MOSCOW, (AFP) -- Swedish flatpack giant IKEA on Tuesday warned it could reduce its investment in Russia after a court ordered it to pay more than $7.8 million in damages in a long-running legal dispute.IKEA said it had plans to invest more than 100 bllion rubles ($1.54  billion) in Russia but "recent activities aimed at the IKEA Group related to old legal cases could slow down these investment plans."It issued the statement after a court in the western Russian city of Smolensk ordered IKEA to pa

International Aug. 30, 2016

GENEVA (AP) -- The U.N health agency says three common infections transmitted by sex are increasingly resisting antibiotics, and is calling on doctors and patients to make sure the right drugs and doses are used.The World Health Organization on Tuesday updated its treatment guidelines for chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, which together infect more than 200 million people every year.  It's the first such WHO update since 2003, partly due to low past budgets and priority levels, and growing scie

International Aug. 30, 2016

CALAIS, France (AP) -- Tempers are rising among migrants squeezed in record numbers into a shrinking slum camp in France's port city of Calais, where they spend hours in line waiting for food and showers.For the increasingly desperate and weary travelers in the camp known as "the jungle," the path to Britain -- where most hope to go -- appears blocked.Two migrants have died in fights within a month, and the future of the sprawling makeshift camp looks increasingly precarious. It was drastically

International Aug. 30, 2016

PARIS, (AFP) -- Increasingly polluted rivers in Africa, Asia and Latin America pose a disease risk to more than 300 million people and threaten fisheries and farming in many countries, a UN report warned Tuesday.Already, some 3.4 million people die every year from water-borne ailments such as cholera, typhoid, some types of hepatitis and diarrhoeal diseases, said the United Nations Environment Programme."Many of these diseases are due to the presence of human waste in water," it said in a statem

International Aug. 30, 2016

North Korea is using Seoul's decision to deploy an advanced antimissile system on its soil to intensify hostility toward South Korea, a media report citing sources in the reclusive country said Tuesday.A source in North Hamgyong Province told Radio Free Asia (RFA) that North Korea's propaganda machine has harshly criticized Seoul's decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.According to the RFA, the source said lectures to the public include the claim that the deve

North Korea Aug. 30, 2016

South Korea's vice foreign minister visited the Italian Embassy in Seoul Tuesday to offer his condolences to the victims of the 6.2-magnitude quake that rocked the European country last week, the ministry said.The death toll from the earthquake, which hit central Italy on Aug. 24, reached about 290, with the number expected to rise as more bodies are being found in the rubble.The disaster also left thousands of people homeless.Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam expressed his deepest sorrow for t

Social Affairs Aug. 30, 2016

Residents living near a government-chosen site for a U.S. anti-missile system failed Saturday to discuss whether to review an alternative location due to opponents' protest.Residents of the southern county of Seongju held a meeting to discuss whether they can consider picking an alternative site for the government's move to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) inside the county.But they failed to reach a consensus over whether to review the alternative location as some of them

Social Affairs Aug. 20, 2016

South Korea has confirmed an additional case of Zika infection, raising the number of people infected with the virus here to 10, local health authorities said Saturday. The 35-year-old man came back from a recent trip to Thailand on Aug. 8 and was confirmed to have been infected with the mosquito-borne virus, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).The latest case came after the ninth confirmed case was reported late last month.The KCDC said that it is currently

Social Affairs Aug. 20, 2016

BEIJING (AP) -- China and Myanmar have pledged to forge closer ties as "blood brothers'' following Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi's visit to Beijing, her first diplomatic trip since taking power in March.The neighboring countries said in a joint statement they would strengthen trade and cooperation on issues along the border, where fighting between Myanmar government forces and rebels have occasionally spilled over. There was no mention of progress, however, on a stalled $3.6 billion dam projec

International Aug. 20, 2016

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Donald Trump sought to reboot his  flagging presidential bid Friday, dismissing his tainted campaign chairman and seeking to broaden his shrinking support base by appealing to black voters and  visiting flood-ravaged Louisiana.The resignation of the seasoned Republican strategist Paul Manafort -- under fire for his pro-Kremlin ties and role in a Ukrainian corruption scandal -- represents the Republican nominee's latest effort to get back on track after weeks of crisis."This mor

International Aug. 20, 2016

A magnitude 3 earthquake was detected in eastern North Korea on Saturday, but it appears to be a naturally occurring one, South Korea's weather agency said.The earthquake took place at 12:18 p.m. in areas of North Korea's Gangwon province near the inter-Korean border, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA)."The quake seems to be a naturally occuring earthquake," the agency said.On Thursday, a 2.6-magnitude quake was detected in North Korea's southwestern province of Hwanghae,

North Korea Aug. 20, 2016

South Korean women's volleyball captain Kim Yeon-koung lamented the lack of support from the nation's volleyball association at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics as she returned home to a warm welcome on Saturday. South Korea was eliminated in the women's volleyball quarterfinals at the Rio Games after losing to the Netherlands. The country was pursuing its first Olympic volleyball medal -- male or female -- since the women's team won bronze in 1976 in Montreal.Kim said it was a pity that the team had

Sports Aug. 20, 2016