SHANGHAI (AFP) - China said Friday it is considering a change to its mechanism for managing its currency to buffer it against market forces, in an apparent step back from liberalisation pledges.The potential new system would introduce a "counter-cyclical factor" to China's current system of allowing the yuan to trade within a government-set band, according to a statement on the website of the Foreign Exchange Trade System, an agency under the People's Bank of China.The statement did not explain

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. economy started 2017 out with a whimper, but it wasn't quite as weak as first thought. The government revised up its January-March growth reading to a rate of 1.2 percent --  better than an earlier estimate of 0.7 percent but well below President Donald Trump's ambitious growth targets.The Commerce Department says the gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic health, is down from 2.1 percent growth in the fourth quarter and marks the weakest result in a

ROME (AP) -- Laura Biagiotti, an Italian fashion designer who conquered global markets with her soft, loose women's clothes and luxurious knits that won her the nickname "Queen of Cashmere,'' died Friday following a heart attack. She was 73.Biagiotti suffered the heart attack Wednesday evening at her estate outside of Rome. Doctors were able to resuscitate her but by then serious brain damage had occurred. She died in a hospital in the capital.Her daughter, Lavinia Biagiotti Cigna, announced her

The Moon Jae-in government will make a presidential panel to map out a long-term environmental road map and coordinate policies for sustainable development, his policy advisory panel said Friday.The "sustainability" panel will be formed by merging the two existing bodies -- the commission on sustainable development under the environmental ministry and the committee on green growth under the prime minister's office, the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee said, citing a government policy br

TAORMINA (AFP) - US President Donald Trump promised Friday that North Korea "will be solved", as G7 powers opened a summit that will confront a series of missile tests by the nuclear-armed nation.Trump's tough talk came in a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, which along with South Korea is most immediately threatened by North Korean belligerence.But the isolated regime has also threatened to target places further afield such as the US West Coast, and Trump has called North Korea's

Host South Korea will use an experimental lineup against England in their final group stage match at the FIFA U-20 World Cup here on Friday.The starting lineup released by FIFA shows four South Korean players will make their first start at the U-20 World Cup. Head coach Shin Tae-yong also made six changes from their previous lineup against Argentina.Shin previously said his side will come up with new tactics that have never been used before when they face England at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Su

The National Assembly failed Friday to adopt a report on the results of its confirmation hearing for Prime Minister-nominee Lee Nak-yon amid a dispute over allegations against his family.During the two-day hearing that ended Thursday, the former lawmaker and provincial governor was grilled over the suspicion that in 1989, his wife, then a high school teacher, used a false home address to get assigned to a better school in Seoul. He acknowledged it.Earlier in the day, President Moon Jae-in's chie

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that his country was ready to play a "productive" role in ending the North Korean nuclear issue, also promising to enhance the country's cooperation with South Korea, Seoul's presidential office said.Putin's remarks came during a call to his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in, who came into office earlier in the week following his election in a rare presidential by-election held Tuesday."I believe Russia is our country's best partner in working to e

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min was named the Premier League's Player of the Month for the second time this season after claiming the April award on Friday.The English Premier League announced on its website that Son beat out his teammates Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen, Manchester United defender Eric Bailly, Chelsea attacker Eden Hazard, Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero and Crystal Palace striker Christian Benteke to win the accolade, which was based on votes fro

BRUSSELS (AP) --  European governments alarmed at a proposed expansion of the ban on in-flight laptops and tablets to planes from the EU are holding urgent talks Friday with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.Chief among the concerns are whether any new threat prompted the proposal, said European Commission transport spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, who confirmed the talks and said the EU had no new information about a specific security concern.U.S. officials have said the decision in March

BEIJING (AFP) - Beijing and Washington announced Friday an agreement giving US beef, natural gas and certain financial services access to China's massive market in a deal highlighting the warm ties nurtured by their presidents.The deal was unveiled a month after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Donald Trump launched a 100-day action plan on economic cooperation during their meeting at the US leader's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.Trump's Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin hailed the agreement with

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed Friday to boost their countries' cooperation in dealing with various global issues while enhancing their bilateral trade relations, the Seoul government said.The German leader also promised to work closely with South Korea in ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions.Her remarks came in her call to the new South Korean leader to congratulate him on his recent election. The call lasted about 15 minutes, according to the pr

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Friday submitted a request for a parliamentary confirmation hearing for Prime Minister-designate Lee Nak-yon to the National Assembly, accelerating efforts to round out a new Cabinet.Following the submission, the legislature is to complete the confirmation process within 20 days. Prime Minister-designate Lee Nak-yon speaks during a press conference in Muan, 385 kilometers south of Seoul on May 11, 2017. (Yonhap)Securing the parliamentary endorsement for L

Leaders of South Korea and Britain have called for joint efforts to denuclearize North Korea and to expand their bilateral trade, the Seoul government said Friday.South Korean President Moon Jae-in also asked for Britain's support in dismantling his country's aged nuclear reactors, according to Moon's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.Moon's remarks came in a telephone conversation with British Prime Minister Theresa May."President Moon Jae-in noted Britain was a close ally, which had dispatched

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull agreed Friday to jointly deal with a spread of trade protectionism in the global market, Moon's presidential office said.The agreement came in a telephone conversation beginning 2:30 p.m. (Seoul time), according to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. South Korean President Moon Jae-in holds a telephone conversation with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at his presidential office in Seoul on May 12, 201

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- North Korea has finally been approved to host a 2019 Asian Cup qualifying match against Malaysia following political tensions between the countries.The Asian Football Confederation says the game can go ahead in Pyongyang on June 8 after the Malaysian soccer federation confirmed it was not subject to "government travel restrictions.'' North Korean leader Kim Jong-un waves during a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, to celebrate the 105th birth anniversary of

PAJU -- The South Korean under-20 national football team beat Saudi Arabia 3-1 on Monday in a practice match for an upcoming FIFA competition at home.FC Barcelona B midfielder Paik Seung-ho scored a goal and set up another in an unofficial match at the National Football Center in Paju, north of Seoul, where the South Korean players have been training for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The players on the South Korean under-20 national football team train at the National Football Center in Paju, Gyeongg

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- A United Nations official visiting North Korea is calling for more attention to disabled people in the socialist state.The UN special rapporteur on the rights of people with disabilities, Catalina Devandas Aguilar, talked to a small group of foreign and North Korean media at a news conference on Monday, the last full day of her eight-day trip to Pyongyang. Catalina Devandas Aguilar, the UN special rapporteur on the rights of people with disabilities (Yonhap)She urg

TOKYO (AP) -- After arresting two American university instructors and laying out what it says was an elaborate, CIA-backed plot to assassinate Kim Jong-un, North Korea is claiming to be the victim of state-sponsored terrorism from the White House. The assertion comes as the US is considering putting the North back on its list of terror sponsors. But the vitriolic outrage over the alleged plan to assassinate Kim last month is also being doled out with an unusually big dollop of retaliation threat

TOKYO (AP)  -- Japan and India are discussing ways to strengthen their military cooperation amid rising tension in the Asian region.Indian Defense Minister Arun Jaitley told his Japanese counterpart, Tomomi Inada, in Tokyo on Monday that his county hopes to pursue a strategic partnership with Japan for regional peace and stability.His visit comes at a time of rising tension in the region, including territorial rows in the South China Sea and nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. Jaitley