Greek President Karolos Papoulias will visit South Korea next week for talks with President Park Geun-hye about enhancing all-round cooperation, Park's office announced Wednesday.Papoulias, who will arrive Monday, will be the first Greek president ever to visit South Korea.The four-day trip inclues talks with Park set for Tuesday that are expected to center on expanding cooperation in trade and investment, shipbuilding and shipping, infrastructure, defense and tourism, presidential spokeswoman K

South Korean stocks inched up 0.31 percent on Wednesday as institutional investors scooped up local shares with telecommunication shares and shipbuilders rising, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.After trading in a narrow range, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 6.17 points to 2,028.81. Trading volume was moderate at 252.8 million shares worth 3.63 trillion won ($3.42 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 446 to 367."Foreign selling cont

A few days ago, I bought subway train tickets with my adopted youngest son, who’s 12 years old. After looking at them and fiddling with the change he murmured, “My birth mother may have touched these same coins.”He’s been missing his birth mother, who bore him and brought him into the world, even though he has never met her. He was expressing a bone-deep longing, which would hurt my wife’s heart if she heard him express it.Every person has a unique personality. Personality basically starts with

South Korea's economic activity inched up in October and November, compared with the third quarter on improving exports and marginal increases in consumption and facility investment, the central bank said Wednesday.Asia's fourth-largest economy has been on a modest recovery track since the fourth quarter of last year and the recovery momentum is seen as being further strengthened, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said in the report dubbed the BOK Golden Book.The BOK released the Korean version of the U.S

China's declaration of its air control zone over the East China Sea has come under strain to counter the "aggressiveness of Japan" amid an increasingly acrimonious dispute over a set of islands claimed by the two nations, a Chinese expert said Wednesday. The territorial dispute between China and Japan has been escalating since China announced Saturday its Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the sea that partly overlaps those of South Korea and Japan. Defying the Chinese move, the U.S. on

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Tuesday stood by his warning that his country was not ready to sign a key agreement with the European Union, but said he would still attend a summit at which the signing was to take place for further talks.Kiev announced last week it was halting efforts to integrate with the European Union, saying the economy could not afford to sacrifice trade with Russia and would rather focus on restoring ties with Moscow. But EU officials have remained hopeful that he

Israel has resolved a diplomatic spat with the European Union over a funding ban on institutions operating in occupied areas claimed by the Palestinians, Israeli officials said Tuesday.The dispute had shaken Israel's relations with Europe, its biggest trading partner, and drawn attention to Israel's much-maligned policy of building settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians claim both areas, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as parts of a future independent state

A sailboat passing through the southern Bahamas islands with about 150 Haitian migrants on board capsized after running aground, killing up to 30 people and leaving the rest clinging to the vessel for hours, authorities said Tuesday.The exact death toll remained uncertain. Authorities on the scene confirmed at least 20 dead and determined the number could reach 30 based on accounts from survivors, said Lt. Origin Deleveaux, a Royal Bahamas Defense Force spokesman. The remains of five victims had

Days after China asserted greater military control over a swath of the East China Sea to bolster claims to a cluster of disputed islands, the U.S. defied the move Tuesday as it flew two B-52 bombers through the area. The U.S. said what it described as a training mission was not flown to respond to China's latest military maneuver, yet the dramatic flights made clear that the U.S. will not recognize the new territorial claims that Beijing laid out over the weekend. The two unarmed U.S. B-52 bombe

Business sentiment among local manufacturers declined to the lowest in three months in December amid lingering economic uncertainty, the central bank said Wednesday.The index that gauges manufacturers' outlook on business conditions reached 78 for December, down from a 17-month high of 83 recorded for November, according to a monthly survey from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures manufacturers' expectations for the coming month.The December data marked the lowest level since 77 tallied

EL SEGUNDO, California (AP) -- The Los Angeles Lakers signed Kobe Bryant to a two-year contract extension Monday, securing the fourth-leading scorer in NBA history into his 20th season with the franchise.Bryant hasn‘t played this season while recovering from surgery on his torn Achilles tendon in April, but the Lakers didn’t wait to renew their commitment to the five-time NBA champion before he got anywhere close to the free-agent market next summer.Bryant inked the deal with owner Jim Buss and