Investigators have alleged that the wife of fugitive Yoo Byung-eun, the owner of the sunken ferry Sewol, is hiding out with her oldest son in the southern part of the nation, according to prosecutors on Thursday.The Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office said it has recently put Kwon Yoon-ja on the nation’s most wanted list, which already contains Yoo and their son, Dae-kyun.Kwon is a daughter of the late pastor Kwon Shin-chan, who reportedly created the Salvation Sect with Yoo Byung-eun, his son-

BEIRUT (AFP) -- New clashes have erupted in eastern Syria between rebels seeking President Bashar al-Assad's ouster and jihadists that have captured swathes of territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitor said Tuesday.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday night's fighting broke out when the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant "tried to push an advance" in the village of Basira, in eastern Deir Ezzor province close to Iraq.Blasts went off as ISIL militants targeted the rebel brigades

KIEV (AFP) -- A Russian state television reporter died of his wounds after being rushed to hospital in Ukraine's restive eastern region of Lugansk, the hospital's chief doctor told AFP."He was unconscious when he arrived and died on his way to the operating room," Lugansk District Clinical Hospital doctor Fedir Solyanyk said by telephone.The doctor said Igor Kornelyuk, a reporter with the Russian state media group VGTRK, received serious stomach wounds after being hit by shrapnel from what appea

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is looking to create the largest marine preserve in the world by protecting a massive stretch of the Pacific Ocean from drilling, fishing and other actions that could threaten wildlife, the White House said.Aiming to protect marine wildlife, Obama will also direct the government to create a program to deter illegal fishing. The executive steps come as Obama is searching for ways to leave his second-term mark on the environment despite opposition from man

NAIROBI (AFP) -- Kenya's top Muslim leaders warned Tuesday that Islamist attacks and a harsh government response risked dividing the country along ethnic and religious lines that could trigger a repeat of the deadly post-election violence six years ago."The continued violence risks tearing the country apart ... while little has come from the government to address these concerns," Abdullahi Abdi, chairman of the National Muslim Leaders Forum, told reporters.At least 15 people were reported to hav

RAMADI, Iraq (AFP) -- Gunmen took control Tuesday of Al-Qaim, the Iraqi side of a border crossing with Syria, after security forces withdrew, police and army officers said.The gunmen were loyal to the rebel Free Syrian Army and Al-Qaeda's Syrian  franchise Al-Nusra Front, which already controlled the Syrian side of the crossing.Al-Qaim is one of three official crossings from Iraq into Syria.One at Rabia to the north was abandoned by Iraqi forces last week during a major offensive by Sunni milita

Nexen Tire Corp., South Korea's smallest tiremaker, said Tuesday that it inked a deal to build a new plant in the Czech Republic.The confirmation comes after the company had hinted for some time that it was reviewing various options to build its second overseas factory in an East European country."A deal has been reached for the building of the Czech plant, but it is too early to go into details," said a corporate source who declined to be identified.The insider, however, said Czech Prime Minist

Reversing an earlier position, the South Korean government said Tuesday that it is "impossible" to form joint teams with North Korea for the upcoming Asian Games, given tight schedules and current inter-Korean relations.Last month, North Korea announced its plan to join the 2014 Asian Games to be held in the metropolitan city of Incheon, just west of Seoul, from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.If the North participates in the event, it will be the communist country's second Asian Games appearance in South Ko

A former follower of fugitive Yoo Byung-eun alleged on Tuesday that the owner of the sunken ferry Sewol has already been smuggled abroad.Chung Dong-seob, who identified himself as an ex-devotee of the Salvation Sect that is reportedly led by Yoo, said in an interview with a TV news channel that he assumes the wanted business tycoon is not in the nation.“Yoo Byung-eun appears to be staying in a foreign country via his (low-key) contacts with foreign brokers,” he said, downplaying the possibility

A conservative lobby for lawyers claimed Tuesday that the prosecution abused its investigative authority by submitting what it described as fabricated documents to judges during the trial of a former Seoul City public servant.“Prosecutors used forged documents (to indict ex-Seoul city official Yu Wu-seong) though they might have been aware of the fact that the documents were forged by the National Intelligence Service,” the Korean Bar Association said during a news briefing.The association also

Confidants of fugitive Yoo Byung-eun have partly admitted the allegation that subsidiaries of Chonghaejin Marine Co. were exploited as funding tools of the de facto owner of the sunken ferry Sewol.While the prosecution is striving to arrest Yoo and reveal his misconduct, the Incheon District Court on Monday held the first trial hearing on eight heads of the Chonghaejin units, who have been indicted for pocketing company funds that were reportedly offered to their parent group or the 73-year-old

South Korea and the United States will hold high-level talks this week in Seoul to discuss when and under what conditions to transfer wartime control of South Korean troops from Washington to Seoul, Defense Ministry officials here said Sunday.The assistant secretary-level meeting between the allies “will begin on Monday for a two-day run in Seoul for in-depth discussions to set the timing of and conditions for the South’s regaining of the wartime operational control,” a ministry official said, r