Several thousand supporters of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny rallied Monday in central Moscow as he disputed the results of mayoral polls in which he narrowly failed to push a Kremlin ally into a run-off, claiming fraud.Around 10,000 people gathered for a peaceful rally in the city centre after the Moscow election commission released the final tally showing that an ally of President Vladimir Putin, incumbent mayor Sergei Sobyanin, had scraped through in the first round with 51.3 perce

World News Sept. 10, 2013

An overcrowded bus plunged into a deep river canyon in northwestern Guatemala on Monday, killing at least 44 people commuting to the capital, officials said.Grieving families gathered outside a recreation center near the accident site where authorities set up an improvised morgue to identify the bodies of the passengers, including children and at least three babies. The spokesman for the volunteer fire department, Mario Cruz, said 46 people were taken to regional hospitals for treatment of injur

World News Sept. 10, 2013

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday on better-than-expected data from China, analyst said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 7.03 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,981.70 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor rising 0.81 percent and leading steelmaker POSCO adding 1.66 percent. Top chipmaker SK hyinx climbed 0.35 percent.Logistics shares also traded bullish, with Hyundai Glovis rising 0.25 per

Sept. 10, 2013

The feud between the Saenuri Party and Democratic Party is deepening over the intelligence agency’s alleged meddling in the election after the two parties ended a brief union to consent to the arrest of a leftist lawmaker charged with plotting a rebellion. Amid escalating wrangling between the two sides, the National Assembly has remained idle, though the 100-day regular session began on Sept. 2.As the DP continues the campaign to pressure President Park Geun-hye into meeting with its chairman R

Politics Sept. 9, 2013

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has a baby daughter named Ju-Ae, according to former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who labelled the supreme ruler of the isolated, authoritarian state a "good dad."Rodman, who calls Kim a friend and just returned from his second visit to Pyongyang, told the Guardian newspaper that he had spent a "relaxing time by the sea" with the leader's family," during his latest five-day trip."I held their baby Ju-Ae and spoke with (Kim's wife) as well. He's a good dad and has a bea

North Korea Sept. 9, 2013

Financial companies in South Korea will step up their identification process for online users in a broad move to prevent cyber fraud, which is becoming a rampant problem here, the financial regulator said Monday. All financial companies, including banks, insurers, brokerage firms and savings banks, must have their online users identify themselves through either a text message or an automated response system, starting from Sept. 26, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). An online

Technology Sept. 9, 2013

South Korean stocks traded 0.78 percent higher late Monday morning as foreign investors continued to scoop up local shares, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 15.25 points to 1,970.56 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares traded higher, with top chipmaker SK hynix rising 4.24 percent and handset maker LG Electronics adding 0.67 percent. Top player Samsung Electronics edged up 0.15 percent.Shipbuilders also gathered ground, with Hyundai Heavy Industries adding 3.25

Sept. 9, 2013

A senior U.S. envoy on the North Korean nuclear program was to arrive in South Korea later Monday for talks on the situation of the Korean Peninsula and to align the allies' policy on Pyongyang, officials here said.During a two-day visit to Seoul, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Glyn Davies was scheduled to meet his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yong and other senior officials here to assess the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and discuss ways to coordinate the al

North Korea Sept. 9, 2013

A sexual offense was reported every 25 minutes in South Korea in the first seven months of 2013, data showed Monday, ringing alarm bells over the safety of those vulnerable to sex crimes. According to the data by the National Police Agency and submitted to Rep. Kim Hyun of the main opposition Democratic Party, a total of 12,234 cases of rape and other types of sexual harassment were reported from January to July this year, which means an incident occurred every 25 minutes. The so-called crime wa

Social Affairs Sept. 9, 2013

Cigarette consumption is expected to reach a record low in the first half of this year due to increased regulations against smoking and heightened health awareness, according to industry data.The consistently falling consumption of cigarettes is likely to further dent the bottom lines of tobacco giants such as KT&G, Philip Morris and BAT, market analysts said.Korea’s aggregate sales amounted to 89.3 billion cigarettes in Korea last year, down almost 1 percent from 90 billion a year ago.KT&G, Kor

Sept. 9, 2013

Fresh off a resounding win over Haiti, South Korea will take on a depleted Croatia in their football friendly this week.The match will be held at Jeonju World Cup Stadium, about 240 kilometers south of Seoul, at 8 p.m. Tuesday. It will be the second meeting this year between the 56th-ranked South Korea and No. 8 Croatia.South Korea defeated Haiti 4-1 last Friday to snap its four-game winless streak under head coach Hong Myung-bo, who took over the national team in June. The four-goal outburst wa

Soccer Sept. 9, 2013