SHANGHAI (AFP) - China said Friday it is considering a change to its mechanism for managing its currency to buffer it against market forces, in an apparent step back from liberalisation pledges.The potential new system would introduce a "counter-cyclical factor" to China's current system of allowing the yuan to trade within a government-set band, according to a statement on the website of the Foreign Exchange Trade System, an agency under the People's Bank of China.The statement did not explain

World Business May 26, 2017

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. economy started 2017 out with a whimper, but it wasn't quite as weak as first thought. The government revised up its January-March growth reading to a rate of 1.2 percent --  better than an earlier estimate of 0.7 percent but well below President Donald Trump's ambitious growth targets.The Commerce Department says the gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic health, is down from 2.1 percent growth in the fourth quarter and marks the weakest result in a

World Business May 26, 2017

ROME (AP) -- Laura Biagiotti, an Italian fashion designer who conquered global markets with her soft, loose women's clothes and luxurious knits that won her the nickname "Queen of Cashmere,'' died Friday following a heart attack. She was 73.Biagiotti suffered the heart attack Wednesday evening at her estate outside of Rome. Doctors were able to resuscitate her but by then serious brain damage had occurred. She died in a hospital in the capital.Her daughter, Lavinia Biagiotti Cigna, announced her

World News May 26, 2017

The Moon Jae-in government will make a presidential panel to map out a long-term environmental road map and coordinate policies for sustainable development, his policy advisory panel said Friday.The "sustainability" panel will be formed by merging the two existing bodies -- the commission on sustainable development under the environmental ministry and the committee on green growth under the prime minister's office, the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee said, citing a government policy br

Politics May 26, 2017

Host South Korea will use an experimental lineup against England in their final group stage match at the FIFA U-20 World Cup here on Friday.The starting lineup released by FIFA shows four South Korean players will make their first start at the U-20 World Cup. Head coach Shin Tae-yong also made six changes from their previous lineup against Argentina.Shin previously said his side will come up with new tactics that have never been used before when they face England at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Su

Soccer May 26, 2017

The National Assembly failed Friday to adopt a report on the results of its confirmation hearing for Prime Minister-nominee Lee Nak-yon amid a dispute over allegations against his family.During the two-day hearing that ended Thursday, the former lawmaker and provincial governor was grilled over the suspicion that in 1989, his wife, then a high school teacher, used a false home address to get assigned to a better school in Seoul. He acknowledged it.Earlier in the day, President Moon Jae-in's chie

Politics May 26, 2017

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that his country was ready to play a "productive" role in ending the North Korean nuclear issue, also promising to enhance the country's cooperation with South Korea, Seoul's presidential office said.Putin's remarks came during a call to his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in, who came into office earlier in the week following his election in a rare presidential by-election held Tuesday."I believe Russia is our country's best partner in working to e

Diplomatic Circuit May 12, 2017

BRUSSELS (AP) --  European governments alarmed at a proposed expansion of the ban on in-flight laptops and tablets to planes from the EU are holding urgent talks Friday with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.Chief among the concerns are whether any new threat prompted the proposal, said European Commission transport spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, who confirmed the talks and said the EU had no new information about a specific security concern.U.S. officials have said the decision in March

World News May 12, 2017

BEIJING (AFP) - Beijing and Washington announced Friday an agreement giving US beef, natural gas and certain financial services access to China's massive market in a deal highlighting the warm ties nurtured by their presidents.The deal was unveiled a month after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Donald Trump launched a 100-day action plan on economic cooperation during their meeting at the US leader's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.Trump's Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin hailed the agreement with

May 12, 2017

Leaders of South Korea and Britain have called for joint efforts to denuclearize North Korea and to expand their bilateral trade, the Seoul government said Friday.South Korean President Moon Jae-in also asked for Britain's support in dismantling his country's aged nuclear reactors, according to Moon's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.Moon's remarks came in a telephone conversation with British Prime Minister Theresa May."President Moon Jae-in noted Britain was a close ally, which had dispatched

Diplomatic Circuit May 12, 2017