REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) ― An Icelandic volcano flung ash, smoke and steam kilometers into the air and dropped a thick layer of gray soot in an eruption far more forceful ― but likely far less disruptive ― than the one that grounded planes across Europe last year.The country’s main airport was closed Sunday and pilots were warned to steer clear of Iceland as areas close to the Grimsvotn volcano wer

RABAT, Morocco (AP) ― Moroccan police on Sunday spent hours chasing hundreds of pro-democracy activists through the streets of the capital in an effort to prevent any pro-reform demonstrations from taking place.Riot police armed with truncheons charged any attempts at protest gatherings, injuring some activists and hauling others off to waiting police trucks.Morocco’s Feb. 20 movement, which is ca

Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, one of the most acclaimed living French authors and the 2008 Nobel Prize winner, said literature is what connects people in today’s globalized world. He was speaking at a press conference Monday at Kyobo Bookstore in downtown Seoul, a day ahead of the opening of the third Seoul International Forum for Literature in Seoul.Le Clezio participated in the second forum in S

Contemporary collection of Whitney Museum of American Art to be showcased in Seoul in JuneAndy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jeff Koons… These names sound familiar now, but there was a time when American art was considered insignificant. Up until several decades ago, U.S. artists mostly relied on realistic paintings inspired by European art, and were overshadowed by the originals. After World War II,

VIENNA (AFP) ― Swarms of angels, flying horses and fantastic birds of paradise converged on Vienna’s neo-Gothic City Hall on Saturday for this year’s Life Ball.In line with this year’s motto ― “Spread the Wings of Tolerance” ― many of the guests to the 19th edition of one of the world’s biggest AIDS charity events let their imaginations take flight with their spectacularly colorful fancy dress.Amo

Hackers use SNS as the first step to email, bank account accessDETROIT ― Pam Aughe is never going back.After a year of using Facebook sporadically to keep up with family and friends ― two or three times a week, she says ― her account was hijacked by a scammer seeking to bilk her friends out of money.According to the alarming counterfeit messages, Aughe, 41, of Clarkston was stuck in Scotland. Robb

Korea famously had four teams in the last eight of the Asian Champions League in 2010 but that is not going to happen in 2011. Already, Jeju United has fallen by the wayside. Three other K-League clubs survived the group stage and have their round of 16 games this week. It is not a foregone conclusion that Jeonbuk Motors, FC Seoul and Suwon Bluewings will make the quarterfinal as they all have dif

The organizer of the Daegu World Championships said Monday that they are “confident” of hosting a successful athletics event this summer. More than 2,000 athletes, including thee-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt, will be competing at Korea’s first ever IAAF World Championships in Daegu, some 300 km southeast of Seoul.“We’re striving to make it one of the greatest athletics games in history,”

MBC Sports Plus announcer Song Ji-seonSong Ji-seon, an MBC Sports Plus announcer, has jumped from the 19th floor of her apartment building in southern Seoul Monday afternoon, a few weeks after stirring controversy over a suicide note on her Twitter, news reports said.Local media outlet News En said on Monday she was pronounced dead by 119 rescue staff at the scene, after jumping from her apartment

 Yim Jae-beom might pull out of the popular TV program “I Am a Singer” due to health reasons, a local entertainment news source reported Monday. Yim is expected to express his intention to quit at the pre-recording session of the program scheduled for later Monday and say goodbye to the TV audiences and his fans, according to the report. He may take part in the TV recording, but would not sing on

 South Korea’s consumer confidence index scored 51 in the first quarter of this year, marking the lowest since the first quarter of 2010, Nielson said Monday. The index figure appears to have been weakened by the rising inflation rate following unusual weather conditions and food-and-mouth disease outbreaks, the market research firm said. In the same period, global consumer confidence index rose t

(Yonhap News)A fire broke out at a building next to major fashion mall Migliore in downtown Seoul Monday afternoon.People were rushing to the rooftop of the building in Myeongdong, Seoul’s main shopping street.Smoke was seen rising from the building.