CHONGQING, China (AFP) ― Hu Xinglian kneels before the corpse of Liang Zhicai and, with one hand on his metal coffin, lets out a piercing wail. But Hu is not at all grief-stricken ― she is a professional mourner.In parts of China, where rural pre-burial rituals are still observed, mourners known as “kusangren” are hired to guarantee that a funeral is a spectacle in grief. And 53-year-old Hu is up

World News June 20, 2011

Kim Yoo-shin regained his Korean citizenship in April, 36 years after he was adopted by a family in the United States when he was one year old. He is one of the first adoptees to benefit from a new Korean law that allows dual nationality.In other words, Kim is a Korean-American ― and vice versa.“It means that the Korean government is trying to improve its relationship with overseas Korean adoptees

World News June 20, 2011

BETHESDA, Maryland (AP) ― If he keeps playing like this, Rory McIlroy’s next chance to close out a major should come very soon.McIlroy, who blew a four-shot lead in the final round of the Masters, is on top at the U.S. Open, shooting a 6-under-par 65 on Thursday to take a three-stroke lead over Yang Yong-eun and the man who wound up taking the green jacket, Charl Schwartzel.There’s still a lot of

Golf June 17, 2011

Fed chief says brinkmanship threatens to backfire and harm the economyWASHINGTON (AP) ― Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday urged Republicans to support raising the nation’s borrowing limit. He said threatening to block the increase to gain deeper federal spending cuts could backfire and worsen the economy.Even a short delay in making payments on the nation’s debt would cause severe d

World Business June 15, 2011

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) ― Two explosions went off minutes apart in the northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar Sunday, killing 34 people and injuring nearly 100 in one of the deadliest attacks since the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden last month, officials said.The blasts, one of which was caused by a suicide bomber, occurred just after midnight in an area of the city that is home to political

World News June 12, 2011

BEIJING (AP) ― French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said Thursday she is “very positive” after talks with Chinese officials about her candidacy to head the International Monetary Fund and said Beijing’s stake in the body should increase.Lagarde is on a global tour to promote her candidacy to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who quit after he was charged with sexually assaulting a New York hote

World Business June 9, 2011

Activist casts doubt on account; official says authorities will respond firmly to attacksBEIRUT (AP) ― Armed men killed 120 Syrian security forces and torched government buildings Monday in a northern region where troops have unleashed deadly assaults on protesters for days, Syria said. The government vowed to respond “decisively,” hinting at an even more brutal crackdown by a regime known for rut

World News June 7, 2011