South Koreans forgot decades-long political tensions, at least for 90 minutes, on Monday, cheering not only their compatriot footballers but those from North Korea waging a battle for a spot in the Asiad final.The inter-Korean showdown in the semifinal match in South Korea's western port city of Incheon was fierce; South Korea was bent on the seemingly elusive goal of clinching the first-ever Asiad gold in the women's football, while the North aimed to take the title back after eight years in th

More Sports Sept. 29, 2014

BRUSSELS (AFP) -- The European Union said it will unveil on Tuesday details of investigations into sweetheart tax deals for Apple amid reports it will accuse the U.S. tech giant of getting illegal state aid.The probe into Apple's tax affairs in Ireland, where it has for years enjoyed an effective rate of less than 2.0 percent, found the schemes gave the company an unfair competitive advantage, the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal reported.The EU launched an investigation in June into tax

World Business Sept. 29, 2014

A U.S. special envoy condemned North Korea Monday for being increasingly recalcitrant about international calls to honor its denuclearization pledges but stressed that Washington and Beijing have "firmly" agreed on the importance of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.Ambassador Glyn Davies, who serves as Washington's special envoy for North Korea policy, met with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei in Beijing earlier in the day. The China trip is the first leg of the envoy's Asian tour that will also

North Korea Sept. 29, 2014

BEIRUT (AP) -- U.S.-led coalition strikes targeted Islamic State group positions overnight across in northern and eastern Syria, including one that hit a grain silo and reportedly killed civilians, activists said Monday.Washington and its Arab allies opened their air assault against the extremist group last week, going after its military facilities, training camps, heavy weapons and oil installations. The campaign expands upon the airstrikes the United States has been conducting against the mili

World News Sept. 29, 2014

South Korean tennis duo of Lim Dong-kyu and Chung Hyeon clinched gold in the men's doubles at the Asian Games on Monday, ending the country's 28-year gold medal drought in the event.Lim and Chung beat Saketh Sai Myneni and Sanam Krishan Singh 7-5, 7-6 (2) in the men's doubles tennis final at Yeorumul Tennis Courts.The eighth-seeded pair had beat the fourth seed Indian team of Divij Sharan and Yuki Bhambri in full sets in the semifinals.After nearly three and a half hours of rain delay, the match

More Sports Sept. 29, 2014

North Korea said Sunday it had sentenced detained American Matthew Miller to six years' hard labour for "hostile" acts against Pyongyang.The sentence came some two weeks after Miller and two other detained Americans made a highly unusual televised plea to Washington to negotiate their release.The North's Supreme Court passed the sentence on Miller in a trial earlier Sunday, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said in a terse one-paragraph report."He committed acts hostile to the (North) whi

North Korea Sept. 14, 2014

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia warned Saturday that it would react if the European Union imposed tougher economic sanctions against it over the situation in Ukraine."As for the new list of sanctions from the European Union, if they are passed, there will undoubtedly be a reaction from our side," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.Moscow criticised the European Union for drawing up the tougher sanctions despite a truce agreed in Minsk that was appearing to hold in eastern Ukraine on Saturday

World News Sept. 6, 2014

TOKYO (AFP) - A top North Korean diplomat left Saturday for a tour of Europe amid signs reclusive Pyongyang has started to adopt a more active approach to foreign relations, a report said.Kang Sok-Ju, a secretary of the central committee of the ruling Workers' Party, is scheduled to visit Belgium, Switzerland and other European countries, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported from the North Korean capital, quoting diplomatic sources.Kang, 75, who was vice prime minister from 2010-2014, could also m

North Korea Sept. 6, 2014

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia on Saturday sent six ships carrying personnel and equipment to a Soviet-era military base in the Arctic that it is reopening to bolster its presence in the region, Russian news agencies reported.Moscow is ramping up its military presence in the pristine but energy-rich region as other countries such as Canada and Norway are also staking claims to access its resources.President Vladimir Putin last year ordered the military to return to a base on the far-Northern New Siberian

World News Sept. 6, 2014

ISLAMABAD (AP) - Heavy monsoon rains and flash floods washing across Pakistan have killed 110 people and injured 148, a government official said Saturday, as authorities warned of more rain in the coming days and troops raced to evacuate people from deluged areas.Ahmad Kamal, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Authority, said at least 61 people died in the eastern Punjab province since Thursday. He said another 38 people died in the Pakistan's portion of Kashmir and 11 died in nort

World News Sept. 6, 2014

PANAMA CITY (AFP) - Panama Canal expansion work has uncovered an unexpected trove of archeological and paleontological treasures, scientists said, as the massive construction project winds down.Workers who have blasted through mountains and dug up thick vegetation, have also uncovered the fossils of some 3,000 invertebrates and 500 vertebrates, as well as of more than 250 plants -- including the remains of a forest consumed by fire after a volcanic eruption.Experts hired by the Panama Canal Auth

World News Sept. 6, 2014

NEWPORT, United Kingdom (AFP) - U.S. President Barack Obama  outlined plans on Friday for a broad international coalition to defeat Islamic State extremists in Iraq and Syria, but they received a cautious response from European allies.Speaking at a NATO summit, Obama said the United States would also try to involve Middle Eastern allies in a strategy to counter the jihadists, who have overrun large swathes of territory."It's not going to happen overnight but we are steadily moving in the right d

World News Sept. 6, 2014

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - Shadowed by two U.S. fighter jets, a small plane with its windows frosted and its pilot slumped over flew a ghostly 1,700-mile journey down the Atlantic Coast and beyond Friday before finally crashing in the waters off Jamaica. The fate of the two or more people aboard was not immediately known.The plane carrying a prominent real estate developer from Rochester, New York and his wife went down about 14 miles (22 kilometers) northeast of the coastal town of Port Antonio a

World News Sept. 6, 2014