Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest flat TV maker, rolled out its first 55-inch curved OLED TV with full HD capabilities in the U.S. with a price tag of US$8,999.Samsung Electronics follows the footsteps of its local rival LG Electronics Inc., which started receiving orders in April for the world's first-ever curved OLED TVs. In June, Samsung introduced the TV set on its home turf, joining the race for next-generation TV market. Consumers in the U.S. can order the 55-inch curved display

An executive of Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., one of the country's leading builders, has been detained for further questioning on charges of creating huge slush funds while participating in a project to refurbish the country's four major rivers, prosecutors said Wednesday. The director-level executive, only identified by his surname Ok, was locked up Tuesday night shortly after a Seoul court approved the prosecution's request for an arrest warrant, they said.Ok is suspected of siphoning

Israel released 26 Palestinian inmates, including many convicted in grisly killings, on the eve of long-stalled Mideast peace talks, angering families of those slain by the prisoners, who were welcomed as heroes in the West Bank and Gaza. Buses carrying the inmates departed the Ayalon prison in central Israel late Tuesday, a nighttime release that was aimed at preventing the spectacle of prisoners flashing victory signs as has happened in the past. Relatives of the victims, many with their hands

Brazil demanded answers Tuesday from the U.S. about National Security Agency spying in the country and warned that trust between the two nations would be damaged if U.S. explanations about the program were not satisfactory.Secretary of State John Kerry, who was visiting Brasilia, sought to allay Brazil's concerns about the program, saying the U.S. would work to provide answers to Brazil and other Latin American nations rankled by the NSA surveillance revealed by systems analyst Edward Snowden. “

South Korea's jobless rate remained unchanged in July from a month earlier but job creation slightly quickened, raising hopes that labor market conditions are improving, a government report showed Wednesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, the jobless rate stood at 3.1 percent last month. The jobless rate adjusted for inflation also stayed unchanged at 3.2 percent over the cited period.The pace of job creation quickened. The number of employed people was 25.47 million in July, up 367

Tens of thousands of unionized workers of Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. have voted in favor of striking, officials said Wednesday, setting the stage for a costly walkout after just one year since their last strike that cut into the carmakers' vehicle output.Still, the unions are not allowed to down tools immediately as they were to meet with managements later in the day as part of the mandatory mediation by a state-run labor body.By law, a union cannot go on strike during mediation by t

South Korea plans to conduct a pilot program to use digital textbooks at hundreds of elementary and middle schools around the country during the 2014 school year, the education ministry said Wednesday.Digital social studies and science textbooks are being developed for third- and fourth-year students of elementary schools and first- or second-year middle school students, it said.Some 150 elementary and 300 middle schools around the country have been chosen to use the new type of textbooks in the

TORONTO (AP) ― BlackBerry will consider selling itself after the long-awaited debut of its new phones failed to turn around the struggling smartphone maker. The company said Monday that its board has formed a special committee to explore “strategic alternatives” in hopes of enhancing the company’s value and boosting adoption of its BlackBerry 10 platform.  The company said its options could also include joint ventures, partnerships, or other moves. The Canadian company’s U.S-traded stock closed

국내 최대 규모의 포탈 사이트 운영자인 네이버가 ‘네이버 포스트(가칭)’ 개발에 나서면서 모바일 콘텐츠 플랫폼 경쟁에 다시 한번 불이 붙었다.네이버는 13일 언론에 “PC에서 콘텐츠를 제작해 모바일로 공유하는 네이버포스트 서비스에 대한 비공개 베타 테스트를 진행 중”이라고 밝혔다. 이 서비스는 현재 안드로이드 모바일 웹과 애플리케이션 형태로 소수의 초대작가들에게만 공개되어 있으며, 올해 하반기에 정식 출시될 예정이라고 한다.알려진 바에 따르면 이 서비스는 유료 기반 콘텐츠를 중심으로 한 카카오페이지와는 전혀 다른, 사용제제작콘텐츠 기반의 콘텐츠 유통창고가 될 것이라고 한다.한 네이버의 고위 관계자는 언론과의 인터뷰에서 “최종 이용자들이 콘텐츠를 유료구매하는 것은 쉽지 않다”며 배너광고 등 생산자에게 간접적으로 수익을 제공하는 방안을 모색중이라고 밝혔다.또한 네이버포스트는 지난 4월 서비스를 시작한 카카오스토리, 이번달 초 시작한 다음의 스토리볼 등과 달리 유명 작가들과의 계약을 통한

The government and the ruling party have reached a consensus to raise the minimum annual salary subject to increased taxes starting next year amid criticism that their latest tax code revision plan increases the tax burden on salaried and middle income people, informed sources said Tuesday.According to the sources, the government and the ruling Saenuri Party shared the view to raise the minimum annual salary subject to the tax hikes to over 55 million won (US$49,300) from the 34.5 million won se

South Korea's tax collection during the first half dropped to the lowest level in three years, affected by slowing economic recovery, sluggish corporate profits and consumer spending, government data showed Tuesday.According to the data provided by the National Tax Service to Democratic Party Rep. An Min-suk, the government collected a total of 92.19 trillion won (US$82.6 billion) in taxes during the January-June period, down 9.41 trillion won, or 9.3 percent, from a year earlier.This also marks

 앨런 머스크 테슬라모터스 최고경영자(CEO)가 12일 현재 개발중으로 알려진 진공튜브형 열차 ‘하이퍼루프’의 디자인 컨셉을 공개했다.하이퍼루프는 대도시를 각자 잇는 거대한 튜브를 통해 운행되는 초고속 열차 시스템으로, 구상대로 완공된다면 열차 앞에서 공기를 빨아들여 뒤쪽으로 공기를 배출하는 방식으로 시속 1,226km의 고속으로 운행된다. 이론상 하이퍼루프를 이용하면 644킬로미터에 달하는 로스엔젤레스에서 샌프란시스코까지의 거리를 30분 안에 주파할 수 있다고 한다.머스크는 “실제 순간이동 방식을 알아내는 것 외에 -- 물론 이게 가능하다면 멋질 것이다 – 초고속 여행을 위한 유일한 옵션은 지상이나 지하에 특수한 환경을 가진 튜브를 만드는 것이다”라고 밝혔다.머스크가 구상중인 시스템은 예전 건물에서 서류 처리를 위해 사용되던 공기 압축 튜브와 비슷하지만, 물건 대신 사람이 이동한다는 점에서 다르다.만약 다른 사람들이 이와 같은 아이디어를 냈다면 진지하게 받아들여지기 힘들었을 것이다

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk unveiled a transportation concept Monday that he said could whisk passengers the nearly 400 miles (644 kilometers) from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 30 minutes _ half the time it takes an airplane.If it's ever built.His “Hyperloop” system for travel between major cities would use a large tube. Inside, capsules would float on air, traveling at over 700 mph (1,126 kph). The air would be sucked by a powerful fan at the front and expelled at the rear.“Short of f

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investors' sentiment was heightened by an improved outlook over the eurozone economy, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 7.01 points, or 0.37 percent, to 1,891.84 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares led the market gain, with Samsung Electronics adding 0.97 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix advancing 1.67 percent. Flat panel maker LG Display gained 1.59 percent.Financial firms also traded higher, wi

Hope that the nation, gripped by a summer heat wave, will avoid blackouts is rising as the nation’s daily power reserves stayed above a safe level of 40 million kilowatts for two consecutive days thanks to nationwide power-saving efforts. The Korea Power Exchange, the nation’s state-run power distributor, issued a “preliminary” warning for a possible power shortage, the first stage warning out of five levels, as power reserves fell below 4.5 million kilowatts at 11:17 a.m. Power reserves did not

James “Whitey” Bulger, the feared Boston mob boss who became one of the most-wanted fugitives in the U.S., was convicted Monday in a string of 11 killings and other gangland crimes, many of them committed while he was said to be an FBI informant.Bulger, 83, stood silently and showed no reaction upon hearing the verdict, which brought to a close a case that exposed corruption inside the Boston FBI and an overly cozy relationship with its underworld snitches.Bulger was charged primarily with racke

Former prime minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won Mali's presidency after his opponent conceded defeat late Monday in an election aimed at restoring stability to a country wracked by a rebellion, a coup and an Islamic insurgency.Soumalia Cisse's concession averts a protracted election fight, allowing Mali to move ahead with establishing a democratically elected government, one of the international community's caveats for unlocking some $4 billion in promised aid.Keita, 68, had been expected to wi

A sinkhole swallowed part of a Florida resort villa near Disney World, starting with a loud rumble that broke windows and forced the frantic evacuation of frightened vacationers awakened from their rooms.By early Monday, nearly a third of the structure at Summer Bay Resort near Orlando had collapsed. All 105 guests staying in the villa were evacuated, as were those in the neighboring buildings. No injuries were reported. The villa, with 24 three-story units, was reported as a total loss, and ins

Johan Friso, the bespectacled Dutch prince who avoided the limelight and gave up his position in line to the throne after getting entangled in a scandal with his bride-to-be, died Monday _ 18 months after a skiing accident that left his brain gravely injured. He was 44.The royal house said the prince, known as Friso, died of complications from the accident, without giving more details. It said he had never regained more than “minimal consciousness.”Friso was struck by an avalanche while skiing o

Suspected Islamic militants wearing army fatigues gunned down 44 people praying at a mosque in northeast Nigeria, while another 12 civilians died in an apparently simultaneous attack, security agents said Monday. Sunday's attacks were the latest in a slew of violence blamed on religious extremists in this West African oil producer, where the radical Boko Haram group, which wants to oust the government and impose Islamic law, poses the greatest security threat in years. It was not immediately cle