South Korean stocks turned lower after starting higher on Friday, led by losses in insurers and oil refiners, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 2.16 points, or 0.11 percent, to 1,881.81 in the first 15 minutes of trading.   Leading nonlife insurer Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance fell 1.6 percent, with SK Innovation, a major oil refiner, dipping 1.4 percent.    But top-listed firms went up. Samsung Electronics climbed 1.2 percent, and Hyundai Motor r

Officials in Kenya investigating the massive airport fire that gutted the arrival hall at Nairobi's main airport said Thursday that first responders looted  electronics, a bank and an ATM during and after the blaze. The officials said first responders stole electronics and money from an ATM. Another official said that police guarding the site overnight attempted to a take a safe from a bank in the burned-out arrivals hall, which also houses several foreign currency exchange shops.   All four off

A senior North Korean foreign ministry official had a rare meeting with Joel Wit, a former State Department official, in Geneva early this week, a diplomatic source here said Thursday.   An Myong-hun, deputy director-general of North Korea's foreign ministry, led the nation's delegation to a "Track II" meeting with a group of American academics headed by Wit, according to the source.   Wit, a visiting scholar at the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced Internatio

 Palestinian and Israeli negotiators will resume talks on ending their long-standing conflict on August 14 in Jerusalem, the US State Department said Thursday.   The talks restarted last month in Washington under US mediation, and both sides agreed to try to resolve their differences within nine months.   State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters that US mediator Martin Indyk would attend the next round of talks, which will be followed by a meeting in Jericho.   She added that US Sec

People earning more than 100 million won (US$89,847) a year will see their effective tax rate rise faster than other income brackets next year under the government's latest tax code overhaul plan, the finance ministry said Friday.   The ministry unveiled its 2013 tax code overhaul proposal on Thursday in which it plans to phase out most of the income deduction programs and replace them with tax deductions in a bid to provide more benefits to low- and middle-income earners.   The government estim

North Korea's food procurement effort has been inadequate to cover the expected shortfall for this year, a media report based on data provided by an international agriculture agency said Friday.   The quarterly report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations showed Pyongyang has been able to secure 290,600 tons of various grains from abroad from November 2012 through June of this year, the Voice of America (VOA) said.   The Washington-based media outlet said the total is eq

Daum Communications Corp., the operator of South Korea's second-most visited portal, said Friday its second-quarter profit sank 23 percent on declines in its display advertising.Net profit came to 178 billion won (US$160 million) in the April-June period, compared with a profit of 230 billion won a year earlier, Daum said in a regulatory filing.Revenue gained 15.2 percent on-year to 127 billion won in the second quarter, while operating profit dropped 22.5 percent to 243 billion won over the cit

South Korean stocks traded 0.53 percent higher late Thursday morning, led by gains in state-run companies and shipyards, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shot up 9.93 points to 1,888.26 as of 11:20 a.m.   The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. soared nearly 5 percent, with Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's biggest shipyard, jumping more than 3 percent.   In contrast, telecom shares fell. Top player SK Telecom lost 1 percent, and LG Uplus slumped 3.5

South Korea's health authority said Sunday it has confirmed 63 patients have been infected with a super bacterial infection that cannot be easily treated by antibiotics, raising concerns over a possible contagion.   The number of patients infected with OXA-232-type carbapenemase-producing enterobacteriaceae (CPE), also known as a super bacteria, came to 63 at 13 local hospitals as of Thursday, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.   It marked the first time for this

스스로 항생제에 반응하지 않을 뿐 아니라 몸 속에서 다른 균에도 내성을 전달할 수 있는 새로운 형태의 항생제 내성균이 국내 10 여개 병원에서 집단적으로 발견됐다.    현재 이 균에 감염된 환자만 60여명에 이르는 상황으로, 보건 당국이 서둘러 환자 격리와 전파 차단 작업에 들어갔다.    4일 질병관리본부에 따르면 국립보건연구원과 함께 지난 4월 이후 200병상 이상 의료기관에 대해 항생제 내성균 현장 점검을 진행하던 중 B병원 중환자실 환자 31명 가운데 23명에서 '카바페넴내성 장내세균(CRE)'을 확인했다.    CRE는 장 속 세균류 가운데 카바페넴계열 항생제에 내성을 가진 균주를 통틀어 이르는 것이다.    더구나 이번 CRE를 정밀 분석한 결과, 이전에 국내에서 보고된 적이 없는  종류의 '카바페넴계열 항생제 분해 효소 생성 장내세균(CPE)'이었다. CPE는 CRE  중에서도 항생제를 직접 분해할 수 있는 효소를 생성하는 것들로, 다른 균주에까지 내성을 전달하는 능력

South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho's box office hit "Snowpiercer" drew more than 2.5 million viewers in the first four days of its opening, a market tracker said Sunday.   The film, starring top Korean actor Song Kang-ho alongside Hollywood thespians Chris Evans, Ed Harris and Tilda Swinton, attracted more than 840,000 viewers on Saturday, bringing the accumulated total to 2,506,969, according to the Korean Film Council.   The number of local cinemas showing the movie also increased from 848 t

 봉준호 감독의 '설국열차'가 5일 만에 330만 관객을 모으며 흥행가도를 질주하고 있다.5일 영화진흥위원회 영화관입장권 통합전산망에 따르면 '설국열차'는 지난 2-4 일 각각 62만8천989명, 84만4천588명, 78만6천612명을 모아 3일간 총 226만189명(매 출액 점유율 50.5%)을 기록했다. 누적관객수는 329만7천566명이다.개봉 첫날 848개였던 상영관 수는 4일 1천127개로 늘었다.하정우 주연의 '더 테러 라이브'는 3일간 전국 742개 관에서 119만5천345명(26.6%)을 모아 '설국열차'의 뒤를 따랐다. 개봉 5일간 누적관객수는 183만6천450명으로 , 200만 관객 돌파를 눈앞에 두고 있다.방학을 맞아 애니메이션도 강세를 보였다. 할리우드 애니메이션 '터보'가 515개 관에서 35만5천861명(7.6%)을 모아 3위에 올랐다. 누적관객수는 138만2천961명이다.지난 1일 개봉한 '개구쟁이 스머프 2'도 478개 관에서 29만3천892명(6.0%)을

South Korean pharmaceutical companies are looking to overseas markets in order to seek new profit engines, industry sources said Sunday.   According to data by the Korea Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, the combined exports of local drug makers rose 46.7 percent on-year to 1.37 trillion won (US$1.2 billion) in 2012, compared with 930 billion won in 2011, surpassing the 1-trillion mark for the first time.   The industry sources attributed the rise in the drug makers' exports to the gover

미국 버락 오바마 행정부는  3일(현지시간) 애플의 구형 스마트폰 제품 등에 대해 수입을 금지한  국제무역위원회(ITC)의 결정에 거부권을 행사했다.    마이클 프로먼 무역대표부(USTR) 대표는 이날 어빙 윌리엄슨 ITC 위원장에게 보낸 서한에서 "무역정책실무협의회(TPSC), 무역정책검토그룹(TPRG), 관련 당국 및 당사자들과의 심도있는 협의를 거친 결과 ITC의 수입금지 결정을 승인하지 않기로  결정했다"고 밝혔다.    프로먼 대표는 그러면서 "이번 결정은 미국 경제의 경쟁 여건에 미칠 영향과 미국 소비자들에게 미칠 영향 등 다양한 정책적 고려에 대한 검토 내용을 기반으로 한 것"이라고 설명했다.    그는 특히 준사법적 독립기구인 ITC의 권고를 거부한 데 대한 부담을 감안한 듯"이번 정책결정은 ITC의 결정이나 분석에 대한 동의나 비판은 아니다"면서 "또 특허 보유권자가 구제방법을 찾을 수 없다는 것을 의미하는 것이 아니며, 법원을 통해 권리를 주장할 수 있다"고 강조

김정은 북한 국방위원회  제1위원장이 정몽헌 전 회장 10주기 추모식 참석차 방북한 현정은 현대그룹 회장에게  구두친서를 전달했다.    김정은이 남측 인사에게 친서를 전달한 것은 이번이 처음이다.    정 전 회장 10주기 추모식을 위해 3일 오전 방북했다가 오후에 돌아온 현 회장은 "추모식에 참석한 북측의 원동연 조선아시아태평양평화위원회 부위원장으로부터 정몽헌 전 회장을 추모하는 김정은 제1비서의 구두 친서를 전달받았다"고 밝혔다.    현 회장은 "김 제1비서의 구두 친서는 '정몽헌 전 회장의 명복을 빌며 아울러 현정은 회장을 비롯한 정몽헌 선생의 가족과 현대그룹의 모든 일이 잘되길  바란다'는 내용이었다"고 설명했다.    구두친서에 명시적인 정치적 메시지는 없었지만 김정은 체제의 대남정책 방향을 보여준 것이란 평가가 나온다.    특히 북한이 우리 정부의 사실상 최후통첩 성격의 개성공단 회담 '마지막 제안'에 일주일이 다 되도록 침묵하고 있는 가운데 '김정은 친서'를 전달했

The Barack Obama administration on Saturday overruled a ban on the sale of some of Apple Inc's products, upsetting its South Korean rival Samsung Electronics Co.    The decision represents a new twist in the drawn-out patent war between the two firms.  The U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman announced that he has decided to veto the ban imposed in June by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), an independent federal agency.  "After extensive consultations with the agencies of the Tr

Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun said Saturday that she received a personal letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during a one-day visit to the communist nation to hold a memorial service for her late husband.   In the letter, Kim said he prays for the soul of the late Hyundai Chairman Chung Mong-hun and wished the South Korean business group all the best, Hyun told reporters after returning from the Mount Kumgang resort just north of the inter-Korean border.   Hyun did not meet Kim

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) proposed talks with President Park Geun-hye on Saturday as part of efforts to resolve the political stalemate over a parliamentary probe into the spy agency's alleged meddling in last year's presidential election.   "In order to make a breakthrough in the political deadlock, the president and the chief of the main opposition party should get together," Rep. Kim Han-gil, the DP chairman, told Yonhap News Agency. "Who will be able to resolve the current si

A hand grenade held by a recently enlisted soldier exploded at a guard post near the border with North Korea on Saturday, instantly killing the soldier and seriously wounding his platoon leader, military and police officials said Saturday.   The explosion occurred at around 5:05 a.m. when the 21-year-old private, identified by his surname Choe, and his platoon leader were inside the post just south of the western section of the Demilitarized Zone, according to officials.   Choe died at the scene

South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers clinched his 10th win in his rookie Major League Baseball (MLB) season on Friday, becoming the first South Korean player in the big league to achieve the landmark in his debut season.   The 26-year-old left-hander pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowed two runs and 11 hits, and struck out six batters against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Dodgers claimed a 6-2 victory against the Cubs.   Ryu earned his first victory in Major League Bas