Turkey's state-run news agency says police have carried out raids in 10 cities, acting on a court order for the arrests of 67 people associated with a U.S.-based cleric who has become the chief foe of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.   Anadolu Agency says the warrants were issued against senior members of Fethullah Gulen's moderate Islamic movement, including journalists and a university president. Forty-three of the suspects were abroad and only five were detained Friday, Anadolu said.  

World News Dec. 11, 2015

Korea’s fast-growing household debt increases potential threats for a credit cut and repercussions from future rate hikes, economists of the International Monetary Fund said Friday. 　In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the steep increase in household and corporate debt in the Asian private sectors accelerated growth, but with potential aftereffects. 　“If the debt keeps going up, it can become a major risk for the Asian economies, which calls for (government) interventions to downsiz

Dec. 11, 2015

President Park Geun-hye on Monday pledged to complete her reform drive, stressing that it would create a new environment for Korean exporters facing both internal and external challenges.　In a speech delivered at the annual Trade Day, Park also urged to foster start-up exporters and industrial convergence with information technology in order to improve the nation’s trade competitiveness.　“(The government) will improve the country’s trade competitiveness and strengthen the economy by wrapping up

Dec. 7, 2015

The doctor, engaged in a war of words with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon over a deadly respiratory disease, has been released from a hospital after being treated for the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, an official said Sunday.The doctor at the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul was at the center of public attention in June when Park said in a news conference that the doctor had direct and indirect contact with over 1,500 people when a MERS infection was suspected.The doctor -- who was confirmed to ha

Social Affairs Dec. 6, 2015

President Park Geun-hye is seeking the parliamentary endorsement of a set of bills meant to reform South Korea's labor sector within this year, Cheong Wa Dae officials said Sunday.The presidential officials described the issue as Park's top priority, citing concerns that bills could go nowhere next year when South Koreans go to the polls to elect new lawmakers and the current parliamentary term is set to end.Park appears likely to make her case again during this week's Cabinet meeting for the pa

Politics Dec. 6, 2015

Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor has released a rare audio recording in which he denies claims by an Afghan official that he was wounded in a shootout during a meeting with other commanders in Pakistan last week. In a 17-minute audio recording sent to media by the Taliban late Saturday, Mansoor dismissed what he called “baseless claims” that were “part of the agenda of the enemy.” The Taliban had earlier sent The Associated Press a two-minute version of the recording.The voice resembled that

World News Dec. 6, 2015

The deadly shooting in San Bernardino happened in a state with some of the toughest gun laws in the United States: California bars assault weapons, blocks the sale of large-capacity magazines and requires universal background checks for all gun purchases.Authorities say they believe suspected gunman Syed Rizwan Farook and wife Tashfeen Malik had legally obtained two handguns and that two rifles were also legally purchased in California. Federal officials say the attackers had large-capacity maga

World News Dec. 6, 2015

Israel's prime minister insists his country is not heading toward becoming a binational state, rejecting a warning to that effect by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.At his weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahu says ``Israel will not be a binational state, but in order to have peace, the other side needs to decide that it wants peace as well.'' Kerry warned Saturday about the dangers of the possible collapse of the Palestinian Authority. He told a conference at the Brookings Instit

World News Dec. 6, 2015

Armenia is holding a referendum on a proposed constitutional change that would give more powers to the prime minister and parliament at the expense of the president, who would become largely a figurehead.    The opposition has seen the reform as an attempt by President Serzh Sargsyan to extend his rule. Sargsyan has denied the claim, saying he has no intention of shifting into the prime minister's seat after his current second term ends in 2018.    Sargsyan's government has promoted the constitu

World News Dec. 6, 2015