A stash of art uncovered in a Munich apartment in 2012 included works that were previously unknown, among them a self-portrait by Otto Dix and a Chagall gouache, said Meike Hoffmann, an art historian investigating the hoard. The cache of 1,400 paintings, lithographs, drawings and prints was discovered by authorities investigating Cornelius Gurlitt on suspicion of tax evasion. It included works by Max Beckmann, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Oskar Kokoschka, Franz Marc, Pierre Auguste Renoir and Ma

World News Nov. 5, 2013

India on Tuesday launched its first spacecraft bound for Mars, a complex mission that it hopes will demonstrate and advance technologies for space travel.Hundreds of people watched the rocket carrying the Mars spacecraft take off from the east-coast island of Shriharikota and streak across the sky. Many more across the country watched live TV broadcasts provided by the Indian Space and Research Organization.The 1,350-kilogram Mangalyaan orbiter was headed first into an elliptical orbit around Ea

World News Nov. 5, 2013

Five people including a Philippine tourist were killed and 38 were injured after a vehicle ploughed into crowds in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on Monday and caught fire, police said.The blaze sent clouds of smoke billowing into the air near a giant portrait of Mao Zedong that hangs at one end of the square, the site of pro-democracy protests in 1989 which were brutally crushed by the authorities.Witnesses and reports said the SUV vehicle drove along the pavement outside the Forbidden City, the fo

World News Oct. 28, 2013

Pregnancy test kits will be available at convenience stores and supermarkets, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on Monday.The ministry said that under a revised law, pregnancy test kits have been reclassified as medical equipment, and can thus be distributed and sold at authorized stores, including convenience stores and large supermarkets. The revised act will go into effect next year after a trial period starting Nov. 13, the ministry said.By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)

Social Affairs Oct. 28, 2013

Six South Koreans recently repatriated from North Korea had sneaked into the North in search of better lives but ended up detained for up to 45 months for illegal entry, Seoul officials said Monday.South Koreans defecting to impoverished, totalitarian North Korea are rare. In contrast, more than 25,000 North Koreans have fled to the South for political and economic reasons since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The two Koreas bar ordinary citizens from freely traveling across their mutual bord

North Korea Oct. 28, 2013

South Korea is moving to provide incentives to foreign investors who create new jobs here, the government said Thursday.Under the plan approved at a meeting of the state committee on foreign investment, the government will soon revise its incentive system for foreign investors to provide additional benefits to those creating more jobs, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Currently, foreign-invested areas are designated a foreign investment district, which leads to various ben

Sept. 26, 2013

 North Korea lashed out at South Korea on Thursday for shooting and killing a man earlier this month who tried to defect to the communist nation. The South Korean man, 47, identified by his surname Nam, was shot dead on Sept. 16 while trying to swim across a border river to North Korea after ignoring warnings from border guards to turn back. Officials said the guards acted in accordance with guidelines. The North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea denounced the killing.  "The (S

North Korea Sept. 26, 2013

 South and North Korea ended working-level talks inconclusively Thursday after failing to resolve differences on how to protect the rights of South Korean workers at the inter-Korean factory park in Gaeseong, an official said.   The meeting at the Gaeseong complex touched on issues related to legal and administrative matters governing the treatment of South Koreans when they are detained for breaking laws while working at the zone.   "Discussions will take time because a lot of legal problems ar

North Korea Sept. 26, 2013

 North Korean on Saturday stressed that ongoing inter-Korean talks should not be used as a bargaining chip and countries with vested interest on the Korean Peninsula must not play along with the hostile policies being pursued by the United States.  In an article carried by the Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, it said the time has long past when the two sides vied for selfish goals while engaging in talks. The article also said that it is important that political lea

North Korea Aug. 31, 2013

 North Korea is engaged in major construction at its long-range rocket launch facility along its west coast, a U.S. think tank said Saturday, citing recent satellite imagery.   According to 38 North, an analysis program of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, construction work may be underway at the Tongchang-ri launch site.   After initial analysis on photos taken on Sunday it claimed there were six construction sites at the location, with the most noteworthy at a 45-meter by 6

North Korea Aug. 31, 2013

 An 18-year-old man was convicted of murder in the shooting of a baby who was riding in a stroller alongside his mom in a town in coastal Georgia. Jurors deliberated about two hours before finding De'Marquise Elkins guilty of 11 counts, including two counts of felony murder and one count of malice murder in the March 21 killing of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago in Brunswick. The man's mother, Karimah Elkins, was on trial alongside him and was found guilty of tampering with evidence but acquitted

International Aug. 31, 2013