The Korea Herald

European leaders reach debt deal

Oct 27, 2011

BRUSSELS (AP) ― European leaders clinched a deal Thursday they hope will mark a turning point in their two-year debt crisis, agreeing after a night of tense negotiations to have banks take bigger losses on Greece’s debts and to boost the region’s weapons against the market turmoil.After months of dawdling and half-baked solutions, the leaders had been under immense pressure to finalize their plan to prevent the crisis from pushing Europe and much of the developed world back into recession and to
U.S. reaches out to Iranians, warns Iran government

Oct 27, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The Obama administration is setting up an Internet-based embassy to appeal to Iranians hoping to broaden their understanding of the United States, while at the same time studying new sanctions to raise the pressure on Iran’s government over its disputed nuclear program and alleged ties to terrorism.Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in interviews Wednesday with Persian-language media that the U.S. wanted to affirm its friendship to the Iranian people even at a time
Fukushima plant may have emitted double estimated radiation

Oct 27, 2011

The wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan may have released more than twice the amount of radiation estimated by the government, a study by European and U.S.-based scientists said. Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima station, which was wrecked in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, may have emitted 35,800 terabecquerels of radioactive cesium 137 at the height of the disaster, according to a study in the Atmospherics Chemistry and Physics journal. Japan’s nuclear regulator in June said 15,00
Israel and Palestinians to offer peace proposals

Oct 27, 2011

JERUSALEM (AP) ― International mediators on Wednesday failed to make any breakthroughs in their quest to bring Israeli and Palestinian officials back to the negotiating table, but in a small sign of progress, they announced that both sides would present “comprehensive proposals” for resolving key aspects of their conflict within three months.The “Quartet” of Mideast peace makers said Israel and the Palestinians agreed to submit proposals on “territory and security” in the coming months, as part
‘World population may hit 15 billion by 2100’

Oct 27, 2011

LONDON (AFP) ― The world’s population of seven billion is set to rise to at least 10 billion by 2100, but could top 15 billion if birth rates are just slightly higher than expected, the United Nations said on Wednesday.In a report ahead of ceremonies on October 31 to mark the seven billionth human alive today, the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) warned demographic pressure posed mighty challenges for easing poverty and conserving the environment.“This is a challenge and a call to action. The issue
Police action unnerves ‘Occupy’ protesters

Oct 27, 2011

OAKLAND, California (AP) ― The display of police force in Oakland, California, and Atlanta has unnerved some anti-Wall Street protesters.While demonstrators in other cities have built a working relationship with police and city leaders, they wondered on Wednesday how long the good spirit would last and whether they could be next.Will they have to face riot gear-clad officers and tear gas that their counterparts in Oakland, California faced on Tuesday? Or will they be handcuffed and hauled away i
Mass exodus from flood-ridden Bangkok

Oct 27, 2011

Thousands abandon Thai capital; government admits entire city could be floodedBANGKOK (AP) ― Residents poured out of the Thai capital by bus, plane and train Thursday, heeding government warnings to use a special five-day holiday to evacuate parts of the flood-threatened metropolis before a weekend deluge rushes through.The evacuation warning applied to only two of Bangkok’s 50 districts ― Don Muang and Bang Phlat ― but with the government acknowledging the entire city could flood in the coming
2 Nebraska kids found caged in dog kennel

Oct 27, 2011

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) - Four children were removed from what authorities described as a filthy Nebraska trailer home where a 3-year-old boy and his 5-year-old brother were kept in a wire dog kennel, police said Tuesday.North Platte officers went to the home late Monday after receiving a call from
[Photo] Flood-threatened Bangkok

Oct 27, 2011

Buddhist monks make their way on a side walk of a flooded road near Mahathat temple in Bangkok, Thailand Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. Floodwaters inched closer to a terminal at the Thai capital's second largest airport Wednesday, leading many who had sought refuge at a shelter there to flee amid warnin
US, Swedish researchers crack 250-year-old cipher

Oct 27, 2011

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Scientists in California and Sweden said they have used computer translation techniques to solve a 250-year-old mystery by deciphering a coded manuscript written for a secret society.The University of Southern California announced Tuesday that researchers had broken the Copi
Residents in flood-prone Bangkok urged to leave

Oct 27, 2011

BANGKOK, Oct 26, 2011 (AFP) - Thai authorities urged residents in flood-prone areas of Bangkok to evacuate Wednesday, warning them that the arrival of a massive deluge of water was imminent.A huge runoff from the north equivalent to 480,000 Olympic swimming pools is expected to reach the capit
Elusive luck lures Macau’s compulsive gamblers

Oct 26, 2011

MACAU (AFP) -- Stanley once spent two days and nights without sleep in a casino, and was eventually reduced to gambling away six-figure sums of other people’s money, but he still believed he was on the verge of a big win that would solve everything.Now 48, Stanley, who asked to be identified by only one name, was one of the growing number of gambling addicts in the Chinese territory of Macau, which has become the world’s biggest gaming hub. In just under two years, he saw his solvency, businesse
Miracle baby emerges from quake rubble

Oct 26, 2011

Survival of 2-week-old brings tiny ray of light from tragedy; Ankara now accepting aid even from IsraelERCIS, Turkey (AP) ― After 48 hours, a miracle emerged from the rubble: a 2-week-old baby girl brought out half-naked but alive from the wreckage of an apartment building toppled by Turkey’s devastating earthquake.Rescue workers erupted in cheers and applause Tuesday at sight of the infant ― and again hours later when her mother and grandmother were pulled out, their survival a ray of joy on an
Biggest nuclear bomb in U.S. dismantled

Oct 26, 2011

AMARILLO, Texas (AP) ― The last of the nation’s biggest nuclear bombs, a Cold War relic 600 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, was dismantled Tuesday in what one energy official called a milestone in President Barack Obama’s mission to rid the world of nuclear weapons.Workers in Texas separated the roughly 136 kilograms of high explosives inside from the special nuclear material ― uranium ― known as the pit.The work was done outside of public view for security reasons
Japan tsunami debris floats toward Hawaii

Oct 26, 2011

HONOLULU (AP) ― Up to 20 million tons of tsunami debris floating from Japan could arrive on Hawaii’s shores by early 2013, before reaching the West Coast, according to estimates by University of Hawaii scientists.A Russian training ship spotted the junk ― including a refrigerator, a television set and other appliances ― in an area of the Pacific Ocean where the scientists from the university’s International Pacific Research Center predicted it would be.The biggest proof that the debris is from t