WASHINGTON (AFP) -- U.S. President Barack Obama convened a second consecutive day of crisis White House talks Monday, but a polarized Washington appeared far from a deal to stave off a catastrophic debt default.Obama met Sunday evening with congressional leaders, including Republican House Speaker John Boehner, but 75 minutes of talks failed to unblock an impasse that reaches right to the heart of

SC First Bank, the South Korean unit of Standard Chartered Plc., said Monday it had temporarily shut down operations at 43 branches in a bid to minimize the impact of a prolonged labor strike. Unionized workers at SC First Bank launched an indefinite strike on June 27 in protest of the management's move to introduce a performance-based pay system, causing bank customers to face inconvenience in us

‘Safari capital’ pushes for sustainable tourism in pursuit of harmony of humans, terrain and wildlifeMAASAI MARA, Kenya ― A dozen safari cars stood bumper to bumper along a narrow dirt road on the vast savannah land. All engines were cut. Passengers held their breath. The only interruptions to the sudden silence were sounds of clicking camera shutters and calm sighs of admiration as a male lion em

Korea becomes only the second Asian country to host the Winter GamesThe long battle for the Winter Olympics is over. PyeongChang won the right to host the 2018 Games after winning the majority votes on Wednesday at a International Olympic Committee session in Durban, South Africa.President Lee Myung-bak and members of PyeongChang 2018 bid committee cheer after the IOC officially announced PyeongCh

The nation’s top financial regulator is investigating four major commercial banks in connection with lending irregularities, banking sources said Wednesday.Kookmin, Woori, Shinhan and Hana banks are suspected of forcing borrowers to buy their financial products including time deposits, pension and insurance in exchange for lending, they said.The Financial Supervisory Service has recently completed

Korea's financial watchdog said it has decided to penalize SC First Bank for its violations of local banking laws such as the illegal handling of metal loan services to corporate customers. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said it will impose fines worth 4.5 million won ($4,225) and punish 41 officials of the Korean unit of Standard Chartered Plc after the bank violated regulations on metal

ORLANDO, Florida (AP) -- Casey Anthony's eyes welled with tears and her lips trembled as the verdict was read once, twice and then a third time: ``Not guilty'' of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.Outside the courthouse Tuesday, many in the crowd of 500 reacted with anger, chanting, ``Justice for Caylee!'' One man yelled, ``Baby killer!''In one of America's most divisive verdicts since forme

(MCT)Having children reading books aloud may not be an effective way of educating them. In fact, it may hinder students from acquiring new vocabulary, said researchers from New Zealand.When children under age 6 learn reading via sound, they tend to create a “cognitive footprint” which results in a long-term disadvantage. Phonics students also found it hard to identify real words from words that ar

The Marine Corps on Wednesday arrested a private for allegedly aiding the recent shooting spree on a seaside unit, a military official said.According to the official, the private, whose name was withheld, is accused of failing to stop the shooter, a corporal named Kim, when Kim was taking out ammunition from a locker to load a rifle.Kim opened fire inside the barracks on the Ganghwa Island unit we

Korean scientists have created a genetically modified pig that has a better chance of success in animal-to-human organ transplants, a state institute said Wednesday.The new pig, named Somang-i, is designed to produce an antigen (the human lymphocyte differentiation antigen, cluster of differentiation 73 or CD 73) that will help prevent hyperacute rejection of animal organs by human bodies, accordi

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's leading shipbuilder, said Wednesday it will not bid for a stake in Hynix Semiconductor Inc., raising speculation that creditors may fail again to sell the world's second-largest computer memory chipmaker.Hyundai Heavy had been regarded as the sole potential investor for the 15 percent stake up for sale.Shares of Hyundai Heavy were trading at 478,500 won on

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) -- North Korea or unidentified forces aligned with the communist nation may be preparing for full-fledged cyber-terrorism against South Korea or the United States, based on its "test" attacks in 2009 and earlier this year, a U.S. Internet security firm said Tuesday.In a special report, McAfee Inc. said North Korea or its "sympathizers" seem to have been responsible for the

A family of the four soldiers killed in Monday’s shooting rampage enter a military hospital, where their bodies are laid, in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday.　(Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald)The Marine who went on a shooting rampage Monday, killing four fellow soldiers, had been treated like an outcast on his base on Ganghwa Island, military officials said Tuesday.The 19-year-old corporal, ide

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists have come up with a possible explanation for why the rise in Earth‘s temperature paused for a bit during the 2000s, one of the hottest decades on record.The answer seems counterintuitive. It’s all that sulfur pollution in the air from China‘s massive coal-burning, according to a new study.Sulfur particles in the air deflect the sun’s rays and can temporarily cool thin

Firefighters exiting the building after finishing their survey, while thousands were evacuated earlier from Technomart and Prime Center following violent tremors throughout the building, in Seoul on Tuesday. (Park Hyun-kyoo/The Korea Herald)Thousands of people evacuated from a high-rise office building after tremors were felt throughout the building for unknown reasons in Seoul on Tuesday.Accordin

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Overweight or obese men, like their female counterparts, have a lower chance of becoming a parent, according to a comparison of sperm quality presented at a European fertility meeting Monday.In what they described as the largest study of its kind, doctors looked at sperm samples from 1,940 men and matched them to the donor‘s weight.The benchmark was the body mass index (BMI), a m

Workers polish diamonds in one of two rooms of polishing benches at the Guangzhou Mickey Weinstock & Co. (Bloomberg)Overseas diamond retailers are paying close attention to the booming diamond market in China with a view to cashing in on the country’s growing purchasing power.Figures from the Diamond Administration of China show that the annual turnover at the Shanghai Diamond Exchange reached $2.

The congregation of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) in Indonesia again faces the threat of eviction from local hardliners who are now targeting the makeshift location where the church conducts its weekly service.A group of residents who live along Jl. K.H. Abdullah bin Nuh in Bogor, West Java, attempted to evict the GKI Yasmin congregation from the area on Sunday morning, but we

India’s booming economy is increasingly catching the attention of Indians who once migrated abroad for higher pay and a better quality of life.So much so that job search portal Monster.com this month launched Return2home, a site for overseas Indians looking for jobs in India. Within 10 days, 700 job-seekers applied for the 277 job listings put up by 32 companies, including Tata Consultancy Service

A Marine soldier is transported to a hospital in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, after a shooting spree at a barrack of the Marine Second Division on Ganghwa Island off the west coast, Monday. (Yonhap News)A shooting spree by a 19-year-old Marine corporal on Monday has left four soldiers dead, the Marine Corps said.The incident took place inside a barrack of the Marine Second Division on Ganghwa Island