In the upscale Los Angeles community known as the "Black Beverly Hills" where Meghan Markle's mother lives, the neighbors are delighting in the frenzy around the upcoming Royal Wedding. "This has probably been the number one topic for a long time in this neighborhood," Windsor Hills resident Earl Hutchinson, an author specializing in African American rights and history, tells AFP. In this file photo taken on December 01, 201

China's first domestically manufactured aircraft carrier started sea trials on Sunday, state media said, as the country prepares to add a second such warship to its naval fleet.The carrier, known only as "Type 001A", set out for the trials on Sunday morning, according to official news agency Xinhua, while state broadcaster CCTV said the ship left a port in northeastern China around 6.45 am (2245 GMT Saturday).Expected to be commissioned by 2020, the ship will give China a second aircraft carrier

A knifeman shouting "Allahu akbar" was shot dead by police in central Paris late Saturday after he killed one person and injured four, prompting a terror probe.The attack took place near the city's main opera house in an area full of bars, restaurants and theatres which were brimming on a weekend night.French President Emmanuel Macron said: "France once again pays the price of blood."Saturday's assault is the latest to strike a nation rocked by a series of jihadist attacks in the last three year

With Facebook confronting calls to do more to protect user privacy as well as existential questions about its purpose in life, the company naturally used its F8 summit last week as an opportunity to cultivate an image as a less creepy presence in our daily lives.No, wait, never mind: Facebook announced it is launching an online dating service. The creatively named Dating application will let Facebook users create special profiles to employ in their quests for love and romance. Users who opt into

South Korea's small and medium-sized enterprises will do their part to stimulate cross-border economic cooperation once Seoul and Pyongyang normalize relations, a local business lobby group said Sunday.Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business Chairman Park Sung-taek said in a gathering of entrepreneurs late last week in Seoul that the historic summit on April 27 between the leaders of the two Koreas and the possibility of good relations with North Korea is ushering in a new era of peace.Sou

Local beer is steadily being sidelined by imports as distributors are focusing on importing foreign brands that can potentially threaten South Korea's production base, industry observers here said Sunday.Market insiders said that South Korean distributors are currently competing with each other to secure rights to import foreign beer that have become popular with consumers in recent years and offer better profits for companies that can handle them.Reflecting this trend, companies like Lotte Liqu

North Korea said Saturday that it will dismantle its nuclear test site in less than two weeks, in a dramatic event that would set up leader Kim Jong Un's summit with President Donald Trump next month. Trump welcomed the "gracious gesture."In a statement carried by state media, North Korea's Foreign Ministry said all of the tunnels at the country's northeastern testing ground will be destroyed by explosion, and observation and research facilities and ground-based guard units will also be removed.

North Korea announced Saturday it will publicly dismantle its northern nuclear test site in a ceremony scheduled for between May 23 and 25, adding it is taking "technical measures" to that end.The announcement by the North's foreign ministry moves the communist country closer to honoring an offer made by its leader Kim Jong-un during the inter-Korean summit last month.In an English-language statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, the foreign ministry detailed the country's

A former South Korean national short track coach banned for assaulting an athlete has landed a job in China, a news report said Saturday.Xinhua News Agency in China said two South Korean-born coaches are set to finalize their contracts with the Chinese national team.Cho Jae-beom is one and Song Jae-kun, who has been coaching in China since 2015, is the other South Korean native on the staff. Shim Suk-hee (Yonhap)Cho is back to coaching just four months after receiving a lifetime ban from the Kor

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon vowed “all-out” efforts to search for the remains of those who are still missing from the sinking of the Sewol ferry four years ago during his inspection of its hull Saturday. The prime minister traveled to the southwestern port of Mokpo where the hull of the ill-fated ferry is placed for search and inspection. Two days ago, the 6,800-ton vessel, which had been lying on its side since being salvaged in 2017, was lifted to an upright position as search workers try to se

Foreigners turned net sellers of South Korean stocks in April from a month earlier, with their stock holdings on the local exchanges reaching 32 percent of all listed shares, the financial regulator said Saturday. Last month, foreign investors sold a net 2.204 trillion won ($2.1 billion) worth of local stocks, a reversal from net purchases of 123 billion won worth of stocks a month earlier, data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed. By country, British investors sold the most, at a net

Moves to denuclearize North Korea are expected to proceed speedily this time, due to a determination by the leaders of the two Koreas and the United States to achieve that goal, a ranking South Korean government official said Friday.The official told Korean reporters here that the dismantling of North Korea's nuclear weapons program will likely proceed at a speed far faster than under any other similar nuclear accords of the past.This file photo from February of 2017 shows a map marking the loca

A group of North Korea defectors scattered leaflets critical of the North Korean regime across the border to the North on Saturday despite the government's recommendation not to.Six members of the Fighters for a Free North Korea flew five big plastic balloons at around 12:30 a.m. from the border city of Paju, Gyeonggi Province. The balloons sent across the border to the North Korean side were carrying 150,000 leaflets criticizing North Korea, as well as other gifts like United States dollar bill

US President Donald Trump thanked Singapore’s leader Friday for hosting his upcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the city-state, the White House said.Trump and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke by phone a day after the US president announced the date and location for his historic summit with Kim.  (AFP-Yonhap)“President Trump thanked Prime Minister Lee for his willingness to host President Trump’s June 12 meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un,” the White H

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo offered Friday to help boost North Korea’s economy if the regime swiftly dismantles its nuclear weapons program.Pompeo spoke after coming out of talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha.South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa (left) and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo“If North Korea takes bold action to quickly denuclearize, the United States is prepared to work with North Korea to achieve prosperity on par with our South Korean friends,” h