ISTANBUL (AFP) -- A former agriculture minister and an economist are leading candidates to be named Syria's first rebel prime minister when the opposition Syrian National Coalition meets to vote in Turkey this week.The two men are among around 10 opposition figures Coalition members are expected to consider during their gathering in Istanbul on March 18 and 19.The list includes virtual unknowns, as well as some prominent members of the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad's regime, with forme

TOKYO (AFP) -- Tokyo's first amphibious tourist buses were put into service Sunday, carrying 40 passengers through the city's low eastern side by road before taking to the Naka river during a 100-minute "Tokyo Splash Tour."The two buses, dubbed "Sky Ducks", departed from Tokyo's new landmark Skytree, the world's tallest communications tower at 634 metres.Similar amphibious sightseeing buses have been in service in the western city of Osaka and a few other tourist spots in Japan.Tokyo finally joi

Medical expenses for senior citizens represented more than 30 percent of all medical spending covered by South Korea's national health insurance program last year, data showed Sunday.According to the data by the National Health Insurance Service, the country's state-run health insurance firm, medical expenses for people aged 65 or older accounted for 34.4 percent of all medical spending by the firm in 2012.The ratio has been increasing since 2005 when it registered 24.4 percent. A total of 47.84

VATICAN CITY (AFP) -- Pope Francis appeared before some 150,000 pilgrims massed in St Peter's Square on Sunday for his first Angelus prayer and asked the faithful to pray for him."Thank you for your welcome, and for your prayers," the first pope from Latin America said from a window of the papal apartment high above the square. "Pray for me," he added.Dozens of flags from Francis' native Argentina were waving in the square, along with the Vatican's yellow and white standard, as the former cardin

South Korea and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a United Nations organization, have signed a headquarter agreement regulating the privileges and immunities of GCF and its staff, the finance ministry said Sunday.The agreement was signed in Berlin, Germany, during the third round of the GCF board meeting held from March 12-15, the ministry said.The agreement laid the legal foundations for the establishment of the GCF headquarters to the Songdo International Business District in Incheon, 40 kilometer

BEIJING (AP) -- China's new leaders struck a populist tone Sunday as they got down to the painstaking work of governing, promising cleaner government, less red tape and more fairness to enlarge a still small middle class and help struggling private businesses.In appearances that mark the completion of a months-long, orchestrated leadership transition, President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang stressed the urgency of reining in runaway official corruption to restore the Communist Party's frayed

BEIJING (AP) -- New Chinese Premier Li Keqiang dismissed hacking accusations against China as "groundless" on Sunday and said his government was committed to strong ties with Washington.Referring to allegations that China's military was behind massive hacking attacks on U.S. entities, Li reiterated Beijing's statements that China is a major target of global hackers and opposes all such criminal activity."I think we should not make groundless accusations against each other but spend more time doi

TOKYO (AFP) -- Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Sunday he hoped to meet the Chinese and South Korean leaders soon to improve relations strained by separate territorial rows.But his ruling party also pledged the same day to push for changes to Japan's pacifist constitution -- a move likely to stir unease in both the countries, which were among victims of Tokyo's 20th century militarism."I am in the same generation as the two new leaders," Abe told an annual convention of his Liberal Democra

MADINAT ZAYED, United Arab Emirates (AFP) -- Oil-rich Abu Dhabi on Sunday officially opened the world's largest Concentrated Solar Power plant, which cost $600 million to build and will provide electricity to 20,000 homes.The 100-megawatt Shams 1 is "the world's largest concentrated solar power plant in operation" said Sultan al-Jaber, the head of Abu Dhabi's Masdar, which oversees the emirate's plan to generate seven percent of its energy needs by 2020 from renewable sources."Today, Shams 1 is

 북한은 12일 키 리졸브 한미연합군사훈련 이틀째를 맞아 김정은 국방위원회 위원장의 서해 군부대 시찰을 공개하고 대남기구 성명을 발표하는 등 한국과 미국을 겨냥한 위협 수위를 높였다. 조선중앙통신은 김 위원장이 백령도 타격임무를 부여받은 월내도방어대와 제641군부대 산하 장거리포병 구분대를 시찰했다고 보도했다. 특히 월내방어대 시찰 중 “명령만 내리면 적들을 모조리 불도가니에 쓸어넣으라”고 지시하고 백령도의 한국군 해병6여단을 소멸하기 위한 타격순서를 정해줬다고 통신은 전했다. 월내방어대는 백령도와 거리가 11㎞ 남짓에 불과한 북한의 서해 최전선 부대로, 김 위원장이 2010년 11월 연평도에 포격을 가한 장재도방어대와 무도영웅방어대를 시찰한지 4일만에 찾은 것이다. 통신은 또한 북한의 대남기구인 조국평화통일위원회(조평통) 대변인의 11일 성명을 통해 키 리졸브 연습을 비난하고 “이 시각부터 초래될 모든 파국적 후과의 책임은 전적으로 도발자들인 미국과 괴뢰패당이 지게 될 것”이라고

우리 군은 6일 북한 최고사령부의 군사도발 위협에 대해 대북 경계태세를 격상하고 “도발시 지휘세력까지 단호히 응징하겠다“고 밝혔다. 북한은 전날 최고사령부 대변인 성명을 통해 최근 3차 핵실험에 대한 유엔의 대북제재 움직임과 한미 간 연합 군사훈련에 반발해 핵실험에 이은 2, 3차 대응 조치와 정전협정 백지화, 판문점 대표부 활동중지, 유엔사와 북한군간의 직통 전화 차단 등을 위협했다. 군 당국은 북한의 도발 가능성에 대비, 정오를 기준으로 경계태세를 평상시 수준에서 한 단계 격상하고 정찰기 등 한미 연합 감시자산을 증강 운용하고 있다. 대북정보감시태세인 ‘워치콘’은 아직 3단계를 유지하고 있는 것으로 알려졌다.김용현 합동참모본부 작전부장(육군 소장)은 국방부 청사에서 열린 기자회견에서 ”이번 키리졸브 및 독수리 연습은 북측에도 이미 통보된 한반도 방어를 위한 연례적인 한미 연합훈련“이라고 말했다.그는 “그럼에도 북한이 우리 국민의 생명과 안정을 위협하는 도발을 감행한다면 우리 군은

LONDON (AP) -- The BBC says it has received reports that its world service English shortwave radio frequencies are being jammed in China and condemns what it called efforts to disrupt free access to news and information.The broadcaster said while it can't attribute the source of the jamming definitively, ``the extensive and coordinated efforts are indicative of a well-resourced country such as China.''The jamming of broadcasts in China is being timed to cause ``maximum disruption,'' the BBC's di

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- The image was meant to convey growing friendship between the United States and Myanmar, currently the world's hottest frontier market. Flanked by small national flags, Win Aung, the president of Myanmar's main business association, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jose Fernandez shook hands in Yangon on Monday and agreed to deepen business ties between their countries.The awkward part? The United States still dubs Win Aung a "crony" who allegedly used his close ties

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The $85 billion in budget cuts set to hit the U.S. on Friday were designed to be so unattractive and damaging that they would force Congress and the Obama administration to find a better way to address the country's massive deficit. Four days remain but no alternative is in sight, and both sides in the latest partisan battle are angrily blaming each other.No deal means the government is forced to make drastic cuts in domestic and defense spending, a move that that threatens th

BEIJING (AFP) -- New Chinese leader Xi Jinping vowed Monday to pursue friendly ties with Taiwan and keep seeking "peaceful reunification" in a meeting with an influential politician from the island, state media reported.Xi, who became Communist Party chief in November and is set to assume the country's presidency next month, held talks with Lien Chan, a former vice president of Taiwan, the official Xinhua news agency said.China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949 when China's com

KABUL (AFP) -- Afghanistan's president has ordered US special forces to leave a strategic province as he seeks tighter control over Afghan militia, exacerbating tensions before the 2014 withdrawal of NATO troops.Hamid Karzai on Sunday gave American special forces two weeks to pull out of Wardak, a hotbed of Taliban activity on the doorstep of Kabul, accusing Afghans they work with of torture and murder that has incited local hatred.NATO and the US military has said it will discuss the issue with

VATICAN CITY (AFP) -- The Vatican said Monday that a secret report on a leaks scandal in 2012 had revealed human "imperfections" in the running of the Church and would be shown exclusively to the future pope, not to voting cardinals."The Holy Father has decided that the documents, which only he has seen, will be exclusively available to his successor," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said at a press conference."Their work made it possible to detect, given the limitations and imperfections of

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel and the U.S. on Monday carried out a successful test of the next-generation Arrow 3 missile defense system, for the first time sending an interceptor into outer space, where it could destroy missiles fired from Iran.The Arrow 3 is part of a multilayered system that Israel is developing to protect against a range of missile threats, from short-range rockets in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon to medium and longer-range missiles in the hands of Syria and Iran. The Arrow system i

MOSCOW (AFP) -- The Syrian regime is ready for talks with armed rebels and anyone who favours dialogue, President Bashar al-Assad's foreign minister said in Moscow on Monday in the first such offer by a top Syrian official.Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem was in Moscow for talks with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, whose country is one of the few big powers to still maintain ties with Assad's regime.Russia has renewed calls for rebels and regime to engage in direct negotiations to end the tw

TOKYO (AFP) -- A 5.7-magnitude earthquake hit Japan on Monday, setting buildings in the capital swaying but causing no risk of a tsunami, seismologists said.National broadcaster NHK said no abnormalities were detected at nuclear power plants near the epicentre, which was north of Tokyo, where buildings rocked for upwards of half a minute.The US Geological Survey said the quake had hit at 16:23, with its epicentre 57 kilometres north-northeast of Maebashi and around 143 kilometres north-northwest