A North Korean ship carrying weapons system parts buried under sacks of sugar was seized as it tried to cross the Panama Canal on its way from Cuba to its home country, which is barred by United Nations sanctions from importing sophisticated weapons or missiles, Panamanian officials said Tuesday.The ship appeared to be transporting a radar-control system for a Soviet-era surface-to-air missile system, according to a private defense analysis firm that examined a photograph of the find.Panamanian

``Glee'' actor Cory Monteith, who had struggled for years with substance abuse and once said he was lucky to be alive, died of an overdose of heroin and alcohol, the British Columbia coroner's office said Tuesday.``There is no evidence to suggest Mr. Monteith's death was anything other than a most tragic accident,'' the office said in a statement.The 31-year-old was found dead in his Vancouver, British Columbia, hotel room on Saturday after he didn't check out on time. He was believed to be alon

In one of the most harrowing spacewalks in decades, an astronaut had to rush back into the International Space Station on Tuesday after a mysterious water leak inside his helmet robbed him of the ability to speak or hear and could have caused him to choke or even drown.Italian Luca Parmitano was reported to be fine after the dangerous episode, which might have been caused by an unprecedented leak in the cooling system of his suit. His spacewalking partner, American Christopher Cassidy, had to he

Liz Cheney announced Tuesday she will run for the U.S. Senate in 2014, six years after her father Dick Cheney's two terms as vice president."I'm running because I believe it is necessary for a new generation of leaders to step up to the plate," the 46-year-old Republican, from the conservative western state of Wyoming, said in a statement.The younger Cheney's bid puts her on a collision course with the state's senior Senator Mike Enzi, 69, a member of the Republican old guard and one of the Sena

Yahoo's second-quarter results didn't give investors a reason to celebrate the completion of CEO Marissa Mayer's first year running the Internet company.The numbers released Tuesday showed Yahoo Inc.'s earnings are still rising, but they also highlighted the challenges facing the Sunnyvale, California, company as it loses ground to rivals Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. in the online advertising market that generates most of their revenue.Wall Street focused on Yahoo's revenue problems instead of

Egypt's interim leader swore in a cabinet on Tuesday that included women and Christians but no Islamists as the military-backed administration moved swiftly to formalize the new political order and present a more liberal face that is markedly at odds with the deposed president and his supporters.The changes came at a time of deep polarization and violence in Egypt, including new clashes that killed seven people as part of the continuing bloodshed that has marked the days following the armed forc

Israeli leaders on Tuesday condemned a European Union ban on funding to Israeli institutions that operate in occupied territories, but also acknowledged the country's growing isolation over its construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.The EU decision marked a new international show of displeasure with Israeli settlements built on lands captured in the 1967 Mideast war, bolstering the Palestinian claim to these territories and animating an increasingly discordant Isr

South Korean rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae took the silver medal in the ball discipline at the ongoing Summer Universiade here on Tuesday.Son is the first South Korean to claim an individual medal in rhythmic gymnastics at the multi-sport competition for university athletes. She earned 18.000 points, finishing 0.233 of a point behind the gold medalist, Alexandra Merkulova of Russia.On Monday, Son had finished sixth in the all-around individual final, coming up short in her first bid to win an in

The potential compensation payouts for people aboard Asiana Airlines Flight 214 will probably be very different for Americans and passengers from other countries, even if they were seated side by side as the South Korean jetliner crash-landed.An international treaty governs compensation to passengers harmed by international air travel. The pact is likely to close U.S. courts to many foreigners and force them to pursue their claims in Asia and elsewhere, where lawsuits are rarer, harder to win an

Less than a month away from the World Championships in Moscow, sprinting has succumbed once again to the shame of doping as American Tyson Gay and Jamaican Asafa Powell were caught out.The 30-year-old Gay insisted he made a mistake in erroneously trusting someone he shouldn't have.Powell confirmed he too had failed a dope test, one of five Jamaicans reportedly to have done so at their country's national trials.The 2007 world champion Gay would have gone into the worlds not as favorite, but as cl

South Korean golfer Park Hee-young claimed her second career LPGA Tour win in Canada on Sunday, defeating Angela Stanford of the United States in a sudden death playoff.Park captured the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic at Grey Silo Golf Course in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. She beat Stanford with a birdie on the third playoff hole. The two played the par-5 18th three times in the playoff. They both birdied the hole on their first two trips, but Stanford blinked first by missing the fairway off th

President Barack Obama appealed for restraint Sunday as thousands marched across the country protesting the acquittal of a man who gunned down an unarmed black teenager.A Florida jury late Saturday found volunteer watchman George Zimmerman not guilty of murdering 17 year-old Trayvon Martin in a racially-charged trial that transfixed much of the country for weeks. Crowds took to the streets to protest the verdict Sunday in cities including Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles. In New York, sever

South Korean sports administrator Choue Chung-won on Sunday earned a fourth term as the international taekwondo chief.At its general assembly here in Mexico, the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) retained Choue as its president for another four-year term. No election was held as Choue was the sole candidate for the position.The 65-year-old first took over as the WTF head in 2004, when then president Kim Un-yong stepped down with one year left on his term. Choue was re-elected in 2005 and again in

온라인상에서 국민연금폐지 서명운동 참가자가 10만 명에 육박했다.납세자연맹은 토요일 보험료 부담이 늘어나는데 국민연금이 다른 공적연금에 비해 불공평한 부분이 많아 이를 반대하는 사람들이 급격하게 증가하고 있다고 밝혔다. 또한 정부가 국민연금 가입자들에게 제대로 된 보상을 하기 위해 개선해야할 것이 한 두 가지가 아니라고 말했다. 이와 같은 움직임은 국민행복연금위원회가 지난 주 회의에서 보험료가 종전 9%에서 13%까지 인상하는 방안을 추진하기로 결정하면서 시작됐다.국민연금공단은 가입자들에게 보험료를 낸 액수보다 더 많은 보험금이 지급될 것이라고 확신한다고 수년간 홍보해왔지만 25년 후 현재 젊은층의 은퇴시기에 맞춰 보험료를 낸 만큼의 보상을 받을 수 있을지 의문이 제기되고 있다. 2038년에는 수령인구가 보험금 내는 인구를 넘어서기 때문이다.우리 사회가 고령화되고 수명이 연장됨에 따라 이 제도가 개선되지 않으면 국민연금의 자금이 2060년에 고갈될 것으로 예상된다.현재 국민연금가입자

South Korea's Hee Young Park shot a career-best 61 to move into the lead after the third round at the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic on Saturday.Park was 10 under for the round and 20-under 193 overall, one stroke better than American Angela Stanford and two shots ahead of Scotland's Catriona Matthew.Park nearly chipped in on the 18th hole for an eagle before tapping in a short putt for her sixth birdie on the back nine.``I finished really well, finished (with) the birdie, so it's going to be f

The name of a third Chinese girl who died of injuries suffered in the crash-landing of an Asiana Airlines flight in San Francisco emerged on Saturday.San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault confirmed 15-year-old Liu Yipeng's identity and said the girl was still in her seat when she was rescued last week. Chinese state media said she went to school with the other two victims killed in last week's accident, a pair of 16-year-old girls.Foucrault said Liu Yipeng was transported to San Francisco Ge

North Korea blamed South Korea on Saturday for aborted talks intended to help temporarily reunite separated families on both sides, accusing Seoul of distorting its true intentions.In a letter to South Korea's Unification Ministry from its Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, a party organization, North Korea also warned of serious consequences for what it called "arrogant" and "rude" stance from Seoul."(The South) must keep in mind that it will face more serious consequences than

South Korea's vice foreign minister is expected to visit Japan next week, during which he may possibly discuss a  summit  between the two countries, diplomatic sources said Saturday.Kim Kyou-hyun, Seoul's first vice minister for foreign affairs, plans to visit Tokyo for the opening ceremony Thursday of a new building for the South Korean embassy there.Kim is expected to use the occasion to meet with his Japanese counterpart, Akitaka Saiki, and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said the sou

The number of North Korean escapees who are living in the United States is tallied at 159, a U.S. radio station reported Saturday.The U.S. began accepting North Korean refugees after adopting the North Korean Human Rights Act in 2004. Their number rose from nine in the 2006 fiscal year to 37 in 2008 and 22 last year, the Washington-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) said in a report, monitored in Seoul.The report, written with data provided by the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration at the U.

 Archaeologists say they have discovered a new form of primitive writing in markings on stoneware excavated from a relic site in eastern China dating about 5,000 years back. The inscriptions are about 1,400 years older than the oldest known written Chinese language and around the same age as the oldest writing in the world. Chinese scholars are divided on whether the etchings amount to actual writing or a precursor to words that should be described as symbols, but they say the finding will help