Central African Republic's President Francois Bozize fled the capital early Sunday, hours after hundreds of armed rebels threatening to overthrow him invaded the city, an adviser said.   The rebel alliance, known as Seleka, issued a statement referring to Bozize as the country's "former president."   "Central African Republic has just opened a new page in its history," said the communique, which was signed by Justin Kombo Moustapha, secretary-general of Seleka.   "The political committee of th

World News March 24, 2013

   The government is pushing to create the post of cyber security secretary at the presidential officeCheong Wa Dae in a bid to rapidly and efficiently cope with cyber attacks on key national organizations, officials at the ruling party said Sunday.   The presidential cyber security secretary, if appointed, will report directly to the chief of Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Office, the officials said.   Last week, several of the nation's major television stations and banks suffered what appea

Politics March 24, 2013

   China's new President Xi Jinping was due in Tanzania Sunday at the start of a three-nation Africa tour that underscores Beijing's growing presence in the resource-rich continent.   Xi will visit Tanzania's economic capital Dar es Salaam, where he is set to give a keynote speech on relations with Africa, before heading to Durban, South Africa on Monday to join a emerging economies summit.   He wraps up the African tour, part of his first overseas trip which started in Russia, with a visit to t

World News March 24, 2013

   Pope Francis celebrated his first Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square, encouraging people to be humble and young at heart, as tens of thousands joyfully waved olive branches and palm fronds.   The square overflowed with some 250,000 pilgrims, tourists and Romans eager to join the new pope at the start of solemn Holy Week ceremonies, which lead up to Easter, Christianity's most important day.   Keeping with his spontaneous style, the first pope from Latin America broke away several times fr

World News March 24, 2013

 Police investigating the possible sex bribery scandal invloving high ranking officials now suspect illegal substances may have been used by those who frequented the villa where the events took place, sources said Saturday.   The scandal has forced Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-eui to step down Thursday, with speculations abounding that other public figures may be implicated, including high ranking police officers. Kim, who claimed his innocence, may have visited the villa located in Wonju 132 k

Social Affairs March 23, 2013

  Mixed acid has leaked from the LG Siltron plant in Gumi, raising concerns that the agents may have polluted the nearby area, local government authorities said Saturday.   The leak of hydrofluoric, nitric and acetic acids that took place late Friday marks the second time this month that the wafer company reported such an incident. The first incident took place on March 2.   Investigators at the industrial city located 261 kilometers southeast of Seoul said that event occurred when a pipe used t

Social Affairs March 23, 2013

  North Korea on Saturday blasted the ongoing joint Foal Eagle military drills as a flagrant provocation and made clear it viewed them as a direct threat to its security.   The Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said the annual South Korea-U.S. field training exercise that kicked off this month and run through the end of April, involve hundreds of thousands of troops and nuclear weapons.   "The U.S. and warmongers (in the South) are engaged in a war dri

North Korea March 23, 2013

  French minister Fleur Pellerin begins a highly symbolic trip this weekend to South Korea, the land of her birth, where she is a celebrity due to her roots and a rags-to-riches story.   Pellerin, the junior minister for small and medium enterprises, innovation, and the digital economy, is due to meet with South Korea's President ParkGeun-Hye, its prime minister and top officials from leading chaebols, or business conglomerates, such as Samsung and Hyundai.   Born in 1973 in Seoul and abandoned,

International March 23, 2013

South Korea's new finance minister said Saturday that it needs to be cautious of adopting the so-called Tobin tax, indicating that such a measure could trigger a capital outflow.   The South Korean government said earlier that the country may move to tighten its regulation on capital flows in and out of the country amid worries that growing volatility in the currency market could hurt the country's overall economic stability.   As part of the new measures, the government said it is considering i

March 23, 2013

  North Korea accused Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of inciting confrontation and taking a leading role in anti-Pyongyang activities, the state media said Saturday.   The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea said Abe's recent statement that the North is fated for collapse is a sign that the country is blindly following the United States.   The Japanese politician made the remark last week on a TV program after harshly attacking the North for detonating its third nuc

North Korea March 23, 2013

  South Korea's stock market is expected to rebound next week as concerns over the eurozone crisis ease and a series of stimulus measures set to be revealed boost investor sentiment here, analysts said Saturday.   The country's key stock index, the KOSPI, dropped 1.9 percent this week to close at 1,948.71 on Friday, weighed down by an escalating fiscal problem in Cyprus and a cyber attack on several media outlets and banks.   Standard & Poor's, a global credit appraiser, slashed Cyprus's soverei

March 23, 2013

  Toyota Motor plans to raise domestic production during the April-September period by about 10 percent from its earlier estimate thanks to the recent weak yen, it was reported Saturday.   Toyota has already revised up planned output for April and May by 10 percent to between 13,000 and 13,500 vehicles a day and it now intends to keep production at that level through to September, the Nikkei business daily said.   The weakening Japanese currency is seen pushing up exports of the Corolla and Priu

Industry March 23, 2013

  Anxious to keep Syria's civil war from spiraling into even worse problems, President Barack Obama said Friday he worries about the country becoming a haven for extremists when -- not if -- President Bashar Assad is ousted from power.  Obama, standing side by side with Jordan's King Abdullah II, said the international community must work together to ensure there is a credible opposition ready to step into the breach.  ``Something has been broken in Syria, and it's not going to be put back toget

World March 23, 2013

  A North Korean movie that has made its debut in the United States last month will be shown at two more film festivals in the United States, a media report said Saturday.   The romantic comedy made jointly by North Korean, British and Belgian film producers has been invited to the Hawaii and Wisconsin film events slated for April, Radio Free Asia said.   The movie is set and filmed in Pyongyang, and portrays the life of Kim Yong-mi, a 28-year-old coal miner, who overcomes hardships to fulfill h

North Korea March 23, 2013

   North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected a special forces unit and was briefed on its mission and training status, state media reported Saturday.   The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) monitored in Seoul said Kim, who holds the rank of Marshal in the Korean People's Army, toured the headquarters element of Unit 1973.   The visit occurred Friday, with the North's official news wire service stressing there was "profound meaning" in Kim checking of the unit, although it did not elaborate on de

North Korea March 23, 2013