A Seoul appeals court on Wednesday dismissed a petition to retrieve lost inheritance by the family of a deceased Busan businessman whose assets they claimed were forcibly taken by late authoritarian leader Park Chung-hee five decades ago. Upholding a lower court's ruling, the Seoul High Court ruled against the six family members of Kim Ji-tae, the businessman and a two-term lawmaker in the 1950s, saying that Kim still had some freedom of decision over his assets after being coerced into donating

Social Affairs Oct. 16, 2013

South Korean stocks closed 0.31 percent lower Wednesday, weighed down by concerns that the U.S.might see its sovereign rating get downgraded on the partial government shutdown and a possible default, analysts said. The local currency rose slightly against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 6.35 points to finish at 2,034.61. Trading volume was light at 258 million shares worth 4.24 trillion won ($3.97 billion) with decliners outstripping gainers 483 to 3

Oct. 16, 2013

The St. Louis Cardinals moved within one win of a spot in the World Series by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 on Tuesday, taking a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series.Matt Holliday and pinch-hitter Shane Robinson connected for the first home runs of the series to give the Cardinals the same 3-1 series advantage they held this time last year, only to lose the last three games to San Francisco.Game 5 is Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, with Zack Greinke to start for L

Baseball Oct. 16, 2013

At least 17 people died as a powerful typhoon lashed Japan's Pacific coast Wednesday, media reports said, with the death toll likely to rise.Typhoon Wipha, dubbed the strongest in a decade, caused landslides that buried houses as it churned past an island just south of Tokyo.Public broadcaster NHK and Jiji Press reported at least 16 people had died and 51 were unaccounted for on Oshima, after houses were destroyed or swept away by a series of landslides and floods on the island, 120 kilometers s

World News Oct. 16, 2013

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday led by gains in large-cap financial shares amid the continuing U.S. debt ceiling negotiations, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 4.6 points, or 0.23 percent to 2,045.56 in the first 15 minutes of trading. KB Financial Group, the No. 2 lender, shot up 2.5 percent and Hana Financial Group, the third largest banking firm, soared 2.8 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,068.25 won against the U.S. dollar as

Oct. 16, 2013

Youth and heft triumphed at Britain's Booker Prize on Tuesday, as 28-year-old New Zealander Eleanor Catton won the fiction award for “The Luminaries,” an ambitious 832-page murder mystery set during a 19th-century gold rush.The choice should give heart to young authors of oversized tales. Catton is the youngest writer and only the second New Zealander to win the prestigious award _ and her epic novel is easily the longest Booker champion.Catton said after accepting the award that she didn't thin

Culture Oct. 16, 2013

The South Korean Navy has made a request to build three more Aegis destroyers to bolster defense against its Asian neighbors and North Korea amid increasing military tension due to territorial disputes, a military source said Wednesday. South Korea currently operates three 7,600-ton Aegis warships, but the Navy has sought to increase its fleet to cope with rising regional tension in light of Pyongyang's third nuclear test conducted earlier this year and ongoing territorial disputes between China

Defense Oct. 16, 2013

The U.S. government kept pressing North Korea Tuesday to free an American citizen after a trip there by his mother did not lead to his release.State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said "we remain gravely concerned about" the fate of Kenneth Bae, a 45-year-old Korean-American man held in the communist nation for almost a year."We continue to urge the North Korean authorities to grant him special amnesty and immediate release," she said at a press briefing. "I don't have any other updates."Bae's

North Korea Oct. 16, 2013

The funeral of Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke was called off at the last minute Tuesday by his lawyer after he said police prevented friends and family members from attending amid a noisy protest against the planned memorial.Shouting “murderer” and “executioner,” hundreds of people jeered as Priebke's coffin arrived for the funeral Mass to be celebrated by a splinter Catholic group opposed to the Vatican's outreach to Jews. But Priebke's lawyer, Paolo Giachini, told The Associated Press the fun

World News Oct. 16, 2013

A typhoon described as the "strongest in 10 years" closed in on Japan on Wednesday, on a path that will take it towards the precarious Fukushima nuclear power plant.Tokyo and surrounding areas were hit by violent winds and heavy rains in the early hours of Wednesday morning as Typhoon Wipha moved northeast off the coast of central Japan.Thousands were evacuated from their homes in the neighboring prefecture Chiba and power outages were reported.Record rainfall of around 118.5 millimeters per hou

World News Oct. 16, 2013

Eight crew members of a Chinese-owned cargo ship died after their vessel sank in rough seas off the South Korean harbour of Pohang, coastguard officials said Wednesday.The Panamanian-registered 8,461-tonne freighter, carrying a 19-member crew, sank late Tuesday during a storm as it was waiting to enter Pohang and unload its cargo."Eight bodies have been recovered, eight others survived, and three are still missing," a South Korean coastguard spokesman told AFP.China's state media reported that 1

Social Affairs Oct. 16, 2013

Senate leaders are optimistic about reaching an eleventh-hour bipartisan deal preventing a possible federal default and ending the partial government shutdown after Republican divisions forced House leaders to drop efforts to pass their own version. Pressured by the calendar, financial markets and public opinion polls, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell were hoping to shake hands on an agreement Wednesday and, if possible, hold votes later in the day. Driving t

World Business Oct. 16, 2013

South Korea's jobless rate fell in September from a month earlier and job creation accelerated, raising hopes that labor market conditions are improving, a government report showed Wednesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, the jobless rate stood at 2.7 percent last month, down from 3 percent in August. The jobless rate adjusted for inflation also fell to 3 percent from 3.1 percent over the cited period.Job creation is also picking up speed. The number of employed people was 25.47 mi

Oct. 16, 2013