The Korea Herald

China's communist party organ selects top 10 news stories of 2012

Dec 30, 2012

China’s communist party organ People‘s Daily said Saturday it has selected the top 10 news stories of 2012, ranking the country’s strengthening of its claim to territorial waters as No. 1 on the list.The Chinese state-run newspaper said in an editorial that this year‘s most important news was that China has increased the management of its waters and islands, including the Diaoyu Islands.The islands are also claimed by Japan, which calls them Senkaku.“China has successively completed all legal pr
Gang-rape victim's body back home in grief-stricken India

Dec 30, 2012

The body of a gang-rape victim arrived back in New Delhi on Sunday after her death from sickening injuries in a Singapore hospital as India was engulfed by a mass outpouring of grief and anger.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was at Indira Gandhi International Airport for the arrival of the specially-chartered plane when it touched down at around 4:15 a.m., according to security sources and an AFP journalist at the scene.A convoy carrying the gold-colored coffin and the victim’s parents then drove
Putin signs anti-US adoptions bill

Dec 28, 2012

President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a bill banning Americans from adopting Russian children, making the legislation official less than 24 hours after his office received it from Parliament.The bill has angered Americans and Russians who argue it victimizes children to make a political point, cutting off a route out of frequently dismal orphanages for thousands of children. The Russian-language hashtag ``PutinEatsKids'' was trending on Twitter just minutes after Putin signed it.UNICEF estim
Sandy Hook shooter‘s DNA examined

Dec 28, 2012

Geneticists are examining Adam Lanza‘s DNA but experts say it is unlikely the analysis will help explain why he went on a mass killing rampage in Newtown, Conn.University of Connecticut Health Center spokeswoman Carolyn Pennington Thursday confirmed Lanza’s DNA was being tested at the request of the state medical examiner‘s office, CNN reported.Pennington said the examination isn’t intended to identify a specific genetic marker. Results are expected “probably the end of January,” she said.Lanza
Woman set on fire in LA as she sleeps on bench

Dec 28, 2012

For more than 10 years, the homeless woman slept on the same plastic bus stop bench at a busy intersection in the San Fernando Valley, no matter how cold it was or if it was raining.The 67-year-old, described by one church volunteer who saw her regularly as the ``sweetest lady on the street,‘’ was nestled in her regular spot early Thursday when the unthinkable happened: A man came out of a nearby drug store, doused her with a flammable liquid and set her ablaze.She was taken to a hospital, where
Documents show Jimmy Savile‘s access to Thatcher

Dec 28, 2012

Classified documents being made public Friday detail how now-disgraced BBC entertainer Jimmy Savile was comfortable at the heart of the British government during his heyday in the 1980s, lunching with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at her country home, sending her jokey thank-you notes and lobbying for tax breaks and contributions for his charitable works.The papers include an unnerving handwritten note from Savile to Thatcher in which he claims that his "girl patients" are pretending to be je
Obama, congressional leaders to meet

Dec 28, 2012

U.S. President Obama will meet with leaders of Congress to try to avert tax hikes and spending cuts set to take effect next week, a White House official said.Citing an administration official it did not identify, Politico reported Thursday the White House meeting has been set for Friday.The report came as House Republicans said they will call the House back into session Sunday to deal with the so-called fiscal cliff, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., took to the Senate floor to accu
Antarctic science drill project called off

Dec 28, 2012

British scientists say they‘ve abandoned an attempt to drill through 1.8 miles of Antarctic ice to a lake sealed off for thousands of years.The British Antarctic Survey project had intended drill through the ice using near-boiling water to reach the lake, believed to have been sealed off from contact with the surface for as much as half a million years.Scientists say they had to call off the attempt after failing to connect the main borehole with a parallel hole intended to recover the hot drill
Tokyo Electric sued by eight U.S. sailors exposed to radiation leak

Dec 27, 2012

Tokyo Electric Power Co., owner of the power plant which had the world’s biggest nuclear disaster since 1986, was sued by eight U.S. sailors claiming they were exposed to radiation and the utility lied about the dangers. The sailors aboard the USS Ronald Reagan nuclear-powered aircraft carrier were involved in disaster relief operations following the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan that caused the meltdown, according to the complaint filed in U.S. federal court in San
Japan's new govt to review zero-nuclear policy

Dec 27, 2012

Japan's new leaders set to work Thursday on dismantling plans to rid the country of nuclear power by 2040, pledging to review a post-Fukushima policy.The pro-business Liberal Democratic Party-led government also said they would give the green light to any reactors deemed safe by regulators, indicating shuttered power stations could start coming back online."We need to reconsider the previous administration's policy that aimed to make zero nuclear power operation possible during the 2030s," Toshi
France says will not intervene in C. Africa's conflict

Dec 27, 2012

President Francois Hollande said on Thursday that French troops would not interfere in the internal affairs of its former colony the Central African Republic, where rebels have seized a large chunk of territory in recent weeks."If we are present, it is not to protect a regime, it is to protect our nationals and our interests, and in no way to intervene in the internal affairs of a country, in this case Central Africa," he said. "Those days are gone."His comments came a day after hundreds of prot
Iraq: New large demonstrations break out in Sunni stronghold

Dec 27, 2012

RAMADI, Iraq (AP) ― Large, noisy demonstrations against Iraq’s government flared for the third time in less than a week Wednesday in Iraq’s western Anbar province, raising the prospect of a fresh bout of unrest in a onetime al-Qaida stronghold on Syria’s doorstep. The rallies find echoes in the Arab Spring. Protesters chanted “the people want the downfall of the regime,” a slogan that has rippled across the region and was fulfilled in Tunisia and Egypt. Other rallying cries blasted Prime Ministe
Egypt’s Morsi: Constitution dawn of a new republic

Dec 27, 2012

CAIRO (AP) ― Egypt’s Islamist president proclaimed the country’s newly adopted constitution as the dawning of a “new republic” in a television address Wednesday, calling on the opposition to join a dialogue with him after a month of violent turmoil and focus on repairing a damaged economy.Mohammed Morsi sought to present the Islamist-drafter charter as the turning of a historic page for Egypt, but his speech did little to ease the suspicions of those who fear he and his Muslim Brotherhood are en
U.S. newspaper’s handgun permit map draws criticism

Dec 27, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) ― A newspaper’s publication of the names and addresses of handgun permit holders in two New York counties has sparked online discussions ― and a healthy dose of outrage.The Journal News, a Gannett Co. newspaper covering three counties in the Hudson Valley north of New York City and operating the website lohud.com, posted a story Sunday detailing a public-records request it filed to obtain the information.The 1,800-word story headlined, “The gun owner next door: What you don’t know
Syrian minister leaves Beirut for fear of arrest

Dec 27, 2012

BEIRUT (AP) ― Syria’s wounded interior minister cut short his treatment at a Beirut hospital Wednesday and returned home for fear of being arrested by Lebanese authorities, while Syria’s chief of military police defected to the opposition, becoming one of the highest-ranking officers to switch sides.The twin developments reflected the deepening isolation of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government, which has suffered a number of setbacks on the battlefield as well.In the latest challenge, rebe