China's inflation rose in June but was well below the government's target in a sign of weak demand amid an economic slowdown.Consumer prices rose 2.7 percent over a year earlier, up from May's 2.1 percent gain but below the 3.5 percent official target for the year, the government reported Tuesday. The June figure was driven by a 4.9 percent rise in food costs.Pressure for prices to rise is relatively low in China because of weak demand, excess production capacity in many industries and lower cos

South Korean stocks traded 0.31 percent higher late Tuesday morning, as large-cap firms narrowed gains from earlier sessions amid a foreign net selloff, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched up 5.61 points to 1,822.46 as of 11:20 a.m.Samsung Electronics narrowed its gains to advance 0.6 percent, with auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis staying almost flat. No. 1 mobile carrier SK Telecom lost 0.7 percent, with state-run electricity provider Korea Electric Power

One of two teenage girls killed in an Asiana jet crash at San Francisco International Airport might have been struck by an emergency vehicle responding to Saturday's crash, fire officials said on Monday.Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White and Assistant Deputy Chief Dale Carnes both raised the possibility at a news conference with first responders. “There was a possibility one of two fatalities might have been contacted by one of our apparatus at one point during the incident,” Carnes said.San Mateo Co

Korea on Tuesday protested Japan’s renewed sovereignty claim to the islets of Dokdo in its new defense white paper.In the annual document, Tokyo identified the windswept islets in the East Sea as its territory and said the ownership issue “still remains unsolved.” The description has been rehashed since 2005.Seoul’s Foreign Ministry summoned Takashi Kurai, a minister and deputy chief of the Japanese Embassy, calling the claim “unacceptable” and urging an immediate rectification. The Defense Mini

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday, buoyed by Wall Street gains overnight on signs that the world's No. 1 economy is improving as it starts earnings season, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.65 points, or 0.37 percent, to 1,823.50 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Top-listed companies were bullish, led by market heavyweight Samsung Electronics going up nearly 2 percent. Major banking group Shinhan Financial also gained 1 percent. T

미국 샌프란시스코 공항에서 최근 일어난 착륙 사고를 조사하기 위해 한미 당국이 합동조사를 시작했다. 국토교통부는 아시아나항공 여객기 사고 한국 조사단이 8일(한국시간) 미국 샌프란시스코에서 미국 교통안전위원회(NTSB) 와 합동조사를 시작했다고 밝혔다. 조사단은 이날 오전 0시 21분(현지시각 7일 오전 8시 21분) 샌프란시스코 공항에 도착해 미국 측의 초동조치 결과를 브리핑받았으며 조사팀 구성 등에 합의했다.조사관들은 도착 이후 사고기 조종사 4명을 4시간 동안 면담하고 속도와 고도, 기재조작 등을 조사했다. 다음날 (현지시간 8일)에는 운항, 엔진, 기체, 블랙박스, 조종사 등 분야별로 심층조사를 NTSB와 공동으로 진행할 예정이다.또한 여객기 블랙박스를 해독하는데 한국 측 조사관중 두 명 (정부, 아시아나 측에서 각 1명씩) 참여할 예정이다.조사단은 4시간 동안 항공기 최초 접촉지점, 잔해 분포 상태, 기체 분포상태를 조사했으며 현장조사는 앞으로 일주일 이상 진행될 것으로 보

South Korean stocks closed nearly 1 percent lower Monday, driven by a steep decline in Samsung Electronics Co., following the company's disappointing earnings estimates for the second quarter release last week, analysts said.The local currency sharply fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished down 16.46 points to 1,816.85. Trading volume was light at 299.5 million shares worth 3.48 trillion won (US$3.05 billion) with decliners far outstripping

South Korea's plan to buy 60 fighter jets has been temporarily put on ice as three competitors have failed to offer prices within Seoul's 8.3 trillion won ($7.2 billion) budget, further delaying the replacement of its aging fleet. Boeing's F-15 Silent Eagle, Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth jet and the Eurofighter Tranche 3 Typhoon from the European Aerospace Defense and Space Company (EADS) participated in the bidding sessions from June 18 to July 5 to win Seoul's largest arms import deal. The De

South Korean private aid groups are scurrying to resume their humanitarian assistance to the North, which has been virtually suspended amid inter-Korean tensions caused by the communist country‘s nuclear bomb test in February, sources said Monday.“Several groups are making internal preparations in order to resume their assistance projects,” an official of a local aid group told Yonhap News Agency. “Since the North’s offer to hold inter-Korean government talks last month, the country has shown it

미국 샌프란시스코 공항에서 6일(현지시간) 발생한 아시아나 여객기 착륙사고 당시 승무원들의 영웅적인 노력에 대한 목격담이 이어지고 있다.사고 여객기에 탑승했던 유진 앤쏘니 나씨는 현지 언론과의 인터뷰에서 당시 한 승무원이 부상당한 승객들을 비행기 밖으로 대피시켰다고 증언했다. 나씨는 이 승무원의 이름이 김지연씨라고 밝히면서 “그녀는 영웅이었다. 이 작은 여성이 등에 사람들을 업고 눈물을 흘리면서 여기저기 뛰어다니고 있었다”고 증언했다.나씨는 이어 김씨가 울고 있었지만 침착하게 사람들을 도왔다고 말했다.사건 당시 구조를 담당했던 조앤 헤이즈-화이트 샌프란시스코 소방서장은 한 케빈 매니저 (이윤혜 최선임 승무원)의 용감한 노력이 돋보였다고 언급했다. 그녀는 이씨가 모든 사람이 여객기에서 탈출했는지 확인하고 마지막에 탈출했다고 설명했다.헤이즈-화이트 서장에 따르면 이씨가 너무나 침착했기 때문에 자신은 그녀가 공항 터미널에서 파견되어온 사람인 줄 알았다고 덧붙였다.일부 승객들 역시 승무원들

South Korean stocks traded 1.25 percent lower late Monday morning, led by a sharp fall in shares of Samsung Electronics, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 22.88 points to 1,810.43 as of 11:20 a.m.Top-listed tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics plunged more than 4 percent, with SK hynix dipping 2.6 percent. In contrast, Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's No. 1 shipyard, climbed 3.6 percent. The local currency was changing hands at 1,151.75 won agai

Turkey‘s assertive foreign policy, promoting itself as a role model for the Muslim world, has received a setback after the military intervention that unseated Egypt’s Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, analysts say. Turkey‘s Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP), which faced down the most widespread protests in its 10-year tenure, had forged close alliance with Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood. The Egyptian army’s ouster of the country‘s first democratically elected leader has raised

About 40 people were still missing a day after a runaway train derailed in Quebec, igniting explosions and fires that destroyed a busy downtown district and killed five people. Police said a higher death toll was inevitable, and authorities feared the number might soar once they're able to reach the hardest-hit areas. Worries remained over the status of two oil-filled train cars. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper compared the area to a war zone and said about 30 buildings were incinerated.

Nearly 91 percent of citizens in Seoul are exposed to second-hand smoking everyday with their daily exposure time averaging 13 minutes, a poll showed Monday.According to the survey of 1,000 citizens aged 19 years or older, 90.8 percent experienced passive smoking every day at the end of last year, down by 1.6 percentage points from four years earlier. They were exposed to second-hand smoking 1.4 times per day for 13 minutes on average.While their involuntary exposure came more frequently in outd

South Korea ranked 34th in gold holdings last month, marking its highest ranking ever, as its central bank has purchased the precious metal to diversify its foreign exchange reserves, data showed Monday.South Korea's gold holdings reached 104.4 tons valued at $4.79 billion as of end-June, accounting for 1.5 percent of the country's total FX reserves of $326.44 billion, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The BOK bought 20 tons of gold in February, following its previous four rounds of purchases

Global sales of smartphones that run on the so-called long-term evolution (LTE) network are expected to almost triple this year from a year earlier, data showed Monday.According to the data compiled by research firm Strategic Analysis Inc., a total of 270 million smartphones running on the LTE network will be sold this year, accounting for 29 percent of total smartphone shipment around the globe.Last year, a total of 92 million LTE smartphones were sold, garnering a 13.1 percent share in the glo

South Korean stocks turned higher after a weak start Monday, as widening auto gains offset losses of top-cap Samsung Electronics Co., analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched up 3.07 points, or 0.17 percent, to 1,836.38 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor soared 1.2 percent, with its smaller affiliate Kia Motors climbing 1.5 percent. But Samsung Electronics lost nearly 1.4 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,149.75 won

A nuclear reactor at South Korea's Hanwool Nuclear Power Plant stopped operating Friday due to what appears to be a technical problem, plant operators said.An investigation was underway to find the exact cause of the problem, but the state-run Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. said there were no immediate safety threats.The reactor at the power plant, previously called the Uljin Nuclear Power Plant, halted operations at 3:36 p.m.The shutdown of the reactor with a generation capacity of 1 million

Prosecutors said Friday they have detained a former chief of the country's state-run nuclear power plants operator on suspicion of bribery as part of their probe into the corruption scandal over nuclear reactors. Kim Jong-shin, who headed the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP), was arrested on late Thursday after the task force of the Busan District Prosecutor's Office in the southeastern port city secured evidence that Kim had accepted bribes from one of the company's contractors.The arrest c

South Korean stocks closed 0.32 percent lower Friday due to Samsung Electronics' lower-than-expected earnings estimate for the second quarter, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 5.83 points to close at 1,833.31. Trading volume was low at 280 million shares worth 3.72 trillion won ($3.27 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 434 to 351.Analysts said the decline came as Samsung Electronics, the world's