The Korea Herald

Soldier death hits Taiwan plans to end conscription

Jul 30, 2013

TAIPEI (AFP) ― Anger over the death of a corporal who was allegedly abused by his officers has dealt a blow to Taiwan’s plans to end conscription which have already been hit by low recruitment.The Defense Ministry plans to phase out its decades-old compulsory 12 months of service by the end of 2015, replacing it with four months of military training for men aged over 20.The government hopes volunteers will then enlist for a longer period of military service, making for a better trained, more hig
Cambodian strongman PM set to maintain grip on power

Jul 28, 2013

PHNOM PENH, (AFP) - Cambodia's strongman premier Hun Sen looked poised Sunday to extend his 28-year rule after elections marred by allegations of widespread irregularities and the exclusion of the opposition chief.The former Khmer Rouge fighter turned prime minister appeared so confident of victory that he did not even bother personally to campaign.The opposition decried what it described as the kingdom's worst ever poll irregularities, including missing voter names and thousands of people who
10 gunmen killed in Egypt Sinai operation

Jul 28, 2013

CAIRO, (AFP) -- Egyptian security forces killed 10 "terrorist" gunmen and captured 20 in an operation in the Sinai Peninsula over the past 48 hours, state news agency MENA reported on Sunday. "Security operations carried out by the armed forces and police in north Sinai to hunt down armed terrorists... (resulted) in the liquidation of 10 of these armed terrorist elements," the agency said, citing a security source.
Suicide bomber kills nine police in northern Iraq

Jul 28, 2013

KIRKUK (AFP) -- A suicide bomber killed nine Kurdish police in northern Iraq on Sunday, a district official and a doctor said.The bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle near a three-vehicle police convoy in the town of Tuz Khurmatu, also wounding nine officers, district official Shalal Abdul Baban told AFP.A doctor and police confirmed the toll.The town is part of a swathe of northern territory that Kurds want to incorporate into their three-province autonomous region over the strong obj
Jimmy Carter to visit N. Korea 'soon' for rescue mission: RFA

Jul 28, 2013

Former United States President Jimmy Carter plans to visit North Korea "very soon" to win the release of a Korean American man detained there, a U.S. radio station reported Sunday.Carter "is scheduled to visit North Korea very soon to discuss the release of Kenneth Bae," the Washington-based Radio Free Asia said in a report, citing multiple human rights officials.Last week, Kyodo News Service reported that Carter is considering a visit to Pyongyang at the invitation of the North Korean governmen
Snowden has document to enter Russia:report

Jul 24, 2013

MOSCOW (AP)--The National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden has been given a document that allows him to leave the transit zone of a Moscow airport and enter Russia, Russia's state news agency said Wednesday. Snowden applied for temporary asylum in Russia last week after his attempts to leave the airport and fly out of Russia were thwarted. The United States wants him sent home to face prosecution for espionage. Snowden, who revealed details of NSA's wide-ranging spying activities targeting
Apple software developers site hacked

Jul 22, 2013

Computer and software giant Apple said Sunday that it took its software developers website offline after it was hacked, warning that personal information about them may have been stolen."Last Thursday, an intruder attempted to secure personal information of our registered developers from our developer website," Apple said in a statement.Although sensitive information was encrypted, "we have not been able to rule out the possibility that some developers' names, mailing addresses, and/or email ad
South Korea becomes observer to Latin American economic bloc

Jul 17, 2013

South Korea has become an observer to the Pacific Alliance, a Latin American economic bloc, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.The Pacific Alliance, launched in June last year, groups Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru and aims to strengthen their joint competitiveness through free trade. It now has 20 observer nations, including South Korea.The ministry said the tie with the bloc would enable South Korea to be ready for a possible link between the Pacific Alliance and the U.S.-led Trans Pacific
Snowden does not rule out applying for Russian citizenship: lawyer

Jul 17, 2013

MOSCOW (AFP) – U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, who has applied for temporary asylum in Russia, does not rule out applying for Russian citizenship, a lawyer assisting him said on Wednesday."He does not rule out the possibility of asking for Russian citizenship," prominent lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, who helped Snowden put together his asylum bid on Tuesday, told reporters. "He told me: 'I am not going to go anywhere from Russia.'"
Prince Hisahito: The future of Japan’s monarchy

Jul 14, 2013

TOKYO (AFP) ― As an expectant Britain gets royal baby fever and readies to welcome a future monarch ― male or female ― the young boy who carries the destiny of Japan’s ancient imperial family lives a life much less examined.Six-year-old Prince Hisahito is the only boy in four decades born into the world’s oldest monarchy, and will be entrusted with keeping alive a genealogical line traditionalists say can be traced back to a prehistoric goddess.Unlike the House of Windsor, which lives life in th
Air pollution cuts northern China lifespans

Jul 9, 2013

Research in China finds air pollution significantly shortens life expectancy
[Newsmaker] Egypt's military ejects elected leader

Jul 4, 2013

The ejection of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi will likely divide the country into those who call it the toppling of a democratic government, and those who say there is more to democracy than elections.Morsi was elected to power in June 2012 after mass protests prompted the military to eject longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak. The armed forces repeated their trick Wednesday, after four days of protests against Morsi that were even bigger than those against his predecessor.Estimates put the numbe
Park's visit to China begins 'new chapter' in S. Korea-China ties: Wang

Jun 30, 2013

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday hailed the ongoing state visit by South Korean President Park Geun-hye to China as "historic," saying her visit heralded a "new chapter" in bilateral relations. Wang made the remarks as he held bilateral talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se on the sidelines of a regional security forum in Brunei. Park is on a four-day visit to China that included summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "President Park Geun-hye made a historic vi
Cambodia denies foreign radio broadcast ban

Jun 29, 2013

Cambodia on Saturday denied it had banned foreign radio broadcasts in the run up to next month's election, after the US accused the government of violating freedom of expression.This week, local FM radio stations were ordered to provide "neutral" coverage of election campaigning and to temporarily suspend broadcasting Khmer-language programs made by foreign stations.But Chhum Socheat, an official at the information ministry, told AFP on Saturday "we do not ban broadcast by foreign radios".Foreig
Violence hits China's west ahead of anniversary

Jun 29, 2013

Violent attacks have spread this week in a tense minority region of western China, state media reported Saturday, just days before the anniversary of a bloody clash between minority Uighurs and the ethnic Han majority that left almost 200 dead and resulted in a major security clampdown.China's communist authorities have labeled some of the incidents -- including one which left 35 people dead -- as terrorist attacks, and President Xi Jinping has ordered that they be promptly dealt with to safegua