Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Monday proposed holding a citizen poll to settle an ongoing dispute with the opposition party over providing free lunches to all elementary, middle and high school students in the capital.   The proposal comes four days after the opposition-controlled city council proclaimed an ordinance to provide free meals to all elementary school children under its jurisdiction from t

 North Korea has proposed holding talks with South Korea in an official letter, a government official said Monday, after Seoul rejected earlier proposals offered in what officials here called a "unilateral announcement."   In its letter to the Seoul government, Pyongyang again urged early resumption of government-level talks as well as Red Cross dialogue it earlier said will help resume suspended

 People ride the subway without trousers during an event "No Pants Subway Ride" in New York, the U.S., on Jan. 9, 2011. Participators who attend the event ride the subway without trousers in New York on Sunday. This event that started in 2002 in 50 cities around the world stresses that everybody should "keep a straight face about it". (Xinhua-Yonhap)

Police officers feed an owl before sending it back to nature in Nanping, southeast China's Fujian Province, Jan. 10, 2011. The owl was found by the policemen on a patrol on Jan. 7. The owl belongs to wildlife under second class state protection. (Xinhua-Yonhap)

MANILA (AFP) - Philippine authorities may ban sex on the world-famous beaches of Boracay island after a television crew filmed two naked couples making out in public on New Year's Day, the local mayor said Thursday.The clip showed one pair apparently having sex on the beach and the other locked in a passionate kiss in the water, with the woman's bare breasts clearly shown above the waterline.The ABS-CBN television network said it filmed the apparently Western couples at 2:00 am on New Year's Day

This undated images provided by Chrysler, shows the new redesigned 2011 Chrysler 300 sedan and its exterior. (AP-Yonhap)

Henry Weinacker III talks on his iPhone while attending the International Consumer Electronics Show, Friday, Jan. 7, 2011 in Las Vegas. (AP-Yonhap)

The Justice Ministry said Sunday it will attach restrictions to the revised immigration law to prevent the law's abuse by parents who deliberately give birth overseas to obtain foreign citizenship for their children.South Korea put into effect the revised law from Jan. 1 this year to allow qualified Koreans and foreigners to hold multiple citizenships. The move came after years of debate over fear

 ATLANTA (Yonhap) -- South Korean ambassador Han Duck-soo on Saturday expressed his expectations that the Obama administration will soon present the free trade deal with South Korea to Congress for its ratification by the end of June."I expect the Obama administration will submit the Korea-U.S. FTA to Congress sooner or later so Congress can approve it by the end of June," Han told a forum here ho

 South Korea is preventing imports of German pork and poultry products from reaching consumers because of health concerns over a cancer-causing chemical.(AP-Yonhap) The government said Friday that authorities have temporarily suspended all quarantine inspections of the products as a precaution following reports that potentially dangerous levels of dioxin were discovered in eggs, pork and poultry p

 North Korea's external trade fell in 2009 with its economic reliance on China staying significantly high, a report showed Sunday, underscoring the need for Pyongyang to diversify its industry structure and open its market for survival.   According to the report by the Korea Finance Corporation, North Korea's total trade amounted to US$3.41 billion in the cited year, down 10.6 percent from a year

The Marines this year will try out new combat uniforms in a revised color scheme that will set them apart from other armed forces, officials said Sunday.   The defense ministry approved the design for the new fatigues late last month, and the new uniforms will be distributed on a trial basis from early September, the officials said. The final version of the uniforms will come after any alterations

 The average number of credit cards held by South Koreans hit a record high last year thanks to a well-established payment system and improving economic conditions, a report showed Sunday.   A total of 114.94 million cards had been issued as of the end of the third quarter of last year, according to the report by the Credit Finance Association.    Given that the number of economically active peopl

   TUCSON, Arizona (AP) -- Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head Saturday when an assailant opened fire outside a grocery store during a meeting with constituents, killing at least five people and wounding several others in a rampage that rattled the nation.   Giffords was among at least 10 people wounded, and the hospital said her outlook was ``optimistic'' and that she was resp

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan  (AFP) - A suicide bomber killed 17 people and wounded another 21 in assassinating a police commander at a public bath in a southern Afghan town on the border with Pakistan, the local government said.A nine-year Taliban insurgency is concentrated in southern Afghanistan, but suicide attacks targeting civilians in public places are relatively rare."A suicide bomber blew up explosives strapped to his chest at a public bath in Spin Boldak," border police official General Abdul

A British college girl has revealed her plan to sell her virginity to cover her tuition fees for the next three years.According to Britain’s Telegraph newspaper, the 18-year-old cash-strapped teenager anonymously posted a link on the world’s largest online student community “The Student Rooms” on Dec. 26, saying that she is “considering selling virginity.” Confessing that she was born in a poverty

U.S. TV host and actress Maria Menounos sparked a buzz online on Wednesday because of her bikini malfunction in Miami Beach.CBS reported that the "Access Hollywood" correspondent suffered a wardrobe malfunction while vacationing over the weekend.  "The 32-year-old was playing beach football in the surf when her black bikini bottom budged to the right, partially exposing her private parts," it repo

Brazilean Claudio Paulo Pinto pops his eyeballs out of their sockets, in Belo Horizonte, 340 kilometers (210 miles) north of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Pinto can pop his eyeballs at least 7 millimeters (0.3 inches) out of their sockets, a national record for eye-popping according to RankBrasil, an organization modelled after the Guinness Book of World Records that lists Brazilian records. Pinto says h

The following is the full text of President Lee Myung-bak's New Year Policy Address on Monday.Toward an Advanced, Leading CountryDuring the Next Decade  1. Significance of 2010 and 2011  The New Year of the Rabbit, 2011, has dawned. The rabbit is a symbol of wisdom and abundance, and I hope it will bring all Koreans great happiness.   The past year was truly a memorable year for us. The Republic o

LONDON (AFP) - WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange was arrested in London Tuesday on suspicion of rape after surrendering to a Swedish arrest warrant, setting up a possible extradition fight that could drag on for months.Assange, 39, was detained after attending a London police station by appointment at 0930 GMT and is due to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates Court later in the day, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement."Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service's Extradition Unit h