North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided on Thursday over a commemoration at a war cemetery as the country prepares to mark the 60th anniversary of what is sees as its victory in the Korean War. Kim, the grandson of North Korea’s founding father who launched the Korean War, Kim Il-Sung, did not speak at the ceremony but members of the large crowd who attended poured scorn on their foes. ?The survivors of the war heroes here can beat the Americans to death on our own,? said Kim Bu-ok, who fell to her knees in tears when she approached her father’s grave. ?We can crush those bastards no matter how hard they try, and I want the world to know this. As soon as those Americans even stick up their heads, we’ll stomp them to dust.?
Chevrolet Impala is rated top sedan in US
General Motors Co?s Chevrolet Impala has been tapped by Consumer Reports as the top sedan in the US, seizing a spot dominated by Japanese and European models for more than two decades. The influential consumer magazine said the redesigned 2014 Impala was not only the top large sedan, with a score of 95 of a possible 100 points, but also among the top-rated vehicles it has tested. The ranking by Consumer Reports is the latest symbol of GM’s effort to improve consumers’ perception of its brands. The Impala historically was better known for its image as king of the rental cars.The 2013 Impala had scored 63 points in Consumer Reports testing.
?Khodorkovsky trial unfair, but not political?
A European court ruled on Thursday Russia had a legitimate case against ex-oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and business partner Platon Lebedev over alleged tax fraud, rejecting suggestions it had been politically motivated. But the European Court of Human Rights found that their trial had been unfair and that their 2005 sentencing to a remote jail near the Arctic Circle was unjustified. Khodorkovsky, a staunch critic of President Vladimir Putin and once Russia’s richest man, was arrested in 2003 and handed alongside Lebedev 13 years jail on charges of multi-million dollar tax evasion and money laundering. ?Charges against two Russian business executives had a sound basis, but the hearing of their case was unfair, and their placement in remote penal colonies unjustified,? the Strasbourg-based court said.
UK economy picks up pace between April and June
Britain’s economy sped up between April and June on the back of stronger spending by consumers and businesses and giving a boost to the government less than two years before an election. GDP rose 0.6% in the second quarter compared with the previous three months, in line with forecasts, preliminary data showed. That was double the pace of growth in the first three months of the year but the economy still remains smaller than before the 2008-09 recession. The numbers were a boost for finance minister George Osborne, who has fended off calls from the IMF and the opposition Labour party to spend more to speed up growth.
China faces heavy pressure on employment
China faces heavy pressure on employment in the coming months, the labour ministry said on Thursday, highlighting the depth of the challenge facing Beijing as it tries to wean the economy off its manufacturing dependency without disrupting social stability. China’s leaders are working to turn the economy into one led by domestic consumption and demand from a focus on manufacturing and exports, but those changes raise the possibility of job losses as traditional industries restructure. They have been at pains in recent weeks to show they are aware of the downside to the reform push. Premier Li Keqiang has talked about safeguarding the ?lower limits? of growth and employment, although he has not specified what the limits are.
