U.S. House panel passes FTA with S. Korea

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. congressional committee Wednesday approved a free trade pact with South Korea, setting the stage for the full House of Representatives to vote on it.The House Ways and Means Committee passed the free trade agreement (FTA) in a 31-5 vote. It also endorsed FTAs wi

Oct. 6, 2011

S. Korea steps up aid to famine-stricken East Africa

SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is revving up efforts to help famine-stricken nations in East Africa by increasing humanitarian aid and seeking public-private partnerships, Seoul's foreign ministry said Sunday.About 13 million people in the Horn of Africa have been affected by the worst drough

Oct. 2, 2011

S. Korean leader calls for cultural exchange with Japan

TOKYO, Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak called Saturday for cultural exchange with Japan as a way to forge a forward-looking partnership between the two neighbors.South Korea and Japan are key trading partners, though their relations have often been strained by historical disputes stemming

Oct. 2, 2011

More than 75 injured in air race crash

RENO, Nevada (AP)- A plane plunged into the stands Friday at an air race event in Reno in what an official described as a ``mass casualty situation.''It wasn't immediately known how many people were killed, but a medical official said more than 75 people were injured.Stephanie Kruse, a spokeswoman f

Sept. 17, 2011

Rockets fall near S. Korean embassy in Afghanistan

Several rockets fell near the South Korean embassy in Afghanistan this week, but no casualties were reported, a foreign ministry official said Thursday.Three or four rounds of rocket-propelled grenades landed close to the embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday, but they did not appear to be

Sept. 15, 2011

Lee to make state visit to U.S. next month

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will visit the United States next month for summit talks with President Barack Obama about the two countries' alliance, economic cooperation and North Korea, the presidential office announced Wednesday.Lee will be only the fifth head of state to make a state visi

Sept. 14, 2011

Explosion hits UN building in Nigeria's capital

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) -- A large explosion struck the United Nations' main office in Nigeria's capital Friday, flattening one wing of the building and killing several people. A U.N. official in Geneva called it a bomb attack.   ``I saw scattered bodies,'' said Michael Ofilaje, a UNICEF

Aug. 26, 2011

Turkey says NATO operations to last

ANKARA (AP) -- Turkey's Foreign Minister said Tuesday NATO's air operations over Libya will continue until security in the country is fully restored.Speaking in the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi, Ahmet Davutoglu also called for the rapid release of all frozen assets to help Libya during t

Aug. 23, 2011

NATO says it will continue Libya operations

BRUSSELS (AP) -- NATO said Tuesday the situation in the Libyan capital of Tripoli remains very dangerous and the alliance will continue its operations over the country, bombing forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi if they keep fighting.But spokesman Col. Roland Lavoie told reporters Tuesday that pro

Aug. 23, 2011

Migrant group: Rescue mission to Tripoli delayed

GENEVA (AP) _ A rescue mission to pluck 300 foreigners from the Libyan capital Tripoli has been delayed by fighting, the International Organization for Migration said Tuesday.The Geneva-based group said its charter ship will remain off the coast of Tripoli ``until security conditions have improved a

Aug. 23, 2011

Gadhafi and family still in Tripoli: Seif al-Islam

TRIPOLI (AFP) -- Libyan leader Moamer Gadhafi and his family are still in Tripoli, where his troops were engaged in fierce fighting with rebels outside his compound on Tuesday, his son Seif al-Islam said."Gadhafi and the entire family are in Tripoli," Seif told reporters at the Rixos hotel

Aug. 23, 2011

S. Korea protests U.S. agency's name for East Sea

South Korea has lodged an informal protest against a U.S. government-funded agency's decision to use Japan's name for the body of water between Seoul and Tokyo, a diplomatic source said Monday.Seoul and Tokyo have tussled for decades over the name of the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. S

Aug. 8, 2011

Mainstream Japanese scholars doubt Tokyo's claim to Dokdo

Despite the ongoing diplomatic tension over Japan's territorial claim to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo, most mainstream Japanese scholars remain skeptical or cautious about the claim.In its latest provocation, Japan's government on Tuesday referred to Dokdo as Japanese territory again in

Aug. 2, 2011

S. Korea to get tough on Japan's fresh claim to Dokdo

Seoul will respond strongly to Tokyo's latest claim to the South Korean islets of Dokdo included in Japan's annual defense document, officials said Tuesday, in an indication of the country's growing intolerance for Japan's territorial claims.Japan approved its 2011 defense white paper earlier in the

Aug. 2, 2011

Record high radiation at crippled Japan nuke plant

TOKYO (AFP) -- Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said Monday it had monitored record high radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant crippled by the March 11 quake and tsunami.TEPCO said radiation levels reached at least 10 sieverts per hour near the debris left between the number on

Aug. 1, 2011

A week later, Norway mourns 77 victims of massacre

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Norway began burying the dead on Friday, a week after an anti-immigrant extremist killed 77 people in a bombing and shooting rampage.Mourners of all ages vowed they would not let the massacre threaten their nation's openness and democracy.An 18-year-old Muslim girl was the first victim to be laid to rest since the gunman opened fire at a political youth camp and bombed the gove

July 30, 2011

House approves debt bill; senate rejects it

WASHINGTON (AP) — In an unforgiving display of partisanship, the Republican-controlled House approved emergency legislation Friday night to avoid an unprecedented government default and Senate Democrats scuttled it less than two hours later in hopes of a better deal."We are almost out of time" for a compromise, warned President Barack Obama as U.S. financial markets trembled at the prospect of eco

July 30, 2011