The contentious omission of a renowned female independence activist in high school textbooks has sparked further altercations within education circles, which are already divided on the possible revival of state-authorized history textbooks. During last week’s debate on how to improve Korean history textbooks, it was revealed that four of the eight state-certified textbooks excluded descriptions ...

MOSCOW ― Russian strongman Vladimir Putin first used “Novorossiya” ― the loaded Tsarist-era name for what is now southern and eastern Ukraine ― just after annexing Crimea from Ukraine in March, sparking outrage in Kiev. The Kremlin made a reference to the term again on Friday when it released Putin’s address to Ukraine’s pro-Russian separatists, pointedly calling them defenders of “Novorossiya” ...

PARIS (AP) ― Christine Lagarde, the chief of the International Monetary Fund, was put under official investigation for negligence in a French corruption probe that dates back to her days as France’s finance minister. After a fourth round of questioning before magistrates on Wednesday, Lagarde said she was returning to her work in Washington, and called the investigation “without basis.” She is t...

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Burger King is buying Canada’s Tim Hortons coffee-and-donuts chain in an $11 billion deal that raised concerns about another U.S. company moving abroad for tax advantages. Burger King Worldwide denied that the deal announced Tuesday, which would create the world’s third-largest fast-food company, was being undertaken for tax reasons. But the planned move of the “Home of the Who...

More than a decade after the collapse of Daewoo Group in 1999, the group founder and former chairman Kim Woo-choong has stepped out of the shadows to promote a book telling the “real story” about what caused the group to fall. The author is Shin Jang-sup, a professor at the National University of Singapore, who wrote the book as Kim told it. The demise of Daewoo is recorded as the largest bankr...

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pennsylvania (AP) ― In the giddy moments after South Korea won the Little League World Series, outfielder Sin Don-wan realized how he wanted to celebrate. “I want to go to the Blue House ― the White House of Korea ― and meet the president,” Sin said, breaking up his teammates. Just maybe Sin, who scored twice and hit a solo homer, will indeed get his wish to meet Park Geun-h...

The Ice Bucket Challenge’s phenomenal success is making other charitable organizations rethink how they connect with a younger generation of potential donors. Since the ALS Association began tracking the campaign’s progress on July 29, it has raised more than $53.3 million from 1.1 million new donors in what is one of the most viral philanthropic social media campaigns in history. Thousands of ...

Yoo Heung-soo appears to be a confident and seasoned politician. Though he has yet to grasp all the pending issues and diplomatic terminology, his hale, vigorous and poised figure defies concerns about him being Korea’s oldest-ever ambassador to Japan. The 76-year-old former lawmaker, provincial governor and national police chief is scheduled to fly to Tokyo on Sunday to take on what is currentl...

WASHINGTON (AP) ― When racial tensions erupted midway through his first presidential campaign, Barack Obama came to Philadelphia to decry the “racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years.” Over time, he said, such wounds, rooted in America’s painful history on race, can be healed. Six years later, the stalemate suddenly seems more entrenched than ever. As Obama pleads for calm and understandi...

Five large underground hollows were discovered this week underneath one of Seoul’s road tunnels, city officials said Monday, adding to public concerns over safety sparked by similar discoveries in Seoul this month. The newly found cavities are large enough to contain stacks of cars. They are located only a few meters away from two similar cavities discovered earlier this month below the Seokchon...

Pope Francis consoled some of the most marginalized members of Korean society by holding their hands on Monday, the last day of his five-day visit to Korea. The pontiff officiated a Mass at Myeongdong Cathedral in downtown Seoul, praying for reconciliation and peace on the Korean Peninsula. Before the Mass, the pope took a few minutes to talk to some 20 men and women sitting in the cathedral’s ...

Friction between the Education Ministry and local education offices over elite schools hinted at an escalation of conflict between Minister Hwang Woo-yea and progressive superintendents. The ministry announced Monday that it would not approve Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education’s attempt to strip the status of autonomous private high school from Dongsan Christian High School. Autonomous scho...

As afternoon turned into evening on March 13, 2013, in Vatican City, white smoke rose from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel, signaling that a new pope had been elected. About an hour later, the identity of the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church was unveiled: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires. He would be named Pope Francis, it was announced. Since that moment, Pope Francis ne...

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Oscar-winning actor Robin Williams shot to fame for his madcap standup act and his offbeat alien Mork, but his most famous roles showed a depth of pain behind the comedian’s mask. The wildly popular 63-year-old funnyman, whose career spanned more than three decades, was known for rapid-fire, stream-of-consciousness improvisations and impersonations. On screen, his characters...

ANKARA (AFP) ― Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will be Turkey’s next president after an easy election victory, climbed from a humble youth in Istanbul to become one of the most significant but controversial leaders in the Islamic world. Erdogan, who has served as premier since 2003, is lauded by his supporters as a transformative figure who modernized Turkey and delivered power ...