WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Weight gain can be more dangerous for South Asians than for Caucasians because the fat clings to organs like the liver instead of the skin, said a study published Thursday.The main difference between Caucasians and South Asians comes down to how much space there is to store fat in the body and where it holes up, said Sonia Anand, lead author of the study in the public access jo

Famed Korean singer Seo Tai-ji and actress Lee Ji-ah agreed to end their alimony suit on Friday, ending a six-month legal battle.In a letter of agreement submitted to the Seoul Family Court, the two confirmed that they divorced in the United States in 2006 and said they will no longer question it, Lee’s agency Keyeast said in a statement.There was no money involved in the deal, it added.The agency

Smartphone users check their IT gadgets 34 times a day or once every 10 minutes on average, CNN reported. A man uses an Apple Inc. iPhone in New York, U.S. (Bloomberg)Quoting a study published in an IT journal, CNN said that the users tend to repetitively check e-mails and other applications not because they needed to check them but because it had become a habit. The checking habit emerges and is

Bong Joon-ho, the director and screenwriter of hit films, “The Host” and “Memories of Murder,” will direct a short film on the tragic March earthquake in Japan, according to reports.Bong Joon-ho (Korea Herald file photo)The South Korean director is one of 60 film directors expected to join in an omnibus movie project aimed at paying respects to quake victims. Among the 60 directors, 40 are Japanes

A 35-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for sexually assaulting several would-be entertainers he had enticed disguising himself as a TV program director.The suspect, identified by his surname Kim, was charged with attempted rape and other crimes, Yeongdeungpo Police Station in southern Seoul said.He had served a 10-month term until May for sex crimes.According to police, he tried to rape an asp

Eating hot dogs may be as hazardous to one’s health as smoking cigarettes, according to civil activists in the United States.Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, center right, wins the first Nathan's Famous Women's Hot Dog Eating World Championship after consuming 40 hot dogs and buns, Monday, July 4, 2011, Monday, July 4, 2011, at Coney Island, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP-Yonhap News)The

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top memory chipmaker, said Friday that its second-quarter earnings declined 18 percent from a year ago as feeble demand for TVs and personal computers drove down chip and display prices. Net profit reached 3.51 trillion won ($3.33 billion) in the April-June period, compared with 4.28 trillion won a year earlier, it said in a regulatory filing.The bottom line wa

After a 17-month hiatus, senior North Korean and U.S. government officials resumed talks in New York Thursday as part of efforts to revive the six-party negotiations on the communist nation's nuclear weapons program.North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan described the first-day meeting as "constructive," while Stephen Bosworth, Washington's point man on Pyongyang, remained tight-lip

Manchester United's Ji-Sung Park, center, scores a goal against the MLS All-Stars during the first half of soccer's MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 27, 2011, in Harrison, N.Y. (AP-Yonhap News) MLS All-Star's Thierry Henry, right, of the New York Red Bulls, loses the ball against Manchester United's Ji-Sung Park (13) and Phil Jones during the first half of soccer's MLS All-Star Game on Wednesd

South Korean non-life insurers are bracing themselves for a spike in car insurance claims relating to damage from the record downpours that pounded the capital area, sources said Thursday.Torrential rains have battered Seoul and the surrounding regions since Tuesday, placing thousands of vehicles under water and triggering landslides and flash floods that killed at least 41 people.The Financial Su

President Lee Myung-bak will not grant special pardons for local prisoners and convicted people on the National Liberation Day, which falls on Aug. 15, one of Lee's close aides said Thursday. South Korea's president usually grants a special pardon in commemoration of major national holidays. The Liberation Day marks the end of the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula. "This yea

BEIJING (AP) -- Design flaws in signal equipment and human error caused last weekend's high-speed train crash in China that killed at least 39 people, a railway official said Thursday.The preliminary finding comes in the face of public anger about the government's handling of the accident near Wenzhou in Zhejiang province. Relatives of the victims in Saturday's train crash talk to the media as the