Wildfires in Saskatchewan burned out of control, with one blaze more than five times the size of the province's largest city, Saskatoon, officials said. Fires also raged in British Columbia and Alberta. The western Canada wildfires have forced thousands of people to evacuate, and air advisories have been issued across central and western Canada, as well as parts of the western U.S., due to the thick smoke over the region. About 200 fires burned Friday in British Columbia, fire information office

With a crucial shareholder meeting for a proposed merger with its sister firm a week away, Samsung C&T Corp., Samsung Group's construction and trading arm, is ratcheting up its efforts to win more pro-merger shareholders, particularly minority stakeholders, industry sources said Saturday.Although the country's state pension fund, the National Pension Service, has decided to back the high-profile merger between Samsung C&T with Cheil Industries Inc., the group's de facto holding firm., it is stil

North Korea's sole-operating oil refinery has been up and running despite a series of media reports that China halted crude exports to the impoverished communist neighbor amid strained relations last year, a U.S. expert said Friday.Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., chief analytics officer of AllSource Analysis, said in a report carried by the website 38 North of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies that the North's Ponghwa Chemical Factory would not have been running if Beijing had h

South Korea reported no additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Saturday, with the death toll from the disease rising by one to 36.The number of people diagnosed with the viral disease has remained unchanged since Sunday at 186, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.Ministry officials said the country may be able to declare an end to the MERS outbreak if it continues to see no new infection cases.However, 513 people still remain in isolation as suspected cases follo

South Korean stocks will likely experience fluctuations next week on lingering concerns about Greek debts talks and the choppy Chinese market with bleak second-quarter earnings outlooks, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,031.17 on Friday, down 3.48 percent from a week earlier due mainly to downbeat news from Greece and China.The index plunged 2.4 percent on Monday, the largest fall in three years, after more than 60 percent of Greek voters rejected

From crowd favorites Mozart and Verdi, to one of the world’s earliest known opera productions, the remainder of the 2015 season promises moving and memorable arias.Seoul Metropolitan Opera is gearing up for its staging of one of the world’s oldest known operas -- Claudio Monteverdi’s early baroque piece “L’Orfeo.” Based on the mythical musician, poet and Greek prophet Orpheus, the opera tells the tale of his journey to the underworld and his challenge to Hades to retrieve his deceased wife, Eury

Eight ancient Baekje historic areas were collectively named as a UNESCO World Heritage site Saturday, becoming Korea’s 12th item on the much-coveted World Heritage list. It joins the ranks of the volcanic island of Jeju, Seoul’s Changdeokgung Palace and the mountain fortress of Namhansanseong. The Baekje historic areas are a collection of sites built over the different periods of Baekje, spanning nearly 700 years from B.C. 18 to A.D. 660. The sites, including royal palaces and fortresses, tombs,

Every year for the past decade, the Culinary Institute of America -- one of the U.S.’ most prominent professional cooking schools -- releases a video series that teaches chefs, food experts and other industry insiders about a region’s cuisine.The program, called “Savoring the Best of World Flavors,” has already earned its street cred in the foodie stratosphere, nabbing not one but two James Beard Awards for its coverage of India, Spain, Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam and Sicily.Now, the institute has

U.S. employers added a solid 223,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate fell to 5.3 percent, a seven-year low. The numbers reflect a job market moving close to full health and raise expectations that the Federal Reserve will start raising interest rates as early as September.    The Labor Department said Thursday that the unemployment rate dropped from 5.5 percent in May. The rate fell mostly because many people out of work gave up on their job searches and were no longer counted as unemplo

Senior South Korean diplomats stationed in China began an annual meeting in Beijing on Thursday, during which they are expected to discuss measures to minimize fallout from the outbreak of MERS in South Korea.     The meeting comes as South Korea's tourism industry has been hit hard as many foreign tourists, mostly Chinese, have canceled their trips to South Korea since it reported its first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome on May 20.     Speaking to the meeting, the South Korean Ambassa

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, a devout Christian, pledged Thursday to make efforts to forge national reconciliation as he reached out to Buddhists.   Hwang made the commitment during his meeting with top officials of the Jogye Order at Jogyesa, the chief temple of South Korea's largest Buddhist sect, in central Seoul.   He said South Korea has had little religious friction, though there are sectarian strifes in other parts of the world.   His visit came three weeks after the Jogye Order pressed

Suh Kyung-bae, chief of South Korea's top cosmetics maker AmorePacific Group, has become the country's richest man in stock value, overtaking former No. 1 Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, market data showed Thursday.Stocks owned by Suh were valued at 12.8 trillion won (US$11.4 billion) as of Thursday, while Samsung's Lee held stakes worth 11.8 trillion won, according to the data compiled by corporate tracker Chaebul.com.Suh's stock assets nearly doubled from 6.7 trillion won in the beginning

South Korea defeated Australia 3-2 (20-25, 25-20, 25-20, 20-23, 15-9) to open the men's volleyball tournament at the Summer Universiade Thursday.Down 7-5 in the decisive fifth set, South Korea reeled off eight consecutive points to take control. Australia fought back with a couple of points but committed an error to concede the match-clinching point at Yeomju Gymnasium in Gwangju.Jung Ji-seok led South Korea with 21 points and Jeong Dong-geun chipped in 17 points.Max Staples had 22 for Australia

Following its recent staging of the distinguished Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century for the annual Hanwha Classic 2015, representatives have revealed that next year’s concert series will feature French conductor Marc Minkowski and the Musicians of the Louvre orchestra. The Musicians of the Louvre orchestra is an internationally renowned French baroque music ensemble, which originally formed in 1982 in Paris by Minkowski. Since 1996 the orchestra has been based in Grenoble, southeastern France

Soprano Lee Yoon-geong (left to right), bass Attila Jun and tenor Kim Woo-kyung to take part in the upcoming production of Mozart‘s “The Magic Flute” opera. (Seoul Arts Center)The Seoul Arts Center is getting set to unveil its upcoming production of Mozart’s enchanting opera “The Magic Flute.”The upcoming show will be the center’s first opera production in six years, following another Mozart’s classic -- “The Marriage of Figaro.” From 2001 to 2009, “The Magic Flute” was staged at the SAC every y

As South Korea strives to become the next Asian tech hub in its “creative economy” drive, public and private investments into the start-up economy are at their height. The government has earmarked 180 trillion won ($166 billion) this year to foster a start-up ecosystem, new industries and markets with growth potential, while private venture capital funding passed 1.6 trillion won last year, according to data from the Korea Venture Capital Association. But foreign entrepreneurs are struggling wit

[Herald Interview] Inspired by his childhood memories, pianist Park Jong-hwa plays nostalgic and unforgettable traditional children’s lullabies on his new album and tour project “Nunaya.”Unveiled last month, the 11-track digital album features classical variations of some of the most widely-recognized folk melodies in Korea, such as “Mother, Sister (Ummaya Nunaya),” “Jackrabbit” and “Hometown Spring.” 　“You will be hard-pressed to find a Korean who does not recognize these titles,” said Park dur

Broadway actor Michael K. Lee has returned to Korea to reprise the role of Jesus Christ -- arguably one of the most daunting and burdensome roles to portray on stage -- in the ongoing Korean rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s globally regaled musical “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Although the Korean-American performer has played the role before, both in the United States and in Korea , he felt once again the burden of having to bring to life one of the world’s most iconic figures, which prompted him

BASEL, Switzerland – At Art Basel, the world’s biggest high-end art fair, top artworks were sold in the first hours of its VIP preview. This year, 284 leading galleries from 33 countries brought some of their best artworks for the six-day event last week, including the two-day exclusive VIP showing before the official kickoff on Thursday. Some of the most expensive, top-quality works are sold quickly to major collectors from all parts of the world.“It seems all the galleries brought very high-qu

Kumho Asiana Group, the parent company of South Korea's No. 2 air carrier, said Tuesday it will buy Kumho Buslines Co., its former intercity bus transportation arm, for 415 billion won (US$375.1 million), as it takes a step closer to restoring itself to the conglomerate it was before its liquidity crisis.   Kumho Terminal, a subsidiary of Kumho Asiana Group, will take over a 100 percent stake in Kumho Buslines from a private equity firm led by IBK Securities Co. and KStone Co., which currently o