Hundreds of thousands rallied across Egypt on Sunday in support of the popular military overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi as the interim government said it would announce a new prime minister within a day.Staged two days after Islamist rallies exploded into bloodshed, the protests came as a senior official said a new prime minister would be announced on Monday.Interim president Adly Mansour was leaning towards appointing centre-left lawyer Ziad Bahaa Eldin as prime minister and Nobel Laureate

Andy Murray needed one more point, one solitary point, to win Wimbledon _ a title he yearned to earn for himself, of course, and also for his country.Britain had endured 77 years since one of its own claimed the men's trophy at the revered tournament referred to simply as The Championships, and now here was Murray, on the brink of triumph after 3 hours of grueling tennis against top-seeded Novak Djokovic under a vibrant sun at Centre Court.Up 40-love, Murray failed to convert his first match poi

South Korea fell to Iraq 5-4 on penalties in the quarterfinals of the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup here on Sunday, coming up short of making its first semifinals appearance at the tournament in three decades.At Kadir Has Stadium in Kayseri in central Turkey, two South Korean kickers failed to convert in the decisive shootout as Iraq moved on after a thrilling encounter.South Korea was seeking its first final four berth in the biennial event since 1983 in Mexico. The competition was still called the

내년도 시간당 최저임금이 올해보다 7.2%(350원) 오른 5천210원으로 결정되었다.최저임금위원회는 4일 오후 7시부터 시작된 전원회의에서 이같이 인상안을 정하고 심의 및 의결했다고 5일 밝혔다.이번에 인상된 내년도 시간당 최저임금을 월 단위로 환산하면 주 40시간(월 209시간) 사업장 기준으로 108만8천890원이다. 최저임금위원회는 이번에 인상된 최저임금이 저소득에 시달리는 근로자 256만5천명에게 혜택을 줄 수 있을 것으로 예상했다.박준성 최저임금위원회 위원장은 “금년 인상분 7.2%에는 실질경제성장률, 물가인상률, 유사 근로자 임금 인상률, 소득분배개선 등을 고려했다”며 “근로자의 임금격차를 향후 5년간 지속적으로 개선할 목적으로 소득분배개선분을 금년도 인상분에반영한 것이 특징”이라고 말했다.이틀동안 진행된 내년도 최저임금 인상안은 15명이 찬성표를, 9명이 사실상 기권표를 던지면서 통과됐다. 최저임금 심의ㆍ의결을 위해서는 전체 위원 과반 투표에 참여자 과반수의 찬성이 필

South Korea will call for "constructive development" of the suspended inter-Korean industrial complex when it holds working-level talks on the plant's resumption with the North over the weekend, a government official said Friday.The two Koreas agreed to hold talks at the neutral border village of Panmunjom on Saturday so operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex can resume after being suspended for nearly three months.In a news briefing, Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-suk said Seoul

Foreigners' net selling of local stocks hit a nearly two-year high last month, as the U.S. Federal Reserve's signal to gradually end its easy-money policy prompted them to leave the Seoul market, the financial regulator said Friday.Overseas investors sold off a net 5.14 trillion won (US$4.51 billion) worth of local equities in June, a turnaround from the 300 billion won net purchase the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).The June figure is the largest net sellin

South Korea will host football nemesis Iran in a friendly match later this year, setting up an opportunity for the Red Devils to avenge a pair of losses to Team Melli in the recently concluded World Cup qualification tournament, officials said Friday.The Korea Football Association (KFA) said South Korea will take on Iran on Sept. 6, one of several FIFA-designated international match days.The venue and the time of the match have yet to be determined, the KFA added."We couldn't really find a team

Korea’s minimum hourly wage will rise 7.2 percent to 5,210 won ($4.57) next year, a three-party council of government, labor and business representatives said Friday.Under the agreement, the minimum wage of laborers working 209 hours a month will be increased to 1.08 million won. About 2.56 million workers will benefit from the deal, it added.“Diverse factors including economic growth rate, price inflation and wage increase rates of other income groups have been reflected in the 7.2 percent (wag

Egypt's military moved swiftly Thursday against senior figures of the Muslim Brotherhood, targeting the backbone of support for ousted president Mohammed Morsi. In the most dramatic step, authorities arrested the group's revered leader from a seaside villa and flew him by helicopter to detention in the capital.With a top judge newly sworn in as interim president to replace Morsi, the crackdown poses an immediate test to the new army-backed leadership's promises to guide Egypt to democracy: The q

The South African government on Thursday denied that former president Nelson Mandela is in a permanent vegetative state, as outlined in court documents filed on June 26."We confirm our earlier statement released this afternoon after President Jacob Zuma visited Madiba in hospital that Madiba remains in a critical, but stable condition," said the statement using Mandela's clan name."The doctors deny that the former president is in a vegetative state," the statement added.Court documents obtained

Portugal's centre-right government coalition on Thursday averted its break-up in a dispute over austerity policies after finding "a formula" that secures its survival, Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said."A formula has been found that will secure the stability of the government," said Passos Coelho after talks with President Anibal Cavaco Silva.The policies squeezing the bailed-out nation had led markets to plunge on Wednesday before rallying afterPassos Coelho said he was "convinced" he cou

President Barack Obama spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday to address mounting European concerns about broad U.S. surveillance programs.Germany and other European nations are in uproar over last month's revelations by a U.S. IT contractor that the National Security Agency has been scooping up vast amounts of data on Americans and foreigners."The president assured the chancellor that the United States takes seriously the concerns of our European allies and partners," according

South Korea unveiled a set of measures, including expanded tax benefits, to stimulate business activity in the service sector Thursday, as it believes the area will likely help create more jobs and lead to overall economic growth.The service-sector development measures were the first of their kind mapped out by the Park Geun-hye government since it took office in February. They were announced jointly by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance; the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; and the Mi

The United States on Wednesday said it was gravely concerned about the health of a Korean-American sentenced to hard labor in North Korea who pleaded for help in a rare television interview.And the State Department renewed appeals to Pyongyang to grant Kenneth Bae amnesty and free him immediately.In an exclusive interview, Bae appealed to the United States to secure his early release, saying he has been in poor health."I ask the US government for help and hope it will make more efforts for my re

The European rerouting of the Bolivian presidential plane over suspicions that National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden was aboard ignited outrage Wednesday among Latin American leaders who called it a stunning violation of national sovereignty and disrespect for the region.But as President Evo Morales headed home after an unplanned 14-hour layover in Vienna, there was no immediate sign that Latin America anger would translate into a rush to bring Snowden to the region that had been seen a

South Korea beat Colombia in a penalty shootout at the Under-20 World Cup on Wednesday to join Ghana, Chile and Iraq in the quarterfinals.Having played out a 1-1 draw after extra time, Colombia was trailing 8-7 in the shootout when defender Daivy Balanta sent the last penalty over the crossbar.South Korea will now play Iraq, which needed extra time to beat Paraguay 1-0.Ghana and Chile will meet in the quarterfinals after both teams won their last-16 matches over 90 minutes earlier in the day. Gh

Insurgents unleashed a new wave of attacks on Tuesday in Iraq, killing at least 49 people, officials said, the latest in a surge in violence across the country that has raised concerns over a return to sectarian bloodshed. Also, seven militants were killed.There was no claim of responsibility for the attacks, mostly car bombs in Shiite areas. Al-Qaida's Iraq branch, which has been gaining strength in recent months, frequently targets Shiites, security forces and civil servants in an effort to un

The U.S. and China will hold their annual high-level talks on bilateral and global issues in Washington next week, the U.S. government announced Tuesday.The fifth round of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue will open on Wednesday for a two-day run.The U.S. will be represented by Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew, the Treasury said. Their Chinese counterparts will be State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Vice Premier Wang Yang.The session comes about a mo

Tightening the screws on North Korea, the Barack Obama administration imposed sanctions on a Myanmar military general Tuesday, saying he has bought weapons from Pyongyang in breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions.Lt. Gen. Thein Htay, the head of Burma's Directorate of Defense Industries (DDI), is accused of having supported the illegal trade of North Korean arms to Myanmar, according to the Treasury."Thein Htay has disregarded international requirements to stop purchasing military goods fro

The fate of Egypt's first democratically elected president hung in the balance Tuesday, hours before a deadline to yield to the demands of millions of protesters or see the military suspend the constitution, disband parliament and install a new leadership.Embattled Islamist President Mohammed Morsi vowed not to resign, however, and he demanded that the powerful armed forces withdraw their ultimatum, saying he rejected all ``dictates'' _ from home or abroad.In a speech to the nation, he pledged t