South Korean manufacturing companies operating in North Korea outside Gaeseong still face an uncertain future, despite the South’s hints at a softening stance toward Pyongyang, sources said.The government has appeared to be loosening its “May 24 measures,” which banned all exchanges and cooperation with the North after the sinking of the Cheonan, since Yu Woo-ik took the helm of the Unification Ministry in September.Yu has allowed South Korean firms at Gaeseong Industrial Complex to continue pro

The National Assembly is still dealing with the aftermath of last week’s Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement passage, but parties have begun diverting their attention to the general election coming up in April.The ruling Grand National Party added momentum to its internal reforms, both in policies and human resources. The main opposition Democratic Party, on the other hand, faces feuds over the left-wing consolidation project and the new leader selection processes.In an unprecedented move, the conse

Oman has pledged to introduce its geography, history and culture to the world by taking part in next year’s Yeosu Expo. The Sultanate has set up a ministerial committee to supervise its preparations for the Yeosu 2012 international exposition to run in the South Jeolla Province costal city under the slogan of “Living Oceans and Coasts.”The Omani Sultanate has announced that it will create a 786 square-meter pavilion under the theme of “Care for Marine Wealth” to demonstrate Sultan Qaboos’ desire

A children’s drawing contest is to give Korean elementary school students the chance to depict their favorite place in Southeast Asia. The “My Friend ASEAN” competition aims to raise awareness of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and to promote global citizenship among the younger generation. The ASEAN-Korea Centre will take entries from Dec. 1-23.Certificates and prizes will be awarded to 70 winners and their artwork will be exhibited at the ASEAN Hall in the Seoul Press Center Buildin

RABAT (AP) ― It should be a moment of excitement: Moroccans are choosing a parliament in elections Friday prompted by the Arab Spring’s clamor for freedom.Yet there are few signs here that elections are even taking place.Posters and raucous rallies for candidates are absent in the cities and instead there are just stark official banners urging citizens to “do their national duty” and “participate in the change the country is undergoing.”“The parties have presented the same people for the past 30

CAIRO (AFP) ― Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal on Thursday hailed a new era of partnership between their rival movements at talks in Cairo aimed at cementing a stalled unity deal.But there was little indication of any concrete progress in resolving disputes which have blocked implementation of a reconciliation agreement signed six months ago.Speaking to reporters after their meeting, the two leaders said they had ironed out their differences and turned a new page in

TRIPOLI (AP) ― Libya’s transitional leaders swore on a Quran to uphold the ideals of the revolution that toppled Moammar Gadhafi as they took their oaths of office Thursday, another key step in the country’s hoped-for march toward democracy.The lineup of relative unknowns, almost all of them older men, will confront daunting challenges, like establishing control over the fractured nation after the ousting of Gadhafi’s 42-year regime, along with building up state institutions practically from scr

German business confidence unexpectedly rose for the first time in five months in November, defying Europe’s worsening debt crisis. The Munich-based Ifo institute’s business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, increased to 106.6 from 106.4 in October. Economists expected a decline to 105.2, according to the median of 40 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. “Although downside risks certainly remain, doomsday is not around the corner,” said Andreas Rees, chief German economist a