Japan's trade deficit in November expanded 37.9 percent on-year to $11.3 billion, a record for the month, official data showed Wednesday, in a worrying sign for the world's third-largest economy.The trade shortfall came to 953.4 billion yen, marking the fifth straight month of deficit and a widening from a year-earlier deficit of 691.2 billion yen.Overall, exports fell 4.1 percent while imports edged up 0.8 percent.Shipments to key trader partner China tumbled 14.5 percent, marking another month

World Business Dec. 19, 2012

Samsung has overtaken Nokia as the top mobile phone brand for 2012 and has opened up a decisive lead over Apple in the smartphone market, a research firm said Tuesday.This will mark the first time in 14 years that Finnish-based Nokia will not sit atop the global mobile phone business on an annual basis, according to IHS iSuppli.Samsung is expected to account for 29 percent of worldwide cellphone shipments, up from 24 percent in 2011, according to the IHS, which said Nokia's share dropped to 24 p

Industry Dec. 19, 2012

The International Criminal Court has acquitted a Congolese militia leader of all charges of leading fighters who destroyed a strategic village in eastern Congo in 2003, hacking to death and raping some 200 people including women and children. Tuesday's acquittal of Mathieu Ngudjolo is only the second verdict in the court's 10-year history and the first time it has cleared a suspect.Prosecutor Fatou Besnouda immediately indicated she would appeal and ask for Ngudjolo to be kept in custody.Ngudjol

Industry Dec. 18, 2012

Entertainment such as K-Pop and dramas topped the list of positive sources about South Korea's national image among foreigners residing here, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.The ministry gleaned the results from essays submitted by 455 foreigners from 59 countries for a contest hosted for two months from September on the subjects of South Korea's image and distinguishing features.The largest share representing 49.2 percent of entries described entertainment including K-Pop, soap operas and spo

Culture Dec. 18, 2012

Prime Minister David Cameron said it is ‘imaginable’ for the U.K. to leave the European Union, the first time he has conceded his nation may leave the bloc altogether.“All futures for Britain are imaginable,” Cameron told lawmakers in Parliament in London today, when asked if he foresaw a British withdrawal from the EU. He said a British departure is “Not my preference.”Cameron has said he will set out his plans to renegotiate the U.K.’s membership of the 27-nation bloc next year and that he wil

World Business Dec. 18, 2012

Israel on Monday said it was pushing forward with plans to build hundreds of homes in a Jewish settlement of east Jerusalem, risking renewed tensions with the Palestinians and its Western allies over the contentious project.The announcement was part of a new Israeli settlement push announced earlier this month as retaliation for the Palestinians' success in winning U.N. recognition for a state at the United Nations. Israel was widely criticized internationally for the settlement plans, though ac

World News Dec. 18, 2012

President Barack Obama has softened his demand for higher taxes at upper income levels and agreed to curtail future inflation adjustments for recipients of Social Security pensions as part of accelerating talks with Republicans to avoid a “fiscal cliff,” people familiar with the talks said Monday. The maneuvering is aimed at reaching an agreement to rein in deficit spending before an automatic year-end hike in taxes for nearly all wage-earners hits, as well as deep spending cuts in defense and i

World Business Dec. 18, 2012

Prominent gun-rights advocates in Congress are now calling for a national discussion about restrictions to curb gun violence, signaling that the horrific shooting at a Connecticut elementary school could be a tipping point in a debate that has been dormant for years.White House officials said President Barack Obama would make preventing gun violence a second-term policy priority. But it was unclear what Obama would pursue or how, and aides said stricter gun laws would be only part of any effort.

World News Dec. 18, 2012

Four Korean and one Nigerian employee of Hyundai Heavy Industries, the nation’s top shipbuilder, were kidnapped by an unidentified armed group at Brass Island in the state of Bayelsa, Nigeria, on Monday (local time), an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed on Tuesday.“No contact has been made with the kidnappers yet. The ministry has launched an emergency team with the related governmental agencies in Seoul and Nigeria, including the Ministry of Land, Transport and M

Social Affairs Dec. 18, 2012

Retired Cuban leader Fidel Castro has been nominated for a seat in the country's parliament, authorities said Sunday.The afternoon TV news announced “the leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro Ruz heads the list of 25 candidates to the Cuban parliament from the municipality of Santiago de Cuba, approved by the delegates of this state body.”Castro was also named as a delegate in 2008, when he officially retired as president. It's unclear whether he has played an active role in legislative du

World News Dec. 17, 2012

President Barack Obama, speaking alone on a spare stage for a nation in sorrow, declared Sunday that he will use “whatever power” he has to prevent shootings like the Connecticut school massacre.“What choice do we have?” Obama said at an evening vigil in the shattered community of Newtown, Connecticut. “Are we really prepared to say that we're powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard? Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year a

World News Dec. 17, 2012