US President Barack Obama and Britain's prime minister both believe a bomb may have downed a Russian plane in Egypt, with reports Friday suggesting their theory was based on intercepted communications.With concerns over security mounting, European airlines readied to bring home thousands of tourists from the Sinai peninsula resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, from where the crashed Russian plane took off last Saturday.But there were angry scenes at the airport as thousands of anxious Britons who had hope

World News Nov. 6, 2015

China will restart initial public offerings, state-run media reported Friday, after suspending them in July as part of a rescue package to rein in a rout that wiped trillions of dollars from market capitalisations.Chinese IPOs usually drain funds away from the stock market as the country's restrictive IPO system offers guaranteed profits for investors who are lucky enough to secure flotation shares.The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) suspended 28 already approved new issues in July

World Nov. 6, 2015

A large K-pop festival created by South Korea's leading content and media company CJ E&M opened in South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju Friday.It is the first time the annual K-pop convention is taking place in its home country. KCON launched in 2012 and has quickly developed to be North America's largest annual Korean cultural festival that incorporates K-pop concerts with a marketplace showcasing a variety of Korean products and trends. In April, KCON was held in Saitama, Japan, making

Nov. 6, 2015

Freedom of navigation and flight should be guaranteed in the disputed South China Sea, South Korea's Defense Minister Han Min-koo said in a regional security forum held on Wednesday in Malaysia where defense chiefs from the U.S. and China and Asian countries gathered together.Speaking to the general session of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), Han said "The stance of the Republic of Korea is that a peaceful resolution of the South China Sea dispute and the freedom of navigat

Foreign Affairs Nov. 4, 2015

North Korea has denied the entry of two South Koreans to the joint industrial complex in the North's border town of Kaesong, a unification ministry official here said Wednesday.The North verbally notified its decision on Tuesday to deny the two, including a vice chairman of the South Korea's management committee for the complex, the access, claiming that they oppose its stance and only represent the South Korean side, according to the official. The official said that the North's decision is in v

North Korea Nov. 4, 2015

The EU urged Volkswagen Wednesday to hurry up its investigation into the pollution-cheating scandal after revelations that the row may also involve petrol engines and not just diesel.The comments by the 28-nation bloc came as shares in embattled German auto giant took a renewed battering on the latest revelations."The commission invites VW to speed up its internal investigation," European Commission spokeswoman Lucia Caudet told a daily briefing."We need to clarify without delays what kind of CO

International Nov. 4, 2015

A Russian airliner crashed on Saturday in Egypt's restive Sinai Peninsula, the office of the prime minister said in a statement. A "Russian civilian plane... crashed in the central Sinai," the office of Prime Minister Sharif Ismail said in a statement. A senior aviation official said it was a charter flight operated by a Russian company and had on board 217 passengers and seven crew members. Communication with the aircraft was lost, he added. Sergei Lzvolsky, an official with the Russian aviatio

International Oct. 31, 2015

Pressure on China over its claims to most of the strategic South China Sea went up a couple of notches this week. First the U.S. sent a warship, in its most direct challenge yet to Beijing's artificial island building. Then, over Chinese objections, an international tribunal ruled it had jurisdiction in a case brought by the Philippines on maritime claims.Neither action appeared likely to stop China in its tracks, as it seeks to assert its control over resource-rich waters that it considers vita

International Oct. 31, 2015

The Indonesian parliament has approved the first batch of funds for joint development of a new South Korean fighter jet with stealth capabilities, government officials said Saturday, amid mounting questions here over the possibility of the very project.According to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Indonesian parliament approved a 1.07-trillion-Rupiah (US$78.6 million) budget Friday to be invested in South Korea's fighter jet development project, called KF-X.The money is th

Foreign Affairs Oct. 31, 2015

South Korean shares are expected to trade in a tight range next week as investors remain concerned over a possible U.S. rate increase, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,029.47 points on Friday, down 0.54 percent from last week.Earlier this week, the South Korean stock market gained ground on the back of upbeat data from China, the country's top trading partner.The market, however, later edged down as investors took a wait-and-see approach

Oct. 31, 2015

A newly proposed U.N. resolution on North Korea's human rights situation recommends the communist nation accede to the International Labor Organization and comply with all labor related pacts, U.N. sources said Friday.The European Union-proposed resolution, which has been submitted to the Third Committee of the U.N. General Assembly, calls for referring the North to the International Criminal Court for human rights abuses, just as last year's resolution did.But this year's resolution moved a ste

International Oct. 31, 2015