The Korea Herald

Opposition march demands ‘truth’ about Chavez health

Mar 4, 2013

CARACAS (AFP) ― Hundreds of opposition protesters marched in Caracas on Sunday, chanting “we want the truth” as they demanded that the government reveal more about the health of cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez.Waving Venezuelan flags, the protesters rallied to a street where some 50 university students have staged a weeklong sit-in to demand more transparency about Chavez’s condition.“We want to know what is going with Chavez’s health, if he is alive or dead, and we want elections,” said D
Accused Scottish cardinal admits sexual failings

Mar 4, 2013

LONDON (AP) ― A Scottish cardinal on Sunday acknowledged having engaged in unspecified sexual misbehavior, apologized for his actions, and promised to stay out of the church’s public life in a statement that comes at an awkward time for the Vatican.Cardinal Keith O’Brien had been Britain’s highest-ranking Catholic leader until he resigned Monday from his position as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, a departure prompted by a newspaper report about unnamed priests’ allegations that he acte
Cardinals to work on pre-conclave talks

Mar 4, 2013

VATICAN CITY (AP) ― Cardinals from around the world have descended on Rome to discuss some of the major problems facing the Catholic Church ahead of the conclave to elect Benedict XVI’s successor as pope. Topping the agenda: Vatican scandals, Benedict’s remarkable decision to resign and efforts to keep Christianity relevant in today’s world. The first pre-conclave meeting is scheduled for Monday morning, headed by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano. He has said the date
Thai regulator faces tough task of cleaning up broadcast market

Mar 4, 2013

Thailand’s soap opera fans erupted in anger when the last episodes of a prime-time ama, “Nua Mek 2,” which centered on a corrupt politician, were suddenly yanked from the airwaves.The ama’s owner, Channel 3, cited “inappropriate content” for its move in January, only to raise the hackles of viewers and social critics, who alleged it was an attempt by ruling politicians to censor allusions to their misdeeds.Channel 3, after all, operates under a concession from state-owned broadcaster Mass Commun
Singaporeans against foreigner-friendly policies attract flak

Mar 4, 2013

Over the past week, the continuing conversation on the Population White Paper has taken on a new buzzword: xenophobia.At least three individuals critical of the government’s immigration policies have been labelled anti-foreigner.Most recently, Workers’ Party chief Low Thia Khiang has had to defend himself against a charge of inciting xenophobia in his speech during the parliamentary debate.So has Gilbert Goh, the organizer of what has been touted to be the biggest protest rally in Singapore sinc
High demand for snakes poses crisis

Mar 4, 2013

With the Year of the Snake, some animal lovers are seeking out snakes as pets, just like how rabbits were popular in 2011, the Year of the Rabbit. But without being churned through the Chinese New Year branding machinery, snakes are already in demand for their meat, in traditional medicine, and in highend fashion.In January 2012, over 47,350 pieces of cobra bile and 1,680 cobra eggs were seized at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. In November, a report estimated that half a million
In Tokyo trial, U.S. man denies intent to kill woman

Mar 4, 2013

An American man accused of strangling an Irish exchange student in Tokyo told a Japanese court Monday he had no intention of killing the woman but acknowledged he was with her the night she died.As his trial began, 19-year-old Richard Hinds of Memphis, Tennessee, denied intentionally suffocating Nicola Furlong last May 24. He acknowledged he and Furlong, 21, were in a hotel and said he lightly pressed her neck while the two had sex. “I do not believe I was the cause of her death,‘’ Hinds told th
Cyprus police alert Interpol over 'Madeleine sighting'

Mar 4, 2013

Cyprus police said on Sunday they had alerted Interpol over a possible sighting of missing British girl Madeleine McCann in the holiday resort of Ayia Napa.Police spokesman Andreas Angelides told AFP that a Briton informed police he had "seen a girl who looked like Madeleine with a British couple as one of their three children."He said this information was given to police on February 20 and they passed it on to the European authorities."We asked Interpol to also look into the matter," Angelides
Couple dies, baby survives crash

Mar 4, 2013

An Orthodox Jewish couple died in a car crash in New York City as they rushed to a hospital to deliver their first child -- who survived, authorities said.Nachman and Raizi Glauber, both 21, were in a black taxi on their way to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan just after midnight Sunday when the cab was struck by a a BMW in Brooklyn, the New York Post reported.Nachman Glauber was taken to Beth Israel Hospital and Raizi, who was seven-months pregnant, was taken to Bellevue. They were both pronounce
Man fakes kidnapping to avoid lover

Mar 4, 2013

A New York City man was arrested and charged with faking being kidnapped to avoid telling his girlfriend why he was gone for two weeks.Rahmell Pettway, 36, was discovered by passersby early Thursday between two cars parked on a street in Brooklyn, the New York Post reported.His hands, legs and mouth were covered with duct tape, and he complained of pain in his ribs, police said.When being questioned by police, Pettway said he had been kidnapped by two men in a blue minivan on Feb. 19. They then
Man dies in Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon

Mar 4, 2013

A 46-year-old Texas man apparently suffered a heart attack and died Sunday as he began the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon in San Francisco, race officials said."It is our understanding that this is the first death to ever to take place at the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon, which has taken place for 33 years," race director Bill Burke said in a statement.The name of the man, who was from Austin, Texas, was not released, KGO-TV, San Francisco, said.Spain's Javier Gomez won the event in a time of
Men charged in escort's kidnap, rape

Mar 4, 2013

Two New York men kidnapped an escort and forced her to have sex with multiple men before she escaped by jumping from a sixth-floor window, officials say.Benjamin Gaston, 35, and Johnny Jackson, 53, have pleaded not guilty in the incident, the New York Post reported Friday.Gaston took the woman's cell phone, money and identification when she went to an escort job at an Upper West Side apartment in November, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. told a Manhattan Supreme Court. When the woman
Head of Chadian army claims troops killed Belmoktar

Mar 3, 2013

N’DJAMENA, Chad (AP) ― Chad’s military chief announced late Saturday that his troops deployed in northern Mali had killed Moktar Belmoktar, the terrorist who orchestrated the attack on a natural gas plant in Algeria that left 36 foreigners dead.The French military, which is leading the offensive against al-Qaida-linked rebels in Mali, said they could not immediately confirm the information.Local officials in Kidal, the northern town that is being used as the base for the military operation, cast
Kerry: Egypt needs consensus

Mar 3, 2013

CAIRO (AP) ― U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says bickering Egyptian government and opposition leaders need to reach a political consensus to help their country emerge from an economic crisis.Kerry arrived in Cairo on Saturday for meetings with business people, opposition figures and the foreign minister. Talks with President Mohammed Morsi were set for Sunday.U.S. officials accompanying Kerry on his first overseas trip as a member of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet said Kerry was particular
Syria, Iran say Assad to stay in power until 2014

Mar 3, 2013

DAMASCUS (AP) ― Iran and Syria condemned a U.S. plan to assist rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad on Saturday and signaled the Syrian leader intends to stay in power at least until 2014 presidential elections.The remarks came against the backdrop of a strategic victory for the regime as the military regained control over a string of villages along a key highway to open a potential supply route in Syria’s heavily contested north.The army command boasted of the achievement in a state