Albania's national elections Sunday were marred by violence after an exchange of gunfire wounded a candidate and killed a supporter of a rival party, tainting what had been a largely peaceful campaign and threatening to undermine the country's bid to join the European Union.The violence near a polling station, which drew condemnation from an EU official, added to the existing uncertainty surrounding the election. Though the leader of the main Socialist Party has claimed victory, it's unclear whe

Admitted leaker Edward Snowden took flight Sunday in evasion of U.S. authorities, seeking asylum in Ecuador and leaving the Obama administration scrambling to determine its next step in what became a game of diplomatic cat-and-mouse.The former National Security Agency contractor and CIA technician fled Hong Kong and arrived at the Moscow airport, where he planned to spend the night before boarding an Aeroflot flight to Cuba. Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said his government received

Daniel Russel, the nominee to become the United States‘ point man on East Asia, said Thursday he will actively pursue “the verifiable denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula. “North Korea presents, through its nuclear and missile programs, a serious threat to the U.S., to our allies and to the global non-proliferation regime,” Russel said during a confirmation hearing by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.“If confirmed, I will actively pursue the verifiable denuclerization of the Korean

Prosecutors on Friday raided the headquarters and offices of Woongjin Group as part of their investigation into allegations that several executives of the troubled mid-size conglomerate fraudulently issued commercial papers (CPs).The probe comes after the nation's securities regulator had reported the group's chairman Yoon Seok-keum, and four other executives to the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office for alleged unfair trading in early May.A team of investigators and prosecutors seized relevant d

South Korean stocks declined 1.49 percent Friday as the U.S. Federal Reserve chief's remark on its stimulus actions continued to weigh on investors' sentiment, analysts said. The local currency continued its slide against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 27.66 points to close at 1,822.83. Trading volume was low at 281.8 million shares worth 4.89 trillion won (US$4.24 billion) with losers far outpacing gainers 640 to 199. It marked the lowest level sinc

New York state hit Japan's largest bank Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi-UFJ with a $250 million fine Thursday for handling money transfers that violated sanctions on Iran as well as Sudan and Myanmar.The state's Department of Financial Services (DFS) said Mitsubishi-UFJ moved billions of dollars through its New York branch between 2002 and 2007 for state and private entities in Iran, Sudan and Myanmar, including entities on the US Treasury's blacklist.In that period banking services and money transfers

Apple Inc. has won a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung Electronics Co. in a Japanese court, one of dozens of legal battles around the world between the technology giants.The Tokyo District Court issued a partial verdict Friday in favor of Apple. Damages were not announced. The court said in a summary that further examination is needed to determine if Samsung must pay compensation, and if so, how much. A final verdict is expected later.Apple and Samsung are embroiled in similar battles

Cheong Wa Dae denied any role Friday in the National Intelligence Service's decision to show some lawmakers a 2007 inter-Korean summit transcript that reportedly confirms allegations that late former President Roh Moo-hyun made remarks seriously undermining the legitimacy of the sea border with North Korea.On Thursday, the NIS showed the confidential document to members of the parliamentary intelligence committee. After seeing the records, ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers claimed that Roh did make

The main opposition Democratic Party on Friday proposed disclosing the minutes of a controversial 2007 inter-Korean summit in exchange for conducting a parliamentary probe into a scandal surrounding the national spy agency.The proposal comes one day after the ruling Saenuri Party claimed that it has seen official government records backing up allegations that late President Roh Moo-hyun tried to nullify the de facto maritime border separating the two Koreas during his meeting with then North Kor