Boston Herald - Boston Herald

Police: Suicidal jumper's fall kills SKorean girl

Associated Press — Fri, 24 May 2013 07:26:23 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean police say a suicidal man jumping to his death killed a 5-year-old girl by falling on her as she walked with her parents outside the apartment building.

A police official said the 39-year-old man died immediately after he jumped Wednesday from the 11th floor of the building in the southeastern port city of Busan. The girl died later from brain damage and broken bones.

The official who spoke Friday declined to be named because the case is still under investigation.

Chinese media: North Korea envoy offers talks

Associated Press — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:54:30 -0400

BEIJING — A North Korean envoy, on the second day of his fence-mending visit to ally China, heeded Beijing's wishes by offering to renew nuclear disarmament talks, Chinese state media said.

The accounts depicted Thursday's meeting between North Korean Vice Marshal Choe Ryong Hae and Chinese Communist Party leader Liu Yunshan as paying Beijing the deference it sought after months of rising friction between the long-estranged allies.

Japanese man, 80, oldest to top Everest _ for now

Associated Press — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:59:48 -0400

KATMANDU, Nepal — An 80-year-old Japanese man who began the year with his fourth heart operation became the oldest conqueror of Mount Everest on Thursday, a feat he called "the world's best feeling" even with an 81-year-old Nepalese climber not far behind him.

Yuichiro Miura, a former extreme skier who also climbed the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak when he was 70 and 75, reached the summit at 9:05 a.m. local time, according to a Nepalese mountaineering official and Miura's Tokyo-based support team.

Pakistan arrested American who was killed by drone

Associated Press — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:39:46 -0400

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — An American citizen killed in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan in 2011 was arrested by Pakistani authorities three years earlier but escaped after being released on bail, officials said Thursday.

Lawyer: Malaysian accused of rape married the girl

Associated Press — Thu, 23 May 2013 01:24:12 -0400

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Prosecutors in Malaysia are pursuing rape charges against a 40-year-old man who allegedly had sex with a 13-year-old girl and then married her.

Restaurant manager Riduan Masmud was charged with committing statutory rape in a parked car in Borneo in February, but the man has defended his actions by saying he since married the girl.

Rights activists have long criticized Malaysian laws that allow very young Muslims to be wedded with the permission of Islamic courts.

North Korean leader sends special envoy to China

Associated Press — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:23:06 -0400

PYONGYANG, North Korea — After months of ignoring Chinese warnings to give up nuclear weapons, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a high-level confidant to Beijing on Wednesday, in a possible effort to mend strained ties with his country's most important ally and a sign that he may be giving diplomacy a chance.

The trip by Vice Marshal Choe Ryong Hae, a senior Workers' Party official and the military's top political officer, is taking place as tensions ease somewhat on the Korean Peninsula after near-daily vows from Pyongyang to attack Washington and Seoul in March and April.

Chinese premier visits Pakistan, praises ties

Associated Press — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:10:27 -0400

ISLAMABAD — China's premier signed economic agreements and praised Pakistan in glowing terms as he began a two-day visit Wednesday, underscoring the importance of the longstanding alliance to the two Asian powers.

Premier Li Keqiang said "the tree of China-Pakistan friendship" was planted decades ago, nurtured by successive leaders and "is now exuberant with abundant fruits."

US parents quit Singapore inquest into son's death

Associated Press — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:14:02 -0400

SINGAPORE — The parents of an American software engineer who believe their son was murdered last year in Singapore withdrew from the inquest Wednesday, saying they have no confidence in the city-state's legal process.

Shane Truman Todd's body was found in his Singapore apartment by his girlfriend last June 24, and police have said he killed himself. State counsel presented evidence of links to suicide websites on the 31-year-old's laptop and suicide letters written to his family members and loved ones.

Ai Weiwei uses music to mock state power in China

Associated Press — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:47:27 -0400

BEIJING — Two emotionless prison guards watch Ai Weiwei as he eats, sleeps, paces, showers — and even sits on the toilet — in the Chinese artist's new obscenity-filled, metaphor-rich music video mocking state power.

The video accompanying the visual artist's single "Dumbass" — released Wednesday but blocked online in mainland China — is meant to reconstruct his 81-day detention in 2011, which was part of an overall crackdown on dissent. Ai's subsequent conviction for tax evasion has been seen as punishment for his activism.

Owner: Chinese boat's captain beaten by NKoreans

Associated Press — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:46:49 -0400

BEIJING — Gunmen wearing North Korean military uniforms released a Chinese fishing boat after holding its crew for two weeks, beating up the captain and stealing the vessel's fuel, the boat's owner said. He added that the hijackers did not get the 600,000 yuan ($100,000) ransom they had demanded.

Karzai expected to seek Indian military aid

Associated Press — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:29:48 -0400

NEW DELHI — Afghan President Hamid Karzai is expected to ask for more military aid during meetings with Indian leaders.

Karzai met with Indian President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday and planned talks later with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Mukherjee's office said he told Karzai that India was prepared to provide more military training and equipment.

Karzai spokesman Aimal Faizi said earlier that Afghanistan would ask for Indian help in the strengthening of its security forces ahead of the withdrawal next year of most international troops.

Bus collides with truck in India, killing 11

Associated Press — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:31:19 -0400

NEW DELHI — Police say a bus has collided with a truck in northern India, killing 11 people including seven members of a wedding party.

Police officer S.K. Awasthi says 30 other people were injured in the accident Tuesday and were hospitalized near Kanpur, 220 kilometers (135 miles) south of New Delhi.

He said the wedding party was traveling in the truck, but the bride and bridegroom were traveling separately.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known.

New rice contamination reported in China

Associated Press — Tue, 21 May 2013 08:59:43 -0400

BEIJING — Authorities are investigating rice mills in southern China following tests that found almost half of the staple grain in one of the country's largest cities was contaminated with a toxic metal.

The mills in Hunan province's Youxian county were ordered to suspend business and recall their products after samples showed excessive levels of cadmium, according to an official notice issued Tuesday by the county government.

It said the mills had been operating legally and sourced their rice from local farmers.

Court rules against man for emailing NKorean spy

Associated Press — Tue, 21 May 2013 08:47:03 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's Supreme Court has upheld a ruling sentencing a man to a year and half in prison for exchanging emails with an alleged North Korean spy and praising Pyongyang on his website.

Spokesman Lee Hyun-bok said Tuesday the court cited the National Security Law in its ruling earlier this month against a 45-year-old South Korean identified only as Lee.

The law prohibits glorifying North Korea or contacting North Korean spies. Park could have received 10 years in prison.

Myanmar Muslims jailed for killing Buddhist monk

Associated Press — Tue, 21 May 2013 08:41:15 -0400

MEIKHTILA, Myanmar — A Myanmar court sentenced seven Muslims to prison Tuesday — one of them to a life term — in the killing of a Buddhist monk amid deadly sectarian violence that was overwhelmingly directed against minority Muslims but has not led to any criminal trials against members of the country's Buddhist majority.

China's Li seeks stronger economic ties with India

Associated Press — Tue, 21 May 2013 05:14:28 -0400

NEW DELHI — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told Indian business leaders Tuesday that developing stronger economic ties between their two nations would have huge benefits for both sides.

Li spoke a day after holding meetings with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during which the two leaders played down a recent border dispute and stressed the aim of forging deeper cooperation.

Li told the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday that India and China were both enormous markets with incredible potential for growth.

Indonesia mine collapse death toll rises to 21

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 23:00:22 -0400

TIMIKA, Indonesia — Rescuers recovered another four bodies from a collapsed underground room at a giant U.S.-owned gold and copper mine in Indonesia, bringing the confirmed death toll to 21, mine officials said Tuesday. Seven others were believed buried under the rubble.

The Big Gossan underground training facility at the PT Freeport Indonesia mine collapsed last week when 38 workers were undergoing safety training. Ten injured miners were rescued.

A statement from the company said recovery efforts were continuing around the clock.

Pakistan's presumptive PM calls for Taliban talks

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:10:44 -0400

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's presumptive prime minister called for peace talks with Taliban militants at war with the government Monday, potentially charting a course that could put him at odds with the country's powerful army.

Nawaz Sharif said "terrorism" was one of the most serious problems plaguing the country and any offer by the Pakistani Taliban to talk "should be taken seriously."

Seoul: Day 3 of NKorea tests of short-range weapon

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:27:25 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea continued firing short-range weapons over its own eastern waters Monday after a weekend of what it called "rocket launching tests" intended to bolster deterrence against enemy attack. South Korean officials were investigating exactly what it was that the North was testing.

Suicide bomber kills 14 at Afghan province council

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:08:57 -0400

KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber dressed in a police uniform killed 14 people including a prominent provincial council chief outside the council headquarters in northern Afghanistan on Monday, authorities said. The Taliban insurgency quickly claimed responsibility.

Seeking to weaken the Afghan government, Taliban insurgents have been carrying out attacks and assassinations intended to intimidate both officials and civilians ahead of next year's withdrawal of most international troops.