Politics, Policy & regulation, IT & software
670 storiesSouth Korea unveils 1,000 trillion won green transition plan to 2035
South Korea announced a “Korean-style Green Transition” (K-GX) strategy on Oct 7, pledging about 1,000 trillion won over ten years to 2035 — 200 trillion won in fiscal support and more than 790 trillion won in climate finance through five p…
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…
Lawmaker alleges Moon-era ministry surveilled 19 critics of property policy
At the National Assembly's Oct. 7 audit of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, People Power Party Rep. Kim Eun-hye disclosed a document estimated to date from November 2019 listing 19 private experts who had criticised the M…
Leaked audio: Paxton says D.C. controls campaign; estranged wife backs bid
Audio obtained by Politico captured Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican Senate nominee, telling a Sept. 24 Washington fundraiser that he had little control over his campaign and its messaging was “all coming … from D.C.” Paxto…
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.…
AfD's Tobias Rausch elected speaker of Saxony-Anhalt state parliament
Tobias Rausch of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was elected speaker of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament, the first time an AfD politician has headed a German Landtag. He received 48 votes in favour and 29 against, according t…
Collins and Jackson clash in first Maine Senate debate as race stays tight
Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson met Tuesday night in Portland for the first of four scheduled Maine Senate debates. Jackson repeatedly tied Collins to President Donald Trump, saying she votes with him 96…
Convicted ex-Gyeonggi vice governor's lawyer publicly seeks parole from president
The lawyer of Lee Hwa-young, a former Gyeonggi Province vice governor serving seven years and eight months over the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case, said on 7 October that Lee is asking President Lee Jae-myung for parole and is an…
Times Car data leak class action sign-ups top 40,000
Registrations on a website set up to prepare a class action over the Times Car personal data leak passed 40,000 by 2 pm on Oct 5, Livedoor News reported. Lawyer Hiroki Makino opened the site on Sept 30 to seek damages over the handling of p…
Kremlin: Putin to hold series of international calls on his birthday
Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a series of international telephone calls on October 7, his birthday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Peskov said other events are planned and the Kremlin will give details later. Kremlin aid…
Bolsonaro's son leads Brazil's first round; Lula faces Oct. 25 runoff
Brazilians voted on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in the first round of a presidential election between incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, and no candidate won a majority, sending the race to an Oct. 25 runoff. The Wall …
Japan farm minister retracts budget-cut remarks, apologises, denies resignation
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yana retracted and apologised on Oct 5 for remarks that he had “greatly cut” road budgets of municipalities whose mayors did not support him in the February lower house election. He denied lobbyi…
Trump suggests Iran could ‘take out’ LA and San Diego; California officials condemn
President Donald Trump said at a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego, calling the war with Iran “a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe.” California Govern…
Japan Supreme Court concludes 2025 upper house vote disparity arguments
Japan’s Supreme Court Grand Bench held and concluded oral arguments on Oct. 7 in 16 suits over the July 2025 upper house election, where the maximum vote disparity was 3.13 to 1. Lower courts split 11 rulings of “unconstitutional state” and…
Chief Justice Cho Says Assembly, President Cannot Intervene in Justice Nominations
Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae said on October 6, 2026 that the National Assembly and the President cannot intervene in the Chief Justice's recommendation of Supreme Court justices, citing Article 104 of the Constitution. He refused the witness …
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…
Japan's Diet opens 69-day session with food tax cut, seat reduction in focus
Japan's 222nd extraordinary Diet session was convened on 5 October and is set to run 69 days to 12 December, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivering a policy speech the same day. The government's priority is a bill cutting the consump…
Japan Diet questions begin; opposition to press farm minister over budget cut remark
Japan's Diet began question sessions on 7 October over Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae's policy speech, with opposition parties set to press agriculture minister Yanagi Kazuo over his remark that he had substantially cut road budgets. Komeito…
FT: EU weighs universal corporate levy to raise taxes on US tech giants
The European Commission is considering a new mechanism to raise more tax revenue from large US technology companies without singling them out as a separate category, the Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources. Under discussion is …
HIS says up to 627 customers' passport data may have leaked after Thai unit breach
HIS announced on October 7 that up to 627 customers' passport details may have leaked after unauthorized access to a file server at its Thai subsidiary, H.I.S. TOURS. The company said it detected the access in December 2025 and identified t…