TOKYO (AFP) -- Japan scrambled jets after 11 Chinese military planes flew near southern Japanese islands during what Beijing said was a drill to improve its long-range combat abilities, reports said Saturday.The planes -- eight bombers, two intelligence gathering planes and one early-warning aircraft -- flew near Miyako and Okinawa on Friday without violating Japan's airspace, the Japanese defence ministry said in a statement released on Friday.Some of them flew between the two islands while oth

Hyundai Motor Co. workers re-elected a labor leader who was in power almost a decade ago during one of the worst years of industrial strife at South Korea’s largest automaker, setting the stage for final wage talks next month.Park You-ki, 50, beat former deputy head Hong Sung Bong to become union president, according to the labor group. In his previous term leading the union in 2006 and 2007, Hyundai suffered its second-biggest annual production loss of 118,293 units from work stoppages, costing

BEIJING (AP) -- Air pollution in Beijing reached hazardous levels on Saturday as smog engulfed large parts of the country despite efforts to clean up the foul air.The U.S. Embassy in Beijing reported the level of the poisonous, tiny articles of PM2.5 at 391 micrograms per cubic meter at noon Saturday. The World Health Organization considers the safe level at 25 micrograms per cubic meter of the particulates.Since Friday, the city had been shroud in gray smog, reducing visibilities to a few hundr

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) -- With Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg about to become a dad, the social network boosted the amount of time fathers can take off to bond with their new babies.Beginning with the new year, dads working full-time for Facebook anywhere in the world will have the option of taking four months' paid leave.All new dads working for Facebook outside the US currently get a minimum of four weeks' paternity leave, with more time offered in locations where required by local law, acco

AL-HOL, Syria (AFP) -- Outside her home in a town of northeast Syria, four-year-old Baydaa scribbles on a leaflet of religious rules left behind by the Islamic State group as they fled earlier this month.Her face is adorned with make-up of the sort banned by the jihadist group, which was expelled from Al-Hol by a new US-backed coalition of Kurdish and Arab forces that overran the area on November 12.The town was once a key waystation for IS between the territory it holds between Iraq and Syria,

TORONTO (AP) -- The aunt of a Syrian boy whose lifeless body was photographed on a Turkish beach, sparking worldwide outrage at the refugee crisis, said she hopes her family members will be in Canada by Christmas.Tima Kurdi said Friday that Canada has approved her application to bring her brother Mohammed and his family to Canada, but that security checks are still underway.Citizenship and Immigration Canada spokesman Remi Lariviere would only confirm that the department has communicated with th

South Korean shares are expected to extend their gains next week getting a boost from a widely expected stimulus step by the European Central Bank, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,028.99 points on Friday, up 2 percent from a week ago.Earlier this week, Seoul shares started higher as investors' concerns over the U.S. Fed's rate policy eased following the release of its Federal Open Market Committee's minutes.But the gains were limited later after

English-speaking people favor Seoul's previous catchphrase "Hi Seoul - Soul of Asia" over its new brand slogan and identity "I.SEOUL.U," according to a new poll.The poll by SurveyMonkey, the world's largest online survey firm, showed that 66 percent of respondents said they like "Hi Seoul - Soul of Asia" while 12 percent said they prefer "I.SEOUL.U. - City of Me and You."It said 63 percent felt "Hi Seoul - Soul of Asia" better represents Seoul while 11 percent said "I.SEOUL.U - City of Me and Yo

An association that speaks for farmers vowed on Saturday to go ahead with a massive rally planned for next weekend, setting the stage for another clash with police.The move came after police informed the association composed of farmers earlier in the day that they will ban the group from holding a rally in central Seoul on Dec. 5.Earlier this week, the association notified police that it planned to hold a rally that could draw some 10,000 participants near City Hall next Saturday.Police warned t

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Nearly 136 million shoppers are expected to flock to US sales over the Black Friday weekend, both in stores and online, according to the National Retail Federation."Reports of long lines outside stores on Thanksgiving and Black Friday were matched by reports of record-breaking online sales," said Matthew Shay, president and chief executive of NFR, in a statement.On Black Friday, the day after the Thanksgiving holiday, retailers trumpet special deals that kick off the year-end

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (AP) -- A gunman who opened fire inside a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic was arrested after engaging in gun battles with authorities during an hours-long standoff that killed three people and wounded nine others, officials said.Two people and a police officer with the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs were killed in the Friday rampage, law enforcement officials said. The university police department identified the officer killed as 44-year-old Garr

The NC Dinos rallied to defeat the Doosan Bears 2-1 on Monday to even their South Korean baseball playoff series at one game apiece.No. 8 hitter Ji Seok-hun lined a game-tying double in the bottom of the eighth and later came around to score the go-ahead run on a wild pitch at Masan Stadium, as the Dinos -- after losing 7-0 in Game 1 on Sunday -- got right back into the best-of-five second round playoff series in the Korea Baseball Organization.Game 3 will move to the Bears' home, Jamsil Stadium

President Park Geun-hye's partial Cabinet shake-up brings two ministers back to next general election and more changes to the ruling party.On Monday, Park nominated Kang Ho-in, former chief of the Public Procurement Service, as transport minister, and Vice Maritime Minister Kim Young-suk to lead the ministry, according to presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.Maritime Minister Yoo Ki-june and Minister of Land, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Yoo Il-ho were both appointed by Park earlier this y

South Korean President Park Geun-hye has proposed a meeting with representatives from rival political parties to debrief them on her recent trip to the United States, party officials said Monday.They said Park has called for a session with heads of the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, and also floor leaders from the parties, at the presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, to discuss the results from her summit with U.S. President Barack Obama.The meeti