A rare 1932 cover illustration of "Tintin in America" by Herge, the artist who dreamed up the boy reporter, on Saturday fetched a record 1.3 million euros ($1.6 million) at an auction in Paris."The work has been sold at 1,338,509.20 euros, costs included, by a person who wishes to remain anonymous," a spokesman for the auctioneers, Artcurial, told AFP.The previous owner, another Tintin collector,

 The family of a 13-year-old Kansas boy who found a picture of a long-dead uncle inside a camera he bought at a garage sale said it may be a sign from beyond.Addison Logan said he bought an old Polaroid camera for $1 while he was at a Wichita garage sale with his grandmother, Lois Logan, Thursday. When they got home he removed the camera's cartridge and opened it up to discover a picture of a man

 U.S. scientists are studying sheets Arctic ice sheets, looking for evidence that can help them find alien microorganisms that may have evolved in the Solar System.A group of researchers, led by environmental biogeochemist Jeffrey White from Indiana University, looked at glaciers in Greenland to study the methane released by methanogenic microbes. By analyzing the methane emissions, White and his

South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed to steadily strengthen trilateral defense cooperation to deter provocations by North Korea, Seoul's defense ministry said Saturday.The agreement was reached during a meeting of the three countries' top defense officials held on the sidelines of the 11th Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri La Dialogue, in Singapore, the ministry said.South

A Boeing 727 cargo plane attempting to land at the international airport in Ghana's capital crashed Saturday, slamming into a bus loaded with passengers on a nearby street, killing all 10 people inside the vehicle, emergency responders and airport officials said. Rescuers work at the site of plane crash in Accra, Ghana (Xinhua-Yonhap News)The crash occurred in Accra near Kotoka International Airpo

A South Korean tourist has been arrested by Canadian police after he was found to be carrying illegal drugs at Vancouver International Airport, Seoul's consulate office said Friday.The 28-year-old tourist only identified by his family name of Kim was apprehended while trying to leave the country after a four-day visit. He was scheduled to stop in Japan before returning home.The consulate office sa

Alleged poisonings of Afghan schoolgirls by Taliban insurgents regularly make headlines -- but there are signs the incidents could be cases of mass hysteria, say specialists in the field.In a widely-reported "attack" last week, more than 120 girls from a school in northern Takhar province were rushed to hospital after scores fainted and others complained of feeling ill.Local officials accused the

Three people were killed and two were wounded Wednesday when a gunman opened fire inside a Seattle coffee house and then fled, police said.Seattle Police Department Deputy Chief Nick Metz told reporters he did not know the motive for the 11 a.m. PDT shooting at the Cafe Racer Espresso in the city's University District, but another law enforcement source told The Seattle Times it may have been rela

South Korea's global competitiveness ranking remains unchanged in 2012 from a year earlier despite persistent economic uncertainties, an international institute said Thursday.According to the 2012 World Competitiveness Yearbook unveiled by the International Management Development Institute (IMD), South Korea ranked 22nd in competitiveness among the 59 countries surveyed.IMD is a Switzerland-based

 A West Virginia minister has died from a timber rattlesnake bite he sustained during a snake-handling service, a hospital says.Mark “Mack” Wolford, 44, pastor of Full Gospel Apostolic House of the Lord Jesus in Matoaka, died Monday at Bluefield Regional Medical Center, The Register-Herald of Beckley reported. He was brought to the hospital late Sunday night.Wolford‘s father died from a snake-hand

Apple chief Tim Cook on Tuesday vowed that creativity would remain in the company's "DNA" and hinted that products on the horizon could come in the area of television.Cook was the star opening guest at a prestigious All Things Digital conference hosted by the Rupert Murdoch-owned technology news website at a resort in the Southern California town of Palos Verdes."We're going to introduce some grea

Mitt Romney clinched his Republican party's White House nomination Tuesday by winning its Texas primary, vowing to get America "back on the path to prosperity" by defeating Barack Obama in November.But the milestone was clouded by a rehashed controversy over claims by billionaire tycoon Donald Trump, a high-profile Romney supporter, questioning President Obama's birthplace."#1144. Thank You. Whate

An employer says a 17-year-old girl Texas girl who spent a night in jail for truancy does nothing but work and go to school.Diane Tran, an 11th-grader, was jailed for 24 hours May 23 after a judge found she had disobeyed an order not to miss any more school, KHOU-TV, Houston, reported. Under Texas law, students can only have 10 unexplained absences in a year.Mary Elliot, who runs the wedding plann

South Korea's current account surplus shrank in April from the previous month mainly due to a drop in exports, the central bank said Wednesday.The current account surplus reached US$1.78 billion last month, down from $2.97 billion in March, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure is larger than the $1.28 billion surplus tallied a year earlier and marks the third month in a row that the cu

The defense ministry called Tuesday for stern punishment for an Army officer indicted over his Twitter posting critical of President Lee Myung-bak, saying the act of criticizing the supreme commander of the armed forces impedes military order and discipline.Military prosecutors have put the 29-year-old captain on trial recently on charges of insulting a superior in connection with his Twitter post

Taekwondo star Aaron Cook is appealing to the British Olympic Association after the ``incredible'' decision by his national federation to deny him a spot on the team for the London Games. Cook was omitted from the team despite being the world's top-ranked fighter in his division.``I now have no option but to request that the British Olympic Association review the selection,'' he said in a statemen

Tokyo said Tuesday it will start direct currency trading with China for the first time, scrapping the dollar as an intermediary unit for the first time to push business between the two Asian economic giants.Japan's Finance Minister Jun Azumi said the deal between China and Japan, the world's second- and third-largest economies respectively, will see the system of setting yen-yuan rates via their U

North Korea's state television has aired a series of documentaries of leader Kim Jong-un soon after his inspection trips, in an apparent move to help the young leader gain public support.Korean Central Television broadcast films on Kim on Saturday, just two days after he toured an amusement park, an ice rink and a street in Pyongyang.The state television aired the new documentaries three times on

 Police in Australia are warning people to be cautious online after a picture of cash posted to Facebook led to a home invasion robbery.New South Wales police said a 17-year-old girl was helping her 72-year-old grandmother count her savings at the older woman's Sydney home May 24 and the teenager posted a picture of the large amount of cash to her Facebook page.Police said two men armed with a kni

Justin Bieber is wanted for questioning by Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigators after a photographer complained of being roughed up by the pop star at a shopping center.Sheriff's Lt. Robert Wiard says the photographer called police on Sunday and complained of pain to his chest. Wiard said the scuffle happened when the photographer tried to take pictures of Bieber and his girlfriend, teen act