South Korea's jobless rate inched down in October from a month earlier but job creation slowed sharply, raising worries that the labor market conditions remain sluggish, a government report showed Wednesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, the jobless rate stood at 2.8 percent last month, down from 2.9 percent tallied in the previous month. The number of jobs added to the economy, however, decelerated markedly. About 396,000 jobs were added last month compared with a year earlier, do

The Seoul government aims to make the capital a smoke-free city by 2020 in line with the World Health Organization’s policy encouraging its members to reduce smoking.The Seoul office plans to ban smoking in all public and multi-purpose facilities, in addition to bus stops, and restaurants and bars whose size exceeds 150 square meters, officials said.Seoul made the announcement with Dr. Susan Mercado, team leader of the tobacco free initiative for WHO Western Pacific Regional Office, and Domilyn

Britain's media are in a meltdown and its government is gaffe-prone, so Oxford Dictionaries has chosen an apt Word of the Year: ``omnishambles.''Oxford University Press on Tuesday crowned the word _ defined as ``a situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, characterized by a string of blunders and miscalculations'' _ its top term of 2012.Each year Oxford University Press tracks how the English language is changing and chooses a word that best reflects the mood of the year. The publisher

A New Zealand middle school has banned hugging because of students repeatedly arriving late to classes.Teachers at Takapuna Normal Intermediate School suggested last week to students that they keep the hugs outside of the school, deputy principal Sue Cattell said.“It’s just a little thing that they’re doing. It got out of hand toward the end of morning tea time especially. There would be groups that got back to class 10 to 15 minutes late because they were going around making sure they’d hugged

Global investment banks (IBs) have forecast South Korea's central bank will likely keep its key policy rate steady through the first six months of next year as the economy regains steam at a gradual pace in the second half, a report showed Tuesday. Major IBs including Goldman Sachs expect the Bank of Korea (BOK) to freeze its key rate at 2.75 percent till the first half of 2013, citing their overall outlook that protracted global jitters are less likely to further aggravate, according to the rep

A team led by special counsel Lee Kwang-bum raided Cheong Wa Dae's Presidential Security Service (PSS) at a third-party place in connection with the presidential retirement home deal that critics say misused taxpayer money, officials said Monday.At a training institute of the country's financial regulator located near the presidential office in central Seoul, five members of the special counsel team began at 2:00 p.m. to search and seize relevant data and proof randomly submitted by the PSS, the

A 9-year-old Ukrainian boy spent nearly $4,000 on candy in several days, the money coming from his parents' savings hidden in a couch."The disappearance [of the money] was first spotted by his father. He opened the stash and saw it was empty," said Tatyana Kushnerova of the Konotop, Ukraine police department.After an argument, the son admitted taking the money during his autumn school holiday, $3,300 in U.S. cash and about 600 euros ($635), converting it to Ukrainian hryvnas with the help of an

Inbee Park, seeking a third victory of the year and trying to catch Stacy Lewis in the LPGA Player of the Year race, seized a two-shot lead at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational on Saturday.South Korea's Park had six birdies -- three on the front nine and three on the back -- in her six-under 66 for a 54-hole total of 15-under par 201 at the Guadalajara Country Club.She was two shots in front of American Cristie Kerr, who carded a 67 for 203. South Korea's So Yeon Ryu also posted a 67 for 204 and Ame