The Korea Herald

206 killed in Republic of Congo arms depot blasts

World NewsMar 5, 2012

Homes and buildings collapsed in the Congolese capital after an arms depot exploded Sunday, killing at least 206 people and entombing countless others in crushed structures including inside two churches that buckled while parishioners were celebrating Mass, officials and witnesses said. The shock wa
A tearful Putin claims Russian election victory

World NewsMar 5, 2012

Vladimir Putin swept Sunday’s presidential election to return to the Kremlin and extend his hold over Russia for six more years, incomplete returns showed. His eyes brimming with tears, he defiantly proclaimed to a sea of supporters that they had triumphed over opponents intent on “destroying Russia
Monitors raise fraud concerns in Russia polls

World NewsMar 4, 2012

MOSCOW (AFP) -- Using Twitter and other social networks, some of the tens of thousands of volunteers monitoring Russia's polls Sunday posted evidence of alleged violations on the Internet and cast doubt on the legitimacy of the vote.Election officials denied any significant fraud in the preside
Khamenei allies trounce Ahmadinejad in Iran election

World NewsMar 4, 2012

TEHRAN (Reuters) -- Loyalists of Iran's paramount clerical leader have won over 75 percent of seats inparliamentary elections, a near-complete count showed, largely reducing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to a lame duck in a contest between conservative hardline factions.The outcome of Friday's
Death toll in Polish train wreck climbs to 16

World NewsMar 4, 2012

SZCZEKOCINY, Poland (AFP) -- Rescue workers Sunday combed the wreckage of a head-on train crash in southern Poland as the death toll climbed to 16, with scores wounded in the country's worst rail disaster since 1990."People from across Poland and citizens from other countries suffered in the ca
Saint's ancient heart stolen from Dublin cathedral

World NewsMar 4, 2012

DUBLIN (AP) -- Somewhere in Ireland, a burglar has the heart of a saint.Officials at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin say they're distraught and perplexed over the theft of the church's most precious relic: the preserved heart of St. Laurence O'Toole.O'Toole was Dublin's archbishop from 1162 t
S&P cuts Nokia, outlook negative

World BusinessMar 4, 2012

HELSINKI (AFP) ― Standard and Poor’s downgraded mobile phone giant Nokia’s rating by a notch, blaming especially the Finnish company’s difficulties in defending its smartphone market share.S&P cut Nokia’s long-term corporate credit rating to “BBB-” from “BBB,” with a negative outlook “reflecting the possibility of a further downgrade in the next two years,” if the companies margins remain too weak and its cash holdings decrease too much, the ratings agency said in a statement.“The rating action
Obama pushes for better auto mileage

World BusinessMar 4, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) ― President Barack Obama says higher auto mileage standards set under his administration and better cars built by a resurgent U.S. auto industry will save money at the gas pump over the long term, a counterpoint to Republican criticism of his energy policy.In his weekly radio and online address Saturday, Obama said Detroit automakers are on track to build cars that average nearly 23 kilometers per liter by 2025, doubling current mileage standards.“That means folks will be able to
Volt production halted; 1,300 workers out of work

World BusinessMar 4, 2012

DALLAS (AP) ― General Motors Co. is suspending production of its Chevrolet Volt electric car for five weeks amid disappointing sales. A GM spokesman said Friday that the company will shut down production of the Volt from March 19 until April 23, idling 1,300 workers at the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant. The Volt was rolled out with great fanfare in late 2010 but has since hit bumps in the road. Sales have fallen short of expectations, and its reputation was bruised by an investigation into a
Greece ratings cut by Moody’s

World BusinessMar 4, 2012

ATHENS (AP) ― The ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Greece to the lowest rating on its bond scale late Friday, following a deal with private investors that would see them ultimately lose an estimated 70 percent of their holdings in Greek debt. Moody’s lowered Greece’s sovereign rating to “C” from “Ca,” arguing that the risk of default remains high even a bond-swap deal with banks and other private investors, due to be completed this month, is successful. It said it would “re-assess the credit ri
European countries sign new fiscal treaty

World BusinessMar 4, 2012

BRUSSELS (AP) ― The leaders of 25 European countries on Friday signed a new treaty designed to prevent the 17 members of the eurozone from living beyond their means and avoid a repeat of the region’s crippling debt crisis.The leaders hope the rules for budget discipline set out in the accord, known as the fiscal compact, will also lead to closer political and economic integration in the eurozone.“It will bring us, as it were, the economic and monetary union that is finally walking on two legs,”
Muslim Brother picked to lead new Libya party

World NewsMar 4, 2012

Libyan Islamists and independents on Saturday formed a new political party, electing as its leader a Muslim Brotherhood member who was a political prisoner under the regime of dead dictator Moammer Gadhafi.Mohammed Sawan, jailed for eight years under the ousted regime of Gadhafi who had outlawed political parties as an act of treason, was elected Justice and Construction party leader after a three-day conference in the capital.“I have real mixed feelings because I was imprisoned under Gadhafi fo
Obama warns both Iran and Israel, ‘I don’t bluff’

World NewsMar 4, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) ― President Barack Obama delivered his most explicit threat yet that the United States will attack Iran if that is what it takes to prevent the Islamic republic from developing a nuclear bomb. At the same time, he warned Israelis they would only make a bad situation worse if they moved pre-emptively against Iranian nuclear facilities.The double-barreled warning, in an interview published Friday, came before Obama’s high-stakes meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyah
China to up defense spending by 11.2% in 2012

World NewsMar 4, 2012

BEIJING (AP) ― China said Sunday that it would boost its defense spending by 11.2 percent in 2012, the latest in a nearly two-decade string of double-digit increases.Although the planned figure is less than last year’s 12.7 percent increase, China’s military leaders have said they are unhappy with recent moves by the Obama administration to increase the U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. Only twice since the early 1990s has the increase been less than double digits.National Peopl
China to up defense spending by 11.2 pct in 2012

World NewsMar 4, 2012

China said Sunday that it would boost its defense spending by 11.2 percent in 2012, the latest in a nearly two-decade string of double-digit increases.Although the planned figure is less than last year's 12.7 percent increase, China's military leaders have said they are unhappy with recent moves by