The Korea Herald

[Photo] Boeing off to flying start at Dubai Airshow

Nov 14, 2011

Emirates Airlines launched the Dubai Airshow on Sunday with a record $18-billion order for 50 Boeing 777s, giving the US company a flying start on its European rival Airbus at the prestigious event.The United Arab Emirates meanwhile appeared to raise the stakes in its negotiations with France to buy
[Photo] Metropolitan Children Parade in Colombia

Nov 14, 2011

A girl performs during the 2011 Metropolitan Children Parade in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, Nov. 13 , 2011. The parade, organized by the city government, aims to give poor children the opportunity to parade playing music, dancing and performing acrobatics. (AP-Yonhap News) A girl gestures under t
6.4-magnitude quake hits off Indonesia's Maluku

Nov 14, 2011

JAKARTA, Nov 14, 2011 (AFP) - A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia's eastern North Maluku province on Monday, meteorologists said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, and no tsunami alert.The quake occurred at 11:05 am (0405 GMT) with an epicentre 69 kilometres (4
Pacific trade pact gains, but friction remains

Nov 13, 2011

HONOLULU (AP) -- A further step toward a U.S.-backed free trade bloc handed Asia-Pacific leaders a rare tangible achievement from their annual summit, but highlighted growing competition with China for influence in the fast rising region.Asia's increasingly vital role as a driver of global growth ha
End of an era: Italy’s Berlusconi resigns

Nov 13, 2011

ROME (AP) ― A chorus of Handel’s “Alleluia” rang out Saturday as Silvio Berlusconi resigned as Italian premier, ending a tumultuous 17-year political era and setting in motion a transition aimed at bringing the country back from the brink of economic crisis.Berlusconi stepped down amid jeers, cheers and heckles of “Buffoon” from thousands of people who packed downtown Rome to witness his government’s downfall after a stunning week of market turmoil that upended his defiant hold on power and thre
Dead Sea excluded from 7 wonders list

Nov 13, 2011

JERUSALEM (AFP) ― Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority learned Friday that the Dead Sea had not been voted as one of the New7Wonders of Nature.For Pini Shani, head of overseas development at the Israeli tourism ministry, it was a missed opportunity, especially considering the $2.1 million (1.5 million euros) they pumped into a high-profile campaign.Israel’s Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov put a brave face on it, calling it the campaign “a true victory.”“Thanks to the impressive campaig
Amazon, Halong Bay, Iguazu Falls among new 7 natural wonders

Nov 13, 2011

GENEVA (AFP) ― The Amazon rainforest, Vietnam’s Halong Bay and Argentina’s Iguazu Falls were named among the world’s new seven wonders of nature, according to organizers of a global poll.The other four crowned the world’s natural wonders are South Korea’s Jeju Island, Indonesia’s Komodo, the Philippines’ Puerto Princesa Underground River and South Africa’s Table Mountain, said the New7Wonders foundation, citing provisional results. Final results will be announced early 2012, said the Swiss fou
Beyond tangerines and beaches: Jeju’s unique culture

Nov 13, 2011

JEJU ISLAND ― Jeju Island, a volcanic tourist attraction off the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula, has developed its unique culture over thousands of years due to its people’s relationship with nature and mythology.The first place in the world to receive UNESCO designations in all three natural science categories, Jeju has its cultural foundation in the animistic belief among its people that the island is home to 18,000 gods. Tamnaguk Ipchun Gutnori is a large shamanic ritual to welcome the
Turkish forces shoot dead ferry hijacker

Nov 13, 2011

ANKARA (AP) ― Turkish commandos in civilian clothes slipped onto a hijacked passenger ferry and posed as hostages before fatally shooting a suspected Kurdish rebel carrying explosives in a 12-hour drama that ended before dawn Saturday.There were no other casualties aboard the Kartepe, that was hijacked on Friday after it left the northwestern port city of Izmit. There were 18 passengers on board, including five women, as well as four crew and two trainees, authorities said.Despite the success of
U.S. seeks Russia, China help on Iran

Nov 13, 2011

HONOLULU (AP) ― President Barack Obama lobbied the skeptical leaders of Russia and China for support in keeping Iran from becoming a nuclear-armed menace to the world, hoping to yield a “common response” to a deepening problem.Yet Obama’s talk of solidarity with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Chinese President Hu Jintao was not publicly echoed by either man Saturday as Iran moved anew to the fore of the international stage ― and to the front of the fierce U.S. presidential race.The United
Arab League votes to suspend Syria

Nov 13, 2011

Diplomats say will work to unify Assad opposition if regime fails to adhere to demandsCAIRO (AP) ― In a surprisingly sharp move, the Arab League voted Saturday to suspend Syria over the country’s bloody crackdown on an eight-month uprising and stepped up calls on the army to stop killing civilians.The decision was a humiliating blow to a regime that prides itself as a bastion of Arab nationalism, but it was unlikely to immediately end a wave of violence that the U.N. estimates has killed more th
Russia to resume manned spaceflight after many failures

Nov 13, 2011

MOSCOW (AFP) ― Russia on Monday launches three astronauts for the International Space Station on a key mission Moscow hopes will restore faith in its space program after an unprecedented string of failures.Two Russians and one American will blast off on a Soyuz-FG rocket from Russia’s Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 0414 GMT, the first manned launch since the retirement of the US shuttle made Russia the sole nation capable of taking humans to the ISS.It is also the first launch after an unm
Romney’s political shifts stir criticism

Nov 13, 2011

BOSTON (AP) ― When he was running for Massachusetts governor in 2002, Mitt Romney’s campaign courted voters at a Boston Gay Pride weekend by handing out fliers proclaiming “All citizens deserve equal rights, regardless of sexual preference.”Just a year later, Romney emerged as a leading voice against gay marriage, opposing the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling overturning the ban on same-sex marriage.With Romney’s positions evolving on everything from abortion to gay rights, embryoni
Loss of No. 2 official will not change Mexico’s drug war

Nov 13, 2011

MEXICO CITY (AP) ― President Felipe Calderon said Saturday the loss of Mexico’s No. 2 official in a helicopter crash won’t weaken the offensive against drug cartels and, if anything, will toughen it.Speaking at a memorial service, Calderon said the best way to pay tribute to Interior Secretary Francisco Blake Mora and the seven others killed Friday when their aircraft smashed into a mountainside south of Mexico City is “to keep fighting with greater conviction for the things they fought for.”Bla
Suu Kyi’s return to politics likely

Nov 13, 2011

YANGON (AFP) ― Myanmar’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is likely to contest an upcoming by-election, a party spokesman said Saturday, paving the way for a political comeback after years of exclusion by army generals.Her National League for Democracy, delisted last year for boycotting the first elections for 20 years, will consider on Friday whether to re-register as a political party, after Myanmar’s president recently approved changes to the registration laws.“The NLD is likely to register an