The United States has designated Afghanistan a major non-NATO ally, giving the war-torn country special privileges as the US prepares to pull its troops out in 2014, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Saturday.Clinton announced the move, which provides a long-term framework for security and defence cooperation, during a brief visit to Kabul where she had a breakfast meeting with President Ham

South Korea's state-run mineral development corporation set up a joint venture with its Bolivian counterpart to develop lithium in the South American country, sources said Friday.Seoul's embassy in La Paz said a consortium made up of Korea Resources Corp. (KORES) and POSCO, South Korea's leading steelmaker, signed a deal to create a lithium venture with Comibol, Bolivia's mineral development corpo

The International Whaling Commission ended its annual meeting on Friday amid dissatisfaction from a variety of members, including Japan, which sought permission for coastal communities to carry out small-scale whaling.A lack of consensus scuttled a proposal by Monaco to increase protection of whales, and the principality said it would take its case to the United Nations.Japan threatened to withdra

South Korean midfielder Park Ji-sung of Manchester United is set to sign with a new English club, reports said Saturday.British broadcaster BBC said the Premier League veteran has agreed to a deal with the Queens Park Rangers, simply known as QPR.According to the report, the 31-year-old could command about 5 million pounds (US$7.7 million) for the transfer fee. He has oneyear left in his current c

Facebook and Yahoo have agreed to settle a patent dispute, averting a potentially lengthy battle over the technology running two of the Internet's most popular destinations.In dropping the lawsuits, the companies agreed to license their patents to each other. They are also agreeing to an advertising alliance that expands their existing partnership. Friday's settlement involves no exchange of money

South Korea's leading potato scientist has been found dead near his office in an apparent suicide, police said Saturday.Joung Hyouk, president of the state-run Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, was found bleeding outside the institute building in Daejeon, 150 kilometers south of Seoul, at 6:37 p.m. Friday, they said.Joung apparently fell to his death from the rooftop of the

The European Central Bank cut its key rates to a new all-time low Thursday in a bid to keep up the positive momentum after EU leaders made some progress in solving the crisis at a summit last week.The ECB's policy-setting governing council voted, as expected, to lower the rate for its main refinancing operations by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.75 percent at the regular monthly meeting here

China announced Thursday it was cutting interest rates for the second time in a month, the latest effort to boost growth in the world's second-biggest economy.The changes, which take effect from Friday, will see the benchmark one-year lending rate drop by 0.31 percentage points and the deposit rate fall by 0.25 percentage points, the central bank said in a statement on its website.All correspondin

Two officials of the ruling Saenuri Party masterminded the leakage of the party's membership list for money, prosecutors said Thursday.Announcing its interim probe results, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office said it has indicted six people, including a 43-year-old expert advisor for the party, identified as Lee, and a 25-year-old official surnamed Jeong, on charges of leaking and selling the p

Foreign defense companies competing for South Korea's a multi-billion dollar project for combat jet acquisition handed in their renewed bids Thursday, officials here said, as the evaluation process is poised to get underway.The F-15 Silent Eagle (SE) by U.S. firm Boeing, the F-35A by another American company Lockheed Martin, and the Eurofighter by Europe-based multinational defense group EADS are

Cheong Wa Dae, South Korean presidential office, was responsible for the Cabinet's behind closed doors approval of a controversial military pact between Seoul and Tokyo, a government official here said Sunday.The claim comes two days after South Korea delayed signing the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan. The government has been under fire for its procedural la

Discount chain store operator E-Mart is looking to acquire retail stores and a distribution center belonging to NS Home Shopping, according to media reports.The company is said to have signed a memorandum of understanding with NS and that E-Mart will begin due diligence on its counterpart’s assets next week.The acquisition price of 23 nationwide stores owned by NS is estimated to be around 50 bill