UNITED NATIONS (AFP) ― Global consumption of natural resources could almost triple to 140 billion tons a year by 2050 unless nations take drastic steps, the United Nations warned Thursday.A U.N. environment panel said the world cannot sustain the tearaway rate of use of minerals, ores and fossil and plant fuels. It called on governments to “decouple” economic growth from natural resource consumpti

 

The government appears to be promoting a merger between Woori Finance Holdings Co. and KDB Financial Group to create a “mega bank” with assets exceeding 500 trillion won ($458 billion), roughly half of the nation’s gross domestic product.The Public Fund Oversight Committee, which is tasked with recouping taxpayers’ money used to bail out distressed companies, will convene on May 17 to restart the

Korea Railroad Corp. has finally addressed growing public concern about the safety of its accident-prone KTX bullet trains. KORAIL said Thursday it would reduce operations of its high-speed trains for a comprehensive safety check. A day earlier, it ordered Hyundai Rotem to recall all of the 19 KTX-Sancheon trains in operation for thorough inspection. The recall order came after inspectors found de

Apple introduced its Macintosh computer in 1984 with a now-famous Super Bowl commercial that showed a lone rebel striking out against Big Brother. So it was ironic that researchers recently accused the company of an Orwellian intrusion into consumer privacy: Its iPhones and iPads appeared to be tracking their users’ movements. Apple eventually offered a rebuttal, and it hustled out a software upda

President Obama tried to use the announcement of the death of Osama bin Laden to get Americans to think big again. The successful end of a 10-year manhunt, he declared last week, was a “testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people.”But bin Laden’s death instead seemed to feed stubborn domestic divisions and conjure thorny geopolitical stalemates. Maybe the

The language was a bit murky at first but inevitably the true nature of Pakistan-U.S. relations began to unravel. Immediately after the reported death of Bin Laden, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari would only speak in general terms about military and intelligence cooperation between the two countries, and would not go into specifics about the operation ― specifics that Islamabad didn’t have in

“I can’t repay loans for my house and fishing boat, which were swept away by the tsunami.”“I was fired by my company immediately after the disaster.”Day after day, these and other complaints are heard during legal consultations for people in areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.Local lawyers associations have generously given counsel at evacuation centers and elsewhere. So have

The involvement of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate in the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai will be publicly aired in Chicago on May 16 when the trial of Hussain Rana of Pakistani origin, owner of an immigration consulting firm, begins. Six Americans were among 166 people killed in the Mumbai attacks. Though the 33-page charge-sheet does not mention ISI, it names Major Iqbal of the