Most Popular
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Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
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Man escapes DUI charges by downing bottle of soju while pulled over
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Pay debate plagues foreign nanny pilot
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K-pop star lip-syncing controversy flares up again
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35% of S. Koreans view unification 'unnecessary'
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Slew of top K-pop stars ready to return from military
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S. Korea, US clinch 2026-30 defense cost-sharing deal in pre-election push
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[Reporter’s Notebook] Was Netflix film opening BIFF really a bad thing?
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N. Korean leader's sister derides Seoul's Hyunmoo-5 missile as 'useless'
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Controversial cult leader’s sentence reduced to 17 years
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Mubarak back in Egypt court, Brotherhood trial adjourned
CAIRO (AFP) ― Egypt’s toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak appeared in court Sunday for the first time since his release to house arrest, as a separate court adjourned a hearing of Muslim Brotherhood chiefs.The hearings come against the backdrop of political uncertainty in the wake of the July 3 ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, followed by a crackdown on his Brotherhood movement.Security sources said that the Brotherhood defendants, including supreme guide Mohamed Badie and two deputies, w
Aug. 26, 2013
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Shanghai sets guidelines for pilot trade zone
Shanghai is set to test the water for further financial reform after the Chinese central government approved the establishment of a pilot free trade zone in the business hub.The city released detailed guidelines including measures to allow more private capital in the banking sector and promote cross-border use of the yuan.The guidelines consist of 42 entries divided into three categories: those that are already in place yet need reinforcement, those that are ready to be launched and those that s
Aug. 26, 2013
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Singapore is ‘top Asian spot’ for Chinese tourists
Singapore is ahead of the game when it comes to wooing travelers from China, coming out tops among Asian countries in a recent survey.And it plans to stay there, with the Singapore Tourism Board and hotels finding new ways to attract the Chinese, who are the biggest spenders in world tourism.A Hotels.com poll of 3,000 residents from the world’s most populous country found that 23 percent wanted to visit Singapore within the next year. That placed it sixth after Australia (39 percent), France, Ne
Aug. 26, 2013
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The danger of electronic waste
Akash Ali is a 9-year-old laborer who works at a warehouse on Rawalpindi’s College Road. He suffers from asthma, but he seems unaware of the health and environmental hazards attached to his job. Akash works for a warehouse of electronic waste (e-waste). “My father has died and now I’m the only breadwinner of my family,” he told Dawn.com, adding that he has a mother, two younger brothers and a sister to support. E-waste includes old computers, television sets, mobile phones, printers, fax machine
Aug. 26, 2013
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First female NYSE member dies at 80
NEW YORK (AP) ― Muriel “Mickie” Siebert, the first woman to become a member of the New York Stock Exchange, has died of complications of cancer at age 80.Siebert died Saturday of complications from cancer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Her death was confirmed by Jane Macon, a director of Siebert Financial and a partner at the law firm Norton Rose Fulbright.Siebert was founder and president of brokerage firm that bears her name, Muriel Siebert & Co. Inc. The company went p
Aug. 26, 2013
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Michelle Obama, daughters see ‘Trip to Bountiful’
NEW YORK (AP) ― Michelle Obama and her daughters caught Broadway’s “The Trip to Bountiful” after spending part of the day watching tennis at the U.S. Open.The first lady and her girls slipped into their seats at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre just as the first act was starting Saturday night and received a huge ovation when they took their seats for the second act.The trio went backstage after the show and met the crew and cast, including Cicely Tyson, Vanessa Williams and Cuba Gooding Jr. Tyson s
Aug. 26, 2013
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Maldivian foreign minister dies in Singapore hospital
COLOMBO (AFP) ― Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdul Samad Abdullah died Sunday while undergoing treatment for kidney and heart disease in a Singapore hospital, the government said. He was 67.Abdullah was a key ally of President Mohamed Waheed who is seeking reelection in Sept. 7 elections in the Indian Ocean atoll nation.Waheed declared three days of mourning for Abdullah who was buried in Singapore, the government said.Education Minister Asim Ahmed was made acting foreign minister, it added.The Ma
Aug. 26, 2013
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Insurgent attacks in Iraq kill at least 46
Insurgents bent on destabilizing Iraq killed at least 46 people in numerous attacks scattered around the country on Sunday, striking targets as varied as a coffee shop, a wedding party convoy and a carload of off-duty soldiers. The attacks are part of a months-long wave of killing that is the country's worst spate of bloodshed since 2008. The violence is calling into question the security forces' ability to protect the country and raising fears that Iraq's sectarian and ethnic divisions are push
Aug. 26, 2013
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Syria agrees to U.N. chemical weapons investigation
Syria agreed Sunday to a U.N. investigation into last week's alleged chemical weapons attack outside Damascus _ a deal a senior White House official dismissed as “too late to be credible,” saying the United States has “very little doubt” President Bashar Assad's forces used such weapons.The hardening of the U.S. position came as calls for military action grow. In a sign the U.S. may be a step closer to an armed response, naval forces have already been dispatched toward Syria's coastal waters, al
Aug. 26, 2013
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West raises stakes over Syria chemical claims
DAMASCUS (AFP) ― Pressure mounted Sunday on Damascus to allow a U.N. probe into claims of chemical weapons attacks, as Washington and London said there are “increasing signs” Syria‘s regime is to blame.A senior United Nations envoy is in Damascus pressing for an investigation by U.N. inspectors who have been on the ground in war-ravaged Syria for a week to probe three other suspect sites.The opposition accuses President Bashar al-Assad’s regime of killing more than 1,300 people Wednesday in chem
Aug. 25, 2013
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Seam possible cause of Japan nuclear tank leak
TOKYO (AP) ― The operator of Japan’s crippled nuclear plant said Saturday that deteriorated seams and a possible contortion of a reassembled storage tank might have caused a massive contaminated water leak that has triggered fears over the plant’s radioactive water management. Tokyo Electric Power Co. said that after the foundation of the tank, which was storing radioactive water, partially collapsed two years ago, it was moved and reassembled. A 300-ton water leak from the tank was discovered M
Aug. 25, 2013
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Mubarak, Muslim Brotherhood leaders go on trial in Egypt
CAIRO (AFP) ― Egypt’s former President Hosni Mubarak returns to court Sunday to face charges over protester deaths, as Muslim Brotherhood leaders make their first appearances in court on similar but unrelated charges.Separate hearings in different parts of the capital come against the backdrop of continued tension in the country, which has been rocked by political turmoil since the army ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in a July 3 coup.Mubarak, who left prison for house arrest last week,
Aug. 25, 2013
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U.S. wildfire gains strength, creeps into Yosemite park
FRESNO, California (AP) ― A wildfire raging along the northwest edge of California’s Yosemite National Park gained strength Saturday morning as firefighters scrambled to protect nearby mountain communities. The fire held steady overnight at more than 500 square kilometers, but a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says firefighters didn’t get their usual reprieve from cooler early morning temperatures Saturday. “This morning we are starting to see fire activit
Aug. 25, 2013
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13 Colombian soldiers killed ahead of talks
BOGOTA (AFP) ― FARC guerrillas killed 13 soldiers in an attack on a Colombian army patrol shortly after officials announced talks with the leftist rebels would resume Monday.“We regret to inform you that as the result of a FARC terrorist attack, two sergeants and 11 soldiers were killed,” the Colombian army leadership said in a statement Saturday.The incident took place in a rural area in the Arauca department town of Tame. Although the army did not specify the circumstances of the attack, milit
Aug. 25, 2013
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Hagel to stress U.S. ‘pivot’ in Asia tour
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) ― U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel kicks off a Southeast Asian tour Sunday meant to stress Washington’s so-called “pivot” back toward the Asia-Pacific but with attention diverted by trouble in the Middle East.The Pentagon chief’s weeklong trip is part of a concerted effort by Washington to rebalance America’s strategic priorities toward the Asia-Pacific.But crises in the Middle East continued to demand Hagel’s attention, particularly accusations that the Syrian regime had ca
Aug. 25, 2013
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N.Y. sues ‘Trump University’ and its get-rich claims
ALBANY, New York (AP) ― New York’s attorney general sued Donald Trump for $40 million Saturday, saying the real estate mogul helped run a phony “Trump University” that promised to make students rich but instead steered them into expensive and mostly useless seminars, and even failed to deliver promised apprenticeships. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says many of the 5,000 students who paid up to $35,000 thought they would at least meet Trump but instead all they got was their picture taken i
Aug. 25, 2013
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Unfilled jobs spark heated debate in Italy
ROME (AFP) ― A business owner has sparked a heated row in Italy over the paradox of record youth unemployment and thousands of unfilled vacancies, claiming that young Italians are too laid-back for the job market.Plastics manufacturer Giovanni Pagotto has said he is only hiring immigrants and complained Italian applicants were not “hungry” enough, comparing this to his own humble beginnings working on the factory floor.Pagotto, from the region near Venice, said one applicant wanted a three-month
Aug. 25, 2013
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Jewish ex-refugee seeks lost Shanghai love 70 years on
SHANGHAI (AFP) ― It was more than 70 years ago that Gary Matzdorff, a Jewish refugee, escaped Nazi Germany for China and found love, only to lose his paramour and then have to flee the Communists.Now 92, Matzdorff returned to his former home in Shanghai hoping to find the Chinese woman he spotted across a dance hall floor again.Then, the sophisticated city was renowned as the “Paris of the East.” Some of Matzdorff’s memories of Shanghai have faded over the decades, but the image of the woman in
Aug. 25, 2013
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China in big push against opinion-leading blogs
BEIJING (AP) ― Bestselling Chinese author Murong Xuecun had nearly 4 million followers on his Twitter-like microblog. One day in May his account disappeared. So did his profiles on several other social media sites. No explanation was given, but one is starting to emerge. Many famous Chinese ― from pop stars to scholars, journalists to business tycoons ― have amassed substantial online followings, and these larger-than-life personalities don’t always hew to the Communist Party line. Now Beijing i
Aug. 25, 2013
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Not-so-roughing-it: Glamorous ‘camping’ in NYC
NEW YORK (AP) ― Ahh, the joys of roughing it in the great outdoors ― champagne, high thread-count sheets, flat-screen television. Camping, New York City-style. At least a couple of city locales are offering this unusual option ― the chance to sleep outdoors, incredibly comfortably. It’s an urban take on “glamping,” where hotel comforts are taken outside. “It’s basically being able to sleep under the stars in a luxury setting,” said Jeffrey Poirot, general manager at AKA Central Park, which offer
Aug. 25, 2013