Top automakers are vowing to press ahead with weak-selling electric vehicles and zero-emissions technology _ even as they unveil powerful, expensive luxury cars aimed at a growing global automarket.At the Geneva International Motor Show, BMW AG CEO Norbert Reithofer said Tuesday his company “cannot do without” battery powered vehicles such as its i3 urban compact. He said that “in the future electric drive vehicles will be in demand” and that the Munich-based automaker could not meet its targets

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has already lost three ministers to political funding scandals, faced questions Tuesday over claims that a branch of his ruling party received illegal donations.Abe, who swept to power in late 2012 on a ticket to revive the economy, told parliament he "didn't know" that two firms had given money to the Liberal Democratic Party within a year of receiving government subsidies  -- a violation of strict political funding laws.The comments followed reports Tues

Two of the most powerful members of the U.N. Security Council are rejecting Libya's call to lift a U.N. arms embargo so it can defend itself against the Islamic State group, saying Thursday that the chaotic country needs a national unity government first.Libya's foreign minister told an emergency council meeting Wednesday that lifting the embargo is necessary as the militant group establishes a presence in northern Africa and moves closer to Europe. Alarm soared after a video released over the w

Apple, which has been working secretly on a car, is pushing its team to begin production of an electric vehicle as early as 2020, people with knowledge of the matter said. The timeframe -- automakers typically spend five to seven years developing a car -- underscores the project’s aggressive goals and could set the stage for a battle for customers with Tesla Motors Inc. and General Motors Co., both of which are targeting a 2017 release of an electric vehicle that can go more than 200 miles on a

A “superbug” outbreak suspected in the deaths of two Los Angeles hospital patients is raising disturbing questions about the design of a hard-to-clean medical instrument.At least seven people _ two of whom died _ have been infected with a potentially lethal, antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria after undergoing endoscopic procedures at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center between October and January. And more than 170 other patients may have been exposed as well, university officials said.UCLA s

Two powerful cyclones roared ashore in Australia Friday leaving a trail of destruction with buildings severely damaged, trees uprooted and power lines downed, cutting electricity to thousands of people.Tropical Cyclone Marcia, a category five tempest, slammed into the Queensland coast just after 2200 GMT Thursday with its landfall coming just hours after a second big storm -- Cyclone Lam -- hit further north.The category four Lam caused extensive damage to remote Aboriginal communities near Elch

Google’s fourth-quarter sales and profit missed estimates as the Web company’s advertising business faced more competition on mobile devices. Revenue, excluding sales passed on to partners, rose 6.9 percent to $14.5 billion, the company said in a statement Thursday, missing analysts’ average projection for $14.7 billion, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Chief Executive Officer Larry Page is battling Facebook Inc. and other Web companies that are seeking to lure away users and advert

Japan's Orix Corp. has been picked as the preferred bidder for a controlling stake in Hyundai Securities Co., the fourth-largest brokerage firm by market cap, financial sources said Friday.Earlier this week, Orix Corp. and South Korean private equity firm Pinestreet had submitted their bids for a 36 percent stake in Hyundai Securities.The Korea Development Bank, the lead manager for the deal, will allow Orix to conduct due diligence on the brokerage for one month and complete the deal before Jun

South Korean President Park Geun-hye pledged Friday to make "substantial" preparations for potential unification with North Korea, a day after the North's leader, Kim Jong-un, offered conditional summit talks with her.Park said South Koreans have a historic task to overcome a seven-decades-long division and open a new era of unification.The Korean Peninsula was divided into the capitalistic South and communist North after its liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule."The government will do

A South Korean maritime patrol aircraft on a search mission for victims of a crashed AirAsia jet found six bodies Friday, Seoul's defense ministry said.The South Korean Navy's P-3C plane was dispatched on Tuesday to join the international search for AirAsia flight QZ8501 that smashed into the Java Sea last week with 162 people on board en route to Singapore from the Indonesian city of Surabaya. A South Korean couple and their baby were confirmed to be on board the plane.   "The P-3C plane spotte

Two South Koreans were killed when their rental car crashed off a bridge into a river in New Zealand's West Coast, local media reported Friday.The married couple, both 59, were the only occupants of the car that plunged into the Wanganui River on Tuesday, Radio New Zealand said in a report.Their bodies were recovered Thursday and family members who arrived in the country earlier in the day confirmed their identity, it said.The couple from Seoul had been in New Zealand for two days before the cra

The government has delayed plans to raise vehicle taxes on rent-a-car companies in the face of stiff opposition from operators, an industry source said Thursday.According to the Korea Rent-A-Car Association (KRCA), which lodged a strong protest against the move that would have gone into effect next year, the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs has agreed to review its plan from scratch.Earlier in the year, the ministry said it would revise the country's local tax rules, so tha