South Korean stocks closed almost flat on Friday, amid expectations that the U.S. may hold off squeezing the size of monetary expansion, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 0.95 points, or 0.05 percent, to finish at 2,001.05. Trading volume was moderate of 390.1 million shares worth 5.27 trillion won ($4.68 billion) but decliners outnumbered gainers 504 to 327. "Hopes that the Fed will delay winding down i

May 31, 2013

A female Army officer was found dead on Friday with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, military officials said, noting investigations are underway to find the exact cause of the incident.The 30-year-old Army captain, surnamed Hong, was found dead inside her car by her colleagues at 8:10 a.m. in her unit in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, with a gunshot wound in the neck, a senior Army official said, asking customary anonymity. A K-1 rifle and its bullet shell were found inside the car that was

Social Affairs May 31, 2013

A Chinese newborn who was rescued from a sewer pipe has been released to his family and his mother is unlikely to face criminal charges because authorities concluded he fell into the toilet after his birth accidentally, local officials and media reports said.The baby was released from a hospital to his maternal grandparents late Wednesday, while his 22-year-old mother remains under medical care, the state-run Jinhua Evening News reported, in an account confirmed Thursday by a local police offici

World News May 31, 2013

Japan has suspended some imports of U.S. wheat after a genetically engineered version of the grain was found on a U.S. farm.The Agriculture Department announced the discovery of the modified wheat on Wednesday. No genetically engineered wheat has been approved for U.S. farming.Japan is one of the largest export markets for U.S. wheat growers. Katsuhiro Saka, a counselor at the Japanese Embassy in Washington, said Thursday that Japan had canceled orders of western white wheat from the Pacific Nor

World Business May 31, 2013

A brilliant third quarter by LeBron James and the Miami Heat turned the game around and lifted the hosts to a 90-79 win over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday, taking a 3-2 lead in the NBA Eastern Conference finals.James scored 16 of his 30 points in the third, helping to turn a six-point deficit into a 14-point lead and put the Heat within one win of a third-straight trip to the NBA Finals.“That's what I came here for, to be able to compete for a championship each and every year,” James said. “I'm

More Sports May 31, 2013

한국시간으로 내일 새벽에 지구 근처를 지나갈 것으로 예상되는 소행성 주위를 마치 위성처럼 공전하는 또 다른 작은 소행성이 있는 것으로 알려졌다.미 항공우주국 (나사:NASA)의 제트추진 연구소 (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)가 소행성 1998 QE2의 레이더 이미지를 분석한 결과 약 2.7킬로미터의 직경을 가진 소행성 주위를 600미터 정도 직경의 다른 소행성이 공전하고 있다고 한다.이 소행성은 지구와 약 579만 킬로미터 거리 -- 지구와 달 사이 거리의 15배 -- 를 두고 한국시간으로 새벽 5시 59분쯤에 지나칠 전망이다.지구 근처에 있는 직경 약 200미터 이상 크기의 소행성 중 이렇게 쌍을 이루고 있는 소행성은 약 16% 정도인 것으로 알려졌다. (코리아헤럴드) <관련 영문 기사>Asteroid approaching for Earth fly-by found to have its own 'moon' An asteroid that will pass by Ear

한국어판 May 31, 2013

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Friday, buoyed by expectations that the U.S. will hold off withdrawing its quantitative easing (QE) due to dim economic data, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shot up 12.91 points, or 0.65 percent to 2,013.01 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Blue-chip tech shares drove up the main index, with top-cap Samsung Electronics gaining 0.8 percent and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor moving up 0.9 percent. U.S. markets ga

May 31, 2013

A suspicious letter mailed to the White House was similar to two threatening, poison-laced letters on the gun control debate sent to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one of the most potent advocates of stricter gun laws in the U.S., officials said Thursday.The Secret Service said the letter was addressed to President Barack Obama and was intercepted by a White House mail screening facility. Two similar letters postmarked in Louisiana and sent to Bloomberg in New York and his gun control group i

World News May 31, 2013

The U.S. economy grew at a modest 2.4 percent annual rate from January through March, slightly slower than initially estimated. Consumer spending was stronger than first thought, but businesses restocked more slowly and state and local government spending cuts were deeper.The Commerce Department said Thursday that economic growth in the first quarter was only marginally below the 2.5 percent annual rate the government had estimated last month. That's still much faster than the 0.4 percent growth

World Business May 31, 2013

Japan's industrial production picked up in April with a 1.7 percent rise over a month earlier, official data showed Friday, as Tokyo works to stoke growth in the world's third-largest economy.In a statement, the economy ministry said the month-on-month rise was evidence that "industrial production shows signs of picking up at a moderate pace".However a survey of manufacturers released with the data showed producers were cautious, predicting that factory output for May would be flat and then fall

World Business May 31, 2013

The government said Friday that it has strengthened its inspection of U.S. wheat imports following the discovery of unapproved genetically modified wheat in Oregon.Currently, the country inspects a 1-kilogram sample from each shipment of U.S. wheat, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.Starting Friday, the government plans to test additional samples of 1 kilogram from each container of U.S. wheat, it said.The move comes one day after the U.S. Animal and Plant Health I

May 31, 2013

A perfectly preserved woolly mammoth carcass with liquid blood has been found on a remote Arctic island, fueling hopes of cloning the Ice Age animal, Russian scientists said Thursday.The carcass was in such good shape because its lower part was stuck in pure ice, said Semyon Grigoryev, the head of the Mammoth Museum, who led the expedition into the Lyakhovsky Islands off the Siberian coast.“The blood is very dark, it was found in ice cavities bellow the belly and when we broke these cavities wit

Technology May 31, 2013

Astronauts who travel on future missions to Mars would likely be exposed to their lifetime limit of radiation during the trip, not to mention time spent on the Red Planet, scientists said Thursday.The measurements were made aboard the Mars Science Laboratory, an unmanned NASA rover and mobile lab that set off for Mars in 2011 before landing 253 days later in August 2012, said the report in the US journal Science."In terms of accumulated dose, it's like getting a whole-body CT scan once every fiv

Technology May 31, 2013