Most Popular
-
1
Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
-
2
Man escapes DUI charges by downing bottle of soju while pulled over
-
3
Pay debate plagues foreign nanny pilot
-
4
K-pop star lip-syncing controversy flares up again
-
5
35% of S. Koreans view unification 'unnecessary'
-
6
Slew of top K-pop stars ready to return from military
-
7
S. Korea, US clinch 2026-30 defense cost-sharing deal in pre-election push
-
8
[Reporter’s Notebook] Was Netflix film opening BIFF really a bad thing?
-
9
N. Korean leader's sister derides Seoul's Hyunmoo-5 missile as 'useless'
-
10
Controversial cult leader’s sentence reduced to 17 years
-
U.S. state, Chinese officials announce climate deal
California Gov. Jerry Brown and China's top climate negotiator on Friday signed the first agreement between a U.S. state and China that seeks greater cooperation on clean energy technologies and research meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.The memorandum of understanding signed with China's National Development and Reform Commission was another aggressive move by California to combat climate change. The state has already passed the nation's most ambitious greenhouse gas limits, including a
Sept. 14, 2013
-
Ban slams Assad for crimes on humanity as U.S., Russia meet
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon Friday accused Bashar al-Assad of crimes against humanity as complex, high-stakes talks between the US and Russia on dismantling Syria's chemical weapons arsenal reached a pivotal point, stretching late into the night. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov were holding a second day of talks in Geneva to hammer out the details of a Russian plan to bring the weapons under international control that emerged this week. All day the top
Sept. 14, 2013
-
Voyager 1 probe has left solar system: NASA
LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Voyager 1 has crossed a new frontier, becoming the first spacecraft ever to leave the solar system, NASA said Thursday. Thirty-six years after it was launched from Earth on a tour of the outer planets, the plutonium-powered probe is more than 11 18.51 billion kilometers from the sun, cruising through interstellar space ― the vast, cold emptiness between the stars, the space agency said. Voyager 1 actually made its exit more than a year ago, according to NASA. But it’s not as i
Sept. 13, 2013
-
U.N. says Syria joins chemical weapons treaty
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) ― The United Nations on Thursday received a Syrian application to join the international convention banning chemical weapons, in a move that could head off a Western military strike.A U.N. spokesman confirmed that Syria had sent accession documents to the world body, which is guarantor of the 1993 convention banning the production and stockpiling of the arms.Syria’s U.N. envoy said joining the convention was the end of a “chapter” in the Syria crisis.“In the past few hours w
Sept. 13, 2013
-
Kerry talks tough to Russia on Syria
GENEVA (AP) ― Striking a tough tone, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry opened swiftly convened talks with Russia on Syria’s chemical weapons on Thursday by bluntly rejecting a Syrian pledge to begin a “standard process” by turning over information rather than weapons ― and nothing immediately. That won’t do, Kerry declared at an opening news conference, a stone-faced Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at his side. “The words of the Syrian regime in our judgment are simply not enough.” “This
Sept. 13, 2013
-
Ray Dolby, audio pioneer, dies at 80
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Ray Dolby, who pioneered noise-reducing and surround-sound audio technologies which are fundamental to the music and film industries, has died aged 80, the company which bears his name announced Thursday.Dolby had suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease for a number of years, and was diagnosed with acute leukemia last July, it said, adding that the Oscar-winning scientist died at home in San Francisco.“Today we lost a friend, mentor and true visionary,” said Kevin Yeaman, Preside
Sept. 13, 2013
-
Michelle Obama urges Americans to ‘Drink up’
WASHINGTON (AFP) ― U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, who has for years been suggesting “Let’s Move,” Thursday added a new directive in her campaign against obesity: “Drink up.”The president’s wife called on Americans to drink at least one extra glass of water daily.“I’ve come to realize that if we were going to take just one step to make ourselves and our families healthier, probably the single best thing we could do is to simply drink more water,” Obama said in a statement. “That’s it ― it’s real
Sept. 13, 2013
-
Prince William swaps military for animal welfare
LONDON (AFP) ― Prince William is leaving Britain’s armed forces to take up royal and charity duties, beginning with a key role in a new global wildlife conservation partnership, Kensington Palace said on Thursday.The second-in-line to the British throne, who became a father in July, completed his last shift as a Royal Air Force search and rescue helicopter pilot on Tuesday after seven years in the military.The 31-year-old Duke of Cambridge is in a “transitional” year, sources have said, and is c
Sept. 13, 2013
-
A big fight for Mayweather and some big numbers
LAS VEGAS (AP) ― If Richard Schaefer looked a bit nervous standing near his fighters on a massive stage this week at the MGM Grand, he had good reason. In a city of high rollers, on one of the biggest betting days of the year, the head of Golden Boy Promotions is taking the biggest gamble of all. He’s got $60 million on the line that Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Canelo Alvarez will not only deliver a great fight on Saturday, but deliver at the box office, too. He’s betting the 69-kilogram matchup be
Sept. 13, 2013
-
China takes swipe at Abe's move for collective self-defense
China on Friday took a swipe at Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's move to lift a ban on exercising the right of collective self-defense, describing it as an "excuses for military expansion." China's foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the remarks during a regular press briefing, when asked about comments made by Abe on Thursday that emphasized his eagerness to proceed with a national debate on lifting the ban on collective self-defense. Conservative Abe has been trying to lift the ban on
Sept. 13, 2013
-
Ig Nobel awards honor weird, funny discoveries
An experiment that proved people who think they are drunk also think they are attractive and another that showed lost dung beetles can use the Milky Way to find their way home were among the winners at this year's Ig Nobel awards ceremony held Thursday.This is the 23rd year for the award, sponsored by the science humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research and given out to honor weird and humorous scientific discoveries. The winners come from all over the world.Actual Nobel laureates announced
Sept. 13, 2013
-
Kerry talks tough in Syria encounter with Russia
Striking a tough tone, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry opened swiftly convened talks with Russia on Syria's chemical weapons Thursday by bluntly rejecting a Syrian pledge to begin a “standard process” by turning over information rather than weapons _ and nothing immediately.That won't do, Kerry declared at an opening news conference, a stone-faced Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at his side. “The words of the Syrian regime in our judgment are simply not enough.”“This is not a game,” Ke
Sept. 13, 2013
-
'Lighten up' French mag tells Japan in Fukushima row
A French satirical weekly Thursday shrugged off Japanese outrage over cartoons mocking the decision to award the 2020 Olympics to Tokyo despite the Fukushima nuclear crisis.Japan angrily denounced the cartoons and said it would lodge a formal complaint with Le Canard Enchaine.But the popular weekly said it took "responsibility for the cartoons without the slightest soul-searching" and complained that the Japanese lacked a sense of humour.One cartoon showed sumo wrestlers with extra limbs competi
Sept. 13, 2013
-
U.S. marks 12th anniversary of 9/11
NEW YORK (AFP) ― War-weary Americans on Wednesday marked the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, with President Barack Obama ― for now holding fire on Syria ― saying force alone cannot “build the world we seek.”In New York, the U.S. capital Washington and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, relatives of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the hijacked airliners and on the ground gathered for somber remembrance ceremonies.“Our hearts still ache for the futures snatched away, the lives
Sept. 12, 2013
-
Chile marks 40th anniversary of Pinochet coup
SANTIAGO (AP) ― President Sebastian Pinera marked the 40th anniversary of the military coup that overthrew Salvador Allende saying Wednesday that Chileans must heal from ― but never forget ― the events of Sept. 11, 1973, that launched a bloody 17-year dictatorship. That day, fighter jets unleashed an attack on the La Moneda presidential palace, and tanks and soldiers surrounded the building as it burst into flames. Allende, then the democratically elected president, committed suicide rather than
Sept. 12, 2013
-
Thousands of teachers protest education law in Mexico
MEXICO CITY (AFP) ― Thousands of teachers demonstrated in Mexico City, some clashing with police keeping them away from President Enrique Pena Nieto’s residence, one day after he signed a controversial education reform.Antiriot police fortified the area around the Los Pinos residence with metal barriers and trucks to keep protesters at bay, with police saying some 12,000 teachers caused huge traffic jams as they marched across the megalopolis.Some 80 officers used their shields to block advancin
Sept. 12, 2013
-
U.S., EU demand Iran cooperate with nuke probe
VIENNA (AP) ― A senior U.S. diplomat urged Iran on Wednesday to follow up on good will generated by moderate statements from its new president with actions that ease suspicions it is trying to make nuclear arms. The tone of outreach instead of censure reflected Washington’s hopes that Tehran will seize the moment created by change in its political leadership and act to ease international tensions over its nuclear ambitions. Still, U.S. envoy Joseph Macmanus warned of tough diplomatic action unle
Sept. 12, 2013
-
French paper runs satirical cartoon on Fukushima
A French newspaper ran a cartoon Wednesday depicting mutant sumo wrestlers in a reference to the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan.The image ran by satirical weekly “Le Canard Enchaine,” shows two sumo wrestlers competing in a match. One of the athletes has three arms and the other has three legs and a reporter covering the match says, “Marvellous! Thanks to Fukushima, sumo became an Olympic event.”The newspaper told a Japanese broadcaster NHK that the cartoon was to express how it was surpri
Sept. 12, 2013
-
Diplomats move on 2 fronts on Syria weapons
Key international players were moving on two diplomatic fronts Wednesday to try to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control, and a fresh effort appeared to be underway to get the government and opposition to peace talks.The five veto-wielding members of the Security Council, who have been deeply divided over Syria, met late Wednesday to discuss what to include in a new resolution requiring that Syria's chemical weapons stockpile be secured and dismantled. They later left Russia's
Sept. 12, 2013
-
Iran watching Syria after U.S. strikes put on hold: Khamenei
TEHRAN (AFP) -- Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday Iran is monitoring developments involving ally Syria after a Russian initiative for Damascus to give up its chemical weapons led to postponement of US strike plans."If this recent approach is serious, it will translate to a return from the headstrong and wrong approach" the United States had adopted by threatening to attack Syria, Khamenei said in remarks on state television."The Islamic Republic of Iran is carefully monitoring
Sept. 11, 2013