The Korea Herald

Russian space probe crashes into Pacific

Jan 16, 2012

MOSCOW (AP) _ A Russian space probe designed to boost the nation's pride on a bold mission to a moon of Mars came down in flames Sunday, showering fragments into the south Pacific west of Chile's coast, officials said.Pieces from the Phobos-Ground, which had become stuck in Earth's orbit, landed in
Ship aground off Italy; 3 bodies found

Jan 15, 2012

PORTO SANTO STEFANO, Italy (AP) -- Survivors who escaped a luxury cruise liner that ran aground and tipped over off Italy’s coast recounted a chaotic and terrifying evacuation through the ship’s upended hallways on Saturday, as divers searched the submerged part for any people still unaccounted for in the confusion.Three bodies were recovered from the sea after the Costa Concordia with 4,234 people aboard ran aground hundreds of meters off the tiny island of Giglio near the coast of Tuscany late
Egypt’s ElBaradei ends presidential bid

Jan 15, 2012

CAIRO (AP) ― Egypt’s reform leader Mohamed ElBaradei withdrew from the presidential race Saturday, saying a fair election is impossible under the military’s grip nearly a year after Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. Many fear that the ruling generals will push through a candidate of their own to preserve their power.The Nobel Peace laureate’s pullout is a slap to the military and the credibility of its plans for Egypt’s transition. He was seen as the most pro-revolution of the candidates and the strongest
Bomb kills at least 53 pilgrims in Iraq

Jan 15, 2012

ZUBAIR, Iraq (AP) ― A bomb tore through a procession of Shiite pilgrims heading toward a largely Sunni town in southern Iraq on Saturday, killing at least 53 people in the latest sign of a power struggle between rival Muslim sects that has escalated since the American military withdrawal.Fears of more bloodshed have risen in recent weeks, with the U.S. no longer enjoying the leverage it once had to encourage the two sides to work together to rein in extremists. Most of the latest attacks appear
Guatemala president vows tough actions against crime

Jan 15, 2012

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) ― Retired Gen. Otto Perez Molina was sworn in as president of Guatemala on Saturday, calling on the United States and Mexico to help him fight a wave of drug trafficking and violence that has overwhelmed the Central American country.Perez won over voters by pledging to crush criminality with an “iron fist.” Mexican drug cartels have seized large swatches of territory in Guatemala, which has one of the world’s highest homicide rates.Perez, 61, is the first military officer ele
Venezuela to close Miami consulate

Jan 15, 2012

CARACAS (AP) ― Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Friday that his government will close its consulate in Miami after the U.S. government expelled a diplomat.Chavez said he decided the consulate will shut its doors in response to what he called an unfair action by the U.S. State Department.“We’re going to close it. It’s OK. There won’t be a consulate in Miami,” Chavez said during his annual speech to the National Assembly.Livia Acosta Noguera, Venezuela’s consul general in Miami, was ordered o
Praise mounts for Myanmar release of political prisoners

Jan 15, 2012

YANGON (AP) ― Myanmar’s release of political prisoners drew praise from longtime critics of its once-authoritarian government, with Washington responding with a major diplomatic reward.The release sparked jubilation among the country’s pro-democracy activists ― who were reuniting with their freed comrades Saturday ― while signaling the government’s readiness to meet Western demands for lifting economic sanctions. The United States immediately announced it would upgrade diplomatic relations with
Detained man suspected in US homeless killings

Jan 15, 2012

Larry Pinson of Yorba Linda weeps after finding out the name of the homeless man that was killed Friday night outside a fast-food restaurant in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday. (AP-Yonhap News)ANAHEIM, California (AP) -- Investigators are ``extremely confident'' a man in their custody is responsible for a
S.Korean couple rescued in Italy liner disaster

Jan 15, 2012

GIGLIO ISLAND, Italy, Jan 15, 2012 (AFP) - Rescuers evacuated a South Korean honeymoon couple from a cruise ship that hit rocks and keeled over off the west coast of Italy, Italy's ANSA news agency said Sunday, quoting rescuers.The couple, both aged 29, had been reached by firemen on a lower deck of
Oxford puzzles over unexplained death of professor

Jan 15, 2012

OXFORD, England (AP) -- It seemed like a shocking crime: An Oxford University academic was found dying in the home of one of his closest friends, who was promptly arrested by police on suspicion of murder.But on Friday the direction of the attention-grabbing investigation into the death of Steve Raw
Taiwan ’s China-friendly president wins re-election

Jan 15, 2012

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) -- Taiwan's president won re-election Saturday, paving the way for a continuation of the China-friendly policies that have delighted Beijing and Washington, and caused consternation among some in Taiwan worried about the durability of their de facto independence.With about 99 per
Night of chaos, fear after cruise ship ran aground

Jan 15, 2012

PORTO SANTO STEFANO, Italy (AP) -- The first course had just been served in the Costa Concordia's dining room when the wine glasses, forks and plates of cuttlefish and mushrooms smashed to the ground. At the magic show in the theater, the trash cans tipped over and the theater curtains turned on the
Myanmar frees political prisoners

Jan 13, 2012

YANGON (AP) ― Myanmar freed many of its most prominent political prisoners Friday in a long-awaited step toward national reconciliation that also has been a key condition set by Western nations for easing sanctions against the country.The releases of several political activists and ethnic minority leaders, confirmed by their relatives, were part of a presidential pardon for 651 detainees who Myanmar state radio and television said would take part in “nation-building.”It was the latest in a flurr
Candidates make final push ahead of Taiwan vote

Jan 13, 2012

TAIPEI (AP) -- Candidates in Taiwan’s closely fought presidential election appealed for last-minute support Friday, with President Ma Ying-jeou offering his vision of better relations with China, and his main challenger attempting to galvanize resentment over growing income inequality.Amid swirling campaign banners and cheering crowds, Ma and Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party crisscrossed the island ahead of a contest that pits Ma’s experience against Tsai’s populism.Eighteen mill
Oslo court orders new psychiatric evaluation for gunman

Jan 13, 2012

OSLO, Jan 13, 2012 (AFP) - An Oslo court on Friday ordered a new psychiatric evaluation of Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in twin attacks in July, after an earlier and widely contested test found him criminally insane. "Due to the gravity of this case, the criminal responsibility