The Korea Herald

Parents on a trial as a pet python kills two-year-old daughter

World NewsJul 14, 2011

A mother is facing up to 35 years in jail for third-degree murder after her 2-year-old daughter was strangled by a pet python that escaped from its terrarium, the Daily Mail reported.Jaren Hare and her 34-year-old boyfriend, Jason Darnell, are charged with manslaughter and child abuse in the 2009 death of Shaianna Hare.Documents reveal the couple had not fed the 2.6-meter Burmese python for a mont
Glasses tell what others are thinking

ScienceJul 14, 2011

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab have come up with "social x-ray specs" that can interpret others’ facial expressions, according to reports. The creator of the glasses, Rosalind Picard said that they can identify human facial expressions such as thinking, agreeing, concentrating, interest and disagreement. This is made possible with the help of a built-in camera
Cult member gang-beaten to death

Social affairsJul 14, 2011

Four members of a religious cult based in Daegu were charged of killing a female colleague after arguing over her inactiveness in missionary work, police said Thursday.Police requested an arrest warrant for a key suspect and booked without detention three others who assisted the crime.They are suspected of beating the 21 year-old woman, surnamed Lee, for not following the group’s rules, on July 2.
Korea regrets Japan’s boycott of Korean Air in Dokdo spat

PoliticsJul 14, 2011

Korea regrets Japan’s boycott of Korean Air in Dokdo spatThe Korean government expressed its regret on Thursday after Japan reportedly instructed diplomats not to use Korean Air planes in protest over its showcase flight over the disputed Dokdo islets.The Korean Foreign Ministry urged Tokyo lift the order immediately and pledged stern responses against any Japanese moves encroaching Korea’s sovere
8-year-old Brooklyn boy is killed and dismembered

World NewsJul 14, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) _ An 8-year-old Brooklyn boy who got lost while walking home alone from day camp in his Orthodox Jewish neighborhood was killed and dismembered by a stranger he had asked for directions, and his remains were found stuffed in a trash bin and the man's refrigerator, police said Wednesday.The gruesome killing of Leiby Kletzky shocked the tight-knit Hasidic community in Borough Park, in
Amazon planning iPad rival by October: WSJ

IndustryJul 14, 2011

Online retail giant Amazon plans to unveil a tablet computer before October in a bid to carve out a slice of a growing market dominated by Apple's iPad, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.The newspaper, citing "people familiar with the matter," also said Amazon plans to release two updated versions of its Kindle electronic reader in the third quarter of the year.The Journal said the tablet
Top Marine commander offers to resign over shooting rampage

DefenseJul 14, 2011

South Korea's top Marine commander has offered to resign to take responsibility for the deadly shooting rampage by a marine in his barracks early this month, a military official said Thursday. Marine Corps Chief of Staff Yoo Nak-joon submitted his resignation to Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin on Tuesday, the official said on the condition of anonymity. "Gen. Yoo conveyed his intention to resign at
BOK freezes key rate at 3.25%

Jul 14, 2011

Korea's central bank froze the key interest rate on Thursday, following a rate hike in June, in the face of mounting household debt and the eurozone debt crisis.Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo and his fellow policymakers held steady the benchmark seven-day repo rate, dubbed the base rate, at 3.25 percent for July.The decision is in line with a forecast by 18 out of 19 economists surveyed b
Coca-Cola, KFC may enter North Korea

North KoreaJul 14, 2011

Coca-Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken have recently agreed with North Korean officials to open branches in Pyongyang, according to news reports. (MCT)Some 10 executives from the companies visited Pyongyang from July 5-9 on the invitation of the North’s Korea Taepung International Investment Group, a major channel for attracting foreign investment. Sources said their branches will be established as
Hyundai, Kia ranked as top passenger car brands in Canada

IndustryJul 14, 2011

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister company Kia Motors Corp. ranked as the best-selling passenger carmakers in Canada in the first half of this year, industry sources said Thursday.The two leading automobile makers in South Korea sold a combined 64,671 passenger cars in the North American country in the January-June period for a market share of 18.2 percent, according to the sources.The
Obama still uncertain on ways to proceed with FTA bill

Jul 14, 2011

The Barack Obama administration is still looking for the best timing to send a bill on a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea to Congress, a senior official said Wednesday, with no clear signs of a breakthrough in federal debt limit talks."Senior-level discussions continue on the timing for formal submission of the bill," Carol Guthrie, assistant U.S. trade representative for public and med
U.S. cautious about N. Korea's growing ties with western media

World NewsJul 14, 2011

With North Korea seen as opening its door wider to western media, the United States government maintained a cautious view Wednesday on the reclusive communist nation's latest gesture.The London-based news agency Reuters announced earlier this week that it was planning a video news service in North Korea in partnership with its propaganda news agency, KCNA.The move comes a couple of weeks after the
Army PFC dies in apparent suicide

DefenseJul 13, 2011

An Army private first class died in an apparent suicide last Thursday, officials said Wednesday. The 21-year-old PFC, surnamed Lee, was transported to a nearby hospital right after he was found to have hanged himself at an Army regiment-level unit last Monday. He died on Thursday. Investigators are not ruling out the possibility of him opting to take his own life due to mental or physical abuses b
Lee awards highest national security order to U.S. commanders

PoliticsJul 13, 2011

President Lee Myung-bak awarded South Korea's highest order of national security merit to the outgoing chief of U.S. forces in Korea and the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff at a ceremony Wednesday, participants said. Gen. Walter Sharp and Adm. Michael Mullen were given the Tong-Il Medal of the Order of National Security Merit for their contributions to the defense of South Korea, part
N.K. supposed to have discharged water from border dam: officials

North KoreaJul 13, 2011

North Korea is supposed to have discharged water from a dam near the border with the South on Wednesday without advance notification, the state water agency said.The water level on the Pilseung Bridge near the border reached 5.8 meters as of 8:25 p.m. and is increasing by 25 centimeters every hour, officials at the Korea Water Resources Corp. said.The bridge near the Imjin River, which flows from