news highlight

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  Istanbul purrs with beloved cats SEOUL, July 20 (AJP) - They sleep on the warm hoods of parked taxis and in the display windows of carpet shops. They wait outside fish restaurants with the patience of regulars. They stroll into mosques, curl up on prayer rugs, and no one moves them. In Istanbul, a city of some 16 million people, the cats behave less like strays and more like citizens who happen to have four legs, and the city, for the most part, treats them accordingly. Nobody knows exactly how many there are. Es July 20, 2026
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  Job fair in Seoul helps young people discover career paths SEOUL, July 16 (AJP) - Many job seekers and recent graduates have been flocking to an annual job fair in Seoul this week. The four-day fair, organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOC), kicked off at aT Center in Yangjae, southern Seoul earlier this week and runs through Friday, featuring more than 150 booths. Held under the slogan "Discover Yourself, Open Your Future," the fair offers a wide range of career-related programs including July 16, 2026
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  Homeplus tenants protest in Seoul as ailing supermarket chain on verge of going bust SEOUL, July 15 (AJP) - More than 50 small business owners operating inside ailing supermarket chain Homeplus staged a protest in central Seoul on Wednesday. In a rally that gathered Homeplus-linked merchants and tenants from across the country, they demanded the government guarantee their right to continue operating and ensure payment of their unpaid dues. The massive rally came after Homeplus, whose court rehabilitation was terminated last week, abruptly s July 15, 2026
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  Grounded by silence: Waiting for Korea's flying future INCHEON, July 15 (AJP) - The future of Korean aviation spent Wednesday sitting quietly on a launch pad. It was supposed to rise above Songdo's skyline at 10 a.m. Instead, it never left the ground. Long before the scheduled demonstration, spectators, engineers, investors and journalists gathered outside the INU Innovation Center at the University of Incheon. A steady drizzle swept across the flight zone as umbrellas dotted the viewing area, prompting quiet speculation over whe July 15, 2026
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  British Princess Anne highlights longstanding bilateral ties at Seoul reception SEOUL, July 15 (AJP) - Britain's Princess Anne, who is on a three-day visit to South Korea, stressed the strong and enduring partnership between the U.K. and South Korea during a reception hosted by the British Embassy in Seoul on Tuesday. The reception, held at the Four Seasons Hotel in central Seoul, brought together government officials, diplomats, business leaders, academics, cultural figures and youth representatives to celebrate the longstanding ties between the two countr July 15, 2026
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  Korea's dog meat restaurants face their final summer before ban SEOUL, July 14 (AJP) - The alley of dog meat restaurants in Jongno-gu, Seoul, was quiet on Tuesday lunchtime, one day before Chobok — the first of the three hottest days in the traditional Korean lunar calendar. A few years ago, the street would have been packed with diners around this time of year. This is the last summer South Koreans can legally eat dog meat. Under the Act on the Ending of Dog Meat Consumption, the breeding, distribution, and sale of dogs for food July 14, 2026
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  Summer rainy season starts in Korea SEOUL, July 09 (AJP) - Heavy rain fell across the Seoul metropolitan area and other parts of central South Korea on Wednesday as the country entered a period of so-called "monsoon heat," in which the rainy season overlaps with extreme summer temperatures. This year's monsoon arrived later than usual, causing the rainy season and heat wave to coincide. High humidity from persistent rainfall, followed by intense sunshine after the rain clears, is expected to drive the July 9, 2026
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  Korea's first AI-dedicated channel ABC kicks off ...with the help of robot SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) -Artificial intelligence was not just the subject. It was the host. A humanoid robot shared the stage with an ABC news anchor Wedneday as Aju Media Group officially launched ABC (AI Business Channel), South Korea's first television network dedicated to artificial intelligence. The robot co-hosted the ceremony, exchanged remarks with its human counterpart and capped its appearance with a kung fu demonstration, turning the laun July 8, 2026
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  Firefighters undergo training to respond to summer emergencies SEOUL, July 8 (AJP) - Firefighters underwent intensive water survival training at a facility in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday to enhance their rescue capabilities as more people head to beaches during the hot summer months. They practiced escaping from a submerged helicopter simulator by unbuckling their safety belts and exiting the cabin safely. The training was intended to help firefighters respond effectively in case of an emergency water landing. July 8, 2026