The Korea Herald

Speedo-wearing police officer reinstated

Jun 22, 2012

A Utah police officer who was fired after attending a high school party in a skimpy Speedo bathing suit will be reinstated, officials ruled.The Provo Civil Service Commission said Wednesday it has decided to reverse the May 10 firing of Provo police school resource officer Cody Harris, who was let go after showing up to a "Princess and the Frog" themed birthday party at Provo High School in a gree
Life sentence for online pedophile

Jun 22, 2012

A former Dacula, Ga., church mentor was sentenced to life in prison for impersonating a teen girl to lure young boys into having sex with him.Atoine Johnson, 29, confessed to creating the MySpace persona of 14-year-old Kristen from Texas. He stole the photos from other MySpace accounts and used the false identity to gain the trust of teenaged boys, typically outcasts or loners. When the time was right, Johnson would convince them to rendezvous with him for sex, saying that if they did, they woul
Boat with 200 aboard capsizes off Indonesia, scores feared dead

Jun 21, 2012

A boat carrying about 200 people capsized south of Indonesia and scores were feared drowned Thursday in an apparent attempt to reach Australia to seek asylum. Indonesian and Australian navies launched efforts to rescue survivors.Australian Broadcasting Corp. cited the Australian Maritime Safety Authority as reporting that an Australian navy ship and a cargo ship had rescued 73 survivors. The autho
Greece unveils new coalition as bailout battle lies in wait

Jun 21, 2012

ATHENS (AFP) ― Conservative leader Antonis Samaras was sworn in Wednesday as the prime minister of a new Greek coalition, as he took up the challenge of trying to revise the terms an unpopular EU-IMF bailout deal. “With God’s help we will do everything we can to take the country out of the crisis,” the 61-year-old former foreign minister told reporters after a formal ceremony at the presidential palace that ended two months of political deadlock. Samaras warned Greece was in a “critical” situati
Suu Kyi finally gets honorary doctorate

Jun 21, 2012

OXFORD, England (AP) ― It was a long wait, but Aung San Suu Kyi has finally received her honorary degree from Oxford University.In a speech, Suu Kyi praised the role Oxford played in helping her see humankind at its best during her long years under house arrest in Myanmar.“The most important thing that I learned was respect for all of civilization,” she said, wearing a traditional red academic gown and black hat. “In Oxford I learned to respect all that is best in human civilization. That helped
Jolie donates $100,000 to Syrian refugees

Jun 21, 2012

GENEVA (AFP) ― Hollywood star Angelina Jolie has donated $100,000 to aid Syrian refugees, the United Nations refugee agency said on Wednesday.The Oscar-winning actress is a special envoy of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and made the donation on World Refugee Day.In a statement marking the occasion Jolie said the solutions to the world’s growing number of displaced people were political as well as humanitarian.“The international community should rededicate itself to preventing conflict,
Pakistan president nominates textiles minister for P.M.

Jun 21, 2012

ISLAMABAD (AFP) ― Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari has nominated textile industry minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin as the new prime minister, state television reported on Thursday.Zardari had been locked in crisis talks with allies to select a consensus candidate to take on the premiership after the Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed Yousuf Raza Gilani for contempt.“President Asif Ali Zardari, who is also the co-chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party, has nominated Makhdoom Shahabuddin as a candid
3 U.S. soldiers, 18 Afghans killed in suicide attack

Jun 21, 2012

KABUL (AP) ― A suicide bomber killed 21 people including three U.S. soldiers at a checkpoint in a packed market in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday ― the third assault targeting Americans in as many days.The daily violence is threatening to undermine international hopes of an orderly handover to Afghan forces at the end of 2014. Although American officials stress successes in establishing pockets of governance in some areas, the east and south continue to be plagued by regular attacks and clashe
Iran enriching uranium at fast pace despite Stuxnet: experts

Jun 21, 2012

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Iran’s uranium enrichment effort has picked up speed in the past three years and has not been crippled by cyber sabotage from the Stuxnet virus, experts told U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday.As a result, Iran could produce enough fissile material needed for a nuclear weapon within four months, if the leadership decided to go ahead, the experts told the House Armed Services Committee.Based on the findings of the International Atomic Energy Agency, “it’s clear that Iran could produce
Ex-Romania P.M. shoots self after court’s sentence

Jun 21, 2012

BUCHAREST (AP) ― A Romanian ex-prime minister shot and wounded himself Wednesday in an apparent suicide attempt, hours after the country’s highest court ruled that he must serve a two-year prison sentence on corruption charges, the country’s current premier said. Media reports said he had shot himself in the neck.Former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase would be Romania’s most senior politician to serve time in prison since the 1989 fall of communism. He had appealed a March 30 court ruling that sen
Poll finds Obama takes significant lead over Romney

Jun 21, 2012

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― U.S. President Barack Obama has opened up a double-digit lead over Mitt Romney in a national poll released Wednesday, even as a majority of respondents say the country is on the wrong track.Most surveys in recent weeks suggest a tight race for the White House culminating in the November election, but the new Bloomberg National Poll has Obama leading his Republican challenger 53-40 percent among likely voters.And while the public gives the incumbent low marks on handling the ec
Rio+20 summit begins under criticism

Jun 21, 2012

World leaders gathered in Rio on Wednesday weighed steps to root out poverty and protect the environment as U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon warned that “time is not on our side” for fixing a mounting list of problems.Ban formally opened the Rio+20 summit on sustainable development which brings together 191 U.N. members, including 86 presidents and heads of government.The high-profile event comes 20 years after Rio’s first Earth Summit when nations vowed to roll back climate change, desertification and sp
U.K. actor killed by fiancees boyfriend

Jun 21, 2012

An actor who had appeared on a British TV show “Doctor Who” was beaten to death after becoming embroiled in a love triangle.Gary Suller, 45, who appeared on the TV drama, was killed by Barry Bowyer. The tragic incident happened after 27-year-old Katie Gilmore, who is Bowyer’s girlfriend, accepted Suller's proposal of marriage. “They were both in love with the same woman,” said prosecutor Peter Davis.Bowyer hated Suller because he was afraid of losing his girlfriend, according to court documents.
2 Russian professors convicted of spying for China

Jun 21, 2012

A Russian court on Wednesday convicted two professors of a St. Petersburg university of handing over missile secrets to China, the latest in a string of espionage cases that reflected underlying tensions between Moscow and Beijing despite declarations of cooperation and friendship.The St. Petersburg City Court found Yevgeny Afanasyev and Svyatoslav Bobyshev guilty of treason and sentenced them to 12 { and 12 years in prison respectively, according to the Interfax news agency.The two professors o
Officials delay announcing Egypt election winner

Jun 21, 2012

Officials postponed declaring a winner in Egypt's disputed election on Wednesday, sending political tensions soaring as the country awaited its first new president in three decades.Adding to the confusion and uncertainty were reports about the health of Hosni Mubarak, who is serving a life sentence for failing to stop the killing of protesters in the uprising that ousted him last year. At one poin