VATICAN CITY (AFP) - Pope Francis said Sunday he will make his first trip to the Holy Land, visiting Amman, Bethlehem and Jerusalem from May 24 to 26."In the climate of joy typical of this Christmas period, I would like to announce that from May 24 to 26, God willing, I will carry out a pilgrimage to the Holy Land," Francis told crowds gathered in St Peter's Square for the traditional Angelus prayer.Francis said the date of the announcement -- January 5 -- was significant because it "commemorate

A local publisher of a history textbook that is accused of containing right-leaning ideological biases claimed Sunday that progressive civic groups and politicians are engaging in a "witch hunt" to prevent its material from being taught in classrooms.Kyohak Publishing told Yonhap News Agency that its textbooks passed the inspections system set up by the education ministry and could be taught in schools.It said efforts by certain progressive groups can only be seen as an attempt to paint the book

BANGALORE, India (AFP) – India was set for the launch of its first domestically-powered cryogenic rocket Sunday, as Delhi bids to join an elite club of countries with the technology after a crash and a fuel leak on previous attempts.Scientists were making final preparations for the launch of the rocket using a complex technology mastered by just a handful of countries, a top Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) official said.The 415-ton rocket carrying a two-ton advanced communications sate

PANAJI, India (AP) – Rescuers using backhoes and shovels searched for survivors Sunday under a massive pile of broken concrete and dust that was left when a residential building under construction collapsed in southern India, killing at least 15 workers.Authorities suspected dozens more may be trapped under the rubble, but were still trying to determine how many workers were on site when the five-story structure crumpled Saturday afternoon in the state of Goa. Witnesses reported seeing at least

BAGHDAD (AP) – A senior Iraqi military commander said Sunday that it will take a few days to fully dislodge al-Qaida-linked fighters from two key western cities.Lt. Gen. Rasheed Fleih, who leads the Anbar Military Command, told the state television Sunday that ``two to three days'' are needed to push the militants out of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi. Fleih added that pro-government Sunni tribes are leading the operations while the army only is offering aerial cover and logistics on the ground. H

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) – Police in Bangladesh fired at protesters and opposition activists torched more than 100 polling stations Sunday during a national election boycotted by the opposition and described as flawed by the international community. At least 11 people were killed in election-related violence.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's refusal to heed opposition demands to step down and appoint a neutral caretaker to oversee the election led to the boycott, undermining the legitimacy of the vot

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Peace talks between South Sudan's warring factions must not be a "gimmick" to buy time to win the upper hand on the ground, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Sunday."Both parties need to put the interests of South Sudan above their own," Kerry told reporters in Jerusalem."The beginning of direct talks... is a very important step, but make no mistake it is only a first step. There's a lot more to do."Negotiations have to be serious, they cannot be a delay, (a) gimmick in

SANAA (AFP) - Two days of clashes between Shiite rebels and Sunni tribesmen fighting alongside hard-line Salafists in northern Yemen have killed at least 23 people, sources said on Sunday.Fighting has centered for months on a Salafist mosque and Koranic school in Dammaj, which has been besieged by the Shiite rebels known as Huthis.But the conflict has spread in the northern provinces, embroiling Sunni tribes wary of the power of the Huthis, who have repeatedly been accused of receiving support f

TEL AVIV, Israel (AFP) – Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon was on Sunday facing "imminent" death, the Tel Aviv hospital where he is in critical condition said.The health of the 85-year-old Sharon, who was dubbed "the Bulldozer" both for his style and physique, has been worsening since Wednesday when he suffered serious kidney problems after surgery.And on Sunday, the director of Tel Hashomer hospital said Sharon was "still in danger of imminent death" although his "heart is holding out

MANSOURA, Egypt (AFP) - A powerful car bomb tore through an Egyptian police headquarters Tuesday, killing at least 14 people, in one of the worst attacks since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.The military-installed government said the bombing in Mansoura city, north of Cairo, was aimed at derailing Egypt's democratic transition, and immediately suggested Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood was behind it.But the Islamist movement, which says it renounced violence decades ago, condemned th

BAGHDAD (AFP) - An Al-Qaeda-linked militant group has claimed an attack on an Iraqi television station headquarters in which five journalists were killed.At the direction of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's "war ministry," militants attacked "the headquarters of the Salaheddin satellite(channel) which... distorts the facts and fights the Sunni people," the group said on online jihadist forums.It said two militants took part in the attack on Monday, although police said four suicide bom

AMSTERDAM (AP) – Global stocks posted further gains Tuesday as concerns over a cash crunch in China eased. Trading volumes were light in shortened Christmas Eve sessions.Most markets have been strong in general over the past week following figures showing the U.S. economy is performing better than expected. The advance has also come despite the Federal Reserve's decision to start reducing its monetary stimulus by $10 billion to $75 billion from January. Many had feared the decision to rein in it

NongHyup Financial Group Inc. was picked Tuesday as the preferred bidder for three units of state-run Woori Finance Holdings Co., as the government pushes for the long-pending privatization aimed at recouping the bailout money put in more than a decade ago.South Korea's largest banking firm by asset chose NongHyup to buy Woori Investment & Securities Co., WooriAviva Life Insurance Co. and Woori FG Savings Bank at a board meeting, the bank said. Woori Asset Management Co., also included in the sa

BAGHDAD (AFP) - A bomb struck the acting Iraqi defense minister's convoy west of Baghdad on Tuesday, wounding two of his guards, the ministry said.The roadside bomb hit Saadun al-Dulaimi's convoy as it travelled between Fallujah and Ramadi, "wounding two of his guards and damaging one of the vehicles," the ministry said on its website.It did not specify whether or not Dulaimi was travelling in the convoy, but a senior defense ministry official told AFP that he was not present at the time of the

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia has begun closing the criminal cases against the crew of a Greenpeace ship who were charged with hooliganism over a protest against Gazprom drilling in the Arctic, the group said Tuesday."Three (Greenpeace activists) have been officially informed about the closure of the criminal case," Greenpeace Russia spokeswoman Maria Favorskaya told AFP, saying that the 27 other activists charged were expected to receive similar notices soon. The move, part of Kremlin-backed amnesty, s

교육부가 사실상 ‘안녕들 하십니까’ 대자보를 금지하고 나서 학생인권침해 논란이 일고 있다. 　20일 각 시도교육청 등에 따르면 교육부는 지난 18일 ‘학교 면학분위기 유지를 위한 생활지도 협조’를 주요 내용으로 하는 공문을 전국 시,도교육청에 발송했다.　교육부는 공문에서 “최근 일부 학생들이 사회적 문제와 관련된 특별한 주장이나 개인적 의견을 학교 내에서 벽보 등을 통해 표현함으로써 면학분위기에 부정적 영향을 끼칠 우려가 제기된다”며 “각 고등학교에서는 학생들이 학업에 전념할 수 있도록 학생 생활지도에 더욱 철저를 기해 주기 바란다”고 주문했다　공문을 받은 서울시교육청 등 각 시.도 교육청은 “최근 일부 학교에서 학생들이 사회적 이슈와 관련된 내용을 학교 내에서 벽보 등을 통해 주장함으로써 학년말 학교 면학 분위기를 해칠 우려가 제기되고 있다”며 “각 중고교에서는 학생들이 편안하고 안정된 학교분위기 속에서 학업에 전념할 수 있도록 더 큰 관심과 사랑을 가지고 생활지도에 만전을 기해

세간을 떠들썩하게 했던 연예인 사건과 관련해 12명이 기소되었다.사건을 수사중인 수원지검 안산지청은 19일 성매매 브로커 A씨와 연예인 지망생, 이들과 성관계를 한 사업가 등 12명을 불구속 기소했다. 기소된 인원 중 남성은 3명, 여성은 9명이며 이들 중 유명 연예인이 포함됐는지 여부는 아직 확인되지 않았다. 안산지청 안병익 차장검사는 기자간담회를 열어 수사결과를 발표했으며, 그간 언론에 오르내리던 톱 탤런트에 대해서 수사를 진행했으나 혐의가 없는 것으로 조사되었다고 설명했다.불구속 기소된 이들은 한번에 300만원부터 최고 5천만원을 내고 성매매를 한 것으로 확인되었으며, 이들 중 일부는 중국 성매매를 다녀왔다고 한다. <관련 영문 기사>Prosecution indicts 12 in “celebrity” prostitution caseBy Choi He-sukProsecutors on Thursday indicted 12 individuals without detention in

STRASBOURG, France (AFP) - Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai was handed the EU's prestigious Sakharov human rights prize Wednesday in recognition of her crusade for the right of all children, girls and boys, to an education.To thunderous applause announcing the European Parliament prize, the assembly's president Martin Schulz praised the 16-year-old activist as "a survivor, a heroine and an extraordinary young woman" and said: "You have given hope to millions of people."Malala, dressed in oran

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia suspended on Wednesday the operations of a popular Moscow bank whose board includes a cousin of President Vladimir Putin on suspicion of laundering more than half a billion dollars.Investigators accused managers at Master Bank -- Russia's 75th-biggest by total assets - of stealing more than $600 million (444 million euros) in clients' money and other illegal transactions.The unexpected announcements prompted an unscheduled parliament hearing and left long lines of anxious c

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - An Afghan district police chief was killed in an ambush by militants in the volatile southern province of Helmand on Wednesday, officials said.Tooryalai Khan, police chief of Helmand's Marjah district, was leading an operation against Taliban insurgents in the area when he was ambushed early in the morning, said provincial spokesman Omar Zewak.His bodyguard was wounded in the attack.Ismael Hotak, a senior provincial police officer, confirmed the incident and said Kh