...ple that has sailed the world with a yacht full of Bibles was hijacked by Somali pirates, and the U.S. said Saturday it is assessing possible options. Pirates say the yacht will make landfall in Soma...istake and it’s in the Somalis’ business interest to get off the yacht as soon as possible.” The U.S. military was monitoring the situation. Matt Goshko, a spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, K...

Tensions high after longtime ruler's announcement on banks control ABIDJAN (AFP) ― Security forces loyal to Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo opened fire at a rally of several hundred supporters of his rival Alassane Ouattara, killing three youths, witnesses said Saturday. Gbagbo’s security forces in the capital’s Abobo district, a stronghold of Ouattara, “fired into the crowd leaving people...

...razil is facing a “big risk of being embarrassed” because of delays in the modernization and renovation of Brazil’s overcrowded and saturated airports, and concerns over some venues. He singled out the case of Sao Paulo, which was to host the World Cup’s opening match but where construction of a new stadium is behind schedule after FIFA ruled that the existing Morumbi venue didn’t meet standards.

...trove to prevent its major allies from increasing exchanges with the North three decades ago, Seoul’s declassified diplomatic papers showed Monday. Following the assassination of its authoritarian st...atic documents unveiled Monday, included an early forecast by Seoul and Washington over North Korea’s nuclear test, and South Korea’s accurate evaluation of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s personali...

...ets are part of Japanese territory. Kim Jum-ku, head of the Dokdo Protection Party, said Sunday that he will deliver his invitation to Shimojo Masao, a renowned scholar known for his claims on Japan’s sovereignty over Dokdo, known as Takeshima in Japan. The invitation will take place Tuesday when Japan’s Shimane Prefecture is to celebrate “Takeshima Day.” “I think Dokdo is the largest hindrance in forging ties between the two countries. Understanding each other through debates seems to be the only ...

... to them, according to the ministry. “The project presents a new paradigm of fostering mid-sized firms. I think it will be able to stimulate their businesses and ultimately contribute to the country’s mutual growth drive,” said Park Chung-won, head of the ministry’s industrial development office. Accomplishing co-prosperity between conglomerates and small and medium-sized firms has been a major goal of the current Lee Myung-bak administration, in line with its...

...or will organize a 60 billion won ($53 million) fund this year to be used for reshaping the country’s lagging industrial complexes, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Sunday. The investment is pa...untries such as Sweden, France and Finland. Despite the huge contribution they made to the country’s rapid development in 1960s, industrial complexes began decaying with little remaining population a...