MADRID (AP) - Spain said Wednesday that it is trying to establish what happened to three Spanish freelance journalists who went missing around the embattled northern Syrian city of Aleppo as news emerged that a fourth journalist, a Japanese national, has gone missing in the war-torn country.Justice Minister Rafael Catala told Spain's Cadena SER radio the government had no news regarding the three Spaniards and will contact the government in Damascus over the case. He could not say if authorities

President Park Geun-hye's chief of staff met with top government officials and leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party Wednesday to discuss the reform of the labor market, the parliamentary passage of the extra budget and other pending political issues.The meeting between Lee Byung-kee and Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-sung and floor leader Won Yoo-chul began at 6:30 p.m. Also attending were Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan.The three-way policy consultation involvin

BERLIN (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday she was not aware of any new EU debt deal proposal to Greece after European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker raised the prospect of a last-minute solution.Asked about an 11th-hour offer to Athens, Merkel told reporters: "The only thing I know is that the last offer I am aware of is the one from last Friday. There is nothing more I can say."Juncker revealed his surprise proposal just hours before Greece's bailout program expires at 2

In a historic event, a South Korean candidate was elected for the first time to head the U.N. maritime body, diplomatic sources said Tuesday.Lim Ki-tack, president of Busan Port Authority, which operates the port facilities in South Korea's second largest city, was elected to head the International Maritime Organization.The International Maritime Organization is the leading global authority on safety, security and environmental issues in the international shipping industry. It is tasked with cre

ATHENS (AP) - Greece is set to become the first developed nation to not pay its debts to the International Monetary Fund on time, as the country sinks deeper into a financial emergency that has forced it put a nationwide lockdown on money withdrawals.Greece owes the IMF about 1.6 billion euros ($1.9 billion) by the end of Tuesday but has run out of money and after five months of talks with creditors, has no prospect of getting new rescue loans. Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, asked whether Gr

MONROVIA (AFP) - Liberia announced the return of Ebola on Tuesday following the death of a 17-year-old boy, dealing a worrying blow to the country's recovery three months after its last known case.Deputy health minister Tolbert Nyensuah told AFP the teenager had tested positive and died in Nedowian, a village beside the international airport, about an hour's drive from the capital Monrovia."We are investigating to know the origin of this new case. We ask all Liberians and all other nationals liv

BEIRUT (AFP) - The Islamic State group seized territory from both Syrian government forces and rival rebels over the weekend further expanding the caliphate it has proclaimed straddling Iraq and Syria.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that following gains in both Homs province in the centre and Aleppo province in the north, IS now controlled half of the country's land area.Geographer and analyst Fabrice Balanche said that across Iraq and Syria, the jihadist group now controlled nearly

GENEVA (AFP) - The United Nations said Monday that more than 6,400 people had been killed in conflict-wracked Ukraine, and despite a slowdown in fighting, millions more are suffering from abuses and hardship.In its latest report, the UN human rights office noted that an overall decrease in indiscriminate shelling since a fragile truce was agreed in Minsk in February had resulted in a decrease in civilian casualties.But nonetheless, at least 6,417 people perished from the beginning of the conflic

NEW YORK (AFP) - Microsoft on Monday announced that the latest version of its Windows operating system will be available July 29 for computer and tablet users.The new Windows 10 software will come as a free upgrade to people who already use Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 and will be available in 190 countries.Windows 10 will come pre-installed on Microsoft-compatible computers and tablets from July 29 and will be available for purchase later in the year.The move marks a major launch for Microsoft, aft

SANAA, Yemen (AP) - A French woman held hostage in Yemen appeared for the first time in a video that surfaced on Monday, appealing for her release.Isabelle Prime, who works as a consultant with ties to the World Bank, was abducted from Sanaa along with her Yemeni translator in February. The translator was released shortly afterward, but there was no word until now on Prime.In her first video since her disappearance, Prime appeared to be under severe duress - sitting in the desert dressed in a bl

Seven companies have submitted bids to open two new duty-free stores in downtown Seoul, the customs agency said Monday, in what is seen as a major opportunity for retailers to boost sales amid anemic consumer spending.The seven bidders include market giants Hotel Lotte and HDC Shilla Duty Free, who are affiliated with Lotte Duty Free and Shilla Duty Free, respectively, according to a press release by the Korea Customs Service.Other companies who took part in the bid, the first for large corporat

SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) - Tens of thousands of people have gathered in the center of the Macedonian capital Skopje to demand the resignation of conservative Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.The Sunday protest follows the release of a massive cache of wiretapped conversations by the head of the opposition Social Democrats, Zoran Zaev. He claims that Gruevski was behind the mass wiretapping of more than 20,000 Macedonians.The conversations purport to reveal corruption at the highest levels of governm

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Francis canonized two nuns from what was 19th century Palestine on Sunday in hopes of encouraging Christians across the Middle East who are facing a wave of persecution from Islamic extremists.Sisters Mariam Bawardy and Marie Alphonsine Ghattas were among four sisters who were made saints Sunday at a Mass in a sun-soaked St. Peter's Square. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and an estimated 2,000 pilgrims from the region, some waving Palestinian flags, were on hand for

BEIRUT (AFP) - A U.S. special forces raid in eastern Syria killed 32 members of the Islamic State jihadist group, including four leaders, a monitoring group said Sunday."The U.S. operation killed 32 members of IS, among them four officials, including IS oil chief Abu Sayyaf, the deputy IS defence minister, and an IS communications official," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.U.S. officials have said "about a dozen" people were killed in the operation on Frid

ATHENS (AFP) - Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had warned foreign officials that Athens would not be able to pay the 750 million euros ($845 million) due this month to the International Monetary Fund, Greek newspapers said Sunday.The reports came less than a week after Athens admitted that it tapped into an emergency account to pay back the loan, in order to avoid crashing out of the eurozone.On May 8, Tsipras wrote to European Commission, IMF and European Central Bank officials to warn them that

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in South Korea where he will be discussing security issues amid fresh fears of North Korean belligerence.Kerry arrived in Seoul on Sunday from Beijing and will see top South Korean officials on Monday, less than a week after South Korea's spy agency said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered his defense chief executed with an anti-aircraft gun for complaining about the young ruler. The allegation, if true, adds to concerns about the erratic nature of Kim's

Unionized public workers and teachers vowed Saturday to fight vigorously against a proposed pension reform bill now before the National Assembly for approval, arguing that it is unfairly disadvantageous to them.After months of negotiations, rival parties agreed on a bill Friday that would require civil servants to pay more into and receive less in pension over the next two decades. Reform of the money-losing public servants' pension system is one of President Park Geun-hye's key campaign pledges

할리우드 블록버스터 '어벤져스-에이지 오브 울트론'(이하 어벤져스2)이 개봉 10일째인 2일 누적 관객 수 600만명을 돌파했다고 배급사 월트디즈니 컴퍼니 코리아가 밝혔다. 극장가 점령한 어벤져스 (연합)누적 매출액은 512억원을 넘어섰다. 이 영화는 일반 상영관보다 입장권이 비싼 3D관, 아이맥스관에서 인기를 끌어 다른 영화보다 관객 수 1명당 매출액이 높다.어벤져스2는 근로자의 날인 전날 500만명을 돌파한 데 이어 주말 휴일인 이날 하루 만에 관객 수 600만명을 돌파했다. 이 영화는 근로자의 날 상영한 영화 가운데 역대 최대 관객수(77만2천678명)를 기록하기도 했다.어벤져스2가 관객 600만명에 도달한 속도는 '아이언맨3'(12일), '아바타'(17일), '인터스텔라'(17일), '겨울왕국'(18일) 등 역대 흥행에 성공했던 외화를 모두 뛰어넘는 것이다.한국영화와 비교해도 1천400만 관객을 동원했던 '국제시장'(16일)을 비롯해  '7번방의 선물'(19일), '광해: 왕

KATHMANDU (AFP) - Nepal ruled out the possibility Saturday of finding more survivors buried in the rubble from a massive earthquake that killed more than 6,700 people and devastated vast swathes of one of Asia's poorest countries.One week on from Nepal's deadliest quake in over 80 years, hopes of detecting more signs of life among the ruins of the capital Kathmandu had all but disappeared and the focus was shifting to reaching survivors in far-flung areas who have yet to receive relief supplies.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - A U.S.-organized event on North Korea's human rights briefly turned into chaos at the U.N. on Thursday as North Korean diplomats insisted on reading a statement of protest, amid shouts from defectors, and then stormed out. North Korean defectors, left, argue with North Korean diplomats, right, at United Nations headquarters, April 30, as the diplomats attempt to make a statement during a panel on North Korean human rights abuses. (AP)The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Samanth