SEOUL (Yonhap) – South Korean confectionery maker Orion Corp. said Thursday it has submitted a bid for Homeplus, the local unit of British retailer TESCO."(We) have submitted a preliminary bid for the Homeplus acquisition to the potential seller," the company said in a regulatory filing posted after the stock market closing. Local media reported that private equity firms, such as Affinity Equity Partners, Carlyle Group and local buyout fund MBK Partners have also submitted bids to buy the countr

A soothing rhythmic sound is carried by a gentle wind in a wild flower field. It resembles the pleasingly relaxing sound from wooden wind chimes blowing in a breeze. The sound, in fact, comes from the skillful hands of Belgian bobbin lace makers moving wood bobbins from right to left and vice versa repeatedly to create lace patterns. The opening scene of artist Kim Soo-ja’s second chapter of the “Thread Routes” series takes the audience to the centuries-old tradition of handicraft lace making in

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at an event at Rancho High School, May 5, 2015, in Las Vegas. (AP-Yonhap)WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Bill Clinton reported Friday that they earned more than $30 million combined in speaking fees and book royalties since January 2014, putting them firmly within the upper echelon of American earners as the former secretary of state seeks the White House again.Clinton's presidential campaign reported t

BEIJING (Yonhap) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry  is in Beijing on Saturday for talks with Chinese leaders as China's massive land reclamation efforts in the South China Sea have made its Asian neighbors nervous. China claims sovereignty over nearly 90 percent of the South China Sea, worsening relations with neighbors such as the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. Beijing is in a bitter dispute with Tokyo over islets in the East China Sea. The U.S. has been concerned about China's increasin

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korea's central bank may trim its base rate either in June or July due largely to a slowdown inthe recovery pace of Asia's fourth-largest economy, analysts said Saturday.In a widely expected move, the Bank of Korea (BOK) left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low of 1.75 percent for a second straight month in May, citing expectations for an economic recovery and soaring household debt.While sustaining its view that "the economy will show a modest trend of

BOSTON (AP) – A jury sentenced Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death Friday for the Boston Marathon bombing, sweeping aside pleas that he was just a ``kid'' who fell under the influence of his fanatical older brother.The decision in America's most closely watched terrorism trial in decades – which came just over two years after the April 15, 2013, bombing that killed three people and wounded more than 260 – brought relief and grim satisfaction to many in Boston.``We can breathe again,'' said Karen Brassard

ZURICH (AP) – FIFA has banned former vice president Reynald Temarii for eight years for taking Qatari powerbroker Mohamed bin Hammam's money to pay legal costs in a corruption case linked to the 2022 World Cup vote.FIFA says its ethics committee ruled that Temarii accepting 305,640 euros ($343,000) from Bin Hammam in January 2011, breaching five sections of its ethics code.Temarii was then appealing a one-year suspension by FIFA which barred him from voting in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup contest

CANNES, France (AP) – The Cannes Film Festival unrolled its red carpet with a socially minded French drama, striking a more serious tone than the high dose of glamour the festival often opens with.``Standing Tall,'' a film about a juvenile delinquent co-starring Catherine Deneuve, screened Wednesday ahead of its evening premiere as the festival got underway beneath sunny French Riviera skies. Directed by French actress-filmmaker Emmanuelle Bercot, ``Standing Tall'' is only the second film direct

SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) -- A reservist went on a shooting spree at a military training camp in Seoul on Wednesday, killing one person and wounding three others, before committing suicide, the Army said.The 23-year-old reservist, identified only by his surname Choi," opened fire on his colleagues while receiving training at a military camp in Naegok-dong, southern Seoul, at 10:44 a.m. today," the Army said in a release.Four reservists in their early and mid-20s who sustained injuries were rushed t

BEIJING (AFP) – Beijing expressed anger Wednesday after reports the United States was considering ramping up its military presence in disputed South China Sea waters and confronting Chinese territorial claims with ships and aircraft.Defense Secretary Ash Carter asked staff to explore sending Navy surveillance aircraft and vessels to islands which Washington believes have been rapidly built up by China in recent months, the Wall Street Journal said Tuesday, citing officials."We are severely conce

TOKYO (AP) – A Japanese city's plan to seek UNESCO recognition for its collection of documents related to its role as a launching base for ``kamikaze'' suicide attacks in the desperate last months of World War II is raising questions over how such memories should be preserved. Kampei Shimoide, mayor of Minamikyushu, and others associated with the project said Wednesday they hope that registering the document collection as a UNESCO ``Memory of the World'' will help ensure it will convey the horro

SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Wednesday it will stage firing drills near the tensely guarded western sea border this week, according to the South Korean military. In a notice to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pyongyang said it will "carry out firing drills between 3 p.m. today and Friday in their territorial waters just above the Northern Limit Line (NLL)," the JCS said.The NLL is the de facto inter-Korean sea border in the Yellow Sea, though Pyongyang does not acknowledge it and ha

SAINT PETERSBURG (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday dismissed days of frenzied "rumors" over his health and whereabouts as he appeared in public after an unusually long 10-day absence."We would be bored if there were no rumours," Putin said at a meeting with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev at the sumptuous Konstantinov's Palace just outside Saint Petersburg.Atambayev said his Russian host had driven him around the palace before the meeting, in an apparent bid to dispel all sp

GENEVA (AFP) – A United Nations rights expert squared off with North Korea Monday by urging the global community to resolve the fate of 200,000 people allegedly abducted by Pyongyang, and refer perpetrators to the International Criminal Court."There is a real sense of urgency to solve this matter once and for all," said Marzuki Darusman, the UN's independent expert on the rights situation in North Korea.Addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva Monday, Darusman presented his latest report

DAMASCUS (AFP) – Syria's President Bashar al-Assad said Monday he was waiting for US "actions" after Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged talks with Damascus were necessary to end the country's conflict."We are still listening to the comments and we have to wait for the actions and then we'll decide," Assad told Iranian television in comments in Damascus broadcast on Syrian state television.The comments were the first since Kerry said in an interview aired on Sunday that Washington would b

LAUSANNE,  Switzerland (AP) – The United States and Iran are plunging back into negotiations in a bid to end a decades-long standoff that has raised the specter of an Iranian nuclear arsenal, a new atomic arms race in the Middle East and even a U.S. or Israeli military intervention. Two weeks out from a deadline for a framework accord, some officials said persistent differences meant negotiators would likely settle for an announcement that they've made enough progress to justify further talks.Su

SEOUL (Yonhap) – An Asiana Airlines plane flew back to Hong Kong Monday after one of the passengers was found to have boarded the wrong flight on purpose, the company said.Asiana Airlines Co., South Korea's No. 2 carrier, said its OJ722 flight bound for Incheon, South Korea's main gateway, departed from Hong Kong at 2:15 p.m. (Korean time). An hour later, it discovered that one of the more than 250 passengers on board was not booked for that flight and turned the plane back to Hong Kong.The pass

Madonna performs at the Brit Awards 2015 at the 02 Arena in London, Feb. 25. (AP-Yonhap)PARIS (AFP) – Madonna has added a second concert date in Paris in December after the first that went on sale this week sold out in five minutes, the promoters said Wednesday."Given the demand, Madonna has added a second concert in Paris as part of her worldwide 'Rebel Heart Tour': Thursday December 10, 2015," the company Live Nation said.The 56-year-old diva is playing at the Bercy stadium in the French capit

HONG KONG (AFP) – It may be banned in mainland China, but Twitter has launched an office in Hong Kong to help Chinese businesses reach international markets.The San Francisco-based service, which has served as a platform for dissent and free speech, wants to tap into booming growth in Greater China by selling ads to businesses such as exporters.Ahead of the launch, Twitter had said the office would focus on advertising sales, instead of the one-to-many messaging service which is barred in China,

U.S. Amb. to South Korea Mark Lippert was in stable condition on Thursday after being cut on the face and wrist by a pro-North Korean activist who said he was against the ongoing military drills by Seoul and Washington, South Korean and U.S. officials said.A knife-wielding assailant, identified as 55-year-old Kim Ki-jong, attacked the envoy who was having breakfast at an event in downtown Seoul where he was to give a lecture.Lippert, bleeding, was rushed to Severance Hospital in western Seoul an