HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (AP) -- Wrapping up a historic visit to Vietnam, U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday praised the country's next generation of leaders for being more conscious of the environment than previous ones and urged them to ``do something about'' climate change.During his final public event here, Obama basked in the admiration of hundreds of young leaders who participated in a town hall-style event and prefaced some of their questions to him with praise about his leadership

BERLIN (AFP) - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Wednesday hailed the release of Ukrainian helicopter pilot Nadiya Savchenko after nearly two years in a Russian prison."I am happy and relieved that Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko has finally been released and can return to her family in Ukraine," said Steinmeier, also the current chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe."This is good news for which we worked a long time and for which we also had to wait

Tens of thousands of unionized workers will hold rallies across the country to criticize the government's labor reform plans that they say will make firing people easier, the nation's two largest umbrella unions said Saturday.On Sunday, 50,000 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) will stage protests in 15 cities to urge the government to nullify the agreement made in September between management and labor representatives.The trilateral deal allows companies to dismiss worke

The foreign ministers of China and Japan held bilateral talks in Beijing on Saturday with the aim of improving ties strained by territorial and historical disputes. Meeting Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing is willing to develop a "healthy and stable" relationship with Tokyo, according to a statement released by China's foreign ministry. But, Wang told Kishida that China would judge Japan's hope to improve relations with China by its actions,

BOGOTA, (AFP)  -- Colombia's widespread illegal mining is blamed for causing environmental damage and holding workers in slave-like conditions -- and now is also being blamed for a malaria outbreak.Critics point to stagnant water buildups at the clandestine sites and poor sanitary conditions at the workers' camps for an increase in mosquitos spreading the disease, which has quadrupled in jungle regions of the hard-hit and impoverished western department of Choco."The country had more or less con

North Korea on Saturday condemned South Korea and the United States for conducting joint military drills that it called the "worst military provocation in the history of the Korean Peninsula."South Korea and the U.S. wrapped up this year's Foal Eagle exercise earlier in the day, with the Key Resolve command post drill having concluded last month. The two exercises have been carried out annually to deter nuclear and missile threats by wayward North Korea.This year's exercises were the biggest of

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -- A judge on Friday sentenced a Colorado woman who cut a baby from a stranger's womb to 100 years in prison, including the maximum penalties for attempted murder and unlawful termination of a pregnancy.Judge Maria Berkenkotter said the harshest sentences for the most serious charges were justified by the brutality of the 2015 attack, which she described as performing a cesarean with a kitchen knife. Berkenkotter also said the victim, Michelle Wilkins, as well as her family a

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- North Korea sentenced a U.S. citizen of Korean heritage to 10 years in prison with hard labor after convicting him of espionage and subversion, the second American it has put behind bars this year. Kim Dong Chul was sentenced Friday after a brief trial in Pyongyang by North Korea's Supreme Court, which found him guilty of espionage and subversion under Articles 60 and 64 of the North's criminal code.North Korea regularly accuses Washington and Seoul of sending spie