Most Popular
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Govt. asks hospitals to mitigate impact of medical professors' absence
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S. Korea's working-age population to dip nearly 10m by 2044 amid low births
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Doggy patrol team on the move to protect their cities
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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H.K. protests, China slowdown dulls sparkle of luxury market
PARIS (AFP) ― Protests in Hong Kong, an economic slowdown and anticorruption drive in China and a coup in Thailand: Asia is no longer a market of constant growth for luxury goods firms. LVMH, world No. 1 in the sector and owner of brands like Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and Dior, saw its sales drop by three percent in Asia, excluding Japan, in the third-quarter of 2014, a far cry from the halcyon days of 2010-2012.In every other market, LVMH’s sales increased, according to figures published last wee
Oct. 19, 2014
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Winter gas price deal agreed with Russia: Ukraine
KIEV (AFP) ― Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko confirmed Saturday that an agreement has been reached with Russia on a provisional price for gas deliveries during the coming winter months.Poroshenko said the deal was agreed at talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Milan on Friday, and he hoped it would end the gas dispute between the two countries.“On the basis of consultations, I can say that Ukraine will have the gas, will have heating,” Poroshenko said in an interview broadcast
Oct. 19, 2014
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Apple unveils new iPad
CUPERTINO, California (AP) ― Apple unveiled a thinner iPad Thursday with a faster processor and a better camera as it tries to drive excitement for tablets amid slowing demand. The iPad Air 2, at 6.1 millimeters “thin,” also adds many of the features previously available on iPhones. That includes the ability to take burst shots and slow-motion video and the inclusion of a fingerprint ID sensor for use instead of a passcode. It also has an antireflective coating, a first for a tablet, which makes
Oct. 17, 2014
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VW edges GM to hold 2nd place in global sales race
DETROIT (AP) ― Volkswagen barely edged out General Motors for second place in the global auto sales race during the first three quarters of the year, but Toyota was expected to keep its lead to stay in first place.GM said Wednesday that is sold 7.372 million cars and trucks worldwide from January through September. VW said that its global light vehicle sales totaled 7.40 million for the period, but a spokesman in Germany would not provide a more precise figure.Toyota won’t release its numbers fo
Oct. 16, 2014
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Google tries to upstage Apple with latest devices
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Google is coming out with bigger, more expensive versions of its Nexus phone and tablet to attract more of the affluent consumers who faithfully buy each new generation of Apple’s iPhone and iPad. It’s also releasing a new streaming video and music device, Nexus Player, to compete with Apple TV and Roku, among others.The new lineup announced Wednesday is Google’s latest volley in its duel with Apple in the increasingly important mobile device market. Google’s Android softwar
Oct. 16, 2014
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New iPad images leaked
The masters of suspense in Cupertino took the surprise out of their big iPad introduction Thursday. Apple Inc., known for its strict secrecy ahead of product announcements, posted images and some details about its newest iPad tablets on its iTunes website briefly Wednesday, quickly grabbing the attention of company enthusiasts on the Internet before the information was removed. The company is holding an event Thursday at its headquarters in Cupertino, California, where it is set to introduce a n
Oct. 16, 2014
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Italian cabinet OKs tax cuts amid worries about EU approval
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s cabinet passed an expansionary budget plan worth 36 billion euros ($46 billion) for next year aimed at revamping the country’s economy with tax cuts and additional spending. The plan, which has raised doubts among economists and experts on whether it’s compliant with EU rules, includes 18 billion euros in tax cuts, as well as new expenditure to finance, among other things, research, unemployment benefits and education. This is ‘‘the biggest reduction in taxe
Oct. 16, 2014
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Yellen said to voice confidence in U.S. economic expansion
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen voiced confidence in the durability of the U.S. economic expansion in the face of slowing global growth and turbulent financial markets at a closed-door meeting in Washington last weekend, according to two people familiar with her comments. The people, who asked not to be named because the meeting was private, said Yellen told the Group of 30 that the economy looked to be on track to achieve growth of around 3 percent. She also saw inflation eventually rising b
Oct. 16, 2014
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Facebook, Apple to pay for fertility help
NEW YORK (AP) ― Free lunches, dry cleaning, massages ― frozen eggs? Silicon Valley’s biggest companies have long offered cushy perks to attract top talent and keep workers happy logging scores of hours on the job. But beyond day-to-day luxuries, Facebook and Apple will now give up to $20,000 in benefits to help employees pay for infertility treatments, sperm donors and even ova-freezing. The move comes amid stiff competition for skilled engineers, and as many of the biggest firms try to diversif
Oct. 15, 2014
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IEA cuts oil forecast, says prices could fall further
PARIS (AFP) ― Global demand for oil is still weighed heavily by weak economic growth, and this together with a supply glut is pushing down prices which may fall further, the IEA said on Tuesday.Cutting its forecasts for growth of oil demand for the third month in a row, the International Energy Agency said that this trend “may have touched bottom.”And set against this, supplies may soon begin to slow down.“Nevertheless, further oil price drops would likely be needed for supply to take a hit ― or
Oct. 15, 2014
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Ailing global economy could lead Fed to delay rate hike
WASHINGTON (AP) ― Just as the U.S. job market has finally strengthened, the Federal Reserve now confronts a new worry: A sputtering global economy that’s spooked investors across the world. The economic slump could spill into the United States, potentially weakening job growth and keeping inflation well below the Fed’s target rate. Such fear has led some analysts to suggest that the Fed might wait until deep into next year to start raising interest rates ― and then raise them more gradually than
Oct. 15, 2014
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China inflation slows to 1.6% in September
BEIJING (AFP) ― Inflation in China fell to 1.6 percent in September, the government said Wednesday, below analysts’ forecasts and the lowest in the world’s second-largest economy for almost five years.The consumer price index figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics represented a slowdown in inflation from 2 percent in August. It was the lowest since January 2010. Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had predicted 1.7 percent.The figures fall well short of the 3.5 percent annual t
Oct. 15, 2014
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Li to meet Putin as ties deepen
MOSCOW (AFP) ― Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang will meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin as Moscow, struggling with its deepest isolation since the end of the Cold War, seeks to deepen a key relationship.The two nations on Monday pledged to increase efforts to promote a just world order as Li and his counterpart Dmitry Medvedev signed dozens of deals ranging from energy to finance.They included an agreement to open a yuan-ruble swap line worth 150 billion yuan ($24.5 billion) in an apparent bid
Oct. 14, 2014
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Eurozone finance ministers wrestle over deficits, growth
The head of the eurozone finance ministers’ group said Monday the ministers are not satisfied with the stagnant economy and agree “strong measures” are needed to get it moving again. Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the ministers were looking at ways to reward countries for reforming their economies by giving them financial help with new investment in infrastructure. European officials are trying to push countries such as France and Italy to make their economies more business friendly. Th
Oct. 14, 2014
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Recession-hit Italy on sale to Chinese
Clotilde Narzisi and Luca Soliman have run the Caffe Orefici, 200 feet from Milan’s iconic Duomo Cathedral, for 10 years. Forced to sell their business because of high taxes, they say their only hope now is to leave it in Chinese hands. “They are the only ones who are buying,” said 43-year-old Narzisi during a break after the lunch-time rush of businessmen and shoppers in the heart of Italy’s financial capital. “We want to sell, taxes are too high; we work eight hours a day for the state and one
Oct. 13, 2014
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Oil prices down in Asian trade as weak demand weighs
Oil prices fell in Asian trade Monday on growing concerns about demand as equities tumble on global growth woes and supplies increase.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for November delivery fell $1.23 to $84.59 -- its weakest for two years -- while Brent North Sea crude lost $1.24 to a four-year low of $88.97."Prospects for global oil demand growth have weakened recently," British bank Barclays said in a market analysis.It said global oil consumption this year grew at its slowest pace since 2
Oct. 13, 2014
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VW deepens cooperation projects with China’s FAW
A visitor walks past Volkswagen Passat sedans displayed inside the Oriental Pearl Tower in the Pudong area of Shanghai. (Bloomberg)Volkswagen AG will expand technology development with Chinese partner FAW Car Co. and prolong cooperation for 25 years to defend its leadership in the world’s fastest-growing major car market and fend off General Motors Co. Europe’s largest automaker will additionally invest 100 million euros ($126 million) together with its second local partner, SAIC Motor Corp., in
Oct. 12, 2014
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Over 1,000 Europeans a day ask Google to scrub Web
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Google is being swamped with demands from Europeans trying to erase humiliating links to their past from the world’s dominant Internet search engine. Nearly 145,000 requests have been made in the European Union and four other countries by people looking to polish their online reputations, according to numbers the company released Friday. That’s an average of more than 1,000 requests a day since late May, when Google began accepting submissions in order to comply with a Europ
Oct. 12, 2014
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MS CEO gaffe fuels debate on women in tech
WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella’s gaffe over women, pay raises and karma comes as the US tech industry is facing up to questions over diversity and gender equality.Nadella, named CEO at the tech giant in April, swiftly backtracked from his comments in which he suggested working women should trust karma for pay raises.“I answered that question completely wrong,” Nadella said in a memo to staff, aiming to quell a firestorm over his comments at a conference on Thursday.Ye
Oct. 12, 2014
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Li pledges China will boost innovation, creativity
HAMBURG (AFP) ― China’s Premier Li Keqiang said Saturday the world’s second-biggest economy must open further to harness the innovative and creative talents of its 1.3 billion people.After three decades of reforms, China ― often called the world’s manufacturing workshop ― had launched administrative and market reforms “to boost creation and innovation,” he said on a visit to Germany.“What we hope is to incentivize 1.3 billion people, including 800 million-900 million workers, to mobilize their i
Oct. 12, 2014