The Korea Herald

Ukraine girl left for dead, suspects walk

Mar 19, 2012

An 18-year-old Ukrainian woman who was gang-raped, nearly suffocated and set on fire was clinging to life, officials said. Activists demand punishment for suspects accused of raping and attempting to kill Oksana Makar. (Youtube)A man discovered Oksana Makar wrapped in a charred sheet at a constructi
Iran parliament speaker says Israel won’t attack

Mar 18, 2012

TEHRAN (AP) ― Iran’s parliament speaker on Saturday compared Israel to a barking dog that won’t dare attack the Islamic republic over its controversial nuclear program.“They make a lot of fuss about it but don’t dare to attack Iran,’’ Ali Larijani said of Israel. His comments were posted on the parliament’s website. “They are like dogs that keep barking but are not for attacks.”“Israel won’t make the mistake of attacking Iran because it’s not prepared to play with its own destiny,” said Larijani
Opposition ahead in East Timor election count

Mar 18, 2012

DILI (AFP) -- Early results from East Timor‘s presidential polls on Sunday showed the opposition Fretilin party’s Francisco “Lu Olo” Guterres had surged ahead with incumbent Jose Ramos-Horta lagging in third.A tally broadcast live by the country‘s electoral commission on state-owned radio and television station RTTL, put Guterres ahead with 28 percent of the411,353 votes counted so far -- around 65 percent of the total votes cast.Former guerrilla leader Taur Matan Ruak was in second place with 2
U.S. fighter in Somalia fears life in danger

Mar 18, 2012

NAIROBI (AFP) ― A U.S.-born Islamist fighter viewed as a key foreign leader within Somalia’s Shebab militia allied with al-Qaida says he fears his life is now in danger from fellow extremists.Omar Hamami ― better known as Abu Mansoor al-Amriki ― gave the warning in an undated video posted on several Somali websites and YouTube Saturday.“To whomever it may reach from the Muslims, from Abu Mansoor al-Amriki, I record this message today because I feel that my life may be endangered by Harakat Sheba
Assange plans bid for Australian Senate

Mar 18, 2012

CANBERRA (AP) ― WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange plans to run for a seat in the Australian Senate in elections due next year despite being under virtual house arrest in England and facing sex crime allegations in Sweden, the group said Saturday.The 40-year-old Australian citizen is fighting extradition to Sweden. He has taken his legal battle all the way to Britain’s Supreme Court, which is expected to rule on his case soon.“We have discovered that it is possible for Julian Assange to run for th
Republicans battle in Obama’s home state

Mar 18, 2012

CHICAGO (AFP) ― Republican White House hopefuls waged battle Saturday for Illinois as the primary in President Barack Obama’s home state loomed as the next key test for candidates.Weekend votes were also being held in Missouri and the territory of Puerto Rico, but Illinois appeared to be a new gut check for Republicans struggling to keep momentum in the race for the nomination to challenge Obama in November.Polls showed former senator Rick Santorum within striking range in Illinois of frontrunne
Sarkozy closes gap as candidacy deadline passes

Mar 18, 2012

PARIS (AFP) ― With just over a month to go Friday before the first round of France’s presidential vote, right-wing incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy is closing the gap with Socialist frontrunner Francois Hollande.As polls showed Sarkozy cutting his rival’s lead after several weeks of campaigning and a swerve to the right, Hollande was also facing a new threat on his left flank from firebrand Left Front candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon.The campaign moved into a new phase Friday after a deadline passed for wo
Clooney arrested in protest

Mar 18, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Film actor George Clooney and his father were arrested Friday during a protest outside the Sudanese Embassy, and the actor said he has asked President Barack Obama to engage China to help stop a humanitarian crisis in northern Africa.The protesters accuse Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir of provoking a humanitarian crisis and blocking food and aid from entering the Nuba Mountains in the county’s border region with South Sudan.Clooney, his father, Nick Clooney, and others were
E. Timor votes in test for young nation

Mar 18, 2012

BALIBAR, East Timor (AFP) ― Voting began Saturday in East Timor’s presidential election, seen as a crucial test for a young democracy taking charge of its own security as U.N. forces prepare to leave.Polls opened shortly after 7:00 a.m., with voters ready to cast ballots in a contest that pits the incumbent Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel laureate, against 11 other hopefuls.At a schoolhouse in the village of Balibar in the hills overlooking the capital Dili, poll workers in yellow T-shirts unsealed bl
Twin suicide blasts kill dozens in Syrian capital

Mar 18, 2012

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) -- Two suicide bombers detonated cars packed with explosives in near-simultaneous attacks on heavily guarded intelligence and security buildings in the Syrian capital Damascus Saturday, killing at least 27 people.There have been a string of large-scale bombings against the
WikiLeaks' Assange plans bid for Australian Senate

Mar 17, 2012

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) _ WikiLeaks says the group's founder, Julian Assange, will run for a seat in the Australian Senate in elections due late next year despite facing criminal charges in Sweden. The 40-year-old Australian is currently being held under virtual house arres
Syrian revolt simmers outside capital

Mar 17, 2012

BEIRUT (AP) _ Syrian rebels have ignited a new front outside the capital, Damascus, in the first significant fighting there since regime forces swept over the suburbs weeks ago. The clashes highlight the shifting nature of Syria's conflict, with rebels lying in wait to rise up when the
Chinese state television targets McDonald's, Carrefour

Mar 16, 2012

BEIJING (AP) _ Chinese state television has accused McDonald's and French retrailer Carrefour of selling expired chicken products in separate incidents amid public anxiety in China over food safety.McDonald's Corp. and Carrefour Inc. issued public apologies Friday and said they were investigating th
World tallest man finally stops growing, U.S. doctors say

Mar 16, 2012

Good news for Turkey's Sultan Kosen, at eight foot three (2.51 meters) the world's tallest living man: he can now say with confidence that he's finally grown up.Nearly two years after gamma ray radiosurgery at the University of Virgina, doctors confirmed that Kosen, 29, has overcome acromegaly, a ra
Ambitious Vatican restoration moves ahead

Mar 16, 2012

An ambitious project to clean the statue-topped colonnade that cradles St. Peter’s Square is likely to last at least three more years, the director of the Vatican restoration says. In this March 11, 2001 file photo, statues topping the Bernini colonnade frame St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.