Samsung Electronics on Wednesday hinted that it might file a counter-suit against Huawei, which has sued the Korean company in the U.S. and China for infringing its technology patents. “We will take countermeasures, including a lawsuit (against Huawei),” Ahn Seong-ho, head of Samsung’s intellectual property division, told reporters after a weekly meeting of Samsung CEOs in Seoul. Samsung Group headquarters (Yonhap)His comment came after the Chinese equipment giant filed patent suits in Californi

Austria came close to becoming the first European Union country to elect a far-right head of state as postal ballots on Monday decided a knife-edge presidential vote in favour of the anti-immigration candidate‘s environmentalist opponent.The results were awaited nervously by governments across Europe, where populist anti-immigration parties have surged over the past year on concerns over a refugee influx, continued weak economic growth and high unemployment.After the election was too close to ca

British director Ken Loach won the Palme d’Or top prize at Cannes on Sunday for the second time in a decade with his moving drama “I, Daniel Blake” about the shame of poverty in austerity-hit Europe.　The award marked a major upset at the world’s top film festival in favor of the left-wing director, who turns 80 next month and is known for shining a light on the downtrodden.　He beat runaway favorites including the rapturously received German comedy “Toni Erdmann” by Maren Ade, one of three female

Taliban leader Mansour: man of war, not peace talksKABUL -- Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour, who according to U.S. officials was probably killed in a drone strike, took over as head of the insurgent movement last July following the revelation that the group‘s founder Mullah Omar had been dead for two years.He was initially thought to favor peace talks with the government, but after becoming leader he repeatedly refused to come to the negotiating table.For some Mansour was the obvious

Korea’s financial watchdog said Wednesday it is likely to report steel-making giant Dongbu Group founder and chairman Kim Jun-ki to the prosecution for insider trading charges.“The authorities have been looking into stock trading records of the tycoon to figure out whether he conducted unfair transactions based on insider information about faltering Dongbu Engineering & Construction,’’ an official from Financial Supervisory Service said, adding the case will be referred to the prosecution if the

Over the past decade, South Korea has faced ideological debates every May over the song “March for Our Beloved” -- whether it should be an official song during a ceremony to honor the victims of the pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju and whether it should be left up to the participants to sing-along.The dispute is likely to be repeated this year -- and perhaps even intensified -- in the run-up to the May 18 ceremony as the government on Monday rejected a call to designate the controversial song a

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced a sweeping crackdown Saturday under a new emergency decree, ordering the seizure of paralyzed factories, the arrest of their owners and military exercises to counter alleged foreign threats.The embattled leftist is struggling to contain a raging economic crisis that has led to food shortages, soaring prices, riots, looting and vigilante justice, pushing Venezuela to the brink of collapse.He accused the United States on Friday of destabilizing the cou

Dilma Rousseff survived torture as a guerrilla opposing Brazil’s military dictatorship. Four decades later, as president, she’s fighting for her political survival.After those dark days in the 1970s, when Rousseff belonged to a violent Marxist underground group, she rose to become Brazil’s first female president.Less than a year into her second term, though, she faces being suspended from office this week for an impeachment trial in the Senate on charges that her government took unauthorized loa

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Barack Obama will this month become the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, but the White House is scotching talk of an apology for the devastating 1945 nuclear bombing of the city.Obama, accompanied by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will make the deeply symbolic visit on May 27, after attending a G7 summit in south-central Japan, his spokesman Josh Earnest said Tuesday.The White House described the trip as an effort to highlight the U.S. “commitment to pursuing the

Incendiary Philippine politician Rodrigo Duterte vowed Tuesday a relentless crackdown on crime after securing a landslide presidential victory built on foul-mouthed populist tirades that exposed deep voter anger at the establishment. Mayor Rodrigo Duterte gestures during his news conference in Davao in the southern Philippines on Monday. (AP-Yonhap)The 71-year-old firebrand's main rivals conceded defeat after an unofficial tally showed Duterte had an insurmountable lead in Monday's election of 6

Tesla Motors Inc.'s Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk is known for making the future come early. And yet, somehow, he's always running behind schedule. Some would call this a failure of management. But it might just be a business strategy: call it the Musk Doctrine. It goes something like this: People only do paradigm-shifting work when they’re under tremendous pressure, so the key is to ensure deadlines are always impossible. This could help explain why Musk has never launched a product on time

Saudi Arabia replaced its veteran oil minister with a close ally of the king’s increasingly influential son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as the world’s largest crude exporter embarks on an economic overhaul designed to make it less reliant on energy.After more than two decades in the post, Ali Al-Naimi, who’s been the central player in scores of OPEC meetings and steered global crude markets through several boom-and-bust cycles, will be succeeded by Khalid Al-Falih, currently chairm

The massive wildfire in the heart of Canada's oil country is helping send crude prices higher.Benchmark U.S. crude rose 34 cents to $44.66 a barrel Friday in New York after earlier dropping by nearly 2 percent. Oil prices often spike when there is concern that production could be curtailed. A wildfire moves toward the town of Anzac on Wednesday, where was set up as an evacuation center for those ordered to leave Fort McMurray. (AP)Canada is the leading exporter of crude oil and natural gas to th

With the impending start of the new National Assembly session, political parties are counting on their newly elected floor leaders to join forces and add momentum to the long-stalled legislature.　The new whips -- Chung Jin-suk of the ruling Saenuri Party, Rep. Woo Sang-ho of The Minjoo Party of Korea and Rep. Park Jie-won of the People’s Party -- vowed to achieve “coordinated governance,” claiming that their professional and personal ties would be of help.From left: The Saenuri Party floor leade

Hyundai Heavy Industries is highly likely to push for massive layoffs amid a prolonged recession in the global shipbuilding sector and the government’s move to restructure the ailing industry. Over the past few weeks, the troubled world’s No. 1 shipbuilder is rumored to be planning an additional cut of 3,000 employees -- most likely from its production line -- in the form of voluntary retirement programs. The firm already cut around 60 executives in April and around 1,500 office workers last yea