South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Wednesday, as investors stayed cautious ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech on the next day (Seoul time). The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 8.64 points, or 0.43 percent to 1,986.84 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech firms and steelmakers led the decline, with Samsung Electronics losing 1.2 percent and POSCO sliding 0.8 percent. Analysts said key Fed officials' split views over when the Fed wi

Israel's prime minister on Tuesday abruptly halted a plan to explore the potential construction of thousands of new homes in West Bank settlements, saying it had created an “unnecessary confrontation” with the international community that threatened to weaken his campaign against Iran's suspect nuclear program. The plan announced by Israel's Housing Ministry earlier in the day had prompted a Palestinian threat to walk out of U.S.-brokered peace talks and drew angry criticism from officials in Wa

A spectacular and rare orange diamond, the largest known gem of its kind, was on Tuesday auctioned off for a record $31.5 million in Geneva."At the back of the hall, 29 million francs ($31.5 million, 23 million euros). Sold!" the Christie's auctioneer said as the fiery almond-shaped gem was snapped up in a room of about 200 people in a luxury Geneva hotel.The price excluded another $4.04 million in taxes and commission.The man who made the purchase swiftly got up and left the room to a round of

China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Cuba and Algeria won seats Tuesday on the U.N. Human Rights Council, riling independent human rights groups who said their election undermined the rights watchdog's credibility.The General Assembly elected 14 new members to the 47-seat Geneva-based council, which can shine a spotlight on rights abuses by adopting resolutions _ when it chooses to do so. It also has dozens of special monitors watching problem countries and major issues ranging from executions

Apple announced Tuesday it has begun selling its newly revamped iPad mini tablet with an enhanced "retina" display, for which it had not previously announced a firm launch date.Apple unveiled the new gadget on October 22 at the same time as its larger sibling, the iPad Air, but said the mini would be sold at an unspecified date in November.Apple is the largest single vendor of tablets although its market share has now slipped amid competition from rivals.Analysts say the lower-priced iPad mini a

A federal judge and lawyers for the world's two biggest smartphone makers began picking a jury Tuesday to determine how much Samsung Electronics owes Apple for copying vital iPhone and iPad features.The retrial to determine damages is underway in San Jose, California.A previous jury had awarded Apple $1.05 billion after determining 26 Samsung products had infringed six Apple patents. But a judge found the jury miscalculated $400 million in damages for 13 products and ordered a new trial to deter

South Korean President Park Geun-hye was to hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday with a focus on increasing economic cooperation, such as a Russian-led project to develop a North Korean border port as a gateway for exports.Putin arrived earlier Wednesday on a one-day visit for his second summit with Park. They first met in September on the sidelines of a Group of 20 major economies meeting in Russia's second-largest city of St. Petersburg.Like the September summit, We

South Korea's jobless rate inched up in October from a month earlier but job creation accelerated, raising hopes that labor market conditions are improving, a government report showed Wednesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, the jobless rate stood at 2.8 percent last month, up from 2.7 percent in September.The jobless rate adjusted for inflation remained unchanged at 3 percent over the cited period.Job creation is picking up speed. The number of employed people was 25.54 million in

A U.S. decision to relax its own restrictions on beef imports is expected to affect South Korea and other nations with regulations on American beef, a U.S. official said Tuesday."We anticipate these changes could convince other countries to remove any remaining restrictions on U.S. cattle and cattle products," Lyndsay Cole, the official at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), told Yonhap News Agency.In early November, the agency affiliated with the Department of Agriculture (U

Political tensions escalated Tuesday as opposition parties allied in seeking a special probe into alleged election interference by state agencies, while the ruling party struck back by pushing for a law revision to curb minority obstructionism. The ruling Saenuri Party is reportedly moving to revise the National Assembly act to allow certain bills to be exempted from the rule that requires at least 60 percent of the relevant standing committee members’ approval for passage.The move came as the o

교육부가 대학을 5등급으로 나누고 최상위 대학을 제외한 나머지 4개 등급 대학은 강제적으로 정원을 감축하는 구조개혁방안을 2015년부터 추진할 계획이다.12일 교육부의 대학 구조개혁 정책연구팀이 최근 각 지역을 돌며 개최한 대학구조개혁 토론회에서 발표한 이 방안의 내용은 모든 대학을 대상으로 절대평가를 해 평가 결과에 따라 대학을 최우수, 우수, 보통, 미흡, 매우 미흡 등 5개 그룹으로 나누는 것을 골자로 하고 있다.이 평가에 따라 최우수 대학은 자율적으로 정원을 감축하고, 나머지 4개 등급 대학은 강제적으로 정원을 감축해야 한다. 감축 인원은 우수 대학의 경우 일부, 보통 대학은 평균 수준으로 정원을 감축하고, 미흡과 매우 미흡 대학은 정원을 대폭 줄여야 한다. 정원감축 규모는 예상 미충원 인원 등을 고려해 산출하되 대학/전문대, 수도권/지방 등을 구분해 감축하는 방안을 검토하고 있다. 또한 최하위 등급의 대학 중 교육의 질이 현격히 낮거나 부정•비리가 있는 대학은 퇴출하기로 했

정부는 태풍으로 막대한 인명 및 재산 피해가 발생한 필리핀에 500만 달러(한화 54억원 정도) 규모의 인도적 지원을 긴급 제공키로 결정했다.외교부는 유관 정부 부처 및 민간단체 관계자들이 참석한 가운데 12일 서울 도렴동 외교부 청사에서 민관합동 해외긴급구호협의회를 개최하고 이같이 결정했다. 협의회에서는 필리핀 현지에 긴급구호대(KDRT)를 파견, 의료 및 구조 활동도 지원키로 결정했다. 긴급구호대는 필리핀 현지의 인도적 수요를 고려, 의료진 20명, 119구조단 14명, 코이카 4명, 외교부 2명 등 40명으로 구성됐다.정부는 필리핀 정부의 구호대 접수가 확인되는대로 군 수송기를 이용해 현지에 긴급구호대를 급파할 예정이다. 이와 관련, 국방부는 C-130 수송기 2대를 성남 서울공항에 대기시키고 관련 부처 요청시 즉각 지원할 예정이다. 서울공항에서 세부까지는 수송기로 6∼7시간이 소요된다.군은 요청이 있으면 2억원 어치의 천막 100동을 긴급 투입하도록 할 계획이다. 긴급구호대

메이저리그 진출 첫 시즌을 성공적으로 치른 '괴물 투수' 류현진(26•로스앤젤레스 다저스)은 내셔널리그 신인왕 투표에서 4위에 오른 것으로 나타났다.미국야구기자협회(BBWAA)는 양대리그 신인왕 수상자가 발표된 12일(한국시간) 홈페이지를 통해 올해 신인왕 후보들의 득표수를 공개했다.호세 페르난데스(마이애미)가 142점으로 신인왕의 영예를 안은 가운데 류현진은 10점을 받아 4위에 올랐다.다저스의 팀 동료인 야시엘 푸이그가 95점으로 2위에 올랐고 셸비 밀러(세인트 루이스)가 12점으로 류현진에 앞서 3위에 올랐다.류현진 아래로는 훌리오 테헤란(애틀랜타•7점), 제드 지오코(샌디에이고•2점), 놀런 아레나도(콜로라도•1점), 에번 개티스(애틀랜타•1점) 등이 뒤를 이었다.BBWAA는 매년 정규리그를 마친 직후 내셔널리그(NL)와 아메리칸리그(AL)의 최우수선수(MVP)•사이영상•신인왕•감독상 수상자를 뽑는 투표를 한다.투표권자들은 MVP 10명, 사이영상 5명, 신인왕•감독상 3명씩

South and North Korea are unlikely to make headway in the issue of foreign investment in an inter-Korean factory park during their upcoming working-level talks on revising the rules on the zone, a Seoul official said Tuesday.The source, who declined to be identified, said setting a new date for an investor relations (IR) event scheduled for Oct. 31 that was called off is not really on the agenda at talks slated for Wednesday and Thursday."It is not something that we expect to accomplish (this ti

북한의 대남기구 조국평화통일위원회(조평통)는 11일 박근혜 대통령이 최근 유럽 순방 기간 북한에 핵 포기와 인권 개선을 촉구한 데 대해 "반공화국 대결 망발"이라고 맹비난했다.조평통 대변인은 이날 조선중앙통신 기자와의 문답을 통해 또다시 박 대통령을 '박근혜'로 지칭하며 이 같이 비난했다. 조평통 대변인은 이번 발언으로 앞서 박 대통령이 김정은 국방위원회 제1위원장 과의 정상회담 가능성을 언급한 것은 "순전히 위선이었으며 그의 속통에는 우리와 끝까지 대결하려는 흉심만 들어차 있다는 것을 여실히 보여주었다"라고 주장했다. 이어 "집에서 새는 바가지 들에 나가도 샌다고 명색이 대통령이라는 체면도 다 줴버리고 밖에 나가서까지 동족을 악랄하게 헐뜯는 박근혜야말로 제 망신인 줄 모르고 남을 흉보기 좋아하는 다사한 시골아낙네를 방불케 한다"라고 원색적으로 비난했다. 박 대통령은 유럽 순방 중이던 지난 8일 '한-EU 수교 50주년 공동선언'을 통해 북한에 핵포기와 인권 개선을 촉구했다.  이에

North Korea slammed President Park Geun-hye Tuesday for fueling tensions with provocative anti-Pyongyang remarks made during her recent trip to Europe.The North's Korean Central News Agency, citing a statement issued by an unidentified spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK), referred to Park by name and accused her of being a hypocrite and only focused on maintaining a confrontational stance with the DPRK. The DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic o

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers finished fourth in the voting for the National League Rookie of the Year award, ballots showed Tuesday.The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA), whose members cast votes for the top rookie honors, released the results of the balloting on its website. Ryu, the South Korean left-hander, earned 10 third-place votes for 10 points.Ryu went 14-8 with a 3.00 ERA in 30 starts in his first Major League Baseball season. He struck out 154 and walked 49 in

South Korea's financial watchdog has beefed up its inspections of the four major local banks in an effort to root out alleged irregularities in the banking sector, sources said Tuesday. In a rare move, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has started its probe into Kookmin Bank, Hana Bank, Shinhan Bank and Woori Bank all together in a bid to look into whether they might have been involved in suspected illegal activities."Suspicion over irregularities related to the four banking groups has con

South Korean game makers' income from royalties paid by foreign firms rose 19.3 percent in 2012 from a year earlier on the back of popularity of the country's pop culture overseas, data showed Tuesday.Local game makers earned US$680 million from receiving fees on their intellectual property last year, up from $570 million tallied in the previous year, according to the data by the central bank.Such earnings compared with a combined income of $120 million logged by other companies dealing with Kor

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday on the back of an improved industrial data from China, the country's largest trading partner, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.14 points, or 0.72 percent, to 1,991.44 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics adding 0.98 percent and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor rising 0.61 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO added 0.62 percent.Logistics firms