The number of civil servants in South Korea has risen sharply to approach the 1 million mark, the home affairs ministry said Thursday.There were 987,754 central and local government officials as of last year's end, up 7.9 percent from 915,221 in 2005, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security said. The figure has since been on a steady rise to 940,397 in 2006, 963,132 in 2007, 968,836 in

Politics July 7, 2011

Arizona police charged a man of child abuse after he burned his 5-year-old son’s hand to get rid of demons, according to reports.　Johnny Salazar, 25, explained that he did it because the son had touched his Bible and become “possessed by Satan.”　When arrested, he was speaking languages that could not be understood.　His mother, Connie Salazar, maintained that her son was suffering from hallucinatio

World July 7, 2011

A father was sentenced to 8 years in jail this week for killing his daughter who had condemned him for his financial problems.　The 51-year-old, whose name has not been released, strangled his daughter whilst she was lying on a bed.　Divorced, he had been raising his two children alone. However, the aftermath of the separation had left him mentally scarred and he was unable to work. 　The family hous

Social Affairs July 7, 2011

By Cho Ji-hyunThree well-known global companies are taking part in the bid for E-Mart’s Chinese operations, according to a U.K.-based company specializing in information on M&As.Mergermarket, an independent mergers and acquisitions intelligence service, told The Korea Herald that Wal-Mart, Tesco and Ren Ren Le are most likely in line to take over E-Mart’s Shanghai operations and that the players w

Industry July 7, 2011

DURBAN, South Africa (Yonhap) -- Bid officials of PyeongChang, a South Korean candidate for the 2018 Winter Olympics,held a lively and spirited press conference here Monday, handling questions with aplomb with an International Olympic Committee (IOC) vote on the host fast approaching.In the final run-up to the IOC vote scheduled for Wednesday, PyeongChang kept hammering home its message of bringin

More Sports July 5, 2011

NEW YORK (AFP) ― The U.S. Federal Reserve wound up its $600-billion “QE2” program to boost the ailing economy with easy liquidity on Thursday, having generated more controversy than jobs and growth.Without fanfare the U.S. central bank’s New York branch paid banks $4.9 billion for U.S. Treasury bonds in the program’s last step Thursday morning, as economists and bankers continued to argue its effe

World Business July 1, 2011

A Chinese manufacturing index fell to the lowest level since February 2009, signaling that the world’s second-biggest economy is cooling as export demand weakens and the government reins in credit to control inflation. The Purchasing Managers’ Index was at 50.9 in June compared with 52 in May, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in an emailed statement on Friday. A separate surve

World News July 1, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) ― Former International Monetary Fund Leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn will have his pricey bail substantially reduced in his sexual assault case because of issues with his accuser’s credibility, a person familiar with the case said Thursday.The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters not yet made public in court, said prosecutors have raised issues about the credi

World News July 1, 2011

ATHENS (AP) ― Greece has faced down street violence and strikes for the sake of financial aid it was promised and needs to avoid bankruptcy. Now its fellow European countries will be expected to come up with a second rescue package to convince investors that the 17-nation euro will survive the debt crisis.A new austerity package that lawmakers cleared in Athens is required to get more rescue loans

World Business July 1, 2011

NEW YORK (AFP) ― NBA team owners ordered a lockout of players to commerce one minute after midnight on Friday as last-ditch talks failed, setting up a shutdown that threatens the 2011-2012 season.The first NBA work stoppage since the 1998-1999 season was slashed to 50 games will halt trades, free agent signings and contract talks. Players, who would not be paid, also would be barred from using tea

More Sports July 1, 2011

LONDON (AFP) ― Maria Sharapova will attempt to complete her long journey back from the wilderness at Wimbledon on Saturday when she takes on Czech eighth seed Petra Kvitova for the women’s singles crown.The 24-year-old Russian fifth seed is the overwhelming favorite to reclaim the title that she won for the first time in 2004, when as a fresh-faced teenager she took the All England Club by storm.S

More Sports July 1, 2011

Ban Ki-moon, who succeeded in securing his second term as the U.N. chief on Tuesday, is well known for his diligence and sincerity.U.N. diplomats who have assisted the South Korean U.N. secretary-general for four and a half years all cite his “tireless efforts” in steering the global organization. They say Ban made them realize that diligence and perseverance are the most important values of all.B

World News June 22, 2011