South Korean stocks are expected to rise further next week on improved investor sentiments and solid fundamentals, local analysts said Saturday.Market watchers predicted the country's benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) to maintain its upward momentum in the coming days as there are no negative factors that could weigh on the bourse.The broader index closed at 2,371.72 points Friday, up 0.7 percent from a week ago.KB Securities analyst Bae Sung-young said the main index has furth

South Korea voiced support on Saturday for a vote by the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) that will impose more sanctions on North Korean officials and entities after the communist nation carried out a series of defiant missile tests."Our government supports the UNSC's June 2 unanimous vote in adopting resolution 2356 in the face of continued ballistic missile launches by North Korea," Cho June-hyuck, the foreign ministry's spokesman, said in a statement.On Friday, local time, in New York, the 15-me

South Korea said Saturday it is looking into a new possible case of avian influenza, marking the first suspected case in about two months. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it received a new report of suspected avian influenza from a poultry farm on the southern island of Jeju. Three chickens were found dead at the farm on Friday and tested positive for the H5 subtype, the ministry said, citing results of an initial test. More detailed results will be available next Monday

SHANGHAI (AFP) - China said Friday it is considering a change to its mechanism for managing its currency to buffer it against market forces, in an apparent step back from liberalisation pledges.The potential new system would introduce a "counter-cyclical factor" to China's current system of allowing the yuan to trade within a government-set band, according to a statement on the website of the Foreign Exchange Trade System, an agency under the People's Bank of China.The statement did not explain

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. economy started 2017 out with a whimper, but it wasn't quite as weak as first thought. The government revised up its January-March growth reading to a rate of 1.2 percent --  better than an earlier estimate of 0.7 percent but well below President Donald Trump's ambitious growth targets.The Commerce Department says the gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic health, is down from 2.1 percent growth in the fourth quarter and marks the weakest result in a

ROME (AP) -- Laura Biagiotti, an Italian fashion designer who conquered global markets with her soft, loose women's clothes and luxurious knits that won her the nickname "Queen of Cashmere,'' died Friday following a heart attack. She was 73.Biagiotti suffered the heart attack Wednesday evening at her estate outside of Rome. Doctors were able to resuscitate her but by then serious brain damage had occurred. She died in a hospital in the capital.Her daughter, Lavinia Biagiotti Cigna, announced her

The Moon Jae-in government will make a presidential panel to map out a long-term environmental road map and coordinate policies for sustainable development, his policy advisory panel said Friday.The "sustainability" panel will be formed by merging the two existing bodies -- the commission on sustainable development under the environmental ministry and the committee on green growth under the prime minister's office, the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee said, citing a government policy br

Host South Korea will use an experimental lineup against England in their final group stage match at the FIFA U-20 World Cup here on Friday.The starting lineup released by FIFA shows four South Korean players will make their first start at the U-20 World Cup. Head coach Shin Tae-yong also made six changes from their previous lineup against Argentina.Shin previously said his side will come up with new tactics that have never been used before when they face England at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Su

The National Assembly failed Friday to adopt a report on the results of its confirmation hearing for Prime Minister-nominee Lee Nak-yon amid a dispute over allegations against his family.During the two-day hearing that ended Thursday, the former lawmaker and provincial governor was grilled over the suspicion that in 1989, his wife, then a high school teacher, used a false home address to get assigned to a better school in Seoul. He acknowledged it.Earlier in the day, President Moon Jae-in's chie

한국전자통신연구원(ETRI)이 4년 전 화웨이를 상대로 미국에서 제기한 특허침해 소송이 난항을 겪고 있다.22일 업계 주요 관계자들에 따르면, 미 캘리포니아 남부지구 연방지방법원은 지난 4월 11일 한국의 미국특허 전문회사 SPH아메리카(이하 SPH)가 중국 최대 스마트폰 및 통신장비 제조사 화웨이를 상대로 제기한 특허침해 소송을 각하(Dismiss)했다. SPH는 2006년 ETRI가 보유한 특허에 관한 모든 권리를 부여 받은 특허전문 회사다. SPH는 2013년 화웨이와 삼성전자 뿐만이 아니라 미국의 4대 통신사 AT&T, 버라이즌(Verizon), 스프린트(Sprint), 티모바일(T-Mobile)을 상대로 ETRI가 보유한 미국 통신 관련 특허를 침해했다고 소송을 제기했다. 이에 앞서 2008년에는 노키아와 애플을 상대로 고소했다. 하지만 최근 화웨이 건을 포함한 모든 소송에서 각하 당하거나 합의(Settled)를 본 것으로 전해진다. AT&T 등 미국의 일부 통신사와 단말기

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that his country was ready to play a "productive" role in ending the North Korean nuclear issue, also promising to enhance the country's cooperation with South Korea, Seoul's presidential office said.Putin's remarks came during a call to his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in, who came into office earlier in the week following his election in a rare presidential by-election held Tuesday."I believe Russia is our country's best partner in working to e