The Korea Herald

Somali parliament blocks piracy bill

PoliticsJan 21, 2011

Portuguese soldiers arrest Somali pirates in 2009. (Yonhap News) MOGADISHU (AFP) - Somali lawmakers on Tuesday blocked a bill criminalising piracy which was proposed by the justice minister to pave the way for a local tribunal. The bill finalised last week by the government is meant to beef up Somalia's legal arsenal in prosecuting and detaining pirates, who have so far been mainly tried abroa
Lee praises Korean troops for 'perfect' raid on Somali pirates

PoliticsJan 21, 2011

President Lee Myung-bak expressed appreciation for the successful rescue operation by the country's navy for a South Korean chemical freighter and its 21 sailors seized by Somali pirates and reaffirmed Seoul's resolve not to tolerate any future attacks on South Korean people."Our military carried out the operation perfectly under difficult circumstances," Lee said in a brief statement broadcast li
S. Korea to propose bilateral nuclear talks with N. Korea: FM

North KoreaJan 21, 2011

South Korea plans to propose bilateral nuclear talks with North Korea, separately from the upcoming high-level defense talks, to determine whether Pyongyang is serious about giving up its nuclear programs, Seoul's foreign minister said Friday.After a series of calls for unconditional talks, North Korea offered Thursday to hold high-level defense talks with Seoul to discuss its November shelling of
World’s most expensive apartments sold in London

Jan 21, 2011

One Hyde Park is the world's most expensive residential apartment. (Bloomberg)The world’s most expensive residential apartments at One Hyde Park have been officially put on the auction block by property duo the Candy brothers.Nick and Christian Candy claim to have sold over 55 of the 86 luxury apartment properties. On the opening ceremony around 5,000 gold balloons were released from the roof at t
Colombian cops catch cocaine carrier pigeon

TravelJan 21, 2011

(AP)A drug-smuggling pigeon which played a role in transporting drugs into a prison has been caught by police in Bucaramanga, Colombia, the British Telegraph reported.According to police, the carrier was trying to fly into the jail with a bag containing drugs, including 40 grams of marijuana and five grams of cocaine. But the hapless bird was exhausted by the task and it could not complete its mis
Two killed in collision of light planes

Social affairsJan 21, 2011

(Yonhap News)Two light planes collided and crashed in southern South Korea on Friday, leaving two pilots dead, police said.The mid-air collision happened during training flights at around 9:51 a.m. and the civilian planes went down into road-side rice paddies in the coastal town of Uljin, about 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to police.The aircraft had taken off from Uljin Airport's f
Clooney to discuss recovery from malaria on CNN

FilmJan 21, 2011

George Clooney has recovered from the malaria he contracted in Sudan. (AP)LOS ANGELES (AP) _ George Clooney has recovered from the malaria he contracted earlier this month during a visit to Sudan.Publicist Stan Rosenfield says it was the actor's second bout with the disease.Clooney is set to discuss the condition and his work in Africa on Piers Morgan's CNN show Friday.The actor says his own expe
Two killed in collision of light planes

Social affairsJan 21, 2011

Two light planes collided and crashed in southern South Korea on Friday, leaving two pilots dead, police said. The mid-air collision happened during training flights at around 9:51 a.m. and the civilian planes went down into road-side rice paddies in the coastal town of Uljin, about 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to police. The aircraft had taken off from Uljin Airport's flig
Denuclearization still top agenda between Koreas: ministry

Social affairsJan 21, 2011

The denuclearization of North Korea remains an unexpendable issue for South Korea even as Seoul prepares for talks with Pyongyang over a pair of other security issues, an official said Friday. The comments by Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung mean that South Korea will continue to press North Korea to agree to separate talks on the nuclear programs the communist state operates. On T
GM Daewoo begins production of new MPV Orlando

IndustryJan 21, 2011

GM Daewoo Auto & Technology, the South Korean unit of U.S. automaker General Motors Co., said Friday it began producing its new compact multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), the Chevrolet Orlando. The vehicle will be produced at the GM Daewoo plant in Gunsan, 270 kilometers southwest of Seoul. The Orlando is scheduled to be launched here next month as the first of seven Chevrolet vehicles set to be intro
U.S. welcomes Koreas' agreement to resume talks

PoliticsJan 21, 2011

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The United States Thursday welcomed North Korea's proposal for high-level inter-Korean military dialogue to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula after the North's shelling of a front-line island and torpedoing of a South Korean warship last year. "I think following that, the Republic of Korea agreeing to enter talks with the North Koreans -- clearly, conditions were cr
Gibson could face 4 years for domestic violence

PeopleJan 21, 2011

Mel Gibson appears in last year’s box office dud “Ege of Darkness” which was supposed to be the iconic actor’s comeback film. (GK Films)Hollywood actor, Mel Gibson is set to be charged for hitting ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva and could face four years in jail.According to the British tabloid The Sun, the 55-year-old actor has been accused of breaking two of Grigorieva’s teeth at the home they s
Korean tourist arrested at Yoko Ono's NYC building

InternationalJan 21, 2011

Yoko Ono is pictured during a panel discussion on the PBS special "Lennon NYC" at the PBS Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)NEW YORK (AP) _ Authorities say a Korean tourist faces trespassing charges after he somehow got into an apartment building in New York City and rode the elevator with Yoko Ono.Police say the man was heading down to the lobby of the
Man arrested for extorting money from Samsung Electronics

IndustryJan 21, 2011

Samsung Electonics 3D booth at CES in 2011. (Bloomberg)A Seoul man has been arrested on charges of extorting a large sum from Samsung Electronics after intentionally destroying a Samsung cellphone last year, police said Thursday.The 29-year-old man, identified only as Lee, is accused of distorting a compensation of 5 million won (US$4,500) from Samsung Electronics after intentionally destroying hi
Seoul accepts N.K. proposal for high-level military talks

North KoreaJan 20, 2011

The Seoul government said Thursday it has decided to accept North Korea's proposal to hold high-level military talks which came a day after the U.S. and China called on the communist state to end provocations. The proposal is the latest in a series of recent overtures from the North for dialogue with its southern neighbor against which it made two deadly attacks last year.North Korea said it will