BEIRUT (AP) _ Syrian rebels have ignited a new front outside the capital, Damascus, in the first significant fighting there since regime forces swept over the suburbs weeks ago. The clashes highlight the shifting nature of Syria's conflict, with rebels lying in wait to rise up when the

World News March 17, 2012

   WASHINGTON (AP) _ A long-range rocket launch planned by North Korea probably would wreck its recent food-for-nuclear concessions agreement with the United States and, with it, hopes for improving relations under the North's new leader, Kim Jong Un.   The North announced Friday

North Korea March 17, 2012

South Korea will inspect emergency diesel generators at all of the country's nuclear plants between March 19 to 30th, according to a statement on the Ministry of Knowledge Economy's website on Saturday.The inspection comes after the announcement that the emergency diesel generator at the halted Kori

March 17, 2012

   WASHINGTON -- The U.S. State Department said Friday it will be "very hard to imagine" giving planned food aid to North Korea if the communist regime goes ahead with its plan to launch a satellite, a move seen as a disguise for a missile test.   "Were we to have a launch, it wo

North Korea March 17, 2012

   PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) _ North Korea plans to blast a satellite into space next month to mark the centenary of the birth of its founder, Kim Il Sung, which the U.S. quickly called a ``deal-breaker'' for a new agreement where the U.S. would exchange food aid for nuclear concessions.

North Korea March 17, 2012

      GENEVA (AFP) - The UN refugee agency on Friday urged China not to send back a group of North Koreans who fled to Chinese territory and who risk punishment if returned home.   In a statement, the UNHCR said it "is closely following the situation of a group of

North Korea Feb. 24, 2012

   North Korea's nominal head of state met with the chief of Egypt's Orascom Telecom, which provides mobile phone services to the communist nation, according to Pyongyang's official news agency Thursday.   Kim Young-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly

North Korea Feb. 2, 2012

   South Korea's presidential office on Thursday denied a lawmaker's claim that President Lee Myung-bak promised to purchase U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets when he held summit talks with President Barack Obama in October.   Rep. Song Young-sun made the claim in a radio interview Wed

Defense Feb. 2, 2012

The main opposition Democratic Unity Party has decided to launch an investigation into allegations of a bribery that took place prior to a preliminary primary last month, a party spokesman said Monday.The move came hours after local media reported that some officials of a candidate allegedly gave mo

Politics Jan. 9, 2012

International Jan. 1, 2012

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Travel Jan. 1, 2012

  Park Geun-hye, the leading presidential contender for the ruling Grand National Party (GNP), said Thursday that her party should select competitive candidates for next year's parliamentary elections through a fair and transparent nomination system.   "I basically think a couple

Politics Dec. 1, 2011

  An opposition lawmaker, who detonated a tear gas bomb in the National Assembly's main chamber in protest at the free trade agreement with the U.S., will be sent before a parliamentary ethics committee over his use of violence during a vote, a conservative minor lawmaker said Thursday. &n

Politics Dec. 1, 2011

   BEIJING (AP) _ One person has died and several others have been injured in an explosion at a bank in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.   A city fire and rescue official says the explosion occurred early Thursday evening outside a branch of state-owned China Construction Bank.

Defense Dec. 1, 2011