Syrian forces clashed on Saturday with rebels in two major cities, monitors said, despite U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon's latest rebuke to Damascus over its assault on protest hubs ahead of a peace deadline.The U.N. secretary general strongly condemned attacks on cities across the country by forces of President Bashar al-Assad, as activists said at least 35 people, most of them civilians, were killed on

ISLAMABAD (AP) -- An avalanche smashed into a Pakistani army base on a Himalayan glacier along the Indian border on Saturday, burying around 100 soldiers, the military said.Helicopters, sniffer dogs and troops were deployed to the remote Siachen Glacier to rescue those trapped, according to a military statement.The avalanche hit a battalion headquarters in the glacier's Gayari sector at 5:45 a.m,

North Korea may have moved the first stage of a long-range rocket on to its launch pad, ahead of its possible lift-off next week, according to a U.S. specialist website.The 38 North website (38north.org) said an April 4 photo of the launch site at Tongchang-ri in the country's northwest indicated the first stage of the Unha-3 rocket, while not visible, may be placed in the gantry.The impoverished

An opposition candidate taking flak for foul language has emerged as a key variable in the upcoming parliamentary race, political watchers said Saturday.Kim Yong-min, a candidate for the Democratic United Party (DUP), who made a series of vile sexual remarks and derogatory comments to senior citizens, has come under increasing pressure to step down after it was found that he attacked South Korea's

Should North Korea go ahead with a long-range rocket launch as early as next week, China will likely repeat its typically tepid and equivocal approach -- requesting the international community to act in a calm manner, an expert said Friday.Pyongyang will apparently try to ride on its renewed "blood alliance" with Beijing in defending itself from pressure from other regional powers, according to Ma

KDB Financial Group said Friday that it will conduct due diligence on HSBC Korea for about a month, starting next week, to take over their 11 retail branches.Under an agreement between the two sides, any either have the right to nullify the provisional deal according to the inspection results, state-run KDB officials said.“The two sides will make public the provisional agreement possibly early next week. But either side is entitled to scrap the deal as the agreement will be nonbinding,” a KDB sp

Monthly sales of import automobiles hit an all-time high of 10,648 units in March, while Korean carmakers such as Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors suffered lackluster sales at home.According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, foreign carmakers saw their combined sales grow by 3.5 percent from a year earlier and 15.8 percent from a month before.The former monthly record was 10,290 units, posted in March 2011.For the first quarter of 2012, their sales increased by 13.9 perce

The Financial Supervisory Service classified 34 of the country’s business groups as heavily indebted for this year.The groups, including Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung Group, will be put under scrutiny by their respective creditor banks.Creditor banks are required to evaluate the financial status of the 34 business groups and seek restructuring if they fail to meet certain requirements, the FSS said in a statement.The five most-indebted business groups are Hyundai Motor, Samsung, SK, LG and Hyu

Life insurance firms’ overseas branches saw their net losses snowball last year due to huge cost in operating businesses in foreign countries.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, eight overseas units of three major life insurance companies ― Samsung, Korea and Kyobo ― reported a combined net loss of $16 million (18.2 billion won) in 2011.Their losses increased by 22 percent compared to the figure of 2010, the FSS said.“Though the profit from collecting insurance premiums increased by

Four out of the five major automakers suffered a year-on-year drop in sales in the local market in the first quarter of 2012 amid sluggish private consumption.Hyundai Motor saw its sales at home post 154,855 units in the first quarter, down 7.1 percent from 166,749 units over the same period in 2011.For March sales, the nation’s largest automaker reported a 9.5 percent drop with 56,022 units at home, compared with 61,932 units a year earlier.By contrast, its exports, including production at over