Nancy Reagan, the devoted wife and trusted confidante to late president Ronald Reagan who after his death became the most ardent guardian of his political legacy, died Sunday. She was 94.The former first lady passed away at her home in Los Angeles from congestive heart failure, her spokeswoman Joanne Drake said.In this file photo, Nancy Reagan gestures as she looks at photographs during a photo opportunity at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California on March 17, 2010. (U

The ongoing dispute on opposition unity has shown that the two opposition party leaders -- Kim Chong-in of The Minjoo Party of Korea and Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party -- have distinctly different election strategies.　　Kim, a 75-year-old veteran politician who was scouted as relief pitcher for the feud-ridden party, has made it clear that he is ready to accept anything if only to achieve a significant number of parliamentary seats in the imminent April general elections.Ahn, on the oth

Astronaut Scott Kelly returned to Earth on Wednesday after an unprecedented year in space for NASA, landing in barren Kazakhstan with a Russian cosmonaut who shared his whole space station journey.Their Soyuz capsule parachuted onto the central Asian steppes and ended a science-rich mission at the International Space Station that began last March and was deemed a steppingstone to Mars. International Space Station crew member Scott Kelly of the U.S. shows a victory sign after landing near the tow

Analysts raise concern over Coupang’s aggressive investments

On the eve of Tuesday's crucial multi-state primaries, a sharp new divide erupted between Republicans who pledge to fall in line behind Donald Trump if he wins their party's nomination and others who insist they can never back the bombastic billionaire.The fissure could have major implications beyond the primaries, exposing the looming challenges in uniting the party, no matter who wins the nomination. (Bloomberg)Trump has won three of four early nominating contests, roiling a party that had ass

Republicans are refusing to hold a vote or hearings on any candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court nominated by President Barack Obama, complicating his efforts to seek a replacement for deceased conservative Antonin Scalia.And though Obama insists he‘ll put forward an “outstanding candidate” no matter what the Republican Party says, the White House is hard-pressed to offer a convincing scenario in which that person gets confirmed.Overnight, Obama’s nominee will become the face of well-financed, hi

As soon as the National Assembly speaker put a controversial antiterrorism bill to a vote late Tuesday, Rep. Kim Kwang-jin of The Minjoo Party of Korea stole the limelight, cracking the record for the longest filibuster, going five hours and 32 minutes. 　At 34, the 19th National Assembly’s youngest member took the podium at around 7:07 p.m., criticizing the bill at length before stepping down at 12:39 a.m. Until then, the title had been held by late President Kim Dae-jung, who laid out a speech

U.S. activist investor Paul Elliott Singer’s Samsung saga may not be over yet. Korea’s financial authorities are moving to seek a prosecutorial investigation into Elliott Associates, a $27 billion hedge fund run by Singer, for a suspected breach of a local disclosure rule regarding its purchase last year of a stake in Samsung Group’s construction unit. YohapThrough a 7.12 percent stake in Samsung C&T, the fund had mounted a high-profile and ultimately unsuccessful campaign to block its merger wi

  With the season for annual shareholders meetings of the nation’s conglomerates approaching, the limelight is on SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won once again. 　Two months ago, the business tycoon suffered a public backlash with his confession about an extramarital affair and a love child. This time, attention is being paid not to his personal life but to his return to the executive board of key affiliates of the nation’s third-largest conglomerate. 　One reason why the chairman’s move is drawing pu

Five years ago Christine Lagarde smashed through the glass ceiling at one of the world’s leading institutions, becoming the first woman to head the International Monetary Fund.International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde (Xinhua)Some had questioned her lack of credentials as an economist. But, as she plunged into the Greece crisis to prevent a meltdown of the eurozone, doubts were quickly swept aside.On Friday the French lawyer and former finance minister‘s achievements leadin

   NEW YORK -- Harper Lee, one of America's most celebrated novelists whose masterpiece about racial injustice "To Kill a Mockingbird" was read by millions, has died, her publisher said Friday. She was 89.   A spokeswoman for Harper Collins in New York said Lee passed away peacefully late Thursday. The Pulitzer-winning author shunned the spotlight and spent her final years living in seclusion in Monroeville, Alabama, where she was born.   "To Kill a Mockingbird" is considered one of the great cl

Prosecutors on Friday raided the local unit of Volkswagen’s office over allegations that the global automaker had not properly executed the recall orders on its emissions-rigged cars. The Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office said it confiscated computer hard drives and documents from Volkswagen Korea’s headquarters in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, as well as from the houses of high-ranking company officials in charge of product certification.Investigators procured data related to gas emissio

WASHINGTON -- Apple‘s challenge of a court order to unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino killers opens up a new front in the long-running battle between technology companies and the government over encryption.The standoff brings the sensitive issue, which has been at a stalemate in Congress, into the courts, and has abruptly shifted the policy debate on encryption. The Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in New York (AFP-Yonhap)A California magistrate Tuesday ordered Apple to provide “reas

Chung Yu-kyung’s recent promotion signals splitting control of retail giant

SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico (AFP) -- Pope Francis reached out to Mexico’s long-marginalized indigenous population on Monday, asking for forgiveness over their exclusion as he celebrated an open-air mass in native languages in impoverished Chiapas state. Pope Francis waves upon his arrival for a meeting with families at the Victor Manuel Reyna stadium in Tuxtla Gutierrez, southern Mexico on Monday. (AFP-Yonhap)While Chiapas is the country’s least Catholic state, tens of thousands of people