The Korea Herald

U.S. senators vow immigration action

Jan 29, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Leading Democratic and Republican senators pledged Monday to propel far-reaching immigration legislation through the Senate by summer providing a possible path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people now in the U.S. illegally.The senators acknowledged pitfalls that have doomed such efforts in the past, but they suggested that November’s elections ― with Hispanics voting heavily for President Barack Obama and other Democrats ― could make this time different. Several pr
Taiwanese offers Nobel-type prizes

Jan 29, 2013

TAIPEI (AP) ― A Taiwanese tycoon with vast business interests in mainland China said Monday he is funding what local media call Asia’s Nobel Prizes for outstanding achievements in natural and social sciences.Ruentex Group head Samuel Yin announced the establishment of the Tang Prize Foundation with an initial endowment of 3 billion New Taiwan dollars ($103 million). The 618-907 A.D. Tang Dynasty is widely revered by Chinese for its cultural and scientific achievements.The prizes will be awarded
Several Australian towns flooded, 4 people killed

Jan 29, 2013

Rescuers helped drivers escape swift floodwaters and used helicopters to pluck stranded people from rooftops in northeast Australia on Tuesday after torrential rains flooded thousands of homes and businesses, killed four and forced thousands to huddle in shelters.Floodwaters peaked in most of the worst-hit areas by evening. Some communities that were initially expected to be inundated appeared to have escaped major damage, with levees holding back the muddy water in one city that was in the high
Wash. man allegedly hogtied girl, 4

Jan 29, 2013

A Washington state man allegedly tied up his step-daughter and shot her with a BB gun more than 30 times, police said.The young girl's grandmother initially thought she might have chicken pox because of the red dots covering her body, but the girl said her stepfather, Stetson Tedder, 26, had hog-tied her and shot her with an airsoft gun as a form of punishment, The (Everett) Herald said. A hospital nurse counted 36 wounds on the girl's body.The airsoft gun Tedder allegedly used is designed to st
Researchers find people are born leaders

Jan 29, 2013

British researchers say they‘ve found it’s at least partially true some people are born leaders, thanks to a specific DNA sequence. Dr. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve of the University College London School of Public Policy, who led an international team at Harvard, New York University and the University of California, said about a quarter of the observed variation in leadership behavior between individuals can be explained by genes. “We have identified a genotype, called rs4950, which appears to be assoc
U.S. military plans drone base near Mali: official

Jan 29, 2013

The U.S. military plans to set up a base for drones in northwest Africa to bolster surveillance of al-Qaida's affiliate in the region and allied Islamist extremists, a U.S. official told AFP on Monday.The base for the robotic, unmanned aircraft would likely be located in Niger, on the eastern border of Mali, where French forces are currently waging a campaign against al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.The base was first reported by the
Dutch Queen Beatrix abdicating, son will be king

Jan 29, 2013

The Netherlands’ Queen Beatrix announced Monday that she is ending her reign after 33 years and passing the crown to her eldest son, who has long been groomed to be king but who will have to work hard to match his mother’s popularity.The widely expected abdication comes at a time of debate over the future of the largely ceremonial Dutch monarchy, but also as calm has descended upon the Netherlands after a decade of turmoil that saw Beatrix act as the glue that held together an increasingly divid
Obama praises Clinton as she prepares to leave

Jan 28, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama praised outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as one of his closest advisers and said their shared vision for America's role in the world persuaded his one-time rival -- and potential successor -- to be his top diplomat while he dealt with the shattered economy at home.During a joint interview that aired Sunday, Obama and Clinton stoked speculation that Obama may prefer Clinton to succeed him in the White House after the 2016 elections. Clin
Japan Atomic's Tsuruga nuclear plant may be on active fault

Jan 28, 2013

An earthquake fault line under Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tsuruga nuclear plant may be active, a report commissioned by the Nuclear Regulation Authority concluded, raising the likelihood it will be permanently shut.The Tsuruga atomic station is one of six nuclear plants being investigated for active fault lines as part of a safety overhaul following the Fukushima disaster. Laws in Japan, which experiences about 10 percent of the world's earthquakes, prohibit building reactors on active faults.Whil
Bo trial not until March: China state media

Jan 28, 2013

BEIJING (AFP) -- Disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai will not stand trial until March at the earliest, state media said Monday, as dozens of journalists descended on a court rumoured to be hearing his case this week.Speculation mounted last Friday that details of the biggest scandal to hit the ruling Communist Party in decades would be heard on Monday at a court in the southwestern city of Guiyang, after a report in a Hong Kong newspaper.But the state-run Global Times newspaper, citing "a sour
Clashes in Egypt despite state of emergency

Jan 28, 2013

CAIRO (AP) -- Riot police fired tear gas at rock-throwing protesters in central Cairo on Monday as clashes continued a day after Egypt's president declared a state of emergency in three provinces and vowed to deal "firmly and forcefully" with a wave of political violence roiling the country.The violence, which began around Friday's second anniversary of the uprising that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak, has plunged Egypt once again into political turmoil and exposed the deep fault lines run
Iran says it sent monkey into space successfully

Jan 28, 2013

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran said Monday it has successfully sent a monkey into space, describing the launch as another step toward Tehran's goal of a manned space flight.According to a brief report on state TV, the rocket dubbed Pishgam, or Pioneer in Farsi, reached a height of 120 kilometers. The report gave no other details on the timing or location of the launch, but said the monkey returned to earth safely.Iran has long said it seeks to send an astronaut into space as part of its ambitious aer
Taiwan billionaire launches Asian 'Nobel prize'

Jan 28, 2013

TAIPEI (AFP) -- One of Taiwan's richest men on Monday launched what has been widely touted as the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize, and it is even more lucrative than the famed Swedish award.Samuel Yin, head of the sprawling Ruentex business empire which has invested heavily in China, said that by donating Tw$3 billion ($101 million) for the Tang Prize he had fulfilled one of his biggest dreams."I hope that the prize will encourage more research that is beneficial to the world and humankind,
French-led troops ring Timbuktu, Islamists burn manuscripts

Jan 28, 2013

BAMAKO (AFP) -- French-led troops ringed Mali's fabled desert city of Timbuktu Monday after seizing its airport in a lightning advance as fleeing Islamists torched a building housing priceless ancient manuscripts.French paratroopers swooped in to try to block fleeing hardliners as ground troops coming from the south seized the airport in the ancient city which has been one of the bastions of the extremists controlling the north for 10 months."We control the airport at Timbuktu," a senior officer
Israel warns of attack on Syrian chemical weapons

Jan 28, 2013

JERUSALEM (AP) ― Israel could launch a pre-emptive strike to stop Syria’s chemical weapons from reaching Lebanon’s Hezbollah or al-Qaida inspired groups, officials said Sunday.The warning came as the military moved a rocket defense system to a main northern city, and Israel’s premier warned of dangers from both Syria and Iran.Israel has long expressed concerns that Syrian President Bashar Assad, clinging to power during a 22-month civil war, could lose control over his chemical weapons.Vice Prim