GUANGZHOU, China (DPA) ― The first Chinese cars built in Europe started rolling off the conveyor belt this year when Great Wall Motor Co. Ltd. built a plant in Bulgaria together with Litex Motors.The Voleex C10 was the first vehicle off the assembly line of the plant near the town of Lovech last week with tests of the production facilities and installations set to continue for the rest of the year before the first sales are launched at the beginning of 2012.The Hover H5 sports utility vehicle an

Korea joined the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD in November 2009, becoming the first country since the organization’s birth to go from aid recipient to donor. Since then, Korea has sought to chart a new course for development cooperation based on its unique growth experience.As part of such efforts, Korea will host the High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, the world’s largest and highest-level conference on development aid. The three-day forum is to kick off tomorrow in Busan, wit

A senior judge at Incheon District Court has rekindled the debate over the nature of social networking sites ― are they a private or public space?The judge has caused a stir by posting a scathing message against President Lee Myung-bak and trade officials on his Facebook page after the ruling Grand National Party unilaterally passed a bill to ratify the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement on Nov. 22.His posting read: “I will never forget Nov. 22, 2011, the day when the president and trade officials,

At a recent Capitol Hill rally for the administration’s job creation bills, Vice President Joe Biden urged America to hire more police ― even in this era of austerity ― or accept that crime will increase.His point is worth considering. Although crime in the United States on average has shown a historic decline since the early 1990s, a recent Rand Corp. report shows that a 10 percent increase in the size of a police force decreases the rate of homicide by 9 percent, robbery by 6 percent and vehic

Barack Obama’s visit to Australia prompted the people of Darwin to take out $50,000 worth of insurance to cover him against the risk of a crocodile attack. The gesture seemed to delight the U.S. president. In a speech to about 1,000 Australians troops, his praise of the “legendary Diggers” (soldiers who fought in trenches) and “true blue Aussies” (Australians loyal to local values) went down a treat. The applause from troops at Robertson military base showed their support for a deployment plan t

SANAA (AP) ― Yemen scheduled early presidential elections for early next year on Saturday in line with a power-sharing deal aimed at ending a nine-month political crisis, according to the country’s official news agency.The agreement would make President Ali Abdullah Saleh the fourth dictator pushed from power this year by the Arab Spring uprisings, although it has been rejected by many protesters because it would grant the reviled leader immunity from prosecution and does not include far-reachin

RABAT (AP) ― An Islamist Party is on track to become the largest party in Morocco’s new parliament with a dominant showing after two-thirds of the seats have been announced by the Interior Ministry.The Justice and Development Party has taken 80 seats, almost twice as many as the next most successful party, with 282 seats announced Saturday out of the 395 up for grabs in the nationwide vote Friday.Barring a massive upset, the PJD ― known by its French initials ― will be the largest party in the n

TEHRAN (AP) ― Iran will target NATO’s missile defense installations in Turkey if the U.S. or Israel attacks the Islamic Republic, a senior commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard said Saturday.Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Guards’ aerospace division, said the warning is part of a new defense strategy to counter what he described as an increase in threats from the U.S. and Israel.Tensions have been rising between Iran and the West since the release of a report earlier this mon

BOGOTA (AP) ― Colombia’s main rebel group executed four of its longest-held captives during combat Saturday between guerrillas and soldiers searching for the men, the government said.A fifth captive fled into the jungle and survived.President Juan Manuel Santos called the killing of a soldier and three police officers “a crime against humanity” and dismissed any suggestions that Colombia’s armed forces might be responsible.“They were held hostage for between 12 and 13 years and wound up cruelly

MOSCOW (AP) ― Japanese skaters Yuzuru Hanyu and Mao Asada overcame errors in their free skates Saturday to win the Rostelecom Cup titles and qualify for next month’s ISU Grand Prix final.The 16-year-old Hanyu, who finished second behind Javier Fernandez in the free skate, totaled 241.66 points to edge the Spaniard by three-hundredths of a point and win his first Grand Prix title.First-day leader Jeremy Abbott of the U.S. finished fifth in the free skate and third overall with 229.08 points in th

LONDON (AP) ― Every time Roger Federer steps onto the court, another milestone seems to be within grasp.He seized another one Saturday, reaching his 100th career final by beating David Ferrer 7-5, 6-3 in the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals. Federer could add a few more Sunday. He’s in position to win his 70th title overall and a record sixth at the season-ending tournament for the world’s top eight players.“It’s obviously a special occasion for me,” said Federer, who will play Jo-Wilfrie