TOKYO (UPI) -- Japanese electronics firm Hitachi says it has invented a way of storing data that could keep it safe and stable for hundreds of millions of years.The technology behind the long-term storage capability involves a laser that is employed to encode data into a piece of quartz glass with dots corresponding to binary code that can be read back by an optical microscope, ZDNet reported.Hita

CUPERTINO (UPI) -- U.S. technology giant Apple’s foray into mobile maps with its iPhone 5 had to do with advertising and a growing rivalry with Google, industry observers said.Apple’s iPhone 5, which went on sale Friday included a new online maps service that was “littered with flaws, some laughable,” The New York Times reported Monday.But behind the effort to compete with Google is the lucrative

South Korea's Navy fired warning shots against North Korean boats operating south of the western sea border, military officials said, after raising the alert status in response to a number of ships violating the demarcation line over the past week.The North Korean boats retreated to north of the border upon the warning shots, officials said.The latest move comes as a growing number of North Korean

Popular professor Ahn Cheol-soo announced Wednesday his official entry into the presidential race.Ahn’s announcement officially marks the start of a three-way race between the ruling Saenuri Party’s Park Geun-hye, opposition Democratic United Party’s Moon Jae-in and Ahn.Ahn Cheol-soo, dean of the Seoul National University Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology (Yonhap News)"People I

Film director Kim Ki-duk, who won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival with his gruesome morality tale “Pieta,” has criticized the Korean film industry for allowing only a limited number of successful movies to be screened in cinemas.Kim’s comments came during a shooting for SBS talk show “Gangsimjang” (Strong Heart), before he left for the festival.　 Film director Kim Ki-duk on SBS talk show

Apple Inc. has taken its patent row with Samsung Electronics Co. to South Korea's anti-trust watchdog by accusing the top smartphone maker of abusing its dominant market position, sources said Thursday.Since April 2011, the two top smartphone giants have been embroiled in a high-stakes battle across four continents to conquer the $219 billion global smartphone market.Apple has filed a complaint ag

The two recent powerful typhoons have cost South Korean airlines about 17 billion won ($15 million) in lost sales at the end of the summer peak season, company officials said Tuesday.Typhoons Bolaven and Tembin pounded South Korea with heavy downpours and strong winds late last month, forcing the cancellation of more than 860 domestic and international flights at airports in South Korea.The typhoo

An Apple Inc. iPad 2 and iPhone 4S smartphone, left, and a Samsung Electronics Co. Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer and Galaxy S III smartphone are arranged for a photograph in Seoul, South Korea, On Tuesday. (Bloomberg)　Seoul court says Apple infringed two Samsung patents, Samsung violated one of Apple’s　A Seoul court on Friday ruled in favor of Samsung Electronics against Apple Inc., ordering a s

Police said Friday they will provide tear gas guns to officers on security duty in Seoul, as part of efforts to reinforce countermeasures against violent crimes.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said they requested the National Police Agency to set aside a budget worth 180 million won ($158,800) to purchase gas guns for conscripted riot police and combat police forces stationed in the capital c

South Korea received a letter Japan's prime minister wrote to President Lee Myung-bak about recent tensions over Lee's visit to the easternmost South Korean islets of Dokdo, but there is no change in the country's position on the matter, officials said.Japanese media reported Friday that Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda sent the letter to Lee via Seoul's Embassy in Tokyo, describing as regrettable Le

The powerful uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un returned home Saturday after a six-day visit to China that included Beijing's agreement to help develop special economic zones in the impoverished nation and meetings with China's president and premier, the two countries' media said.The North's Korean Central News Agency said Jang Song-thaek, the chief of the central administrative department o

South Korea's bellwethers in six major industries have outshined Japanese rivals in terms of market capitalization as they have made big strides in global markets, data showed Tuesday.According to the data by Shinhan Investment Corp., leaders in South Korea's semiconductor, display, refinery, construction, steel, and shipbuilding industries had larger market caps than their Japanese counterparts,

MANILA, Philippines _ A new storm is forecast to dump more rain in the flood-battered northern Philippines a week after nearly 100 people died in a monsoon deluge that submerged half of the sprawling capital city.Officials in Cavite province southwest of Manila closed schools in Rosario town Monday because of downpours, and rescuers began evacuating landslide-prone areas in Manila's suburban Quezo

 Son Yeon-jae became the first South Korean rhythmic gymnast to make an Olympic final at qualifications for the individual all-around event on Thursday.Korean rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae smiles after performing in the ribbon segment at the individual all-around event on Thursday in London. (Yonhap News)Son put together solid performances in clubs and the ribbon, earning 26.350 points and 28.050

South Korea doubled its gold medal total Wednesday, picking up three Olympic titles to shoot up to six gold medals at the start of the new month in London.The country is now halfway past its stated goal of winning at least 10 gold medals for its third straight top-10 finish in the medal table. (From left) South Korean gold medalists Judoka Song Dae-nam, fencer Kim Ji-yeon and shooter Kim Jang-mi.

Judoka Song Dae-nam won gold in the men's under-90kg category Wednesday at the London Olympics.At ExCeL Arena, the 15th-ranked Song beat Cuba's Asley Gonzalez, No. 4 in the world, for his first Olympic title. It was South Korea's fifth gold medal in London and the second of the day, after shooter Kim Jang-mi captured the women's 25-meter pistol gold medal. Judoka Song Dae-nam celebrates winning go

Aided by a bull's-eye in the taut final, teenage shooter Kim Jang-mi won gold in the women's 25-meter pistol event at the London Olympics Wednesday. It was South Korea's fourth gold at these Olympics.Shooter Kim Jang-mi celebrates her gold. (London Olympic Joint Press Corps)At Royal Artillery Barracks, Kim fired 792.4 points, adding 201.4 points in the final to her Olympic-record qualification sco

South Korea's trade surplus shrank from a month earlier in July as exports slipped at a greater pace than imports, the government said Wednesday.The country's trade balance came to $2.7 billion in the black last month, compared with a surplus of $4.96 billion in June, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.Still, July marks the sixth consecutive month the country has posted a trade surplus

China rejected allegations Tuesday that a South Korean rights activist was severely tortured while under its custody for questioning, saying the investigation went according to law and his legitimate rights were guaranteed.The comments from China's foreign ministry represented Beijing's first official reaction to claims that the prominent activist, Kim Young-hwan, was tortured with electric shocks

얄미운 하이데만의 반응: ‘판정에 만족한다’1초가 흐르지 않아 심판 판정이 논란이 되었던 개인전 준결승에서 승리한 독일의 브리타 하이데만이 심판 판정에 만족한다고 말했다.30일영국 엑셀 런던 사우스 아레나에서 열린 개인전 준결승에서 신아람은 하이데만에 5-6으로 졌다. 신아람은 5-5로 맞선 채 돌입한 연장전에서 종료 1초 전 상대에 찌르기를 허용해 아쉬운 패배를 당했다.비긴 채 경기를 마쳤다면 경기 시작 전 얻은 어드밴티지로 결승에 오를 수 있었다.하이데만은 “1초는 완전한 1초가 될 수도 있고 99분의 1초도 1초가 될 수 있다”라고 AFP통신을 통해 말했다.“그들(한국)은 1초가 어떻게 기록되는지 생각해봐야 한다”라고 하며 자신도 그 같은 경험을 스스로 한 적이 있다고 말했다. 최종 판정에 만족하며 판