The Korea Herald

Russian PM Putin in China seeking closer ties

Oct 11, 2011

BEIJING (AP) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Chinese leaders opened two days of meetings Tuesday aimed at boosting relations amid strains over declining military sales and stalled talks over energy deals.Putin said after meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao that political relations between t
String of blasts in Iraq capital kills 10

Oct 11, 2011

BAGHDAD (AP) ― A string of explosions targeting security officials ― and people who rushed to the scene to help the injured ― killed at least 10 people in western Baghdad Monday evening, officials said.The first explosion came from a roadside bomb in a Shiite neighborhood, targeting an Iraqi army pa
Merkel visits Vietnam to boost trade ties

Oct 11, 2011

HANOI (AP) ― German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Vietnam’s capital Tuesday for a two-day visit to boost trade ties with the communist country, amid the European debt crisis.Merkel and her Vietnamese counterpart, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, reviewed an honor guard Tuesday in Hanoi before t
Al-Qaida confirms killing of al-Awlaki

Oct 11, 2011

CAIRO (AP) ― Al-Qaida’s Yemeni offshoot on Monday confirmed the killing of U.S.-born militant cleric Anwar al-Awlaki late last month and vowed to avenge the prominent propagandist’s death.The 40-year-old al-Awlaki, who died in a Sept. 30 U.S. drone strike in the mountains of Yemen, was the most prom
Myanmar gives amnesty to some 6,300 prisoners

Oct 11, 2011

YANGON (AP) -- Myanmar announced Tuesday it was releasing 6,300 prisoners in a widely expected amnesty by the newly elected government, but it was not clear how many of them were political detainees.The release of some of the country’s estimated 2,000 political prisoners has been hotly anticipated a
EU backs Syrian opposition, mulls new sanctions

Oct 11, 2011

LUXEMBOURG (AP) ― The European Union is reaching out to the nascent Syrian opposition movement to see if it could play an instrumental role in ousting President Bashar Assad, whose crackdown on pro-democracy protesters has so far killed nearly 3,000 people.Diplomats said Syria’s opposition needs mor
Detainees tortured in Afghanistan: U.N.

Oct 11, 2011

KABUL (AP) ― Beatings, electric shock and other forms of torture were administered to suspected Taliban fighters in some Afghan-run detention centers, the U.N. said Monday, even as the U.S. and others have spent billions of dollars training the police and security services.The abuse was not the resu
Libyan official: Gadhafi hiding in southern desert

Oct 11, 2011

TRIPOLI (AP) ― An official on Libya’s governing council said Monday that he believes Moammar Gadhafi is hiding in the southwestern desert near the borders with Niger and Algeria, but denied allegations that the Tuareg minority ethnic group is protecting the fugitive leader.Moussa al-Kouni, who is a
Egypt vows to get tougher after violence

Oct 11, 2011

A relative of one of the Copts killed during clashes with the Egyptian army mourns over his coffin in Cairo on Monday (AP-Yonhap News)Activists enraged by army’s apparent attempt to use crisis to extend ruleCAIRO (AP) ― Egypt’s ruling military on Monday condemned a surge in deadly violence as an at
‘Thinking’ robot unveiled in Japan

Oct 11, 2011

TOKYO (AFP) ― Robots that learn from experience and can solve novel problems ― just like humans ― sound like science fiction.But a Japanese researcher is working on making them science fact, with machines that can teach themselves to perform tasks they have not been programmed to do, using objects t
Website: Iranian actress faces jail, lashing

Oct 11, 2011

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- An Iranian opposition website says an Iranian actress has been sentenced to a year in prison and 90 lashes for appearing in a movie critical of the Islamic republic’s hard-line policies.The Kalameh.com site said Monday that Marzieh Vafamehr’s attorney has appealed
Woman gives birth after running Chicago Marathon

Oct 11, 2011

CHICAGO (AP) -- Amber Miller says she felt contractions minutes after crossing the Chicago Marathon finish line.A few hours after completing the 42-kilometer race Sunday, the suburban Chicago woman gave birth to her daughter, June.Amber Miller, of Westchester, Ill., holds her baby at Central DuPage
Americans Sargent, Sims share economics Nobel

Oct 10, 2011

STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Americans Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims won the Nobel economics prize on Monday for research that sheds light on the cause-and-effect relationship between the economy and policy instruments such as interest rates and government spending. Thomas Sargent (right) and Christ
Chile students reject resuming negotiations

Oct 10, 2011

SANTIAGO (AP) ― Chilean student groups that have been protesting more than five months to demand the government improve education have refused the president’s request to resume negotiations and say they won’t go back to class.A confederation of 36 student groups at Chile’s 25 state universities made
Taiwanese leader marks centenary

Oct 10, 2011

TAIPEI (AP) ― Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou is urging Beijing to pursue democracy and respect his island’s self-governance as both sides marked the centennial of a revolution that ended 2,000 years of imperial rule in China.Ma said Monday that China should “move bravely” toward freedom and democr