South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won arrived in Bahrain on Monday (Seoul time) and plans to meet with his counterpart to explore ways to boost economic exchanges, his office said.It is the first leg of his seven-day tour of Bahrain, Qatar, Sri Lanka and Turkey from Sunday aimed at boosting South Korea's economic and cultural ties with the countries.Chung's trip to Bahrain marks the first time that a South Korean prime minister has visited the Middle Eastern country since 1976 when the two

South Korean futures companies saw their earnings soar 80.1 percent in the first quarter of fiscal2013 from three months earlier, largely due to a hike in brokerage and derivatives investment income, the financial regulator said Monday. The combined net loss of seven local futures firms came to 6.1 billion won ($5.47 million) in the April-June period, compared with 3.4 billion won the previous quarter, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The increase in their profits is attribu

South Korean-born New Zealander Lydia Ko claimed her second straight CN Canadian Women's Open title on the LPGA Tour in Edmonton on Sunday.The 16-year-old cruised to a five-shot win over Karine Icher of France with a four-round total of 15-under 265 at the par-70 Royal Mayfair Golf Club. Ko fired a blistering 64 in the final round, which included seven birdies against one bogey. It was the lowest score recorded on Sunday.At last year's CN Canadian Women's Open, held in Vancouver, Ko became the y

Masters champion Adam Scott won The Barclays on Sunday after everyone around him did their best to lose it.Scott played bogey-free at Liberty National, making only two birdies on the back nine for a 5-under 66 that put him in the mix of a crowded leaderboard at the top. Turns out he was the only one who stayed there.“I can't believe it, to be honest,” Scott said after winning the FedEx Cup playoffs opener. “I just played a good round today and I came in and really didn't think it had a chance. B

Insurgents bent on destabilizing Iraq killed at least 46 people in numerous attacks scattered around the country on Sunday, striking targets as varied as a coffee shop, a wedding party convoy and a carload of off-duty soldiers. The attacks are part of a months-long wave of killing that is the country's worst spate of bloodshed since 2008. The violence is calling into question the security forces' ability to protect the country and raising fears that Iraq's sectarian and ethnic divisions are push

Oceans that grow more acidic through Man‘s fossil fuel burning emissions, can amplify global warming by releasing less of a gas that helps shield Earth from radiation, a study said Sunday.And the authors warned the potentially vast effect they uncovered is not currently factored into climate change projections.Scientists say that Man’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions contribute to planetary warming by letting the Sun‘s heat through the atmosphere but trapping heat energy reflected back from Earth

Syria agreed Sunday to a U.N. investigation into last week's alleged chemical weapons attack outside Damascus _ a deal a senior White House official dismissed as “too late to be credible,” saying the United States has “very little doubt” President Bashar Assad's forces used such weapons.The hardening of the U.S. position came as calls for military action grow. In a sign the U.S. may be a step closer to an armed response, naval forces have already been dispatched toward Syria's coastal waters, al

 남북은 3년만의 첫 이산가족 상봉행사를 다음 달 25일부터 30일까지 금강산에서 개최하기로 23일 합의했다.양측은 판문점 우리측 지역 평화의 집에서 추석 전후 이산가족 상봉행사 추진을 위한 적십자 실무접촉을 갖고 이러한 내용을 포함한 4개항의 합의서를 채택했다.내달 남북 각각 100명의 이산가족이 참가하기로 했으며, 상봉의 방법과 형식은 관례에 따르기로 했다.또한 남북은 11월 중 상봉 행사를 한 차례 더 진행하는 데 공감했으며, 이를 위해 추석 상봉 직후 추가 적십자 실무접촉을 갖기로 했다. 양측은 대면 상봉과 별도로 각 40가족이 참여하는 ‘화상 상봉’도 10월 22일부터 23일까지 열기로 했다. 이에 따라 2010년 10월 마지막으로 실시된 뒤 천안함•연평도 사태로 중단된 이산가족 상봉 행사가 3년만에 재개되게 됐다.합의서에서 남북은 “이산가족 상봉 정례화, 생사확인, 서신교환 실시 등 이산가족 문제의 근본적 해결을 위해 계속 노력하기로 했다”고 명시했다.남북은 추석 이산가족

래퍼 이센스 (26. 본명 강민호)가 23일 공개한 신곡을 통해 전 소속사 아메바 컬쳐와 다이나믹 듀오의 멤버 개코를 비난해 화제가 되고 있다.이센스는 이날 공개한 “You Can’t Control Me”의 가사를 통해 “아메바 컬쳐. kiss my axx. 니들 잘하는 언론 플레이. 또 하겠지. 날 배은망덕한 XX로 묘사해놓겠지”라고 비난을 퍼부었다. 또한 “회사는 발목을 자르고 목발을 줘, 내가 걷는 건 전부 지들 덕분이라고, 턱 쳐들어 올리고 지껄여”라고 했다. 이센스는 소속사 선배였던 다이나믹 듀오의 래퍼 개코 (32. 본명 김윤성)에 대해서도 “착한사람 코스프레 fuxx that. 더럽게 얘기해도 솔직해져 봐 제일 얍삽한게 너인게”라면서 디스 (힙합문화의 일종으로 래퍼들이 가사를 통해 서로를 비난하는 것)를 했다.이에 대해 아메바컬처는 언론과의 인터뷰에서 “아직 노래를 들어보지 못해 뭐라고 입장을 밝히기 어렵다”고 말했다.이센스의 이번 신곡은 미국에서 시작된 ‘컨트롤(Con

Rapper E-sens on Friday bashed his recently-parted agency Amoeba Culture and Gaeko of Dynamic Duo in a fashion befitting his hip-hop roots: releasing a diss track that sampled rapper Big Sean’s “Control.”“Amoeba Culture. Kiss my a--. You’ll just go to the press like you always have. You’ll make me look like an ungrateful bastard,” read the lyrics of the 26-year-old rapper’s track “You Can’t Control Me.”The Control fad was kick-started by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, who called out a number of

A parliamentary investigation into the state intelligence agency's alleged meddling in last year's presidential election wrapped up Friday without a joint report on the outcome as the rival parties differed sharply in their views of the case.The investigation, which began on July 2, sought to uncover the truth behind allegations that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) conducted an online smear campaign to sway public opinion in favor of the ruling party ahead of December's election.The ruli

Japan's nuclear watchdog on Friday dispatched an inspection team to the crippled Fukushima plant after workers found a huge toxic water leak and unexplained radiation hotspots.Earlier this week around 300 tons of radioactive liquid is believed to have escaped from one of the hundreds of tanks that hold polluted water, some of which was used to cool the broken reactors, in an episode dubbed the most serious in nearly two years.On Thursday workers looking for other holed tanks found two spots near

South Korean stocks added 1.14 percent Friday, as investor sentiment buoyed on signs of improvement in advanced economies, analysts said. The local currency sharply gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed up 21.04 points to 1,870.16. Trading volume was moderate at 368 million shares worth 3.82 trillion won (US$3.42 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 609 to 188.Market watchers said Seoul shares recouped losses made in the previous trading

It's only a matter of time before the United Nations steps in to resolve the Syrian crisis, the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Friday, calling for international support. "It's a matter of time when we can, and parties are ready to participate" to resolve the escalating violence in Syria, Ban said in a local forum in Seoul held to discuss South Korea's future agenda for international humanitarian activities. "All technical and logistics preparations are now complete," the secretary gener

Hyundai Motor Group, the world's fifth-largest carmaker, has decided to set up an auto parts plant in the United States, an official said Friday, as its unionized workers staged another partial strike over demands for higher wages and more benefits.Hyundai Dymos Inc. plans to break ground on its US$35 million plant near its sister company Kia Motors' assembly plant in Georgia in October, a Hyundai official said.Hyundai Dymos, which makes transmissions and seats for passenger cars, plans to hire

South Korean stocks traded 1.21 percent higher late Friday morning, as an improved outlook over the global economy boosted investors' sentiment, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 22.33 points to 1,871.45 as of 11:20 a.m.Blue-chip shares continued to gather ground, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics rising 2.87 percent and Hyundai Motor adding 0.22 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO added 0.47 percent.Brokerage houses also traded higher, with KDB Daewoo

South and North Korea began talks Friday to arrange reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.The Red Cross talks, held at the neutral border village of Panmunjom, aim to iron out details for the reunions of people from the two Koreas to meet relatives they have not seen in over six decades.The reunions are widely expected to take place next month on or around the Chuseok holiday that falls on Sept. 19 this year.Chuseok is equivalent to Thanksgiving and is celebrated in both Korea

The U.S. is poised to suspend another major weapons shipment to Egypt amid deep divisions within the Obama administration over whether to cut off aid to the military-backed government. The debate mirrors similar disagreements over intervening in Syria, where there are new reports that chemical weapons have been used by the government.Factions within the administration line up largely along two fronts: those who want the U.S. to take more decisive action to counter widespread violence in both Egy

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday on the back of signs of an economic recovery in China, the United States and the eurozone, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased 6.11 points, or 0.33 percent, to 1,855.23 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares led the market gain, with No. 1 player Samsung Electronics adding 1.35 percent and its rival LG Electronics climbing 0.57 percent. Top chipmaker SK Hynix gained 1.07 percent.Carmakers also traded hig

A mysterious glitch halted trading on the Nasdaq for three hours Thursday in the latest major electronic breakdown on Wall Street, embarrassing the stock exchange that hosts the biggest names in technology, including Apple, Microsoft and Google.The problem sent brokers racing to figure out what went wrong and raised new questions about the pitfalls of the electronic trading systems that have come to dominate U.S. stock markets.Nasdaq said only that the problem lay in its system for disseminating