ZURICH, (AFP) - FIFA leader Sepp Blatter said Saturday he was "shocked" at the way the US judiciary has targeted football's world body and slammed what he called a "hate" campaign by Europe's football leaders.In an interview with Swiss television, Blatter said he suspected the arrest of seven FIFA officials on Wednesday under a US anti-corruption warrant was an attempt to "interfere with the congress" at which he was elected Friday.Commenting on the fact that it came only two days before his ele

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) said Saturday the possible deployment of the U.S. advanced missile defense system on Korean soil should be considered as threats by North Korea have grown."The THAAD system is a very effective and excellent deterrent. I think it is something that has to be considered in light of recent information about the advanced step North Korea has made," McCain said in a press conference in Singapore on the sidelines of the Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La

South Korea reported one more confirmed case of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome on Saturday, raising the total number of people infected with the disease to 13.The latest infected person is the husband of the 12th confirmed patient, according to the Health Ministry. He was in the same hospital where the country's first MERS case was reported to take care of his ill wife. The ministry explained that the new patient does not seem to have contracted the disease from his wife but from Patient N

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Saturday stressed the need to maintain the current multilateral and diplomatic approach to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions."North Korea remains a troubling and provocative exception to the general rule in this (Asia-Pacific) region of countries that pursue systems of peace and stability," Carter said in his speech delivered at the Asia Security Summit, better known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore.Five members of the six-party

The Singaporean prime minister urged Japan on Friday to acknowledge its wartime wrongdoings, while also encouraging South Korea and China to make efforts to move forward.Lee Hsien Loong made the remarks in his keynote speech at the 14th Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, which kicked off that day for a three-day run.  The forum, hosted by the British think tank the International Institute for Strategic Studies, brought together defense chiefs and experts from major Asia

The torch for the 2015 Summer Universiade has arrived in Seoul, an organizer said Monday, as South Korea prepares to launch a relay across the country for the competition.The torch arrived in Seoul on Sunday after being carried through such French landmarks as the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower as well as Taipei, the host of the 2017 Summer Universiade, according to the organizing committee.The torch, lit in Paris, will travel some 3,700 kilometers in South Korea before reaching Gwangju for the ope

A police station has given four body cameras to some of its officers, becoming the first South Korean police station to use the latest technology that could give a clear picture of crime scenes.Bae Sang-jin, an officer at the police station in Gunsan, said the move was taken on May 7 and his station plans to allow more officers on the street to wear body cameras if the devices are effective.He said officers plan to wear the body cameras when they deal with such cases as violence and obstruction

North Korea will hold an international grand march festival later this month, the country's state media reported, in an apparent move to support a group of women peacemakers attempting to cross the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas."The 2015 international women's grand march for Korea's reunification and peace will be held in the DPRK in May 2015," the Korean Central News Agency said in its Saturday report. "The Korean Committee for Solidarity with the World People and other social organ

China hinted Friday that it has invited North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to a Chinese military parade in September marking the 70th World War II victory anniversary. China has invited world leaders to the planned parade, set for Sept. 3, but the Chinese foreign ministry has not explicitly confirmed who had been asked to attend the event. Asked whether China has invited both South Korean President Park Geun-hye and the North Korean leader Kim to attend the parade in Beijing, Chinese foreign minist

South Korean singer and actor Rain denied a news report on Friday that his marriage with actress Kim Tae-hee is imminent."Unlike what was reported, he has never had a meeting attended by the parents of the two sides and has no detailed plan to marry yet," the singer's agency Cube Entertainment said in a release.Earlier on Friday, an Internet-based daily said, citing close aides to Rain and Kim, that they are preparing to wed within this year as both families approved the marriage.The two admitte

North Korea is in a "heated sporting zeal," a Pyongyang official said, as it encourages its people to take up sports as a means of boosting industrial output and strengthening national defense.North Korea's young leader Kim Jong-un, known as an avid basketball fan, has put great emphasis on promoting sports since he took power in late 2011. The country has recently opened its only luxury ski resort, Masik Pass, as one of his pet projects and hosted former NBA star Dennis Rodman to hold an exhibi

Fireworks illuminated the skies across China as millions around Asia ushered in the Year of the Sheep Thursday, kicking off festivities with an annual televised gala that got a thumbs down on social media for heavy Communist Party preaching against corruption.China officially counts the New Year as starting from January 1 but culturally its citizens place greater importance on the lunar computation of days, reflecting centuries of traditional practice.Ahead of the festivities, President Xi Jinpi

South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics said Thursday that it has bought U.S. mobile technology firm LoopPay Inc., a move apparently aimed at making inroads into the mobile payment technology market against its rival Apple Inc."Samsung has made efforts to provide safe and convenient mobile payment service," said Shin Jong-kyun who heads the mobile division at the Seoul-based company. "The acquisition will spur up the company to lead the world mobile commerce market."The main office of Samsu

The United States urged North Korea on Wednesday to take steps to improve its human rights record in accordance with recommendations in a landmark U.N. report on the situation.State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI) report reflects the international community's "consensus view that the human rights situation in North Korea is among the world's worst.""We urged North Korea to take concrete steps as recommended by the Commission of Inquiry to improve the hu

North Korea's food situation and its overall economy appear to be stable despite increased sanctions on the communist regime -- an indication that Pyongyang's policy of simultaneously pursuing nuclear and economic development is working, a U.S. expert said Wednesday.Scott Snyder, a senior researcher on Korea at the Council Foreign Relations, cited the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) saying in its latest assessment that the North's food production is estimated at 5.94 million tons i

Unionists at Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's largest shipbuilder, on Monday approved the latest wage agreement negotiated with the management, ending a dispute that had dragged on since May. The deal was accepted by 65.9 percent of an estimated 15,400 union members, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The union has about 16,000 members. The two sides had reached a tentative agreement on the pay raise on Dec. 31, but that deal was rejected by the union. The new agreement, like the pr

A Seoul appeals court has upheld a ruling by a lower court that South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics is to blame for the leukemia death of one of its former employees at a chip-making facility, a court official said Sunday.In 2013, the Seoul Administrative Court recognized as an industrial accident the death of Kim Kyong-mi, who died of acute leukemia in 2009 at the age of 29 after working at Samsung's semiconductor production lines in Giheung, just of Seoul, between 1999 and 2004.The Kor

A South Korean medial worker suspected of contracting the Ebola virus was discharged from a hospital in Germany on Monday after being confirmed clean, Seoul's foreign ministry said.The unidentified medical staff, one member of Seoul's 10-strong medical team, had been under intensive monitoring in a Berlin hospital since Jan. 4 after the worker's index finger came in contact with a needle while collecting blood from an Ebola patient in Sierra Leone."The worker was released from the hospital after

The South Korean government is scheduled to hold an investor relations session in Beijing later this week in a bid to lure more Chinese capital, a South Korean diplomat said Monday.Kwon Pyung-oh, deputy minister in charge of trade and investment at South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, will lead the one-day fair on Friday, he said.Direct South Korean investment in China jumped 29.8 percent from a year ago to US$3.97 billion in 2014, according to figures released by China's commerce

Microsoft's online network for its Xbox gaming console was restored to nearly full service Friday after an allegedly coordinated Christmas Day hack brought it and Sony's PlayStation network down.The PlayStation network remained down, while Xbox's service returned to all except three of its applications during the day.The disruption started Christmas Day, PlayStation and Xbox said on their Twitter feeds, adding that they were working to restore service. A message posted to the Xbox status page ea