A New York truck driver said he was surprised to find out a hitchhiker he picked up was a suspect in a homicide.Manuel Velasco, 37, of Elmont, was pulled over Thursday night after an E-ZPass toll lane he passed through malfunctioned at the toll plaza of the George Washington Bridge, the New York Daily News reported.He and his passenger, Charles Kelley, 52, were questioned by police after they told

 South Korea's self-sufficiency rate of rice, one of its staple grains, is expected to drop below 90 percent this year due to a decline in land available for rice cultivation, the government said Sunday.   The country's rice self-sufficiency rate is likely to reach 86.5 percent this year, based on the median output of 4.88 million tons over the past five years, according to the Ministry of Food, A

The ruling Saenuri Party's presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye has taken a beating in the polls triggered by her controversial views on South Korea's modern history and a string of scandals involving aides, political watchers said Thursday.   The downturn in the polls has raised questions about her "closed" leadership style and reluctance to listen to advice over issues that can sway votes ahead of

 Global credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's said Friday that it has upgraded its sovereign credit rating for South Korea by one notch, citing reduced geopolitical risks stemming from North Korea.    According to an e-mailed statement, S&P raised Korea's credit rating from "A" to "A plus," the fifth-highest level on its rating grade, and maintained its rating outlook for Asia's fourth-largest e

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) began moving into the newly built city of Sejong Friday, becoming the first government agency to be relocated to the administrative hub in central South Korea.   Sejong City, some 150 kilometers south of Seoul, came officially into being as a "special autonomous city" in July and will be home to 16 central government ministries and offices as well as 20 subsidiary

ASTANA (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak arrived in Kazakhstan Wednesday for summit talks with President Nursultan Nazarbayev to enhance economic cooperation, especially in energy and plant projects and resource development.Another focus of Lee's visit to Astana will be a ceremony to break ground for a coal-fired power plant in the southern city of Balkhash. The $4 billion plant is

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks in front of an image of the iPhone 5 during an Apple event in San Francisco, Wednesday. (AP-Yonhap)For the first time, the iPhone is growing even as it slims down. After sticking for five years to the same screen size, Apple on Wednesday revealed a new phone that's taller, with a bigger display.The iPhone 5 will go on sale in the U.S. and eight other countries next Friday

South Korea`s Kwak Tae-hwi (left) scores a goal during a match against Uzbekistan at Pakhtakor Stadium in Uzbekistan. (Yonhap News)South Korea was held to a 2-2 draw against Uzbekistan here Tuesday in the regional qualifier for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.At Pakhtakor Stadium, captain Kwak Tae-hwi and striker Lee Dong-gook scored for the visitors, who entered the game as the favorites but we

   VLADIVOSTOK, Russia - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday urged US allies South Korea and Japan to "lower the temperature" in a simmering territorial row.   Clinton said she raised the tensions during separate talks at an Asia-Pacific summit in Russia with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, who shunned each other at the event.   "I raise

 At least 36 people died in a fiery collision between a methanol tanker and a double-decker sleeper bus on Sunday in China's worst traffic accident in more than a year.   Both vehicles caught fire and only three of the 39 people onboard the bus survived the motorway crash, which occurred around 2:00 am, Xinhua news agency reported.   A total of 36 bodies were pulled from the debris and three peopl

A 30-year-old Canadian woman died after she fell into a river near Montreal while posing for wedding photos, officials said.The woman, whose name was not reported, was standing in six to 12 inches of water in the Ouareau River while a photographer was taking her picture, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Friday.Ronald McGinnis, spokesman for the Quebec provincial police, said the woman's dr

Riding a motorcycle with a cage, Pov Nat scours rural areas for dogs. He pays between 30,000 ($7.38) and 80,000 riel a head and sells the animals to a butcher in Siem Reap.The 21-year-old native of Kampong Cham province began buying dogs after coming to live with his uncle in Rohal commune in Preah Nethpreach district.“I never thought of this business. I left my hometown to find work. But I don’t

Kim says, "There is a limit to our patience," adding he has "finally signed" an order of "battle to an all-out counter-offensive." North Korea's leader once again warned of "the all-out battle" against the South, denouncing an ongoing joint military drill between South Korea and the United States, the North's state media said Sunday.   South Korean and U.S. forces began a 12-day annual joint milit

 Moon Jae-in, a lawyer-turned liberal politician, won the first regional primary of the Democratic United Party (DUP) Saturday, confirming his front-runner status as the main opposition party's presidential candidate in December's election.   Moon, a former presidential chief of staff, won a total of 12,023 votes or 59.8 percent of the 20,102 valid votes cast during the DUP's primary in the southe

South Korean boxer Han Soon-chul took silver in men's lightweight boxing Sunday, the final day of the London Olympics, for the country's last medal here.Han was overwhelmed by the top-seeded Vasyl Lomachenko of Ukraine, who took the three-round match by the score of 19-9. London Olympic Joint Press CorpsHan is the first South Korean boxer to reach an Olympic final in 16 years. The country has been

A South Korean man died in a fatal climbing accident in the Swiss Alps, Seoul's foreign ministry said Sunday.The 44-year-old, identified only by his surname Jeong, fell to his death at 10:45 p.m. on Friday (local time) while descending from the Eiger, the ministry said in a statement.Two other South Koreans, who had reached the summit with Jeong earlier in the day, were unscathed. The three were m

South Korea lost to Spain 31-29 in double overtime in the women's handball bronze medal match Saturday at the London Olympics. (Yonhap News)Elisabeth Pinedo Saenz and Jessica Alonso Bernardo scored two late goals in the second of the 10-minute extra period, and two goalkeepers combined to stop six of 11 South Korean penalty shots to give Spain the bronze.South Korea entered the London Games having

A South Korean football player missed the ceremony to pick up his bronze medal Saturday, after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) instructed South Korea to keep him away for his political act after South Korea's win over Japan. (Yonhap)Midfielder Park Jong-woo didn't stand on the podium with his teammates at Wembley Stadium Saturday to collect his bronze medal.South Korea beat Japan 2-0 Fri

 Held back by a mediocre routine, South Korean Son Yeon-jae finished shy of the country's first rhythmic gymnastics medal Saturday.Son finished fifth in the individual all-around final at Wembley Arena, scoring 111.475 points combined from hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon routines. She finished only 0.225 points behind the bronze medalist, Liubov Charkashyna of Belarus.Evgeniya Kanaeva of Russia won t

  South Korean gymnast Yang Hak-seon had a dream this week that he went home empty-handed from the London Olympics. He didn't remember where he'd finished in the dream, but when he was back home, none of his friends and teammates would talk to him."I even said during that dream, 'I wish this was a dream,'" said Yang. "Guys would just ignore me. It just left a bad taste in my mouth when I woke up."