Washington - Seven new countries will be added to the United States' visa-waiver programme after meeting new security requirements aimed at reducing the threat of terrorism, President George W Bush announced Friday.

In about one month, citizens of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and South Korea will be able to visit the US for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa.

The admission was part of a long process that began some two years ago and has strained relations with US allies. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, the US has placed a variety of new security requirements on all foreign travellers.

Washington - Seven new countries will be added to the United States' visa-waiver programme after meeting new security requirements aimed at reducing the threat of terrorism, President George W Bush announced Friday.

In about one month, citizens of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and South Korea will be able to visit the US for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa.

Washington - The United States is admitting seven new countries to its visa waiver programme after finalizing security arrangements, President George W Bush announced Friday.

Within one month, citizens of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and South Korea, will be able to visit the US for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa.

Bush called it a "new chapter in the relationship between the United States and your nations."

Hanoi - Vietnamese authorities have ordered the South Korean-owned Miwon condiment company to suspend operations at one of its production lines for discharging pollution into the Red River north of Hanoi, provincial officials said Friday.

Miwon Vietnam, which makes about 30,000 tons of soy sauce and other condiments per year, is the second foreign company punished by Vietnamese authorities for environmental violations in the past two months.

Seoul - Shares dove Friday on the Seoul stock exchange as persistent fears of a worldwide economic recession weighed heavily on the market, but the won soared against the US dollar.

Seoul - Shares nosedived Thursday on the Seoul stock exchange, sending the benchmark Kospi Index down more than 9 per cent in the biggest percentage loss in seven years, as worries over a global e