BEIRUT (AP) -- Syrian state-run TV reported Friday that the leader of a powerful al-Qaida-linked rebel group has been killed _ a claim that if confirmed would be a huge blow to fighters trying to topple President Bashar Assad. At least one rebel commander denied the report.Questions remained over whether Abu Mohammad al-Golani, head of  Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front, had indeed died. State TV said he was killed in the coastal province of Latakia, but did not say when or give details. Later

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Two U.N. human rights investigators called for more transparency from the United States and other countries about their drone strikes program, saying their secrecy is the biggest obstacle to determining the impact pact on civilian casualties.Ben Emmerson and Christof Heyns, who presented two reports on the subject at the United Nations on Friday, also called on other countries to speak up about when deadly drone strikes are acceptable. They said the lack of consensus risks

TOKYO (AFP) -- Workers at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant were evacuated when a small tsunami hit Japan after a powerful undersea quake Saturday, highlighting the continued threat to the area devastated by the 2011 quake-tsunami.The government Meteorological Agency warned people to stay away from the Pacific coast for nearly two hours as the tsunami, which was recorded as being as high as 55 centimetres in one place, rolled ashore.Two workers who had been patrolling wells used to measure un

The South Korean stock market is expected to trade flat amid weak corporate earnings for the third quarter and the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee meeting slated for next week, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index decreased 0.9 percent Friday from a week earlier.On Monday, Seoul shares remained almost unchanged as investors sat on the sidelines as the U.S. was scheduled to announce its jobs data for September before the next trading session.Analysts said the

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had a "productive exchange" with a visiting top South Korean presidential aide Friday on North Korea and other pending issues, the department said.Wendy Sherman, undersecretary of state for political affairs, joined the meeting between Kerry and Kim Jang-soo, chief of Cheong Wa Dae's national security office, according to department spokeswoman Jen Psaki."Both sides reaffirmed our intention to coordinate and closely cooperate with re

North Korea said Thursday it is committed to joining global efforts to fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism.The statement came in response to a recent report by the Financial Action Task Force that accuses Pyongyang of failing to address its "significant deficiencies" in those areas.In the report, issued at the plenary session in Paris in mid-October, the FATF, a sister organization of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, also called on the international co

DAEGU (Yonhap News) -- The Doosan Bears defeated the Samsung Lions 5-1 in extra innings in Game 2 of the Korean Series on Friday, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven affair.Visiting Daegu Stadium, Oh Jae-il launched a go-ahead solo home run off Oh Seung-hwan during the four-run 13th inning, as the Bears inched closer to their first Korea Baseball Organization championship since 2001.At five hours and 32 minutes, this was the longest postseason game in the KBO's 31-year history. The previous r

BRUSSELS (AP) -- Indignant at reports of U.S. electronic espionage overseas, the leaders of Germany and France said Friday they will insist the Obama administration agree by year's end to limits that could put an end to alleged American eavesdropping on foreign leaders, businesses and innocent citizens. German spy chiefs will travel to Washington shortly to talk with U.S. officials about the spying allegations that have so angered European leaders, including whether Chancellor Angela Merkel's ow

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel's prime minister on Sunday urged the international community to step up the pressure on Iran, despite some optimism following the latest round of nuclear talks with the Islamic Republic.It was Benjamin Netanyahu's first public statement on last week's round of talks between Iran and global powers over its suspect nuclear program. Negotiators ended the talks on an upbeat note, though they gave no details on what proposals were exchanged.The talks have put Netanyahu in a t

PERTH, Australia (AFP) -- South Korea's Jin Jeong beat England's Ross Fisher in a playoff to win the European Tour co-sanctioned US$2 million Perth International at Lake Karrinyup on Sunday.Former leading world amateur Jeong and Fisher finished the tournament locked at 10-under 278 before the Korean claimed victory at the first playoff hole.Jeong, who carded a closing round of three under 69, held the upper hand when Fisher was left with a four-metre putt for par after fluffing his chip onto the

MANILA (AFP) -- The death toll from a killer quake in the central Philippines is likely to approach 200 as rescue teams focused on finding dead bodies buried under landslides and fallen structures, an official said Sunday.A total of 185 deaths have been confirmed so far from the 7.1 quake that shook the tourist island of Bohol on Tuesday, toppling bridges, shattering roads, causing landslides and reducing historic churches to rubble.Bohol suffered 172 dead alone with over 120 dead from falling s

BEIRUT (AP) -- An international conference aimed at ending Syria's civil war will be held in Geneva in late November, the head of the Arab League said Sunday, after weeks of diplomacy to bring the opposing sides to the negotiating table.Even as the announcement was made, violence continued in Syria. A suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden truck blew himself up at a government checkpoint on the edge of the central city of Hama, killing at least 30 people, according to both activists and the

영국의 한 국제환경단체가 한국 원양어선이 지난 9월 아프리카 연안에서 불법조업을 하고 수산자원을 남획했다고 주장해 또 다시 논란이 일고 있다. 런던에 본부를 둔 NGO인 환경정의재단은 위성 사진과 자동위치추적시스템을 근거로 부산 소재 원양업체인 금웅수산의 ‘금웅101호’가 지난 9월 18-19일 시에라리온 연안에서 허가 없이 조업을 했다고 코리아헤럴드에 밝혔다. 포획물은 다음날 기니의 배타적경제수역(EEZ) 내에서 ‘홀란드 클리퍼’라는 네덜란드 냉동화물선으로 환적되었고 3주 후 부산항에 도착할 것이라고 이 단체는 주장했다. 금웅수산은 불법행위 주장을 부인하고 있다. 이 업체의 천효열 상무는 코리아헤럴드와의 전화 통화에서 “그 85톤의 고기는 적법한 허가를 받아 지난 6개월 동안 기니비소에서 수확 및 환적한 것”이라고 밝혔다. 그는 “다만 선장과 기관장이 건강이 급격히 악화되어 비교적 의료시설이 잘 되어 있는 시에라리온의 프리타운항에 임의적으로 입항할 수밖에 없었다”고 해명했다.또한

BERLIN (AP) -- Wilson Kipsang of Kenya did what he said he'd do on Sunday, when he broke the world record in style to win the 40th Berlin Marathon.After suggesting he was in the form to challenge compatriot Patrick Makau's 2011 time of 2 hours, 3 minutes, 38 seconds set in Berlin, the 31-year-old Kipsang beat the record by 15 seconds to set a new world best of 2:03:23."Looking at my marathon progress and career so far, I still think I have the potential to run faster. Anything under 2:03:23 woul

KANO, Nigeria (AFP) -- Boko Haram gunmen on Sunday opened fire in a college dormitory in northeast Nigeria as the students slept, killing at least 28 people, in the latest violence blamed on the Islamist insurgents.The early morning assault targeted the College of Agriculture in the town of Gujba, some 30 kilometres (18 miles) from Damaturu's capital of Yobe, said area military spokesman Lazarus Eli."Boko Haram terrorists...went into the school and opened fire on students" while they were sleepi

Citigroup Inc. and Bank of China Ltd. announced they will participate in Shanghai’s free trade zone, the 11-square-mile experiment in more relaxed financial and investment controls that was inaugurated today. The two banks were among the first to announce their participation in the zone, which opens Oct. 1 with the aim of creating a more efficient and open economic system, Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said at an opening ceremony. The area is a testing ground for free-market policies that Premie

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed for the United States on Sunday determined to use White House talks and a key UN speech to counter "sweet talk" by arch-foe Iran.Netanyahu has been dismissive in his response to a drive by Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani to mend fences with the international community that culminated in a historic 15-minute telephone conversation with US President Barack Obama on Friday.The premier says Rouhani is a "wolf in sheep's clothing

For the last few days, international media has repeatedly covered the intensive agenda of Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in New York, especially his address at the United Nations titled “The Humanity Needs a World Free from War and Hunger.” In the role of prime minister of a nation that gone through multiple wars, said Dung, the sharings “were sweat- and blood-infused experiences.”Dung arrived in the U.S. in the context of Vietnam’s polity and economy having received brightened and rel

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) -- NASA's newest delivery service pulled up at the International Space Station on Sunday after a week's delay, bringing more than a half-ton of meals and special treats to the astronauts who assisted in the high-flying feat.With the smooth linkup, Orbital Sciences Corp. became only the second company to accomplish such a far-flung shipment.The space station astronauts used their ship's huge robot arm to grab the Cygnus capsule, as the two vessels zoomed 260 miles abo

TOKYO (AFP) -- Japan has asked local authorities and state-run universities not to post Google maps on their websites because some of them use non-Japanese names for disputed islands, reports said Sunday.The disputed territory includes the South Korean-controlled islets in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, and the Japan-held Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, claimed by China as the Diaoyus, the Sports Nippon tabloid reported.The Russian-held isl