MOSCOW (AP) ― Alexei Balitsky, a student at Russia’s top engineering school, is among hundreds of people across the country who have complained of pressure to vote for the Kremlin’s party in this weekend’s parliamentary elections. The independent election watchdog group Golos said Wednesday that about a third of the 4,000 complaints of violations it has received so far come from voters who say t...

BRUSSELS (AFP) ― Political parties in Belgium, which has been without a government for 535 days, agreed Wednesday on the blueprint of a ruling coalition to be headed by French-speaking Socialist Elio Di Rupo. “There is a global agreement, on the reform of the state, socio-economic questions and a government platform,” a source close to the negotiations told AFP. Di Rupo emerged from the talks w...

Major demonstrations nearing end as police dismantle Philadelphia, L.A. sites NEW YORK (AP) ― The overnight police raids in Philadelphia and Los Angeles that dismantled two of the nation’s biggest Occupy Wall Street encampments leave just a few major “occupations” still going on around the U.S. But activists are already changing tactics and warning of a winter of discontent, with rallies and mar...

LONDON (AFP) ― The British Museum announced on Tuesday it had acquired an exceptional set of Pablo Picasso’s “Vollard Suite,” comprising 100 etchings produced by the artist between 1930 and 1937. Complete sets of the suite are very rare, held only by a handful of museums in the world including the National Gallery in Washington, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Picasso museum in Pari...

GENEVA (AP) ― The world’s biggest financier in the fight against three killer diseases says it has run out of money to pay for new grant programs for the next two years ― a situation likely to hit poor AIDS patients around the world. An official with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said Thursday that its has been forced to cease giving new grants until 2014 because of glo...

Ewha Womans University Medical Center on Nov. 24 invited leaders of the Korea-Arab Society to the center to get a better understanding of Middle Eastern society. “Middle East states are distant from Korean people. Some groundless images of terrorism and oppression have been linked with the region, causing public misunderstanding,” said Choi Seung-ho, head of the organization. “It is about time w...

TnTn Hospital specializing in spine and joint treatments has opened a TnTn Joint Training Center at its Eunpyeong, Guro and Jangan branches in Seoul. The centers will provide comprehensive information and exercise regimes to strengthen the spine and joint areas not only for the patients but for anyone interested. The center has invited Ohm Tae-hyun, former team doctor of Olympic gold medalist sw...

Konkuk University Medical Center said Monday that it has been accredited as a World Health Organization Health Promoting Hospital and Health Service. It conducted a ceremony on the day to hang the accreditation plaque. According to the international organization, the accreditation recognizes four areas: good quality treatment and care in a positive health care setting; extending the treatment o...