The Korea Herald

Greece, Italy turn to experts on debt

ATHENS (AP) ― Europe’s financial crisis eased as Greece installed a respected economist to replace its prime minister and Italy appeared poised to do the same ― both hoping that monetary experts can do better than the politicians who drove their nations so deeply into debt.The announcement Thursday in Athens ― coupled with the prospect that volatile Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will be ushered out soon ― quieted market fears, at least for now, that turmoil in Europe could threaten th

Nov. 11, 2011

MF Global’s dive shows few changes on Wall Street

WASHINGTON (AP) ― After countless new rules designed to make Wall Street safer, it’s come to this: Another securities firm has collapsed from risky, poorly disclosed bets.Not enough, in other words, has changed since the U.S. financial system nearly toppled three years ago. The bankruptcy filing last week by MF Global Holdings Ltd. didn’t freeze lending and panic investors around the world, as Lehman Brothers’ did in 2008. But the rapid fall of the firm run by former Goldman Sachs chief Jon Corz

Nov. 11, 2011

Stronger yuan vital for balanced global growth: U.S.

HONOLULU (AFP) ― The United States on Thursday urged China to allow the yuan to appreciate faster, saying stronger Asian currencies were vital to restoring global financial stability amid a European debt crisis.U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said after chairing a meeting of Asia Pacific finance ministers that a main focus of their talks was on how to help strengthen global economic growth and make it more balanced.“This process of rebalancing will be aided by exchange rate policies in Chin

Nov. 11, 2011

Russia poised to join world trade body

After 18-year effort, Moscow finally gets go-ahead to join WTOGENEVA (AP) ― Russia cleared a major hurdle toward opening up its huge oil-driven economy Thursday, with negotiators agreeing to final terms that would allow it to join the World Trade Organization after an 18-year effort.The deal is expected to quickly inject 4 billion ($5.45 billion) euros a year into the ailing European economy by boosting European Union exports.The 27-nation bloc is Russia’s biggest trading partner for its agricul

Nov. 11, 2011

Phil Mickelson easily enters Hall of Fame

Phil Mickelson will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in May after the four-time major tournament winner was elected with the highest voting percentage in a decade. Mickelson, the only player elected from the U.S. PGA Tour ballot, received 72 percent of the vote, the highest share since Greg Norman was elected with 80 percent in 2001, according to the hall. He will be inducted on May 7 in St. Augustine, Florida, three days before the start of the PGA Tour’s Players championship. “This

Nov. 11, 2011

Woods emerges from slump to lead in Australia open

SYDNEY (AP) ― Tiger Woods walked off the golf course to see his name atop the leaderboard Friday in the Australian Open. Even more pleasing to him was the way he got there.With control of his shots and comfortable over the putter, Woods put together his best back-to-back rounds of the year with a 5-under 67 that gave him a one-shot lead among the early starters in the second round.If it holds up at the end of the day, it would be his first time in the lead after any round since the third day of

Nov. 11, 2011

Woods emerges from slump to lead in Australia open

NBA labor talks break down again

NEW YORK (AP) ― NBA players broke off negotiations with the league Thursday night, saying there had not been enough progress to get a deal done to end the lockout.The league offered the players a revised offer after nearly 11 hours of bargaining, but union president Derek Fisher said it doesn’t address all the necessary system issues that are important to the players.“It does not meet us entirely on the system issues that we felt were extremely important to try and close this thing out, and so a

Nov. 11, 2011

Civil suit filed over jailed IN swim coach

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—The family of an Indiana teenager filed a civil lawsuit against USA Swimming and others Thursday, saying officials didn’t do enough to protect the girl from the sexual assaults by her coach.The suit, filed in Marion County Superior Court, levels accusations against the umbrel

Nov. 11, 2011

Civil suit filed over jailed IN swim coach

Life in jail for China civil servant who threw wife off cruise ship

A civil servant who claimed he threw his ex-wifeto her death from a Hong Kong cruise ship to fulfill her wish for aburial at sea was Friday beginning a life sentence for murder.Chinese national Wang Weilie, 49, told police his wife YangWenjuan was suicidal and he thought she was dead when he threw h

Nov. 11, 2011

Life in jail for China civil servant who threw wife off cruise ship

Rhino subspecies vanishing from the wild

GENEVA (AP) — The Western Black Rhino of Africa has been declared officially extinct, and two other subspecies of rhinoceros are close to meeting the same fate, a leading conservation group said Thursday.The International Union for Conservation of Nature said a recent reassessment of the Weste

Nov. 11, 2011

Rhino subspecies vanishing from the wild

Chinese swarm to marry on lucky 11/11/11

Chinese couples flocked to registry offices to marry on Friday in the belief that the "11/11/11" date is the most auspicious in a century.November 11 has been celebrated as an unofficial "singles' day" in China since the 1990s -- as the date is composed of the number one -- and it is seen as a good

Nov. 11, 2011

Chinese swarm to marry on lucky 11/11/11

Papademos is new Greek PM, vows to stick with euro

ATHENS, Greece (AP) _ Greece appointed senior banker Lucas Papademos prime minister Thursday of an interim unity government that will seek to cement a European debt deal and stave off national bankruptcy.Chosen after four tortuous days of power-sharing talks, Papademos immediately called for unity a

Nov. 11, 2011

Merkel presses Italy to clarify future leadership

BERLIN (AP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel pressed Italy on Tuesday to clear up quickly who will run the country, something that she said is key to restoring its credibility.Premier Silvio Berlusconi pledged earlier this week to quit but questions remain over the timing and what will happen next.

Nov. 10, 2011

Arab leaders offer asylum to Assad: U.S.

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Arab leaders are privately telling the United States that they have offered Syrian President Bashar Assad asylum in a bid to get him to step down, a top U.S. diplomat told lawmakers on Wednesday.“Some Arab leaders already have begun to offer Assad safe-haven in an effort to encourage him to leave peaceably and quickly,” said Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman.“Almost all the Arab leaders say the same thing: Assad’s rule is coming to an end. C

Nov. 10, 2011

Repression endangers Congo vote: U.N.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ― Repression by Congo’s government ahead of this month’s critical presidential election could lead to even more violence in the Central African nation struggling after decades of dictatorship and civil war, the United Nations warned Wednesday.The report from the U.N. Joint Human Rights Office in Geneva said people have been beaten and arrested just for wearing opposition party T-shirts. One man has been jailed since March for selling a newspaper that questioned President Joseph

Nov. 10, 2011

Turkey quake kills at least 7, dozens trapped

City of Van hit by yet another earthquake that toppled 25 buildingsANKARA (AP) ― Rescue workers have pulled out 23 survivors from the rubble of three buildings, collapsed by an earthquake in eastern Turkey, the country’s disaster management authority said Thursday. At least seven were killed and dozens of others trapped.Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said Wednesday’s quake toppled 25 buildings in the city of Van but only three of them were occupied since the others have been evacuated after

Nov. 10, 2011

Turkey quake kills at least 7, dozens trapped

Iran oil sanctions face economic risks

DUBAI (AP) ― With Iran angrily defiant about a U.N. report accusing it of developing nuclear weapons, Western powers and allies faced complicated questions Wednesday on how to further tighten pressure on the oil giant without shaking the fragile world economy.The path toward possible new sanctions also quickly confronted a huge roadblock as Iranian ally Russia said it would oppose any new measures in the U.N. Security Council and rejected any military options as risking “grave consequences” to g

Nov. 10, 2011

U.K. students protest over tuition

LONDON (AFP) ― Thousands of students marched through London Wednesday against cuts in university funding as a massive police operation prevented a repeat of the violence at similar protests a year ago.Organizers said 10,000 people joined the march through the heart of London’s financial district in protest against a tripling in higher education fees by the coalition government of Prime Minister David Cameron.About 4,000 police were deployed, Scotland Yard said, adding that it did not dispute the

Nov. 10, 2011

‘Mexico commits rights violations in drug war’

MEXICO CITY (AP) ― Israel Arzate Melendez said soldiers snatched him off the street, gave him electric shocks, asphyxiated him and threatened that his wife would be raped and killed unless he admitted to a role in one of Mexico’s most infamous cases of drug violence.When Arzate told a judge he was tortured into falsely confessing to a role in the 2010 massacre of 15 teens at a party in Ciudad Juarez, she responded that his account was too detailed to be fabricated.Arzate’s case was among dozens

Nov. 10, 2011

Obama sets off to meet Asian-Pacific partners

WASHINGTON (AP) ― President Barack Obama is about to embark on a nine-day trip to Hawaii, Australia and Indonesia that will take him away from Washington at an important time, but White House officials said Wednesday it’s all about U.S. jobs.The trip also will underscore the economic, political and security importance of the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region, which the U.S. sees as critical to American interests in coming years.“The president’s No. 1 priority is job creation, and our efforts to c

Nov. 10, 2011