President-elect Donald Trump said Sunday that he had ``made a couple of deals‘’ after spending the weekend meeting with a long list of potential administration appointees, but he did not reveal any more picks. Trump and the vice president-elect, Mike Pence, did drop some hints. Pence said that Mitt Romney was ``under active and serious consideration‘’ to become the nation‘s next secretary of state. Trump said retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis was an ``impressive’‘ prospect for defense secre

President-elect Donald Trump has picked Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general and Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo to head the CIA, signaling a sharp rightward shift in US security policy as he begins to form his Cabinet. Trump on Friday also named retired Lt. Gen Michael Flynn as his national security adviser. A former military intelligence chief, Flynn has accused the Obama administration of being too soft on terrorism and has cast Islam as a “political ideology” and driver of extremism.The s

One man’s tireless crusade for fine Korean cuisine earns his restaurants Michelin stars

The shock election of Donald Trump as US president has forced greater responsibility for defending Western values and interests onto German Chancellor Angela Merkel‘s shoulders, analysts say, with some even crowning her the new “leader of the free world.”While the last decade has been defined by Britain, France, Germany and the US showing a largely united front on issues ranging from NATO affairs to defense of basic freedoms, the coming four years may present a more fragmented picture.During his

Rudy Giuliani guided New York through its darkest days after 9/11 as the Big Apple’s mayor with his signature tough-guy style, but he has not held office in 15 years. Now, the man once known as “America’s Mayor” is reportedly atop the list of hopefuls to be the country’s next secretary of state, in what would be a stunning political comeback to reward his loyalty to Donald Trump during a brutal presidential campaign.The 72-year-old Giuliani’s resolve during the aftermath of the worst terror stri

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong surprised the market by acquiring Harman International Industries for $8 billion in cash Monday, pushing forward the tech giant’s ambitions in the connected car business.The deal, which came less than a month after his boardroom debut, appears to be carried out under Lee’s vision of turning Samsung’s focus from the declining smartphone business to high-value added future businesses such as auto components and biopharmaceuticals. Lee Jae-yongThe acqu

In the year of the outsider, Reince Priebus was the face of the Republican establishment.Yet the Republican National Committee chairman would come to earn the trust and confidence of President-elect Donald Trump, who on Sunday named Priebus as his chief of staff, along with flame-throwing media executive Stephen Bannon as his chief strategist.The position puts Priebus at the power center of the new Trump administration. The 44-year-old Wisconsin political operative will help guard access to the

Tens of thousands of people marched in streets across the United States on Saturday, staging the fourth day of protests of Donald Trump‘s surprise victory as president. The protests -- held in big cities like New York and Chicago as well as smaller ones, such as Indianapolis, Indiana, Worcester, Massachusetts, and Iowa City, Iowa -- were largely peaceful Saturday.Protesters rallied at New York’s Union Square before taking their cause up Fifth Avenue toward Trump Tower, where they were held back

It was meant to be a day of celebration. Instead, Hillary Clinton brought down the curtain on her historic run for the White House -- the likely coda to a decadeslong career in the public eye.The former first lady, senator and secretary of state had hoped Tuesday would catapult her to the Oval Office, capping a lifetime of public service. Instead, Republican rival Donald Trump pulled off a political upset for the ages.The 69-year-old Clinton -- so close to breaking through the glass ceiling and

Impulsive, immoderate and politically untested, Donald Trump did not exactly seem to fit the profile of a candidate for the most powerful job in the world. But with his boundless energy and outsized ego, the 70-year-old billionaire Republican defied all predictions, defeating the far more experienced Hillary Clinton to win the White House.  (AP-Yonhap)On Tuesday, Trump had promised a "Brexit plus plus plus" and voters gave it to him, denying Clinton her place in history as the first woman presid

At the center of the spiraling influence-peddling scandal engulfing South Korea is Cha Eun-taek, who has been dubbed “crown prince” in the local culture scene for wielding great influence over various state-led cultural projects.Cha, who was arrested upon his return to Korea from China late Tuesday night, is believed to be a core member of the Choi Soon-sil’s clique attending a secretive meeting to discuss state affairs. His professor and uncle served President Park Geun-hye as culture minister

South Korea prosecutors raided the headquarters of Samsung Group on Tuesday to investigate the extent to which the conglomerate was implicated in a political scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil.  Around 20 investigators searched the office of Park Sang-jin, who is chief of Samsung Electronics and chairman of the Korea Equestrian Federation, and the offices of other executives located in the company’s Seocho office building that is the group’s headquart

While the prosecution’s investigation is still in progress over the Choi Soon-sil scandal, the general perception is that President Park Geun-hye’s confidante would never have retained a grip on state affairs, if not for active assistance from inside Cheong Wa Dae.At the very heart of such suspicions is the president’s personal secretary office, a now-defunct branch which allegedly functioned as an undercover task force for the “shadow broker” Choi.When President Park announced a partial reshuff

Families and youths took center stage at the massive anti-President Park Geun-hye rally at the heart of Seoul on Saturday, signaling continuing public anger over a scandal involving Park’s confidante Choi Soon-sil. Middle school, high school and university students -- some of them in school uniform -- took to the streets, vowing to “save” democracy. “I am mad that an unelected individual ruled the country behind the scenes. It is a regression of the democracy that we have learned,” said Cho Ji-h

North Korean Human Rights International Film Fest boosted by films shot by foreign directors in North Korea, says director Lee Min-yong