Seoul - Shares surged 2.2 per cent Friday on the Seoul stock exchange after recent losses. South Korea's currency rose against the dollar.

Johannesburg - Every day 1,500 women die of avoidable complications in pregnancy in childbirth, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a report released Thursday.

The overall figure stood at 10 million women since 1990, with women in Africa south of the Sahara and south Asia most at risk, the report titled The State of the World's Children 2009 said.

Women in these regions were 300 times more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth than in developed countries.

In no other area of healthcare was the gap between rich and poor as wide, UNICEF said.

Seoul - North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il has, according to South Korean media reports, named the youngest of his three sons as his successor.

Kim issued an order on January 8 to the leadership of the communist Workers' Party that Kim Jong Un should take his place, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported on Thursday, citing intelligence reports.

The decision to name Jong Un, believed to be around 25 years old, came earlier than expected amid reports of the worsening of Kim's health.

Seoul - The chief executive of leading South Korean steel company POSCO tendered his resignation Thursday, amid a darkening outlook for the world's fourth-largest steelmaker, a statement said.

Despite an earnings increase in 2008 of 38 per cent due to higher global sales prices, the company warned of production cuts and earnings decreases this year.

Chief executive Lee Ku Taek is to leave the firm in February, saying that he wished to make room for a new leadership at the firm.

Lee said that the business environment has become erratic due unstable currency and raw material prices.

Seoul - Cash-strapped South Korean carmaker Ssangyong Motor Co on Tuesday halted production for an unspecified period as its suppliers cut deliveries.

Production was stoped at its vehicle and motor plants at Pyongtaek, about 60 kilometres south of Seoul, the company said.

Several component suppliers halted deliveries, fearing that the SUV maker would not pay its bills after a court on Monday froze Ssangyong's debts, assets and obligations.

Ssangyong, the smallest of South Korea's five carmakers, on Friday filed for bankruptcy protection, and a court decision is still outstanding. If rejected, the company, which is 51 per cent owned by China's Shanghai Automotive Industry (SAIC), faces breakup.

Seoul - Sha