The Korea Herald

Grease lightning: thieves nab Travolta's wheels

FilmSept 20, 2011

Thieves stole John Travolta's vintage Mercedes-Benz while he was gone for only minutes -- visiting a Jaguar dealership -- police said.The "Grease" and "Pulp Fiction" star left his vintage Mercedes-Benz 280SL parked in a residential district in Santa Monica on Sunday, said Sergeant Richard Lewis.But
AP-CNBC Poll: $1 million a long shot in US

World NewsSept 20, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — Who believes they'll be a millionaire?About two in 10 Americans do — a small showing of optimism compared to Australians, but downright cheery next to Britons when asked about becoming wealthy in the next ten years, according to a new Associated Press-CNBC poll.In all t
NASA: Satellite pieces to hit Earth in a week

ScienceSept 20, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. space officials say they expect a dead satellite to fall to Earth in about a week.NASA has been watching the 6-ton satellite closely. On Friday officials moved up their prediction for its arrival to Sept. 23, give or take a day.NASA scientists have calculated the satelli
Tax the rich, Obama says; class warfare, says foes

World NewsSept 20, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A combative President Barack Obama on Monday demanded that the richest Americans pay higher taxes to help cut soaring U.S. deficits by more than $3 trillion as he drew clear battle lines for next year's elections. He promised to veto any effort by congressional Republican to cut g
S. Korean military facilities incapable of fending off N.K. electronic attacks

DefenseSept 20, 2011

Report says combat readiness of rapid response forces is poor Key South Korean military facilities are not equipped with proper tools to defend themselves from possible electronic attacks from North Korea, reports said Tuesday.(Yonhap News)The reports submitted to Rep. Chung Mi-kyung of the rul
US economy may not recover as fast as expected: BOK chief

Sept 20, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top central banker said Tuesday that the U.S. economy may not recover as fast as expected because its real economic sectors have yet to rebound.Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo said in a monthly meeting with experts that currently, the real economy an
Sales at discount chains, department stores grow in Aug.

IndustrySept 20, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- Sales at South Korea's major discount chains and department stores rose from a year earlier in August on growing demand for food and daily household products ahead of a major holiday, a government report showed Tuesday.By lunar calendar, Sept. 12 was Chuseok, the Korean e
S&P downgrades Italy's credit rating a notch

Sept 20, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) — Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has downgraded Italy's credit rating by one notch, saying it sees weakening economic growth prospects for the nation and higher-than-expected levels of government debt.S&P said Monday it cut Italy's long- and short-term sovereign credit rating
Prosecutors seek 4-year jail term for former PM

PoliticsSept 20, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors on Monday requested a four-year jail term for a former prime minister under the previous administration on charges of pocketing illegal political funds. Prosecutors also sought a court order for Han Myeong-sook to forfeit 940 million won (US$827,464), the same
Pro-regime forces kill at least 23 people in Yemen

WorldSept 19, 2011

SANAA (AP) -- Pro-regime forces, including snipers picking off protesters from rooftops, killed at least 23 people Monday in a second day of clashes haking Yemen's capital, medical and security officials said.The two days of fighting, which have killed nearly 50 people altogether, marked t
STX Group drops out of bids for Hynix Semiconductor

IndustrySept 19, 2011

STX Group dropped out of the bid for Hynix Semiconductor on Monday.The group, which was bidding for the world’s second-largest chipmaker against SK Telecom, said that the plans were scrapped due to global economic instability and for fears that the large investment required to strengthen Hynix’s ope
Banks avoid massive withdrawals

Sept 19, 2011

Regulators uncover illegal lending by some savings banksDespite initial concerns that customers would withdraw their deposits en masse, the banking sector’s overall business operation looked normal, government and bank officials said on Monday.They said there were no particular signs of a bank run i
Seoul under fire over Cameroon diamond business

PoliticsSept 19, 2011

Controversy another setback in president’s ‘resources diplomacy’Government agencies deliberately exaggerated the amount of diamonds buried in Cameroon and sought to provide a large amount of aid to the African state, lawmakers said Monday, suspecting the government of inappropriate ties to the proje
Lee vows to invest W100b in stem cell research next year

PoliticsSept 19, 2011

President Lee Myung-bak on Monday said his government would invest nearly 100 billion won in stem cell research next year and establish a system compatible with international standards in an effort to facilitate clinical and licensing procedures.“The government has decided to foster the stem cell in
Heads of seven religious groups to visit N. Korea

North KoreaSept 19, 2011

The Seoul government gave permission for heads of seven religious orders to visit Pyongyang, the Unification Ministry said Monday, as part of efforts to resume nongovernmental cultural exchanges with the North.A 24-person delegation including the seven religious leaders will travel to Pyongyang via