Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the biggest wind turbine maker, said the Sailrocket 2 boat it sponsors set two sailing records, becoming the fastest wind-powered vessel.Sailrocket 2 set the best average speed recorded over a 500-meter stretch of water, posting a mark of 59.23 knots (109 kilometers an hour) that eclipsed the previous best of 55.65 knots set in 2010 by American kite surfer Rob Douglas, Vestas said today in a statement on its website."The boat was really flying across the water today," pr

World Business Nov. 20, 2012

LONDON (AFP) -- Britain on Tuesday recognized Syria's newly formed opposition coalition as the sole representative of the Syrian people, becoming the latest Western country to give its backing to the group.Foreign Secretary William Hague told parliament he took the decision after he met coalition leaders in London on Friday and they assured him that they have backing inside Syria and would respect human rights.Hague said he has asked the group to appoint a political representative to Britain and

World News Nov. 20, 2012

JERUSALEM (AP) -- A Palestinian rocket struck the outskirts of Jerusalem on Tuesday, landing harmlessly in an open area in one of the longest rocket strikes fired from the Gaza Strip in nearly a week of fighting.The rocket attack, the second aimed at the holy city since an Israeli offensive began a week ago, set off air raid sirens throughout the metropolis. A distant explosion could be heard in the city's downtown. Jerusalem residents ran for cover as buses and trains stopped to let passengers

World News Nov. 20, 2012

PARIS (AFP) -- Multiple rounds of international sanctions are failing to have any effect on Iran's controversial nuclear programme, the head of the UN atomic agency said on Tuesday."We are verifying the activities at the nuclear sites in Iran and we do not see any effect," International Atomic Energy Agency head Yukiya Amano said in Paris."They are for example producing enriched uranium up to five percent and 20 percent with a quite constant pace."Uranium enrichment lies at the heart of the inte

World News Nov. 20, 2012

Independent presidential hopeful Ahn Cheol-soo said Tuesday that if he becomes the standard bearer for the liberal camp, his campaign will rally around the main opposition Democratic United Party to win the December poll.In an interview with Yonhap News Agency, the 50-year-old entrepreneur-turned-politician said there will be a need to reflect the wishes of all people who supported the liberal cause.The comments come as Ahn is engaged in talks with DUP candidate Moon Jae-in to decide who should

Politics Nov. 20, 2012

BEIJING (AFP) -- Two-thirds of high-street garments tested in a study by Greenpeace contained potentially harmful chemicals, the group said Tuesday, highlighting the findings with a "toxic" fashion show in Beijing.The environmental campaign group is pushing for fashion brands to commit to "zero discharge of all hazardous chemicals" by 2020 and to require suppliers to publicise any toxic chemicals they release into the environment.Greenpeace said its investigation tested 141 garments from 20 top

World News Nov. 20, 2012

The Seoul prosecution service said Tuesday that it was investigating allegations that South Korea's largest drug manufacturer, Donga Pharmaceutical Co., has created slush funds by buying and selling gift cards.Donga Pharmaceutical is suspected of buying tens of million dollars of gift cards by corporate credit cards and resold them to secure cash, prosecution officials said.A gift card is exchanged for cash at a discount at the local black markets.Prosecutors said they were trying to find out th

Industry Nov. 20, 2012

YANGON (AFP) - Myanmar's president has ordered more than a dozen ministries to repay tens of thousands of dollars "embezzled" by staff, in a rare public move to tackle graft in one of the world's most corrupt nations.The order comes after the auditor general found dozens of cases of "misuse and dishonest actions" involving 15 ministries that stripped nearly $65 million from government coffers over the 2011-12 fiscal year.Around $150,000 is owed by staff at the ministries, who have until March ne

World News Nov. 20, 2012

LONDON (AFP) -- UBS trader Kweku Adoboli, who gambled away $2.3 billion of the Swiss bank's money, was found guilty of one count of fraud in London on Tuesday.The jury at Southwark Crown Court was still deliberating on one other charge of fraud and four counts of false accounting between October 2008 and September 2011.Ghanaian-born Adoboli, 32, who stands accused of Britain's biggest ever fraud, admitted the losses but denied any wrongdoing.During the two-month trial he claimed senior managers

World Business Nov. 20, 2012

Bus drivers vowed Tuesday to begin a naitonwide strike later this week in protest against a bill that redefines taxis as a mode of mass transit and offers them compensation for losses.The debate over whether taxis are public transportation means heated up after a parliamentary committee last week unanimously passed the bill that effectively categorized taxis as a mode of mass transit.The bill has yet to be approved by a full parliamentary session.Expressing immediate opposition to the move, the

Social Affairs Nov. 20, 2012

France's loss of the top credit rating at Moody's Investors Service may weaken President Francois Hollande's leverage in European budget talks and deepen concern in Germany over its neighbor's lagging competitiveness.The downgrade late yesterday of Europe's second-biggest economy underscores the concern expressed by allies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the Socialist Hollande's failure to recognize the urgency of France's woes risks a deepening of Europe's slump."This downgrade will cer

World Business Nov. 20, 2012

Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., a major South Korean shipbuilder, said Tuesday that it has won a $239.9 million deal to build industrial tank farms in Saudi Arabia.Under the deal with Sadara Chemical Co., Daewoo E&C will construct chemical storage tanks and other facilities for Saudi Arabia's new tank farms at the Jubail petrochemicals complex on the Persian Gulf coast, the company said in a filing.Sadara Chemical is a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical Co. of the United

Industry Nov. 20, 2012

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israel on Tuesday halted a threatened Gaza ground offensive to give Egyptian-led truce talks a chance as top diplomats flew in to boost efforts to end nearly a week of cross-border violence.The move came as UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged both Israel and Gaza militants to stop their fire "immediately" as he held talks in Cairo aimed at securing a deal between the Jewish state and Gaza's Islamist Hamas rulers.And US officials said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would break away

World News Nov. 20, 2012

CAIRO (AFP) -- UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday urged all sides to the Gaza conflict to immediately cease their fire, warning at a news conference in Cairo that an escalation will endanger the whole region."All sides must halt fire immediately," Ban said, as an Israeli military operation against rocket-firing militants in Gaza entered a seventh day, with 116 Palestinians and three Israelis killed."Further escalating the situation will put the entire region at risk," he added, sitting alongside Ar

World News Nov. 20, 2012

GOMA, Congo (AP) -- A rebel group created just seven months ago seized the strategic provincial capital of Goma, home to more than 1 million people in eastern Congo, and its international airport on Tuesday, according to a rebel spokesman and witnesses.Explosions and machine-gun fire rocked the lakeside city as the M23 rebels pushed forward on two fronts: toward the city center and along the road that leads to Bukavu, another provincial capital which lies to the south. Civilians ran down sidewal

World News Nov. 20, 2012