Korea's various activities and maintain the capability and readiness to overwhelmingly respond to any provocations, under the staunch South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture," it added. The latest missile launches came ahead of the upcoming Trump-Xi

A 53-year-old man was found with hundreds of indecent images as well as handwritten stories about children.

A water firm is working to repair a “huge water leak” after reports from some residents the water was knee-deep.

A new study finds that prenatal exposure to rare earth elements can raise the risk of low birthweight, with some substances increasing the danger by more than three times. Researchers tracked 4,891 pregnant women who gave birth at Wuhan Maternal and Child Health Hospital between 2012 and 2014. They measured the concentration of 13 rare earth elements including cerium, ytterbium, and lanthanum in urine samples collected from the mothers. After adjusting for confounding factors such as maternal...

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Abdulmalik Abdullah Abass is set to appear in court on Monday

The growing continues for Buc-ee's.

Police in Tameside said they were becoming 'increasingly concerned'

A driver could be facing jail after he led officers on a “dangerous” high-speed chase in which he hit a police vehicle.

A pre-school has earned praise from Ofsted inspectors after children were found to be “thriving” and making “rapid progress” at the site.