Prosecutors said Tuesday they have indicted a local accounting firm and its employees on charges of writing false reports for cash-strapped Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME).　The prosecution said three employees at Deloitte Anjin LLC are suspected of providing favorable reports for the ailing shipyard in 2013 and 2014 while being aware that the company was cooking its books.　Another former employee at the firm was indicted last month over similar allegations.　Prosecutors said t

　CAIRO (AFP) -- A bomb blast killed at least 25 worshippers during Sunday mass inside a Cairo church near the seat of the Coptic pope who heads Egypt‘s Christian minority, state media said.　The explosion ripped through the church at around 10:00 am (0800 GMT), Egyptian security officials said.　It was the deadliest suspected attack on the country’s beleaguered Christian minority in recent memory.　The blast in the church adjacent to Saint Mark‘s Coptic Cathedral in the Abbasiya neighbourhood shatt

GENEVA (AFP) -- Regular rail service through the world‘s longest tunnel began on Sunday, carrying passengers deep under the Swiss Alps from Zurich to Lugano. 　The famed Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT) had a ceremonial opening in June, attracting European leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande for its maiden ride. 　The Swiss national rail service (SBB) had announced that Sunday would mark the start of normal commercial traffic through the 57-kilometre (35-m

BEIJING (AP) -- China patrolled the waters of a series of hotly contested islands Sunday, a day after staging a flyover of two strategically important waterways near Taiwan and Japan.　 　Chinese government statements said both weekend exercises were routine. The exercises come shortly after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen spoke to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, in a call strongly denounced by China, which considers Taiwan to be Chinese territory. 　 　At least 10 Chinese planes on Saturday fle

For South Korean farmer Lee Hyo-shin, demanding the ouster of President Park Geun-hye was a slow and grueling 10-day journey atop a vehicle unable to move faster than 20 kilometers (12 miles) per hour. He was one of hundreds of thousands of South Koreans who marched on Saturday in streets near Seoul's presidential palace, where Park is bracing for what's likely to be a bitter and prolonged fight against lawmakers who may attempt to impeach her as early as next week. Police said 260,000 people to

HAVANA (AFP) - Cuba declared nine days of public mourning Saturday for its late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, and said his ashes will be buried at a ceremony on December 4 in Santiago de Cuba.From November 26 to December 4, "public activities and shows will cease, the national flag will fly at half mast on public buildings and military installations," a statement from the state executive said.Castro's ashes will be buried in the historic southeastern city of Santiago on December 4 after a f

HONG KONG (AFP) - A huge rainbow flag led thousands through the streets of Hong Kong Saturday as the city's LGBT community braved the rain and wind to call for equality at its annual pride parade.Participants dressed for this year's "naughty green" theme sang and danced through downtown Hong Kong, which has been criticised for lagging behind other Asian hubs in terms of LGBT rights.Organisers said 6,800 people took part, while police put the figure at 2,500. Attendees included city lawmakers, wh

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Fidel Castro, the socialist Cuban icon who has died aged 90, as the "symbol of an era," the Kremlin said in a statement Saturday. "The name of this distinguished statesman is rightly considered the symbol of an era in modern world history," Putin said in a telegram to Cuban President Raul Castro cited by the Kremlin. "Fidel Castro was a sincere and reliable friend of Russia."Putin added that Castro has managed to build a "free and independe

BEIJING (AP) -- Chinese authorities detained 13 people over the collapse of scaffolding at a power plant construction site that killed 74 workers, as a preliminary investigation zeroed in on how the building company had rushed the job.Most of the dead had been working on the interior concrete wall of a massive circular cooling tower 70 meters (230 feet) up when the scaffolding collapsed Thursday morning, resulting in one of China's most serious industrial accidents in years. In a statement issue

South Korea has solidified its No. 3 place in the world's new official baseball rankings, narrowing the gap with the United States, according to a related global organization on Saturday.The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) updated the list based on the four-year performances through 2016 of 70 countries' entire national teams from U-12 to professional.South Korea maintained its third place but "advanced within striking distance of the No. 2 spot, closing the distance behind the U.S.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted a statement expressing "grave concerns" over North Korea's continued missile launches without forewarnings, the foreign ministry said Saturday. The statement was issued by the 97th session of IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) held in London for five days through Friday.South Korea attended the session as one of IMO's 171 member states.North Korea is also a member."The Maritime Safety Committee ... received a report on numerous missile