The Korea Herald

Korean fishing boat released from 4 months' captivity in Somalia

Social affairsFeb 9, 2011

NAIROBI, Kenya (Yonhap) -- A South Korean fishing vessel with 43 sailors aboard, including two South Koreans, was released after four months of captivity in Somalia on Wednesday (local time), Seoul's foreign ministry and a local industry source in Kenya said. The 241-ton trawler Keummi 305, which was hijacked by Somali pirates on Oct. 9, and all the crew members were freed around 9 a.m. local ti...
A pet hotel recently opened in Seoul

Feb 9, 2011

A worker holds dogs before she puts them inside the rooms at a pet hotel, which newly opened Tuesday, in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. The pets industry recently increase due to graying and singles in the county. The hotel has a grooming center, hospital, school and a pet store. (Photo: AP-Yonhap)
Actress Meryl Streep transformed as ex- Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

Feb 9, 2011

In this undated image made available in London, on Feb. 8, 2011, by Pathe Productions, two-time Oscar winning actress Meryl Streep is transformed for her role as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher - complete with the Iron Lady's trademark hairdo The Hollywood star is playing Baroness Thatcher in a biopic being made by Mamma Mia! director Phyllida Lloyd. (Photo: AP-Yonhap)
Sweets for the sweet: Artisanal chocolates for Valentine’s Day

Food&BeverageFeb 9, 2011

In less than a week, women throughout the nation will be gifting boxes of chocolate ― homemade or store-bought ― to their men of choice. Valentine’s Day, an ancient day devoted solely to the pursuit of romance, has a very specific purpose here in South Korea, where it acts as a opportunity for girls to approach boys ― like the Sadie Hawkins dances in the U.S. where girls take the initiative. In...
Can ‘Concept Korea’ bear fruit?

FashionFeb 9, 2011

Designers, companies and government put heads together to promote fashion biz abroad The third “Concept Korea,” subtitled “Cultural Treasures 2011,” will open next Tuesday at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York during New York Fashion Week, Feb. 10-17, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Tuesday. The project aims to expand global recognition of Korean ...
Woori draws 4 candidates for chairmanship

Feb 9, 2011

Woori Finance Holdings Co., Korea's top financial group, drew four candidates for its chairmanship, including the current chairman deemed highly likely to serve another term, financial sources said Wednesday. Woori Finance Chairman Lee Pal-seung applied for the top post and is seen as the most powerful candidate for the chairmanship amid ongoing government efforts to put the company in private h...
Raising the bar

More sportsFeb 9, 2011

World No. 1 snowboarder hopes to see more Korean challengers PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province ― Austrian snowboarder Benjamin Karl says he would like to see more Korean boarders compete at world-class level and more people enjoy the sport. The current world No.1 had a commanding victory Wednesday in the parallel giant slalom event at Yongpyong Resort. It was the Austrian’s fourth consecutive Worl...
Koreas’ military talks end with no progress

PoliticsFeb 9, 2011

The inter-Korean working-level military talks broke down after no progress Wednesday, as the two sides failed to narrow their differences over the agenda for the possible high-level meeting, officials at the Ministry of National Defense said. The two Koreas also failed to set a date for another round of the talks, they said. The talks were held for the second consecutive day at the inter-Korean...
Deutsche Bank brokerage unit faces suspension

Feb 9, 2011

The financial authority is poised to ask the prosecution to investigate Deutsche Bank AG and suspend part of businesses of the investment bank’s securities unit in Seoul for their alleged manipulation of stock prices, sources said Wednesday. According to several regulatory officials, Deutsche Bank’s brokerage unit in Seoul may face business suspension for “six months” ― the highest administrativ...
U.S. presses but Egypt rejects ‘hasty’ reforms

World NewsFeb 9, 2011

CAIRO (AFP) ― The United States urged Egypt to immediately lift an emergency law and launch democratic reforms as protestors staged the biggest show of defiance against President Hosni Mubarak in a three-week-old revolt. But Mubarak’s newly appointed deputy, Vice President Omar Suleiman, warned that hasty reforms could spell “chaos” in the Arab world’s most populous nation. In Cairo, hundreds o...
Egypt transition talks strained by pressure

World NewsFeb 9, 2011

CAIRO (AFP) ― Its wings clipped by a popular revolt, Egypt’s regime is seeking a way out of crisis through national dialogue, but pressure from the street and division among key players could discredit the process. On Sunday, Vice President Omar Suleiman began talks with members of the opposition and announced measures aimed at placating the protesters staging massive protests demanding the end ...
Extraordinary eurozone summit in March

IndustryFeb 9, 2011

BRUSSELS (AFP) ― Leaders of the 17-nation eurozone are to hold a special summit in mid-March to draft a plan of action to avoid a replay of the debt crises that shook the single currency last year. The 17 heads of state and government will meet in “mid-March,” the president of the European Union, Herman Van Rompuy, said in a speech to the European parliament. Earlier a source close to the talks...
S. Korean base in Afghanistan attacked

PoliticsFeb 9, 2011

The base of South Korea’s provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan came under attack from unidentified assailants who fired rocket propelled grenades, but there were no casualties, a Seoul official said Wednesday. The attackers fired five shells, two of which fell within the South Korean base, a Foreign Ministry official said, on the condition of anonymity. “The situation came under contro...
Half of men say OK to their girlfriends cheating with other girls

Social affairsFeb 9, 2011

Half of men would forgive their girlfriends for cheating on them -- as long as they did so with another woman, a U.S. study has found. Researchers from the University of Texas, in Austin, quizzed 718 students on the subject of cheating. Half the men surveyed said that they would forgive their girlfriends as long as the affair was with a woman. But only 22 percent of men told researchers they co...
Italian judges to seek immediate Berlusconi trial

InternationalFeb 9, 2011

ROME (AFP) ― Italian magistrates on Wednesday will request that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi face a fast-track trial over allegations he had sex with an underage girl and abused his powers to help her. Chief prosecutor Edmondo Bruti Liberati and his fellow judges in Milan have finished an inquiry into allegations that the 74-year-old premier paid for sex with a nightclub dancer nicknamed Rub...