[Newsmaker] California unveils water cut plan

LOS ANGELES ― California announced sweeping statewide water restrictions for the first time in history Wednesday in order to combat the region’s devastating drought, the worst since records began.Gov. Jerry Brown issued the declaration at a press conference in a parched, brown slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains that would normally be covered by deep snow.“Today, we are standing on dry grass where there should be 5 feet (1.5 meters) of snow,” Brown said. “This historic drought demands unprecede

World NewsApril 2, 2015

[Newsmaker] Buhari boosts democracy in Nigeria

LAGOS ― Muhammadu Buhari, who has claimed victory in Nigeria’s most closely fought presidential election, is not a man who is easily put off.He tried three times previously to become head of state since the return to civilian rule in 1999 ― and failed on each occasion.But the tough retired major general who overthrew elected president Shehu Shagari ― widely seen as inept and corrupt ― in a military coup in 1983, was determined to lead the country again. And to do it the right way this time.Muham

World NewsApril 1, 2015

[Newsmaker] Air Force to revamp command structure

The South Korean military has decided to reorganize the Air Force’s command structure to enhance efficiency in both peacetime and wartime operations, and better incorporate new weapons systems into its missions, the Air Force said Tuesday.Under the reorganization plan, the Air Force’s Southern and Northern Combat Commands will be refurbished into the Air Combat Command and the Air Mobility & Reconnaissance Command ― a shift from the hitherto geographically arranged command structure to a functio

DefenseMarch 31, 2015

[Newsmaker] Prosecutors widen probe into ex-Lee aide

 A former presidential secretary during the Lee Myung-bak administration has been placed under a widening investigation for irregularities, with fresh allegations suggesting he meddled in the designation of his daughter as a professor at his former college.Park Bum-hoon, then-aide for Lee, is suspected of forcing the Education Ministry to give favors to Chung-Ang University’s application for its Seoul-Anseong campus consolidation by abusing his authority as presidential secretary. He was preside

Social AffairsMarch 30, 2015

[Newsmaker] Saudi troops would face Yemen ‘quagmire’

DUBAI ― Saudi-led airstrikes alone are unlikely to crush Iranian-backed Yemeni rebels but a ground incursion would risk a bloody “quagmire” and escalating tensions with Tehran, experts say.Saudi Arabia pledged to do “whatever it takes” to defend its ally President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi after launching aerial raids against the Huthi Shiite fighters and their allies.Despite the kingdom’s formidable firepower, analysts say dropping bombs alone is of limited effectiveness.“History shows that air st

World NewsMarch 29, 2015

[Newsmaker] Korea deploys new science satellite

YASNY, Russia ― South Korea said Thursday it has successfully sent a new science satellite into space, its radio communication with the country’s ground station indicating that the satellite is operating properly.The Korea Multipurpose Satellite-3A (KOMSAT-3A) was launched at 3:08 a.m. from the Yasny launch base, located some 1,800 kilometers southeast of Moscow.The Korea Multipurpose Satellite-3A lifts off from the Yasny launch base in Russia on Thursday. (Yonhap)A radio communication between t

TechnologyMarch 26, 2015

[Newsmaker] Navy beset by corruption

The South Korean Navy is faltering under a string of corruption and sexual scandals involving former and current senior officials, triggering public criticism and calls for sweeping reform amid North Korea’s continued maritime threats.The scandals have overshadowed the Navy’s efforts to honor this week the sacrifices of the 46 sailors who were killed in the North’s torpedo attack on the corvette Cheonan five years ago.Former Chief of Naval Operations Hwang Ki-chul (right) attends a farewell cere

DefenseMarch 25, 2015

[Newsmaker] Tea Party agitator Cruz aims for White House

WASHINGTON ― Once reviled by fellow Republicans as a “wacko bird” for leading the U.S. government to a 2013 shutdown, resurgent Sen. Ted Cruz has turned his Constitution-above-all conservatism into a Tea Party quest for the White House.As a freshman in the upper chamber of Congress, the 44-year-old Texas lawmaker ― an intellectual proponent of a grassroots movement that has simmered for years under the Republican mainstream ― has just two years under his belt in Washington.But in the 2016 presid

World NewsMarch 24, 2015

[Newsmaker] Lee Kuan Yew: Feared leader of Singapore

SINGAPORE ― Lee Kuan Yew, one of the commanding figures of Asia’s post-war economic rise, was an authoritarian leader who transformed Singapore from a sleepy British imperial outpost into a global trading and financial center.The former prime minister known as “LKY” died Monday following a seven-week struggle with pneumonia, aged 91, after bestriding the city-state’s politics for half a century following its emergence from colonial rule.U.S. President Barack Obama said after meeting the still he

World NewsMarch 23, 2015

[Newsmaker] IS aims to eclipse al-Qaida in Yemen

DUBAI ― By claiming its first attack in Yemen the Islamic State group is seeking to exploit the chaos gripping the country and siphon support from the world’s most fearsome al-Qaida branch, analysts say.Suicide bombings at two mosques frequented by members of the Shiite Huthi militia in control of the capital killed 142 people and wounded 351 on Friday in one of the deadliest extremist attacks in Yemen’s history.IS claimed responsibility, warning it was “the tip of the iceberg” for Yemen.In cont

World NewsMarch 22, 2015

[Newsmaker] Netanyahu comes under U.S. pressure

JERUSALEM ― Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, fresh from a sweeping election victory Wednesday, quickly came under pressure from Washington to step back from hardline campaign promises over the conflict with the Palestinians.As beaten rival Isaac Herzog ruled out forming a unity government, the White House gave a tepid acknowledgement of Netanyahu’s victory, with President Barack Obama yet to call to congratulate him. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and his son Yair vis

World NewsMarch 19, 2015

[Newsmaker] Moon seizes limelight

In a much anticipated face-to-face meeting with President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday, Moon Jae-in of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy wasted no time blasting her “botched” economic policies. It was two years after Moon took a back seat in his party after he was defeated in the presidential election in 2012. Moon told Park that her entire economic policies had left the economy in great danger and failed to improve the quality of people’s lives, which were her major campaign pledges.  Park’s

PoliticsMarch 18, 2015

[Newsmaker] Robert Durst faces murder charge

NEW ORLEANS ― Robert Durst couldn’t explain away the similarities between his handwriting and a letter he said “only the killer could have written” that alerted police to his friend’s shooting 15 years ago.Confronted with new evidence by the makers of a documentary about his life, the troubled millionaire blinked, burped oddly, pulled his ear and briefly put his head in his hands before denying he was the killer.Then he stepped away from the tense interview and went to the bathroom, still wearin

World NewsMarch 17, 2015

[Newsmaker] Mass protests challenge Rousseff

SAO PAULO ― Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff faced the biggest challenge yet of her young and turbulent second term, as hundreds of thousands of protesters took to streets in more than 150 cities to demand her impeachment and an end to corruption.The Sunday protests, organized by right-leaning groups on social media and held across the continent-sized nation, had none of the violence seen in massive antigovernment demonstrations that hit the country in 2013 and lingered into the following year

World NewsMarch 16, 2015

[Newsmaker] Elderly left poor by low pension payments

South Korea was found to have one of the least generous pension systems in the developed world, while suffering its highest rate of senior poverty, a report showed Sunday. According to the Korea Labor Institute, the net replacement rate of the Korean elderly reached 45.2 percent as of 2011, about 10 percent lower than the average rate of countries in the Organization for Economic Corporation and Development. The net replacement rate is to the level of the post-retirement pension income compared

Social AffairsMarch 15, 2015

[Newsmaker] LG chairman renews commitment to R&D

LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo has renewed his commitment to elevating the group’s research and development prowess, pledging huge new investment and more support for researchers.“In an era of technological convergence across industries, the importance of R&D is getting bigger and bigger,” he told employees at the group’s R&D performance evaluation event in Seoul on Thursday. “Devote yourself to developing fundamental technologies that will change the world.”The annual event honors key R&D achiev

TechnologyMarch 12, 2015

[Newsmaker] Clinton breaks silence on email controversy

NEW YORK ― Presumed 2016 presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton stormed back onto America’s political stage Tuesday, seeking to quell concerns she used private email while secretary of state but acknowledging it was not the “smarter” option.In her first public comments since the controversy erupted last week, Clinton said she exclusively used a personal email account as a “matter of convenience,” and insisted that the private server she used suffered no security breaches.She also said “no classifi

World NewsMarch 11, 2015

[Newsmaker] Apple Watch to include array of features

SAN FRANCISCO ― Apple launched an assault on the fledgling wearable tech market Monday, unveiling a high-end smartwatch that offers new ways to stay connected and to track health and fitness.The Apple Watch will be available in several major markets around the world from April 24, at a starting price of $349.“Apple Watch begins a new chapter in the way we relate to technology,” said chief executive Tim Cook, who spoke at a San Francisco media event.Cook said “the most personal device we have eve

World BusinessMarch 10, 2015

[Newsmaker] Japan glimpses its future in Fukushima today

Japan will honor its dead this week from the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the coastline north of Tokyo on March 11 four years ago.For those who have spent those years helping survivors in the northeast region known as Tohoku, the experience has thrown up the challenge of how to knit back together communities built over centuries, then shattered in the space of minutes on that Friday afternoon in 2011.Doctors and others say the work in Tohoku has also offered a fast-forward glimpse into

World NewsMarch 9, 2015

[Newsmaker] Film on Chinese pollution gets the ax

A documentary film investigating China’s poor air quality was pulled from major Chinese online video sites on Friday by order of the government after it drew millions of views, the Wall Street Journal reported. “Under the Dome” was withdrawn from Internet services including Youku Tudou Inc. and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s v.qq.com, the Journal said, citing unidentified people familiar with the government directive. Former China Central Television reporter Chai Jing released the film online on Feb. 2

World NewsMarch 8, 2015