The Korea Herald

Greek PM cannot attend EU summit due to surgery

Jun 24, 2012

ATHENS (AP) -- Greece's new Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will not be well enough to travel to a critical European Union summit in Brussels after undergoing an eye operation, the government said Sunday.Samaras, 61, underwent surgery for a detached retina Saturday, just three days after being sworn in at the head of a three-party coalition government formed after two inconclusive general elections
Rio+20 adopts sustainable development blueprint

Jun 24, 2012

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) ― World leaders on Friday endorsed a statement on fighting poverty and environmental woes at the close of a three-day summit.The 53-page document, titled “The Future We Want,” aims at laying the groundwork for a green economy and calls for “Sustainable Development Goals” to replace the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals from 2015. It voices dismay that more than a billion people live in extreme poverty on a planet strained by ecological overload, and outlines a plan for a c
Double leg amputee from Canada scales Kilimanjaro

Jun 24, 2012

MONTREAL (AFP) ― A double leg amputee has pulled himself up Africa’s highest mountain, disproving doctors who said he would never be a functioning member of society.”Spencer West, 31, lost his legs as a child after a genetic disorder ― sacral agenesis ― paralyzed the lower half of his body.But he didn’t let that stop him: the resident of the Canadian city of Toronto arrived at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, some 6,000 meters above sea level, on Tuesday, calling it an incredible personal feat.“
Hamas threatens to escalate armed attacks on Israel

Jun 24, 2012

JERUSALEM (AP) ― Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers threatened to escalate fighting with Israel on Saturday after airstrikes killed several gunmen in the coastal territory, and Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel wounded one person and damaged an elementary school in the country’s south.The two sides periodically clash, but this flare-up was the most serious in months. It started with an attack by a little known al-Qaida-inspired Palestinian militant group but has extended to drag in Hamas.Hamas has
Syria forms new government

Jun 24, 2012

BEIRUT (AP) ― Syrian President Bashar Assad issued a decree forming a new government Saturday, but it will be headed by a key loyalist and the foreign, defense and interior ministers kept their jobs.The move comes as fears mounted that the conflict was aggravating regional tensions. Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Saturday his country would take ``necessary’’ action against Syria after Syrian forces shot down a Turkish military plane.Syria’s new government is headed by Riad Farid Hijab, a fo
Tensions soar ahead of Egypt poll result

Jun 24, 2012

CAIRO (AFP) ― Tensions soared in Egypt on Saturday a day before the result of a divisive presidential election and as the Muslim Brotherhood sparred with the ruling generals over what it sees as a military power grab.The electoral commission overseeing the divisive contest between Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi and former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq said it will announce the official winner on Sunday.“Faruk Sultan, the head of the presidential election commission, will announce the results
China in first manual space docking: Xinhua

Jun 24, 2012

BEIJING (AFP) ― A Chinese spacecraft on Sunday successfully completed the country’s first manual docking in orbit, the official Xinhua news agency said, a milestone in an ambitious program to build a space station.The Shenzhou-9 spacecraft manually linked with the Tiangong-1 module just over a week into a manned space mission which includes China’s first female astronaut, following an automatic docking on Monday.“The first manual docking has been completed normally,” mission control announced in
Bolivian police mutiny over pay widens

Jun 24, 2012

LA PAZ (AFP) ― Bolivia’s military ordered troops into the streets of major cities Saturday following a police mutiny that the government said appeared to be setting the stage for a coup attempt.Communications Minister Amanda Davila said the striking police were stockpiling weapons and pressuring other units to turn over their arms, calling it a “coup scenario.”“Press reports and intelligence reports are now saying that a coup scenario is taking shape,” she said in an interview with Erbol radio,
Prince William set for Diana inheritance on 30th birthday

Jun 24, 2012

Britain's Prince William celebrates his 30th birthday on Thursday, triggering a clause in his late mother Diana's will which could see him receive a 10 million pounds inheritance.The late Princess of Wales left the bulk of her estate to sons William and Harry, who were aged 15 and 12 when she died in 1997, but the executors ruled that the inheritances should not be handed over until both turned 30
400-pound woman arrested for nudity

Jun 24, 2012

Police in Florida said they arrested a 400-pound woman who was spotted sitting nude on a bench at a bus stop.Fort Lauderdale police said Patricia McCollum, 52, was spotted by officers sitting nude on the bus bench Wednesday and was arrested on a charge of exposure of sexual organs in public, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Friday.McCollum said during a court appearance Thursday she is curr
Former VP Cheney's daughter marries partner

Jun 24, 2012

Mary Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has married her longtime partner, Heather Poe.In a statement, Cheney and his wife, Lynne, said the couple got married in Washington on Friday. The Cheneys said the two had been in a committed relationship for many years and they were delighted that they could take advantage of the ``opportunity to have the relationship recognized.'' The
Ex football coach convicted in U.S. sex abuse case

Jun 23, 2012

Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky leaves the Centre County Courthouse with a Centre County Sheriff`s deputy after being found guilty of multiple charges of child sexual abuse in Bellefonte, Pa., Friday, June 22, 2012. (AP-Yonhap News)BELLEFONTE, Pennsylvania (AP) _ Jerry Sandusky, a top coach in one of America's prominent college football programs, was convicted
Paraguay's president ousted in impeachment trial

Jun 23, 2012

Paraguay`s former President Fernando Lugo addresses the nation after the Senate voted to remove him from office in an impeachment trial at the presidential palace in Asuncion, Paraguay, Friday, June 22, 2012. Lugo said he would leave office even though he considered his ouster by Friday`s Senate vote a blow to democracy. (AP-Yonhap News)ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) _ Paraguay's Senate removed President
Paraguay president impeached, faces trial

Jun 22, 2012

ASUNCION (AP) ― Paraguayan lawmakers voted to impeach President Fernando Lugo for his role in a deadly clash involving landless farmers and announced that the former Roman Catholic bishop’s trial would begin on Friday in the Senate. Lugo, who was elected four years ago on promises that he would help the South American country’s poor, went on national television to dismiss rumors that he would resign and vowed to face the trial “with all its consequences.” The lower house voted 76-1 on Thursday t
Standoff at Afghan hotel ends with 17 people killed

Jun 22, 2012

KABUL (AP) ― An Afghan security official says Taliban insurgents have killed 17 people ― most of them civilians ― in an attack on a lakeside hotel just north of Kabul. The attack set off an hours-long gunbattle with Afghan forces. The Kabul police department says the fifth and final attacker was killed about midday Friday and that the standoff is over. Afghan army commander Gen. Kadam Shah Shayem says the dead include 12 civilians, four security guards and a police officer. Shayem is the army co