The deployment of an advanced U.S. missile-defense system in South Korea could seriously undermine Sino-Korean ties, a Chinese scholar warned Monday, echoing a chorus of concerns from Beijing officials. In an op-ed published by the state-run Global Times newspaper, Li Kaisheng, research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, also publicly admitted that China opposes deploying the U.S. missile-defense system in South Korea because it could hurt

North Korea Feb. 9, 2015

Newly-elected president of Hana Bank, South Korea's fourth-largest lender, said Monday he will do his best to complete the stalled merger with the Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) as soon as possible.Kim Byoung-ho, 54, former vice president and acting president of Hana Bank, was named the new head at the bank's board and shareholders meetings. He will start his two-year term from Tuesday.He has been the acting president since November last year when his predecessor Kim Jong-jun stepped down."I will cre

Feb. 9, 2015

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Monday called on South Korea to enhance its transparency in taxes and regulatory policies to better attract overseas investment that can breathe new life into the country's economy.The Going for Growth 2015 report released by the Paris-based organization said "sustained rapid growth" has brought the country's GDP per capita to within a quarter of the upper half of other OECD members. It, however, pointed out the productivity is

Social Affairs Feb. 9, 2015

NEWCASTLE, (AFP) - Australian surfers and swimmers defied beach closures on the country's east coast Saturday, taking to the water despite repeated shark sightings over the past week and an attack on a teenage spearfisher.Beaches in the eastern city of Newcastle, about 160 kilometres (100 miles) north of Sydney, were closed for a record eighth-straight day Saturday after two sharks were spotted off the coast.One shark, believed to be a great white, was estimated to be five metres  (16 and a half

International Jan. 17, 2015

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) -- A Canadian tourist with records of several previous child sex offenses has been arrested in Nepal on charges that he lured a 9-year-old boy to his hotel room and had sex with him, police official said Saturday.Ernest Fenwick MacIntosh, 71, was arrested at a hotel in Lalitpur, a suburb south of the capital, Kathmandu. He was ordered detained by the district court until the charges can be further investigated, Lalitpur's police chief Pushpa Ranjit said. Officials were not

International Jan. 17, 2015

A South Korean man went missing in a Turkish town bordering with Syria recently with a local media report suspecting that he might have joined the extremist Muslim militant group IS, the Korean embassy in Istanbul said Saturday.Earlier, Milliyet, a local daily newspaper, reported that a Korean man, whose identity has yet to be confirmed, might have crossed the border with Syria and joined IS, citing some undisclosed sources. He is reportedly in his teens.The report claimed the young man, who is

International Jan. 17, 2015

BEIJING (AP) -- Officials and state media say 21 people have been confirmed dead in a tugboat capsizing in eastern China after the vessel was lifted to the surface and dragged to shallow waters of the Yangtze River.The state-run Xinhua News Agency said Saturday that one person remains missing from Thursday's trip to test the newly built tugboat in the river's Fubei Channel in the eastern province of Jiangsu.The ship's owner, parts suppliers and engineers were among 25 people aboard for the test,

International Jan. 17, 2015

WASHINGTON,  (AFP) - The United States on Friday condemned as "tragic irony" the International Criminal Court's decision to open a preliminary probe into possible war crimes committed by Israeli forces against Palestinians."We strongly disagree with the ICC prosecutor's action today," State  Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said in a statement."It is a tragic irony that Israel, which has withstood thousands of  terrorist rockets fired at its civilians and its neighborhoods, is now being scrutini

International Jan. 17, 2015

Commercial satellite imagery shows no signs of preparations for a nuclear blast at North Korea's underground test site, the website 38 North said Friday."As a result, a fourth nuclear test seems unlikely in the near-term, for at least the next two to three months," the website said. "However, it is quite possible that one or more tunnels at the facility are sufficiently complete to be readied for another nuclear test should Pyongyang make the political decision to move forward."The North has so

North Korea Jan. 17, 2015

South Korea started to enforce a halt in the movement of all poultry, farmers and related equipment on Saturday in a bid to stem the further spread of avian influenza (AI), the agriculture ministry said.The ban went into effect on 6 a.m. on Saturday and will be in place for 36 hours until 6 p.m. on Sunday, the ministry said. Those subject to the ban include poultry farms and people involved in the business, including truck drivers and vets. Some 106,000 people related to the poultry business wil

Social Affairs Jan. 17, 2015

TACLOBAN, Philippines (AP) -- Pope Francis traveled to the far eastern Philippines on Saturday to comfort survivors of a devastating 2013 typhoon, braving rains and heavy winds himself and conceding that it was hard to find the right words when surrounded by so much pain."So many of you have lost everything," Francis told 150,000 Catholic faithful gathered before Mass under a steady rain in an open field near the airport in Tacloban, the city hit hardest by Typhoon Haiyan. `"I don't know what to

Foreign Affairs Jan. 17, 2015

 The number of passengers using Korean Air Line Co., South Korea's top flag carrier, dropped in December apparently affected by the so-called "nut rage" that has tarnished its image among travelers, industry data showed Saturday.Cho Hyun-ah, the eldest daughter of Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-ho, resigned as a vice president for cabin service four days after a national uproar over her conduct aboard a Seoul-bound Korean Air flight from New York on Dec. 5.The plane had already been taxiing when s

National Jan. 17, 2015

BERLIN (AP) -- The deadly shootings in Paris are prompting concerns that a fledgling anti-Islamist movement  and far-right parties may be able to harness the reaction to gain support in Europe.German Justice Minister Heiko Maas said Thursday the way two right-wing parties and the PEGIDA movement are "trying to exploit this attack for their own purposes is disgusting."Marches in Dresden by PEGIDA, or Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West, have grown steadily over three months.

International Jan. 8, 2015

 South Korea and Japan agreed Thursday to ramp up efforts to boost their economic cooperation, despite strained bilateral relations stemming from a shared history.The neighbors reached the agreement during their high-level economic consultative meeting held in Seoul, the second of its kind since President Park Geun-hye took office in February 2013. The two Asian economic powerhouses have regularly held the consultative meeting since its inception in 1999. "Both sides positively assessed the sust

International Jan. 8, 2015

Prosecutors said Thursday they have asked the justice ministry to deport a Korean-American woman accused of making flattering remarks about North Korea at her on-stage talk shows in South Korea.In November, local conservative groups accused Shin Eun-mi, 54, of making comments sympathetic to the North Korean regime at shows held in central Seoul in violation of the South's National Security Law. The law bans any activities meant to praise, promote or propagandize North Korean ideals in the countr

Social Affairs Jan. 8, 2015