Climate & environment, Transport, Policy & regulation
323 storiesChina domestic flight fuel surcharge to rise from Oct 10
China’s domestic flight fuel surcharge will rise from Oct 10, 2026, under airline notices reported by Chinese outlets: 50 yuan for routes of 800 km or less, up 10 yuan, and 90 yuan for longer routes, up 20 yuan. IT Home said the change foll…
Moscow's Vnukovo airport lifts flight restrictions; Kaluga, Gelendzhik affected
Restrictions on receiving and dispatching aircraft at Moscow's Vnukovo airport were lifted and the airport is operating normally, Rosaviatsia said, according to Kommersant, TASS and RIA Novosti. Kommersant reported that Vnukovo handled flig…
Sochi airport imposes temporary flight restrictions for fourth time in a day
Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency introduced temporary restrictions on the reception and release of aircraft at Sochi airport, Interfax reported, citing Rosaviatsia. The airport temporarily stopped servicing flights. According to Interf…
Defense minister: arts, sports military service exemption to be cut and abolished
South Korea's defense minister said on Oct 7 that the goal is to gradually reduce the arts and sports military service exemption and ultimately abolish it, after controversy over remarks by Asian Games football gold medallists about the exe…
South Korea re-designates 92 population decline regions, adding Busan Geumjeong, Dongducheon and Tongyeong
South Korea's Ministry of the Interior and Safety re-designated 92 cities, counties and districts as population decline regions on Oct. 7, up from 89 in the first designation five years ago. Busan's Geumjeong-gu, Gyeonggi's Dongducheon and …
Trump signs order allowing tax-free red-dyed diesel on highways
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday temporarily allowing off-road red-dyed diesel to be used for highway driving and deferring the federal excise tax on that fuel through the end of 2026 without interest or penalties.…
China Railway: 20.32 million travelled Oct 4, 21.05 million expected Oct 5
China Railway said the national rail network carried 20.32 million passengers on October 4, describing transport as safe and orderly, and expects 21.05 million trips on October 5 with 1,463 additional trains planned as mid- and short-distan…
South Korea culture ministry issues director-level personnel notice
South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism released a personnel appointment notice on 5 October 2026, carried by Newsis, Yonhap, Seoul Economic Daily, Asia Economy, Kyunghyang Shinmun and Hankook Ilbo. Yonhap's summary described …
Korea to draw up guidelines for medical accident investigations after ER search
Police searched the pediatric emergency medical center and pediatrics department at Ajou University Hospital on September 30 as part of an investigation into the July death of an infant. After medical groups and lawmakers from both main par…
South Korea forecasts a cold, windy Oct. 6 with a 15C day-night temperature gap
South Korea's weather agency forecast a chilly, clear Oct. 6 with morning lows of about 3-14°C and a day-night temperature gap of roughly 15°C in most regions. Gangwon's inland and mountain areas were expected near or below 5°C, with winds …
Land minister says Gangnam, Yongsan home prices have turned negative
Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Hong Ji-seon told a National Assembly audit on Oct 7 that home prices in Seoul's Gangnam three districts and Yongsan have turned negative, and said price growth should ease with the market stabili…
Asian Games gold row widens as parties in South Korea seek exemption review
South Korea beat Japan 1-0 on October 3 to win a fourth consecutive Asian Games men's football gold, a result that exempts most of the squad from military service. A locker-room photo of Park Seung-su in a discharge hat, captain Lee Ki-hyuk…
South Korea's Lee orders CPTPP talks restarted from the beginning amid farm concerns
President Lee Jae-myung instructed at a cabinet meeting on Oct 6 that the government should not fix a conclusion on joining the CPTPP and should “restart dialogue from the beginning,” saying the pact's strategic value is cited alongside ver…
Inaugural Suwon major crimes investigation chief begins duties
Kim Hyeong-geun began official duties on 6 October as the first chief of the new Suwon District Central Investigation Office for Major Crimes, saying the office would overcome the limits of existing investigative agencies while inheriting t…
President Lee vows to keep pledge to end “real estate speculation republic”
President Lee Jae-myung said on Oct. 5 in a post on X that his government will keep its promise to escape the “real estate speculation republic,” saying the country cannot be made to face a “lost 30 years” from real-estate bomb-passing even…
Asian Games exemption row: Ahn Cheol-soo urges review, defense ministry regrets remarks
People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo said on 7 October that the military service exemption for Asian Games gold medalists should be reviewed for abolition starting with this tournament, noting the rule is a presidential decree that Pre…
Korea's top individual tax delinquent Kwon Hyuk to pay 393.8 billion won
The National Tax Service said on Oct 7 that Kwon Hyuk, chairman of Sido Group and the country's largest individual tax delinquent, has submitted a plan to pay 393.8 billion won in back taxes in full, 15 years after the tax was assessed. He …
Yangtze River Delta railways expect 3.84 million passengers on Oct 4
China Railway Shanghai Group expects the Yangtze River Delta rail network to carry 3.84 million passengers on Oct 4, the fourth day of the National Day holiday, after 3.729 million travelled on Oct 3. The operator planned 104 extra trains, …
S. Korea farm minister says minor farmland survey violations won't be punished
Agriculture minister Song Mi-ryung told a parliamentary audit on Oct 7 that most ordinary, customary violations found in the government's full farmland survey would not be punished, and that the government has no plan or reason to confiscat…
South Korea refers 170 scalping suspects to police under new ticket law
The Culture Ministry said on Oct. 7 that it had referred 170 people suspected of ticket scalping to police, the first such referrals since revised performance and sports laws took effect on Aug. 28. The suspects, 121 in professional sports …