Greece awoke to a new era of defiant anti-austerity Monday after voters handed a decisive victory to radical left party Syriza, putting the country on a collision course with the EU and international creditors.In a result that exceeded analysts' expectations, Syriza and its 40-year-old leader Alexis Tsipras won 149 seats in the 300-seat Greek parliament, just two short of an absolute majority, with most of the votes counted.Incumbent Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's New Democracy party was route

South Korea called on Japan Monday to show sincerity toward healing the wounds of history amid concerns Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may not apologize for wartime wrongdoings in a landmark statement due in August.Abe told public broadcaster NHK Saturday that he would not use key words describing Japan's apology over its wartime atrocities shown in the past when he issues a new statement in August to mark the 70th anniversary of the country's defeat in World War II.Japan issued two key stat

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is to blame for the death of a hostage at the hands of the Islamic State group, an editorial in Chinese state media said Monday.The Islamic State group said Sunday it had executed Haruna Yukawa, one of two Japanese hostages it has been holding, in an apparent beheading that has been slammed by leaders around the world.But China's Global Times, which is affiliated with Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily, wrote in an editorial that the Japanese leader'

The website of embattled Malaysia Airlines has been hacked by a group proclaiming support for Islamic State group. The airline's site was changed on Monday, at first with a message saying “404 - Plane Not Found” and that it was “Hacked by Cyber Caliphate.” The browser tab for the website said “ISIS will prevail.”  Malaysian Airlines is struggling to recover from twin disasters last year, including the disappearance of Flight 370.  The website was later changed to a picture of a lizard, with the

The Islamic State group has said it executed one of two Japanese hostages it has been holding, in an apparent beheading that has been slammed by leaders around the world.The claim, made Sunday, came a day after the release of a video announcing the murder of security contractor Haruna Yukawa by the jihadist group, which has beheaded five Western hostages since August last year.It sought to raise the pressure on Japan by saying the fate of the other captive, freelance journalist Kenji Goto, depen

France's President Francois Hollande congratulated Alexis Tsipras on his radical left party Syriza's victory in Greek elections Sunday, the French presidency said in an statement.The French president recalled "the friendship that unites France and Greece and expressed his desire to Mr Tsipras to continue the close cooperation between our two countries, to support the growth and stability of the eurozone, in the spirit of progress, solidarity and responsibility that is at the heart of our shared

South Korea's state trade agency asked Chinese firms Friday to invest in an inter-Korean industrial complex in North Korea as Seoul and Beijing reached a bilateral free trade agreement last November.The industrial complex in North Korea's border city of Kaesong opened in 2004 as a landmark symbol of rapprochement between South and North Korea. About 120 South Korean firms employ some 53,000 North Korean workers there.Goods produced at the Kaesong complex are covered by the bilateral free trade a

South Korea plans to open a consulate on Cebu, the Philippines, around next month to better provide consular services for a growing number of Korean visitors there, the foreign ministry said Friday.The South Korean Embassy in the Southeast Asian country "plans to open a branch office on Cebu at the end of next month at the earliest," said a foreign ministry official.The new office "is to take charge of Cebu and its adjacent resort islands, where an increasing number of South Koreans visit," he a

The euro struggled against the dollar in Asia on Thursday as traders await a European Central Bank meeting where policymakers are widely expected to launch a huge bond-buying programme to kickstart the ailing eurozone economy.The single European currency fetched $1.1604 and 137.22 yen at midday in Tokyo, mixed from $1.1607 and 136.85 yen in New York.The dollar rose to 118.29 yen against 117.90 yen in US trade, after the Bank of Japan on Wednesday slashed its outlook on consumer prices, throwing

A death-row inmate in Texas who confessed to murdering three elderly people with a screwdriver for just $100 was executed on Wednesday, US prison authorities said.Arnold Prieto, 41, was declared dead at 6:31 pm (0031 GMT) at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, said Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark.Prieto's is the fourth US execution this year.He was sentenced to death for the triple murder committed during a 1993 robbery when he and two brothers were invited to the si

The British government said Wednesday it would seek a vote on forcing tobacco firms to sell cigarettes in plain packaging before the current parliament ends ahead of a May election."This government is completely committed to protecting children from the harm that tobacco causes," said Jane Ellison, a junior minister in charge of public health."That's why I'm announcing today that we will be bringing forward legislation for standardised packaging before the end of this parliament."The current par

A South Korean teenager who vanished in Turkey crossed the border into Syria voluntarily, Seoul police said Wednesday, amid mounting suspicions that he may have joined the Islamic State militant group.The 18-year-old, identified only by his surname Kim, disappeared on Jan. 10 during a trip to the southern Turkish town of Kilis and was last seen leaving a hotel.A Turkish newspaper reported earlier that he had exchanged emails with the extremist Muslim militant group IS and probably crossed into S

French and European officials will unveil details of anti-terror measures Wednesday to counter threats of new attacks and strengthen cooperation in the wake of deadly shootings in Paris.In the French capital, on high alert since jihadist attacks left 17 dead two weeks ago, Prime Minister Manuel Valls will outline promised measures to boost security forces.The worst attack on French soil in decades put Europe on high alert and a wave of police raids, investigations and extraditions have taken pla

The West's defence of Charlie Hebdo's right to offend is testing the patience of Muslims even in moderate Indonesia and Malaysia, who fear it could fuel radical sentiment kindled by the Islamic State group.Publicly, the issue has stirred barely a ripple in the Southeast Asian neighbours, underscoring their cultural and philosophical gap with the rest of the Muslim world, where it has triggered outrage.But even some liberal Indonesians and Malaysians express resentment over the French magazine's