The Korea Herald

Syrian rebels power tank with Playstation

Dec 11, 2012

Without the advantage of a well-financed and equipped national military, Syrian rebel fighters have turned to their own ingenuity to level the playing field in the fight against Bashar al-Assad‘s regime.To counter the government tanks, rebels have built and deployed the “Sham II,” a homemade armored vehicle, run, unbelievably, by Playstation technology.The rebels brag that the “Sham II,” named after ancient Syria, is “100 percent made in Syria.” From the outside, the vehicle looks like a rough a
Mali's P.M. resigns after being arrested by junta

Dec 11, 2012

Soldiers arrested Mali's prime minister and forced him to resign before dawn on Tuesday, showing that the military remains the real power in this troubled West African nation despite handing back authority to civilians after a coup in March.The prime minister's ouster comes as the United Nations considers backing a military intervention in Mali, a once-stable country now in constant turmoil. By late Tuesday, a new prime minister had been named, but the developments drew international rebuke and
Maid settlement latest humiliation for fallen Strauss-Kahn

Dec 11, 2012

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was widely seen as the frontrunner to win the French presidency, until a New York hotel maid accused him of a sickening sexual assault.The 63-year-old economist agreed to pay his accuser damages on Monday, in a confidential settlement to her civil case against him, but their six-minute May 2011 encounter had already brought an end to his lofty ambitions.Before his fall DSK, as he is known in France, had been one of the world's most prominent public figures
Germany expels four Syrian embassy staff: ministry

Dec 10, 2012

Germany on Monday expelled four employees of the Syrian embassy in Berlin, the foreign minister said, as part of moves to sharply curb ties to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad."We are sending a clear message with the expulsion of four Syrian embassy staff that we are reducing relations with the Assad regime to an absolute minimum," Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in a statement."We are counting on the (opposition) national coalition growing more stable and developing as soo
Mandela to undergo further tests Monday: S. Africa government

Dec 10, 2012

Nelson Mandela is set to undergo additional medical tests on Monday, the South African government announced."Mandela had a good night's rest. The doctors will still conduct further tests today," a statement from President Jacob Zuma's office said, without specifying the procedures.Zuma's spokesman Mac Maharaj could not say if the ailing 94-year-old Mandela would spend a third night in hospital since being airlifted to a Pretoria hospital at the weekend."That (decision) is still in the hands of t
Romania’s ruling coalition wins landslide victory: exit polls

Dec 10, 2012

BUCHAREST (AFP) ― Romania’s center-left governing coalition won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections Sunday, exit polls showed, dealing a severe blow to its arch-rival, centre-right President Traian Basescu.Prime Minister Victor Ponta said he was ready to lead the next government of the EU newest member-State.The Social-Liberal Union headed by Ponta, in power since May, took 57 percent of the ballot, exit polls broadcast by several televisions showed.The Right Romania Alliance, which c
Syria’s civil war spills into Lebanon

Dec 10, 2012

BEIRUT (AP) ― Syria’s civil war spilled over into neighboring Lebanon once again on Sunday, with gun battles in the northern city of Tripoli between supporters and opponents of President Bashar Assad’s regime that left four dead.Nine Syrian judges and prosecutors also defected to the opposition. It was the latest setback for the regime, which appears increasingly embattled with rebels making gains in northern Syria and near Damascus, the capital.The defecting judges posted a joint statement onli
Psy, Samsung push ‘brand Korea’ in 2012

Dec 10, 2012

A breakthrough year for “brand Korea” ― led by the rapper Psy and electronics giant Samsung ― has boosted efforts to promote a country that still feels overshadowed, under-appreciated and misunderstood.While some may question the benefit of a chubby thirty-something and his horse-riding dance becoming your best-known cultural export, the phenomenal success of Psy’s “Gangnam Style” undoubtedly raised the national profile.Name-checked and imitated by everyone from U.S. President Barack Obama, to C
Chinese police accuse monk of inciting immolations

Dec 10, 2012

Police detained a monk and his nephew in China‘s Sichuan province and accused them of instigating the self-immolations of eight ethnic Tibetans on the instructions of the Dalai Lama and his followers, state media said.The report in the official Xinhua News Agency did not detail what evidence police had of the exiled Buddhist spiritual leader’s involvement _ which was denied by the self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile in northern India.The report Sunday cited a police statement as saying tha
Egypt opposition urges more protests

Dec 10, 2012

Egypt's opposition said Sunday it will keep up protests against a referendum on a disputed draft constitution but stopped short of advocating either a boycott or a ``no'' vote less than a week before the ballot.The opposition was still pushing for Islamist President Mohammed Morsi to cancel the Dec. 15 referendum, saying they reject the process entirely and refuse to call it legitimate.The referendum over a disputed draft constitution has deeply polarized Egypt and sparked some of the bloodiest
Ghana's president declared election winner

Dec 10, 2012

President John Dramani Mahama was declared the winner Sunday of Ghana's recent presidential election, according to provisional results, despite widespread technical glitches with the machines used to identify voters, and over the protest of the country's opposition, which alleges vote-rigging. Armored tanks surrounded Ghana's electoral commission and police barricaded the road around the electoral offices as the election body's chairman Kwadwo Afari-Gyan announced that Mahama had polled 5.5 mill
Morsi backs down in Egypt crisis

Dec 9, 2012

CAIRO (AFP) ― Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi backed down Saturday in a political crisis marked by weeks of street protests, after the powerful army gave an ultimatum to him and the opposition to hold talks.But the initial signs were that his concession would not satisfy an increasingly fierce opposition.The Islamist leader annulled a controversial decree issued last month that put his decisions beyond judicial review ― a move denounced as a dictatorial “power grab” by the opposition, but one w
Climate pact injects symbolic life into Kyoto

Dec 9, 2012

DOHA (AFP) ― A U.N. climate conference on Saturday extended the life of the Kyoto Protocol, the only binding pact on curbing greenhouse gas emissions, in a small but symbolic victory in the fight against global warming.It took much haggling and many hours of lost sleep in the Qatari capital to arrive at the deal on interim measures to halt climate change pending a new, global pact due to take effect in 2020.An extension of Kyoto was finally approved with the 27-member European Union, Australia,
Syrian rebels get new leadership in bid to unite

Dec 9, 2012

BEIRUT (AP) ― Rebel commanders from across Syria have joined forces under a united command they hope will increase coordination between diverse fighting groups and streamline the pathway for arms essential to their struggle against President Bashar Assad.While many of the brigades involved in the fighting are decidedly Islamist in outlook and some have boasted about executing captured soldiers, two of the most extreme groups fighting in Syria were not invited to the rebel meeting in Turkey or in
Hamas leader calls for ‘all Palestine,’ national unity

Dec 9, 2012

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) ― Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal on Saturday rejected ceding “an inch” of Palestinian territory to Israel or recognizing the Jewish state, in a speech in Gaza marking the 25th anniversary of the Islamist group’s founding.“Palestine is our land and nation from the (Mediterranean) Sea to the (Jordan) River, from north to south, and we cannot cede an inch or any part of it,” he said of the borders currently held by Israel and the Palestinian Authority,