Crisis-hit Ukraine took the first step Wednesday toward granting more powers to the regions in line with Western wishes but stopped well short of creating the federation sought by Russia.The announcement came as Russia continued to mass tens thousands of troops along Ukraine's eastern border following a vow by President Vladimir Putin to use "any means necessary" to protect the interest of his compatriots in the neighboring ex-Soviet state.Ukraine's new Western-backed government said it would li

French President Francois Hollande approved a new Cabinet Wednesday that includes his ex-companion Segolene Royal as minister of environment and energy.The new government was named after discussions between new Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Hollande, and follow a crushing defeat for their Socialist Party in municipal voting last week.Royal's return to government follows a long period in the political wilderness. She ran an unsuccessful campaign for the presidency in 2007, losing to Nicolas Sar

Lufthansa canceled almost 900 domestic and intercontinental flights on Wednesday, after the pilots' union started a three-day strike in a wage dispute with Germany's largest airline.The carrier expects to cancel about 3,800 flights through Friday, affecting more than 425,000 passengers, airline spokeswoman Barbara Schaedler said. Lufthansa Cargo and its budget airline Germanwings were also affected by the strike, which the company estimates will cost it “tens of millions” of euros (dollars).The

Samsung General Chemicals Co., an unlisted unit of South Korea's Samsung Group, said Wednesday that it will merge with Samsung Petrochemical Co., another unlisted subsidiary.The merged company, to be named Samsung General Chemicals, will be launched on June 1, with shareholders to get 2.14 Samsung General Chemicals shares for each Samsung Petrochemical share they have.The announcement came two days after Samsung SDI Co., the world's largest maker of TV displays and smartphone batteries, said it

The nation’s top court said it is considering abolishing the provincial judge system in the aftermath of the scandal surrounding former business mogul Huh Jae-ho. The Supreme Court is mulling over scrapping the system in light of the controversial ruling that would have allowed former Daeju Group chief Huh to pay off 25.4 billion won ($23.8 million) in fines with 50 days of prison labor.  “We’re seeking to phase out the system,” Park Byoung-dae, chief of the top court’s administrative body, said

President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday appointed Kang Byung-kyu the new chief of the Ministry of Security and Public Administration, despite protests from the main opposition party. The 60-year-old Kang served as the second vice minister from 2009 to 2010 during the Lee Myung-bak administration. He was nominated by President Park last month to succeed Yoo Jeong-bok, who resigned to run for mayor of Incheon in June’s local elections.In his inauguration speech later in the day, Kang said he will work

South Korean girl group 2NE1 has been chosen by U.S. media website BuzzFeed as one of "11 girl groups from around the world to love right now."According to an article posted on the popular website Monday, 2NE1 is riffing on the format all over the world, along with British "X-Factor" champs Little Mix.The article further mentioned that the four members -- CL, Park Bom, Dara and Minzy -- are amazing dancers who create wild, over-the-top videos and that each have a distinct personality.2NE1's seco

The nation's top court on Wednesday accepted the resignation of a senior judge for delivering a controversial ruling that valued a convicted former tycoon's prison labor at 500 million won ($467,726) a day.Chang Byong-woo, the chief of the Gwangju District Court in the southwestern city of Gwangju, offered to resign on Saturday, holding himself accountable for allowing Huh Jae-hoh, the former chairman of the now-defunct Daeju Group, to pay off his fines of 25.4 billion won through 50 days of man

A co-leader of South Korea's new opposition party called on the government Wednesday to push for an inter-Korean summit to defuse high tension on the Korean Peninsula following the North's military provocations.Lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo made the proposal in his first address to the National Assembly after taking the helm of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy last month, along with former Democratic Party leader Kim Han-gil. NPAD holds the largest number of seats in parliament after the ruling

Hyundai Motor Group, the world's fifth-largest automotive conglomerate, said Wednesday that its U.S. sales moved up 3.7 percent in March, while its hold on the domestic market slipped slightly.The conglomerate said combined sales of cars made by Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Motors Corp. in the United States stood at 121,782 units last month, up from 117,431 tallied a year earlier. The total is equivalent to 17.3 percent of all 703,534 cars sold worldwide by the two companies during the mo

South Korea has called on North Korea to repay millions of dollars in loans it provided years ago, an official said Wednesday, amid rising tensions over Pyongyang's live-fire artillery drills and its threat of a nuclear test.South Korea's state-run Export-Import Bank sent a message to its North Korean counterpart on Tuesday to inform the North of its debt obligations, said the official at the unification ministry.The move came a day after North Korea failed to pay back $7 million as the third in

한국을 방문한 세계적인 톱모델 미란다 커의 공항패션이 화제를 모으고 있다.미란다 커는 지난달 31일 국내일정을 소화하기 위해 인천공항을 통해 입국했다.이날 미란다 커는 심플한 네이비 자켓에 화이트 팬츠를 입고 공항 입국장에 모습을 보였다. 특히 미란다 커는 굽이 낮은 스니커즈를 신고도 늘씬한 몸매를 과시해 보는 이들의 시선을 사로잡았다. 이 소식을 접한 네티즌들은 “미란다 커 공항패션, 정말 예쁘다”, “미란다 커 공항패션, 실제로 보면 정말 좋겠지만 너무 주눅들 것 같다”, “미란다 커 공항패션, 자기 몸 중 마음에 안 드는 곳이 있을까”, ”미란다 커 공항패션, 스니커즈에 이렇게 완벽?“ 등의 반응을 보였다.onlinenews@heraldcorp.com

There were 209 reported attempts of technology theft in the past five years, an overwhelming majority of them from small- and midsize companies, South Korea's spy agency said Tuesday.According to a center for protection of industrial secrets under the National Intelligence Service, attempted theft of trade secrets to foreign countries has grown to cover a wider range of sectors, with smaller companies falling prey because of weaker security awareness and lack of resources to invest in advanced s

South Korea is conducting a probe into an unidentified drone that fell on one of its border islands during the latest cross-border exchange of artillery fire with North Korea in the western sea, military officials said Tuesday.The drone was collected from Baengnyeong Island, just south of the western maritime border, at around 4 p.m. on Monday, shortly after the North finished its three-hour shelling drill with coastal artillery guns and multiple rocket launchers. It was not immediately known wh

Ssangyong Motor Co., the local unit of Indian sport utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra, said Tuesday that its sales soared 23 percent on-year in March on the strength of consumer demand for its popular Korando family of rugged off-road vehicles.The carmaker's total sales hit 13,232 units last month compared with 10,761 vehicles sold a year earlier. Domestic sales reached 5,850 units, a 18.8 percent increase from the same one-month period in 2013. Exports, including knockdown kits, were ta

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's No. 1 automaker, said Tuesday that its March sales jumped 10.6 percent from a year earlier, helped by the launch of new cars and a rise in production at home and abroad.The company said it sold 431,532 cars last month, with domestic sales rising 3.1 percent to reach 57,812. Overseas shipments gained 11.9 percent to 373,720 cars.On the domestic front, sales of the premium Genesis sedan reached 3,187 units, a three-fold gain from a year before, it said.The Grandeur

North Korea warned Japan against selling a property in Tokyo that serves as the North's de facto embassy during their first high-level talks in more than a year, the chief Pyongyang delegate said Tuesday, adding that there would be "no need" for progress in bilateral talks unless Japan addresses the issue.The strongly worded remarks by Song Il-ho, North Korea's ambassador in charge of talks to normalize relations with Japan who led the two-day talks that ended on Monday in Beijing, suggested tha

친구의 만우절 장난에 당했다면? 화를 내자니 속좁은 사람으로 보일까 찜찜하다. 더 기발하고 재미있는 장난으로 호쾌하게 복수할 수는 없을까.해외 누리꾼들이 선정한 만우절 해외 장난 10선이 인터넷상에 소개돼 화제다.1. 동료 키보드에 텃밭 가꾸기 ▲회사 동료의 키보드를 분해해 안쪽에 휴지를 깔고 씨앗을 뿌려 새싹이 자라나게 한다. (플리커)2. 자동차 시트로 변장 ▲운전석 시트 코스튬을 입고 운전석에 앉아있으면 된다. (임구르)3 . 자동차를 마트 카트로 포위 ▲차주인이 자리를 비운 사이에 마트 카트로 주차된 차를 포위한다.4. 사무실을 가득 메운 모형 쥐 ▲여성 동료의 사무실에 모형쥐를 가득 채운다. (롤프랭스닷컴)5. 온 사방이 상사의 사진 ▲직장 상사의 사무실을 본인의 사진으로 도배해 버린다. (레딧닷컴)6 . 쿠키에 크림 대신 치약을… ▲샌드 쿠키에 크림을 발라내고 치약을 넣는다. (미스터스필즈)7. 자동차를 포스트잇으로 화려하게… ▲차주인이 자리를 비운 사이에 차량 전체를 튀

North Korea on Tuesday launched scathing verbal attacks on South Korean President Park Geun-hye as it denounced her recent proposals calling for bolstering exchanges with the communist country.The North's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper called her an eccentric old maid, an idiot and a hen over her comments on North Korea's economic difficulties and its homeless children.Park's comments "are an unpardonable insult" to the North, the newspaper said.The North's verbal attacks came more than a month af

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker, said Tuesday that its sales jumped 15.2 percent in March from a year ago, mainly helped by more overseas demand.The carmaker said it sold a total of 272,002 units overall last month, up from 236,076 a year earlier.Of all cars sold, sales in the home market contracted 1.3 percent on-year to 39,005 units, while overseas sales stood at 232,997, an 18.5 percent increase from March 2013, the company said in a statement."Despite economic uncert