The Korea Herald

Airbus to introduce see-through plane by 2050

IndustryJun 15, 2011

Airbus, the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer, said it would look to develop planes which all passengers can enjoy the view by 2050. In the plane, people would no longer have to grab a window seat to get a glimpse of sky, but could enjoy the views through glass ceilings. There also will be no division of classes of seats, it said.Charles Champion, executive vice president of Airbus, told repor
India searches for executioners

World NewsJun 15, 2011

(MCT)India is on the search for hangmen, as it needs to carry out only its third execution in 15 years, the Time magazine reported. It has about 1.2 billion people working in almost every field, but lacks qualified executioners who can prepare the rope and tie the knot in the right way to ensure a quick death. Convicted murderer Mahendra Nath Das in Assam state is just one of 346 people who are on
Nine North Koreans defect to South by sea, Seoul officials say

North KoreaJun 15, 2011

(Yonhap News)Nine North Koreans who crossed the tense western sea border aboard a small engineless vessel over the weekend for apparent defection are being questioned by South Korean officials, the Seoul government said Wednesday. The nine people, including family members, arrived on a frontline South Korean island around 6 a.m. Saturday, and are seeking asylum in the wealthier South, a government
Playboy's Hefner says Playmate called off wedding

TelevisionJun 15, 2011

Hugh Hefner, left, and Crystal Harris at the premiere of "Iron Man 2" at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP-Yonhap News)CHICAGO (AP) _ Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner says his fiancee has called off their wedding.The 85-year-old Hefner says in a Tuesday message on Chicago-based Playboy's official Twitter feed that 24-year-old Crystal Harris has ``had a change of heart.''Hefner announc
Schwarzenegger's mistress breaks silence

FilmJun 15, 2011

LONDON (AP) _ Arnold Schwarzenegger's former housekeeper has spoken out about having a child with the ex-governor, saying her son Joseph only learned about a year ago who his father was.Mildred Baena has kept a low profile since the revelations of her affair with the former California governor sparked a tabloid frenzy.The scandal exploded into public view after Schwarzenegger and wife Maria Shrive
U.S. desires to avoid 'mistakes' in talks with N. Korea

North KoreaJun 15, 2011

WASHINGTON, (Yonhap) -- The United States is prepared to talk with North Korea, but a basic principle is to avoid the "mistakes" made in previous negotiations with the communist nation, an outgoing top State Department official said.In an interview published Tuesday, Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg told Foreign Policy, a U.S.-based magazine, that Washington has no surprising new policy o
German two-year-old dies from E. coli

World NewsJun 15, 2011

BERLIN (AFP) – A two-year-old boy Tuesday became the first child to die in an outbreak of a virulent strain of E. coli in Germany that authorities say is abating, taking the death toll to at least 37.The child died in hospital in Hanover overnight after becoming infected with enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), authorities in the northern state of Lower Saxony said.He had been in intensive care for
S. Korea's jobless rate stands at 3.2 pct in May

Jun 15, 2011

South Korea's jobless rate remained unchanged in May from a year earlier, but it fell sharply from the previous month as the private sector increased employment amid an economic recovery, a government report showed Wednesday.The jobless rate was 3.2 percent last month, unchanged from the same month a year earlier, according to the report by Statistics Korea. However, it was down from 3.7 percent i
Lone Star ineligible as KEB's major shareholder: lawmaker

Jun 14, 2011

Lone Star Funds is ineligible as Korea Exchange Bank's major shareholder since the U.S. private buyout fund's 2003 acquisition of the South Korean lender may be illegal, a lawmaker said Tuesday.The remarks come as Lone Star Funds is in talks with Hana Financial Group Inc., the country's No. 4 banking group, to settle the sale of its 51.02 percent stake in KEB for 4.69 trillion won ($4.3 billion).I
N. Korean carrier to start direct Shanghai flights

North KoreaJun 14, 2011

SHANGHAI (AFP) -- North Korea's carrier said Tuesday it would offer twice-weekly flights between Shanghai and Pyongyang starting next month, in a sign the secretive state is looking to attract more Chinese tourists.Shanghai joins Beijing and Shenyang in the northeast as the third city in China to have regular flights to North Korea, the state-owned Air Koryo said in a statement to AFP.The Shanghai
S&P cuts Greece’s rating to lowest

World NewsJun 14, 2011

ATHENS (AP) ― Standard & Poor’s cut Greece’s credit rating deeper into junk territory Monday, saying the country is likely to default on its massive debts at least once by 2013 ― a decision Athens said ignored its efforts to secure continued funding in coming yearsThe rating agency said the downgrade from “B” to “CCC” “reflects our view that there is a significantly higher likelihood of one or mor
Sohn most favored but Park most likely to be president: SNU students

PoliticsJun 14, 2011

Students of the prestigious Seoul National University favor opposition leader Sohn Hak-kyu as the next Korean president, but think female conservative politician Park Geun-hye is most likely to win the race, a poll released Tuesday shows. According to the survey of 660 students conducted by the Seouldae Journal, a student newspaper at the university, Sohn, the chairman of the Democratic Party, was
KDB Financial forced to give up Woori

Jun 14, 2011

Regulator grants equal opportunities for local and foreign biddersThe financial authorities have decided to allow foreign investors to participate in the coming bidding for Woori Financial Group, reversing their earlier stance to hand over the state-run group to a Korean investor.With the decision, former Finance Minister Kang Man-soo, who is serving as chairman of KDB Financial Group, has failed
Suspects caught for illegal online human egg sales

Social affairsJun 14, 2011

Arrest warrants sought for 2 tradersThe police on Tuesday sought arrest warrants for two people suspected of brokering illegal sales of human eggs and booked 13 ovum donors without detention.The ovum brokers identified only by their last names Koo and Chung ran a website where people shared information on fertility and received applications for ovum transplants or donations for a year until last S
S. Korean chief nuke envoy in Japan to discuss N. Korea

Foreign affairsJun 14, 2011

Chief nuclear envoys of South Korea and Japan are to meet in Tokyo Wednesday to discuss ways to resume the suspended dialogue with North Korea over its ongoing nuclear ambitions.Before heading to Japan Tuesday, Seoul’s chief envoy Wi Sung-lac said he plans to share views with his counterpart Shinsuke Sugiyama on whether changes must be made to the existing strategy to get Pyongyang to talk with Se