MOSCOW ― Russian strongman Vladimir Putin first used “Novorossiya” ― the loaded Tsarist-era name for what is now southern and eastern Ukraine ― just after annexing Crimea from Ukraine in March, sparking outrage in Kiev.The Kremlin made a reference to the term again on Friday when it released Putin’s address to Ukraine’s pro-Russian separatists, pointedly calling them defenders of “Novorossiya” (New Russia).For analysts, this marks a significant development in nearly five months of conflict engul

PARIS (AP) ― Christine Lagarde, the chief of the International Monetary Fund, was put under official investigation for negligence in a French corruption probe that dates back to her days as France’s finance minister. After a fourth round of questioning before magistrates on Wednesday, Lagarde said she was returning to her work in Washington, and called the investigation “without basis.” She is the third IMF managing director in a decade to face legal troubles.Lagarde and her former chief of staf

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Burger King is buying Canada’s Tim Hortons coffee-and-donuts chain in an $11 billion deal that raised concerns about another U.S. company moving abroad for tax advantages.Burger King Worldwide denied that the deal announced Tuesday, which would create the world’s third-largest fast-food company, was being undertaken for tax reasons. But the planned move of the “Home of the Whopper” headquarters from Florida to Canada, which could cut its corporate tax bill, sparked calls for boy

More than a decade after the collapse of Daewoo Group in 1999, the group founder and former chairman Kim Woo-choong has stepped out of the shadows to promote a book telling the “real story” about what caused the group to fall. The author is Shin Jang-sup, a professor at the National University of Singapore, who wrote the book as Kim told it. The demise of Daewoo is recorded as the largest bankruptcy ever in Korea. As of the late 1990s, the group was the nation’s second-largest industrial conglom

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pennsylvania (AP) ― In the giddy moments after South Korea won the Little League World Series, outfielder Sin Don-wan realized how he wanted to celebrate.“I want to go to the Blue House ― the White House of Korea ― and meet the president,” Sin said, breaking up his teammates.Just maybe Sin, who scored twice and hit a solo homer, will indeed get his wish to meet Park Geun-hye.He’s famous back in his homeland ― along with all of his teammates.Hwang Jae-yeong drove in two runs a

The Ice Bucket Challenge’s phenomenal success is making other charitable organizations rethink how they connect with a younger generation of potential donors.Since the ALS Association began tracking the campaign’s progress on July 29, it has raised more than $53.3 million from 1.1 million new donors in what is one of the most viral philanthropic social media campaigns in history.Thousands of people, including celebrities like Taylor Swift and Oprah Winfrey, have posted videos of themselves getti

Yoo Heung-soo appears to be a confident and seasoned politician. Though he has yet to grasp all the pending issues and diplomatic terminology, his hale, vigorous and poised figure defies concerns about him being Korea’s oldest-ever ambassador to Japan. The 76-year-old former lawmaker, provincial governor and national police chief is scheduled to fly to Tokyo on Sunday to take on what is currently one of Korea’s most challenging diplomatic posts. He received a letter of credence from President Pa

WASHINGTON (AP) ― When racial tensions erupted midway through his first presidential campaign, Barack Obama came to Philadelphia to decry the “racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years.” Over time, he said, such wounds, rooted in America’s painful history on race, can be healed.Six years later, the stalemate suddenly seems more entrenched than ever. As Obama pleads for calm and understanding in Ferguson, Missouri, he’s struggling to determine what role ― if any ― the nation’s first black pr

Five large underground hollows were discovered this week underneath one of Seoul’s road tunnels, city officials said Monday, adding to public concerns over safety sparked by similar discoveries in Seoul this month.The newly found cavities are large enough to contain stacks of cars. They are located only a few meters away from two similar cavities discovered earlier this month below the Seokchon tunnel roadway in eastern Seoul.Experts say the hollows under the road could cause it to abruptly coll

Pope Francis consoled some of the most marginalized members of Korean society by holding their hands on Monday, the last day of his five-day visit to Korea.The pontiff officiated a Mass at Myeongdong Cathedral in downtown Seoul, praying for reconciliation and peace on the Korean Peninsula. Before the Mass, the pope took a few minutes to talk to some 20 men and women sitting in the cathedral’s front row, offering words of emotional and religious solace.The group was a mixture of former sex slaves

Friction between the Education Ministry and local education offices over elite schools hinted at an escalation of conflict between Minister Hwang Woo-yea and progressive superintendents.The ministry announced Monday that it would not approve Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education’s attempt to strip the status of autonomous private high school from Dongsan Christian High School. Autonomous schools refer to those granted relative autonomy over curriculum in exchange for receiving no government su

As afternoon turned into evening on March 13, 2013, in Vatican City, white smoke rose from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel, signaling that a new pope had been elected. About an hour later, the identity of the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church was unveiled: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires. He would be named Pope Francis, it was announced. Since that moment, Pope Francis never stopped surprising the world ― Catholics and non-Catholics alike. As the first pope born outside of

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Oscar-winning actor Robin Williams shot to fame for his madcap standup act and his offbeat alien Mork, but his most famous roles showed a depth of pain behind the comedian’s mask.The wildly popular 63-year-old funnyman, whose career spanned more than three decades, was known for rapid-fire, stream-of-consciousness improvisations and impersonations.On screen, his characters were often offbeat and eccentric ― from the zany alien Mork from the planet Ork, the television role in

Recep Tayyip Erdogan waves at supporters from the balcony of the AKP party headquarters during the celebrations of his victory in the presidential election vote in Ankara on Sunday. (AFP-Yonhap)ANKARA (AFP) ― Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will be Turkey’s next president after an easy election victory, climbed from a humble youth in Istanbul to become one of the most significant but controversial leaders in the Islamic world.Erdogan, who has served as premier since 2003, is lau

Korean prosecutors have opened an investigation into Sankei Shimbun over a report on President Park Geun-hye that raised questions about her whereabouts during the day of the ferry sinking.The Seoul bureau of the Japanese newspaper speculated in its Aug. 3 online edition that Park was not at Cheong Wa Dae when the ferry capsized on the morning of April 16.Citing rumors in the stock brokerage industry, Sankei Shimbun alleged that Park was staying outside the presidential office at the time with a