JERUSALEM -- Israeli police briefly clashed with Palestinian protesters at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site early Sunday, raising tensions in the holy city ahead of the Jewish New Year.Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said forces moved into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound at around 7 a.m. Sunday after police received reports that protesters were planning to disrupt visits to the area by Jewish worshippers and tourists.He said the protesters barricaded themselves inside the mosque and threw rocks

AL-ABER, Yemen -- Forces loyal to Yemen's exiled president, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, launched a major ground offensive against Iran-backed rebels east of the capital Sanaa on Sunday, a military official said."This is the largest and fiercest offensive since operations began in Marib province," the official told AFP.Fighters loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi have attacked the rebels in two areas -- Jufeinah and Faw -- that lie on the route leading to rebel-held Sanaa, he said.Most

ANGELS CAMP, California -- Thousands of people rushed to escape one massive wildfire charging across California's tinder-dry Sierra Nevada foothills and another out-of-control fire that broke out in Northern California, sending four firefighters to the hospital with burns.The northern fire began in Lake County, 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of San Francisco, and grew to about 15 square miles (39 square kilometers) in just a few hours, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

South Korea's labor, management and government representatives on Sunday agreed to ease labor restrictions after months of tense negotiations.   Under the agreement, labor and management would consult experts on ways to overhaul employment contracts, the tripartite committee said. The committee is comprised of a representative each from the Federation of Korea Trade Unions (FKTU), the Korea Employers' Federation and the Ministry of Employment and Labor.   Until then, laws and legal precedents wo

The government plans to halve the pay hike rate of public corporations and institutions that fail to introduce the wage peak system by the end of this year, officials said Thursday.Under the plan, if the pay increases for both public servants and quasi-public servants is set at 3.4 percent next year, the rate for employees of the agencies delaying or declining to adopt the wage peak system would stay at 1.7 percent. The officials said the Steering Committee on Public Institution will decide the

The government proposed a 3 percent increase in its 2016 budget formulation from this year to continue to push for an expansionary economic policy next year despite concerns over worsening fiscal soundness.The Finance Ministry said Tuesday that the budget proposal reflects the administration’s full-fledged effort to invigorate sagging private consumption and exports.The budget scheme, which is to be proposed before the National Assembly on Sept. 11, amounts to 386.7 trillion won ($322.2 billion)

 South Korea’s currency further weakened Monday ahead of the interest rate-setting meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, slated for Sept. 16-17 in Washington, D.C.Amid the growing investor sentiment toward non-risky assets, the U.S. dollar and Japanese yen showed stronger position against the Korean won.The dollar rose by 10.8 won from a trading session before to close at 1,204.2. The won fell to its cheapest versus the greenback in more than five years. Currency dealers look at indices

An increasing number of households in Korea are burdened with high-interest loans from secondary financial firms, central bank data showed Sunday.As a result, concerns are escalating over the possibility that the recent surge in the second-tier loans may increase the number of loan delinquents in the coming years and dent the economy.According to the Bank of Korea, the credit based-loans from the secondary sector -- such as mutual savings banks and capital services firms -- increased by about 5

The nation’s gross national income posted minus growth in the second quarter of the year, dropping 0.1 percent from the previous quarter, data from the Bank of Korea showed Thursday. This is the first time in 4 1/2 years that the country marked negative GNI growth on a quarter-to-quarter basis, after the index fell below zero to -1.9 percent during the fourth quarter of 2010.The GNI refers to the total domestic and foreign output claimed by residents of a country, including their salaries, finan

 South Korea’s stock market weathered the overnight plunges of equities on the European and U.S. bourses, despite the aggravated concerns about possible global deflation from China’s economic slowdown.The KOSPI gained 0.99 points or 0.05 percent from a trading session earlier to close at 1,915.22 on Wednesday, though the benchmark index started in a bearish position earlier in the day.While some analysts claimed the Korean index is considered to have hit the bottom in late August, others say the

In the early 2000s, Korean tourists to Turkey saw a foreign exchange rate of 1 million won to about 1.3 billion lira.When it comes to South Korea’s economic scale, its won-denominated gross domestic product is estimated at about 1.6 quadrillion won last year, or 1,600,000,000,000,000 won. Its outstanding household debt, fully written out in the local currency, is 1,100,000,000,000,000 won.Inbound tourists can sometimes get confused by the multiple-unit conversions such as thousands of dollars to

South Korea’s Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan dismissed Wednesday market analysis that the nation’s stock market was showing signs of being coupled with that of China, whose index recently plummeted.His refutation came a day after China’s monetary policymakers cut the country’s benchmark interest rate to shore up its economy. Later in the day, shares on the Shanghai bourse lost ground again. Though the domestic market is being affected by concerns over China’s slowdown, the recent synchronizati

President Park Geun-hye will hold a luncheon meeting with ruling party lawmakers this week, entering the second half of her five-year tenure, party officials said Tuesday.Park has invited all lawmakers from the Saenuri Party to Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office, for the rare group meeting slated for Wednesday, according to the party's spokesman Kim Young-woo."President Park is expected to request the party's cooperation in handling economy-related bills, job-creation bills, and next year's

China’s decision to halt intervention in the stock market this week reflects a debate at the heart of the country’s leadership on the role of markets in the world’s second-largest economy.Authorities have refrained from intervening so far this week as the Shanghai Composite Index tumbled at the fastest pace since 1996, according to people familiar with the situation.Some officials argue that market losses will have a limited impact on economic growth and the costs of support are too high, said o

PARIS (AFP) -- The suspect in the attack on a high-speed train in France looked at an online video of jihadist songs on his mobile phone shortly before boarding, a source in the investigation said on Tuesday.Ayoub El Khazzani "looked at this video between the time that he bought his ticket and the time he boarded the train" a few hours later, the source said.He was initially thought to be carrying two phones, but the source said he was actually only in possession of one mobile phone, which had b

Record numbers of refugees are streaming into EU member Hungary from Serbia, posing a new headache for regional leaders at a summit this week set to be dominated by Europe's worst migrant crisis since World War II.Almost 2,100 people, the highest ever daily total, crossed the border near the Hungarian town of Roszke on Monday, police said, just days before Hungary completes a vast razor-wire barrier to keep out migrants.They were part of around 7,000 refugees whose hazardous journey to the Europ

BEIJING (AP) -- China cut interest rates Tuesday for a fifth time in nine months in a new effort to shore up slowing economic growth.The benchmark rate for a one-year loan will be cut by 0.25 percentage point to 4.6 percent and the one-year rate for deposits will fall by a similar margin to 1.75 percent, the central bank announced. It also increased the amount of money available for lending by reducing the minimum reserves banks are required to hold by 0.5 percentage point.The moves had been ant

The benchmark KOSPI stopped a six-day slide Tuesday as the two Koreas reached a military agreement. It gained 16.82 points, or 0.92 percent, from the previous trading session to close at 1,846.63.However, foreign investors were still net-selling on local main bourse after major stock markets of Europe and the U.S. tumbled overnight.The Chinese market’s further plunge on Tuesday is estimated to have stifled the rebound of South Korean stocks.Foreigners net-sold equities worth 528.6 billion won ($

North Korea on Tuesday expressed regret over a recent land mine blast in the Demilitarized Zone and resulting injuries on South Korean soldiers and agreed to lift the “quasi-war state” in return for Seoul’s conditional revocation of anti-Pyongyang broadcasts. The two Koreas also agreed to hold formal talks to improve their relations in Seoul or Pyongyang “at an early date” and working-level discussions in early September to arrange reunions of separated families in time for the upcoming Chuseok

Kim Kwan-jin, chief of Cheong Wa Dae’s National Security Office, is scheduled to unveil the results of the high-level talks between the two Koreas -- held since Saturday in Panmunjeom -- around 2 a.m. on Tuesday at the presidential office in Seoul.