India's transport ministry admitted Thursday it has so far failed to improve road safety but said it was pushing for stricter laws, as new figures revealed 17 people die in traffic accidents every hour.   Transport minister Nitin Gadkari acknowledged an urgent need to improve road infrastructure as the numbers showed traffic accidents were one of the single biggest causes of death in India.   The report found 146,133 people died in 501,423 road accidents in 2015, an increase of almost five perce

World News June 9, 2016

A general strike called by a small communist party demanding that the government release its supporters detained after previous protests has shut down schools, markets and transportation in Nepal.    Police says 28 more supporters of the Nepal Communist Party Maoist were arrested as they attempted to enforce the general strike forcing vehicles off the streets in Kathmandu.    They torched a taxi and vandalized a public van in Kathmandu but no one was hurt.    The party which is a splinter group

World News June 9, 2016

The Switzerland-Sweden commission in charge of monitoring the six decades-long inter-Korean armistice on the southern side of the Korean Peninsula on Thursday said it is determined to fulfill its duty to safeguard the cease fire pact that has kept the peace in this part of Northeast Asia.   "The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) has been created based on the armistice. That means we do our job here in Korea as long as this agreement is in force and those who nominated us want us to d

North Korea June 9, 2016

South Korea's ruling and opposition party officials gathered on Thursday to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the first summit between Seoul and Pyongyang, amid the prolonged deadlock in the inter-Korean relationship following the North's recent provocations.   In the June 2000 summit, the leaders of the two Koreas produced a landmark joint declaration, which outlines reconciliation and economic cooperation. South and North Korea remain technically at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a t

Politics June 9, 2016

Four bodies were recovered and 340 people rescued Friday after a boat carrying migrants across the Mediterranean Sea sank south of the Greek island of Crete, authorities said.    The coast guard said the roughly 25-meter (82-foot) vessel, which resembled a large fishing boat, had been carrying an undetermined number of people when it was located half-sunk about 75 nautical miles south of Crete in international waters, and within Egypt's search and rescue area of operation.    Most survivors were

World News June 3, 2016

South Korean President Park Geun-hye vowed Friday to support the innovative activities of young people from South Korea and France, the latest in a series of steps to boost creativity.   Park has made the creative economy one of her top priorities by viewing it as the only viable growth engine for Asia's fourth-largest economy.    The creative economy is designed to, among other things, turn new ideas into real businesses with the help of cutting-edge science and information technology.   “I wil

Social Affairs June 3, 2016

A trade fair between South Korean and Chinese small and mid-sized firms in the Chinese city of Dandong on the border with North Korea was canceled days before its opening because of unspecified safety concerns, a diplomatic source close to the matter said Friday.   Organized by several South Korean municipal governments and the Chinese city of Dandong, which faces North Korea across the Amnok River, the five-day trade fair was previously scheduled to begin next Thursday.    About 150 firms from

North Korea June 3, 2016

The South Korean government called Monday for cooperation from local tour agencies to discourage its nationals from visiting areas bordering North Korea, as the country is on high alert against the likelihood of terrorist attacks by Pyongyang.The Foreign Ministry hosted a rare group meeting with representatives of those firms specializing in arranging oversea tours.It was meant to enhance awareness on the need to take stronger safety measures for South Koreans abroad and solicit cooperation.Conc

Social Affairs May 16, 2016

Major powers including the United States met in the Austrian capital on Monday to discuss the expanding presence of the Islamic State jihadist group in conflict-ridden Libya, just across the Mediterranean from Europe.IS has taken advantage of the chaos left by the toppling and death of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, which led to rival militias vying for control of the oil-rich country.A recently formed unity government backed by the international community has been slowly asserting it

World News May 16, 2016

Rescuers on Monday found the bodies of six university students who were among nearly two dozen who went missing in rain-triggered floods and landslides at a waterfall in western Indonesia, an official said. The disaster occurred Sunday as more than 70 students were visiting the Air Terjun Dua Warna waterfall in North Sumatra province. Twenty-one students were reported missing after the disaster, said Darwin Surbakti, an official from the local Disaster Management Agency. The bodies of five men a

World News May 16, 2016