A ground-rattling explosion Thursday at a chemical plant in Louisiana ignited a blaze that killed at least one person and injured dozens of others, authorities said. Witnesses described a chaotic scene of flames high in the air and workers scrambling over gates to escape the plant.A thick plume of black smoke rose from the plant after the blast even after the fire was extinguished. At a roadblock several miles away where family members waited anxiously to hear about loved ones, flames were still

A speeding commuter train slammed into another that had stopped between stations during the morning commute Thursday in suburban Buenos Aires, killing three passengers and injuring more than 300 on a line that has been under government control since a deadly crash last year.The state-run train agency dismissed possible brake failure as a cause and suggested that the conductor was at fault.  Satellite images show the train had braked normally at the previous station, and then rolled past four fun

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday as investors' sentiment got a boost from improved economic indicators from the United States, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 12.14 points, or 0.64 percent, to 1,894.87 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics rising 1.18 percent and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor adding 1.01 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO gained 0.16 percent.U.S. stocks

Syrians are being killed at an average rate of 5,000 per month, the U.N. said Thursday as it raised the overall death toll in the civil war to nearly 93,000, with civilians bearing the brunt of the attacks.The grim estimate reflects the growing sectarian nature of the bloodshed as the regime of President Bashar Assad scores a series of battlefield successes against the rebels.The toll also is a reminder of the international community's helplessness in the face of a conflict that has displaced se

Former President Carlos Menem was sentenced to seven years in prison Thursday for illegally smuggling weapons to Ecuador and Croatia in violation of international embargoes in the 1990s, but he won't be going to jail soon.An Argentine court also banned Menem, now a senator, from holding elective office for 14 years, and asked the Senate to vote to remove the immunity he enjoys as an elected member of Congress.However, the judges said the Senate should not move against Menem until the sentence is

Senior diplomats from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are expected to gather in Washington next week to coordinate cooperation over North Korea’s nuclear programs and other regional issues. Cho Tae-yong, the Foreign Ministry’s new special representative for Korean peninsular peace and security affairs, plans to visit the U.S. capital on June 18-20. On the way back, he will stop at Beijing for talks with officials including Wu Dawei, China’s special representative for Korean peninsular affairs. D

Turkish protest leaders went into emergency talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday after demonstrators rejected his "last warning" to evacuate an Istanbul park at the centre of mass anti-government demos.Thousands of defiant protesters spent another night under the stars in Gezi Park after rebuffing Erdogan's olive branch to clear out in return for a referendum on the park's planned redevelopment."We will stay in Gezi Park with all our demands and sleeping bags," Taksim Solid

South Korean football sensation Son Heung-min has joined Bayer Leverkusen in the top German league, the club announced Thursday.The Bundesliga team announced on its website that it has plucked the 20-year-old forward from another German club, Hamburger SV, and signed him to a five-year contract. Financial details were not disclosed.Son enjoyed a breakout season in 2012-2013 with Hamburger SV, tying for the team lead with a career-high 12 goals. Throughout the season, Son had been subject to tran

북한이 13일 남북당국회담이 무산된 책임을 남측에 돌리면서 "당국회담에 미련이 없다"고 밝혔다.이에 대해 정부가 "북한이 억지 주장을 펴고 있다"고 반박, 당분간 남북 간 대화분위기 조성이 어렵게 됐다.북한의 대남기구인 조국평화통일위원회(조평통)는 이날 대변인 담화에서 "북남 당국 회담이 괴뢰패당의 오만무례한 방해와 고의적인 파탄책동으로 시작도 못해보고 무산되고 말았다"며 "우리는 당국회담에 털끝만한 미련도 가지지 않는다"고 밝혔다고 조선중앙통신이 전했다.조평통은 이어 "(남측은) 이번 사태가 북남관계에 미칠 엄중한 후과에 대해 전적인 책임을 져야 한다"고 주장했다.이번 담화는 남북당국회담이 무산된 이후 북한의 첫 공식 반응이다.조평통은 남측이 통일부 장관을 회담에 내보낼 것을 확약했음에도 회담 직전에 수석대표의 급을 낮췄다며 이는 "북남 대화역사에서 본적이 없는 해괴한 망동으로서 무례무도의 극치"라고 비난했다.그러나 우리 정부는 북한이 사실을 왜곡했다고 반박했다. 통일부는 이날 입

프로야구 넥센 히어로즈의 투수 김병현이 자신이 심판을 향해 공을 던졌다는 의혹에 대해 부인했다.김병현은 구단을 통해 “퇴장시키겠다는 심판의 말에 ‘예’라고 대답했을 뿐 심판을 향해 공을 던진 것을 인정한 것이 아니다”라면서 “심판을 노리고 공을 던지는 일은 절대 있을 수 없다고 말했다.한국프로야구위원회 (KBO)는 13일 경기 중 상대편 더그아웃 쪽으로 공을 던지고 퇴장당한 김병현이 KBO 상벌 위원회에 회부되었다고 밝혔다. 김병현의 징계를 논하는 위원회는 14일 열릴 것으로 알려졌다.12일 롯데 자이언츠와의 경기에서 선발 출장한 김병현은 4회말 강판당한 뒤 더그아웃으로 돌아가다가 상대편 더그아웃 쪽으로 공을 던졌다. 이 행동을 두고 문승훈 주심은 김병현이 주심 판정 불만으로 인한 불순한 행동을 했다고 판단, 퇴장 조치를 내렸다.문 주심은 김병현에게 “심판을 향해 공을 던졌기 때문에 퇴장이다”이라고 설명했고 이에 김병현은 “예”라고 짧게 대답하고 라커룸으로 향했다.김병현이 심판에게

Creditors of Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co. on Thursday agreed to put the troubled builder under a debt-rescheduling program in a bid to rescue it from a liquidity crunch, officials said.Creditors of Ssangyong E&C, led by Woori Bank, agreed to provide fresh liquidity worth 445 billion won (US$392.8 million) next month and seek a debt-to-equity swap in July, according to bank officials.The creditors had been at odds over whether to place the builder under the debt workout program, claim

일본의 절에서 보관중이다가 도난당한 후 한국에서 보관중인 고려시대 불상을 놓고 양국 사이의 갈등이 심화될 징조를 보이고 있다.교도통신이 12일 보도한 바에 따르면 나가사키 현 쓰시마 시의 타카라베 야스나리 시장은 이르면 내달 한국 문화재청을 방문해 쓰시마섬의 절 간논지에서 도난당한 ‘관세음보살좌상’의 반환을 요청할 예정이다. 타카라베 시장은 이 때 불상의 반환을 촉구하는 주민 1만6천800명의 서명 역시 전달할 계획이다.문화재청 측에서는 이번 계획에 대해 공식적으로 확정하지 않은 상태이다.관세음보살좌상의 복장기(불상 안에 든 기록)에 따르면 불상은 고려 시대인 1330년에 서산 부석사에 봉안할 목적으로 만들어졌지만 기록에 남아있지 않은 이유로 인해 쓰시마 섬으로 넘어가게 되었다.서산 부석사 측에서는 이 불상이 고려 말기에 왜구에 의해 약탈당했다고 주장하는 반면, 쓰시마 섬 측에서는 한국에서 14 세기 이후에 퍼진 불교 배척 운동의 여파로 인해 일본으로 불상이 넘어간 것이라고 주장하고

The collapse of the planned inter-Korean talks is igniting political fighting in the South over the proper approach to the communist neighbor. The two-day meeting, scheduled to open on Wednesday in Seoul, was aborted after the two sides failed to agree on the ranks of chief delegates. A senior presidential official said on Tuesday the North was trying to “force subservience and indignity (on South Korea) as it has done in the past.” His remark was also seen as a veiled criticism of the oppositio

The government unveiled a set of measures on Thursday to beef up its surveillance and punishment of conglomerates twisting the arms of smaller suppliers in order to push them to lower their product prices.The Fair Trade Commission (FTC), the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and other related agencies will work together in monitoring large businesses to prevent the forcing of price cuts of supplies without any warranted reasons.The government added that it will toughen its request for firms

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and female lawmakers from the ruling Saenuri Party on Thursday agreed to block the Defense Ministry’s latest proposal to give extra credits to male job seekers for military service.“The military duty incentive system was already ruled unconstitutional,” Rep. Kim Hyun-sook said after a government ruling party meeting held at the National Assembly.“(The Defense Ministry) should be discreet about reviving the system which would spark strong opposition from

넥센 히어로즈 소속 프로야구 선수 신현철 (26)씨가 만취상태에서 교통사고를 내고 달아난 혐의 (폭력행위등 처벌에 관한 법률 위반 등)로 불구속 기소되었다고 검찰이 13일 밝혔다.서울중앙지검 형사 1부 (권정훈 부장검사)가 밝힌 바에 따르면 신씨는 지난 4우러 8일 오전 4시 37분께 서울 강남역 부근에서 승용차로 정차해 있던 택시의 앞범퍼를 들이받는 사고를 냈다.당시 택시기사 강모 (52)씨가 차에서 내려 신씨의 차량을 가로막자 신씨는 앞범퍼로 강씨의 왼쪽 무릎을 수차례 들이받아 전치 2주의 상해를 입힌 후 도망간 것으로 조사되었다.신씨는 강씨의 신고로 곧 경찰에 붙잡혔는데 그는 사고 당시 면허취소 수치를 넘는 혈중알코올농도 0.189% 상태였던 것으로 드러났다.지난 9일 무면허 음주운전 사고를 낸 같은 넥센 소속 김민우(34) 선수는 한국야구위원회(KBO)로부터 야구활동 3개월 정지와 유소년 야구봉사활동 240시간의 징계를 받은 바 있다. 넥센은 최근 1군 엔트리에서 제외된 김씨

The union leader of Ssangyong Motor Co. has been detained pending trial on charges of interfering with officials' attempt to dismantle protest tents in central Seoul earlier this week, court officials said Thursday.The Seoul Central District Court approved the police request for an arrest warrant for Kim Jeong-woo, who leads Ssangyong's labor union affiliated with the Korea Metal Workers' Union, they said. Former employees of the country's smallest automaker and civic activists set up three tent

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday tracking losses on Wall Street in the previous trading session, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 7.57 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,902.34 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Shares lost ground across the board, with tech giant Samsung Electronics falling 0.22 percent and top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis losing 0.19 percent. Leading flat panel maker LG Display shed 0.64 percent.U.S. stocks closed lower We

The man who told the world about the U.S. government's gigantic data grab also talks a lot about himself.Mostly through his own words, a picture of Edward Snowden is emerging: fresh-faced computer whiz, high school dropout, wannabe Green Beret, disillusioned cog in a secret bureaucracy.He's retained an aura of secrecy despite sitting for several days of interviews with The Guardian, some posted in online video. Snowden combines an earnest, deeply serious demeanor with a flair for the dramatic.Sn

The World Bank on Wednesday lowered its growth estimate for the global economy in 2013, but said that expansion appeared better balanced than just before the 2008 financial crisis.The global economy was expected to grow at an annual rate of 2.2 percent this year, led by a 5.1 percent surge in developing countries, down from a January estimate of a 2.4 percent."The overall acceleration is not stronger because the majority of developing countries have more-or-less fully recovered from the 2008 fin