The Seoul Family Court said Saturday it has granted a divorce to a housewife and ordered her husband to pay her compensation, finding him responsible for ruining the relationship with his constant belittling comments.The 37-year-old wife, identified only by her surname Park, filed for divorce, claiming she could not continue the marriage because her husband kept finding fault with the way she cooks, shops, irons and does other housework through written memos and mobile phone text messages for se

DUBAI (AFP) ― The appointment of conservative Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz as heir to the Saudi throne raises concerns he could halt reforms were he to take power, say analysts, who add, however, that he may instead show a softer, more pragmatic side.“He has a strong reputation as an ultra-conservative ― close to religious and reactionary circles,” Gulf specialist Olivier Da Lage told AFP.“He is hostile to Shiites and follows an iron fist policy against any opposition. He also has a tough stance

The number of smartphone subscribers in South Korea surpassed the 20 million mark last week, with nearly 40 percent of South Korean residents carrying such mobile devices, according to data from the country’s telecom regulator released Sunday. South Korean smartphone subscribers numbered slightly more than 20 million as of Friday, including 10 million users with industry leader SK Telecom Co., 6.8 million at KT Corp. and 3.3 million at LG Uplus Corp., the data compiled by the Korea Communication

South Korea will likely raise highway and train service fares by the end of this year following years of unchanged rates aimed at curbing inflation, a source said Friday.The finance ministry and the transportation ministry are currently in the last phase of talks to determine when and by how much they will increase fares for the two major means of transportation, he said.Highway fares will likely increase by less than 3 percent, while those for trains will go up about 3 percent. The hike is expe

TOKYO (AFP) ― The foreign ministers of Japan and India agreed on Saturday at a meeting in Tokyo to accelerate joint development of rare earth mineral deposits in the South Asian country.Koichiro Gemba and his Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna also confirmed they would move forward stalled talks on a civilian nuclear cooperation pact at a joint news conference after their meeting.“The two countries will move ahead with a joint development,” of rare earth deposits in India, said Gemba, quoted by Jij

Qantas Airways says strikes are ‘crisis’ for airlineCANBERRA (AP) ― Qantas Airways has grounded its global fleet, suddenly locking out striking workers after weeks of flight disruptions that an executive said could close down the world’s 10th-largest airline piece by piece.Following Saturday’s announcement by Qantas, the Australian government called for an emergency arbitration hearing, which was adjourned early Sunday morning after evidence was heard from the unions and airline. The hearing was

WASHINGTON (AP) ― President Barack Obama is banking on a new report detailing the income disparity in the country as further evidence of the need for his $447 billion jobs bill.A report this past week by the Congressional Budget Office found that average after-tax income for the top 1 percent of U.S. households had increased by 275 percent over the past three decades. Middle-income households saw just a 40 percent rise. For those at the bottom of the economic scale, the jump was 18 percent.Obama

MIAMI (AFP) ― An American evangelical pastor whose church’s burning of a Quran sparked deadly violence in Afghanistan announced on Friday that he plans to run for president in 2012.In a campaign manifesto titled “Stand Up America!” Jones pledged that on entering the White House he would immediately stop government overspending, bring all foreign-based troops home, and deport all illegal immigrants.The mustachioed pastor also vowed to bring down America’s stubbornly high unemployment rate by redu

One surprising aspect of the Oct. 26 Seoul mayoral by-election was young voters’ massive support for the unified opposition candidate, Park Won-soon. Exit polls showed he received support from 69.3 percent of voters in their 20s, 75.8 percent of voters in their 30s and 66.8 percent of voters in their 40s. This contrasted with 43.1 percent support he received from voters in their 50s and 30.4 percent from voters aged 60 and older. Young voters in Korea have traditionally preferred liberal candida

The government has rolled up its sleeves to foster the domestic software industry. On Thursday, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy unveiled a package of measures that called for, among other things, banning large system-integrating companies affiliated with chaebol groups from participating in public-sector information system projects.The ministry’s plan caused an immediate uproar in the system-integration industry as it would prohibit starting next year the 65 SI units of the nation’s 55 largest

Considering how Illinois lawmakers tend to vote first and ask questions later, it’s good to see the so-called smart-grid bill getting put through the wringer.This legislation would clear the way for Commonwealth Edison and Ameren to make high-tech upgrades in the electricity network that will more than pay for themselves in coming years. It would streamline an inefficient regulatory process and encourage investment in an aging infrastructure that is acutely vulnerable to outages ― as many Illino