ATHENS (AFP) - Greece's parliament early Saturday approved a new tax bill, part of the latest batch of fiscal reforms tied to the country's next slice of EU loans.The legislation, criticized by the opposition as another serious blow to middle-class incomes in the midst of a recession, was supported by 162 deputies from the governing three-party coalition in a vote held after midnight in the 300-strong parliament.The latest reform, the first part of a larger overhaul expected in April, broadens t

World News Jan. 12, 2013

Hundreds of residents around a polysilicon plant here were evacuated to safety after hydrochloric acid was found to have been leaked, police said Saturday.The leak occurred at around 11 a.m. from a 200-ton tank of the Woongjin Polysilicon plant located in this city, some 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to police.Police said that when the accident happened, some workers were staying inside the plant, but no injuries have been reported.It is yet to be known how much acid leaked from t

Social Affairs Jan. 12, 2013

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama has promised to speed up a transfer of lead security responsibility from NATO to Afghan forces this spring, in a sign the pace of US troop withdrawals could quicken.After meeting Afghan President Hamid Karzai Friday, Obama said NATO forces would have a "very limited" role in the country after 2014 and insisted that Washington had achieved its prime goal of "decapitating" Al-Qaeda.The leaders met at a crucial moment in the final chapter of a long, bloody

World News Jan. 12, 2013

The South Korean men's badminton doubles pair of Lee Yong-dae and Ko Sung-hyun reached the final at the Korea Open tournament with a straight-set victory Saturday.Lee and Ko, seeded sixth, took down the No. 2 seed Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia, 21-17, 21-11. In the seesawing first set, the South Koreans took a 16-15 lead and ended the set on a 5-2 run, thanks to Lee's smash winners.Lee and Ko blew out the Malaysians in the second set, starting the set 10-1 and closing out the matc

More Sports Jan. 12, 2013

Economic participation among younger people in South Korea dropped to the lowest level in about 27 years, data showed Saturday, indicating the frozen job market is taking its toll especially on young job seekers.According to the data by Statistics Korea, the economic participation rate among those in their 20s stood at 60.1 percent last month, down from 62.3 percent tallied in the same month a year earlier.The figure marked the lowest level since February 1986, when the rate was 59.6 percent.The

Jan. 12, 2013

HONG KONG (AFP) - Hong Kong action hero Jackie Chan has once again provoked criticism, this time from an American blogger, after suggesting on Chinese television that the US is the "most corrupt" country in the world."When you talk about corruption -- the whole world, is there corruption in the United States? The most corrupt in the world!" the Rush Hour star, who has made headlines recently for his controversial views, told Phoenix TV last month.Chan reaffirmed his view after the show's host qu

World News Jan. 12, 2013

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - France has asked the United Nations to "accelerate" implementation of a resolution that enables the deployment of an international force to Mali.The letter also formally notified the Security Council that it had responded to a request for help from Mali's interim president Dioncounda Traore.French forces were lending their support to Mali to "fight against terrorist elements," said the letter, from France's ambassador to the United Nations, Gerard Araud.The operation would

World News Jan. 12, 2013

BEIJING (AP) – The death toll from a landslide that swept through a village in the steep, snow-dusted mountains of southern China on Friday has risen to at least 44, state media reported Saturday.The landslide smothered 14 homes in Zhaojiagou village in Yunnan province, burying 46 people, China News reported. It said two people were still missing.Photos posted on the website of the Yunnan Daily, the official newspaper of the provincial government, showed rescue crews in orange jumpsuits using co

World News Jan. 12, 2013

South Korea's stock market is expected to trade in a tight range next week with economic indicators from China and the currency exchange being among the major factors that will determine its direction, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,996.67 this week, down 0.75 percent from a week earlier after undergoing choppy trading.The local currency's ascent against the dollar and the weakening yen of Japan could weigh on the market amid worries th

Jan. 12, 2013

GENEVA (AP) – International envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said Friday that Russia seems as determined as the United States to end Syria's civil war, but that he doesn't expect a political solution to emerge anytime soon.Brahimi, who is the joint U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria, spent the day at the United Nations' European headquarters meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns.“We are all very, very deeply aware of the immense sufferi

World News Jan. 12, 2013

TOKYO (Yonhap News) – Japan has submitted an official complaint that it is opposed to Seoul's recent claim to an extended portion of continental shelf that reaches beyond South Korea's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the East China Sea, local media reported here Saturday.According to the reports, the foreign ministry in Tokyo presented its opinion to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) earlier Saturday. Japan insisted that Seoul and Tokyo need to define their bound

World News Jan. 12, 2013

The transition team of President-elect Park Geun-hye will receive policy briefings from the national tax agency and the intelligence body Saturday, the second day of a key process to formulate a policy road map for the next government.The National Tax Service (NTS) and the National Intelligence Service (NIS) are scheduled to brief the transition team in the morning, followed by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the justice ministry and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in the afternoon.Sources sa

Politics Jan. 12, 2013

UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday that France, Senegal and Nigeria have responded to an appeal from Mali's president for help to counter an offensive by al-Qaida-linked militants who control the northern half of the country and are heading south.The U.N. chief said in an interview with The Associated Press that assisting the Malian defense forces push back against the Islamist armed groups is ``very important.'' The militants captured the city of Konna on Thursday,

World News Jan. 12, 2013

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A government report warned Friday that the United States could face more frequent severe weather including heat waves and storms for decades to come as temperatures rise far beyond levels being planned for.The draft Third National Climate Assessment, a scientific study legally mandated to advise U.S. policymakers, made few bones that carbon emissions have been causing climate change -- a source of controversy among some lawmakers."Evidence for climate change abounds, from the

World News Jan. 12, 2013

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The U.S. military is weighing support for French forces in Mali including surveillance drones, a U.S. official said Friday, as Washington backed moves to deny safe haven to extremists in the country.U.S. commanders were looking at providing intelligence and aerial refueling tankers among a range of options, such as logistical backup and boosting intelligence sharing, which would involve surveillance drones, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.Backed by

World News Jan. 12, 2013