Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top automaker, on Wednesday dismissed a media report that it has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit by U.S. consumers who say they were misled by the carmaker's inflated fuel economy ratings.Hyundai said it has produced no specific progress in resolving the legal trouble stemming from its incorrect fuel economy rating for about 900,000 cars sold in the United States between 2010 and 2012."No agreement has been made," a Hyundai official said. He said it remai

An international human rights group alleges Sri Lankan security forces continue to use torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence against suspected members of the Tamil Tiger rebels and their supporters, nearly four years after the end of the country's civil war. The military denied the allegations.In a report released Tuesday, New York-based Human Rights Watch said that although the decades-long war ended in May 2009, politically motivated sexual violence against suspects in custody conti

Michelle Wie, an LPGA Tour golfer born in the United States to South Korean parents, has recently relinquished her Korean citizenship, officials said Wednesday.According to the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, Wie, 23, was granted permission by the Ministry of Justice to renounce her Korean citizenship as of Feb. 21.According to officials, foreign natives who hold dual citizenship may abandon their Korean nationality only if they're residing overseas at the moment.Wie, whose Korea

Korea maintained a current account surplus for the 12th consecutive month thanks to increased exports, despite foreign exchange volatility due to currency wars ignited by Japan’s weak yen policy.The Bank of Korea said Wednesday that the current account, the broadest measure of the country’s foreign trade, recorded a surplus of $2.25 billion in January, with exports reaching $47.1 billion.This is mostly in part due to increased outbound shipments of telecommunication products, petrochemicals and

South Korea's top nuclear envoy left for China Wednesday, a senior official said, as Seoul deepens efforts to convince the U.N. Security Council to adopt tougher sanctions against North Korea's third nuclear test. Lim Sung-nam, Seoul's chief envoy to the six-party talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear ambition, will meet with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei later Wednesday during his two-day visit to Beijing, the foreign ministry official said on the condition of anonymity. "During the meet

Satellite images show that Iran's Arak heavy-water plan is operational, raising fears that it is trying to produce plutonium for a nuclear bomb, Britain's Daily Telegraph claimed on Tuesday.The newspaper published images on its website which appear to show steam rising from forced air coolers, suggesting heavy-water production at the plant, which has been closed to international inspectors for 18 months.Heavy water is required in plutonium-producing reactors and that raises alarms that Tehran is

A trio of French rights and consumer protection organizations said Tuesday they had filed a legal complaint against South Korea's Samsung Electronics over working conditions at its plants in China.The groups, Peuples Solidaires, Sherpa and Indecosa-CGT, accused Samsung of deceiving consumers by violating its own promises on ethical working conditions and using child labor.“While Samsung claims to respect the rights of the workers making its products by imposing codes of conduct including strict

Hyundai Motor Co. agreed to settle a group of lawsuits by U.S. customers who said they were misled into buying the South Korean carmakers’ vehicles because it overstated their fuel economy. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said in a filing today in federal court in Los Angeles that Hyundai agreed in principle on terms of a settlement. The actual amount Hyundai would pay wasn’t disclosed. Kia Motors Corp. (000270), which was also sued for misstating its cars’ miles-per-gallon, is evaluating whether to

Two pontiffs, each wearing white and each called “pope” living a few yards (meters) apart, with the same archbishop serving both.The Vatican's announcement Tuesday that Pope Benedict XVI will be known as “emeritus pope” in his retirement, called “Your Holiness” as an honorific and continue to wear the white cassock associated with the papacy fueled renewed questions about potential conflicts arising from the peculiar reality soon to face the Catholic Church: having one reigning and one retired p

BARCELONA (AP) ― Cristiano Ronaldo got the better of Lionel Messi on Tuesday, scoring twice to lead Real Madrid to a 3-1 win at Barcelona and a spot in the Copa del Rey final.After the first leg of their semifinal ended 1-1, Madrid neutralized Barcelona’s passing game and counterattacked to perfection at the Camp Nou to hand its archrival its first home loss in any competition since last April.It was also a second straight cup setback for the Catalan club, which is running away with the Spanish

A deeply divided Senate voted to confirm Chuck Hagel as the next U.S. defense secretary, handing President Barack Obama's choice the job just days before billions of dollars in budget cuts hit the military. Hagel was expected to be sworn in Wednesday.The vote was 58-41 Tuesday, with four Republicans joining the Democrats after an unprecedented fight that touched on Israel, Iran and nuclear weapons.Republicans had opposed their onetime Republican Senate colleague, casting him as unqualified, host

과거 미 프로농구(NBA) 무대에서 활약하며 ‘코트 위의 악동’으로 이름을 날린 데니스 로드맨이 26일 북한을 방문했다.AP통신 보도에 따르면 로드맨 (52)은 묘기 농구단인 할렘 글로브트로터스의 선수 세 명과 국제문화를 다루는 매거진을 발행하는 회사인 VICE의 관계자들과 함께 평양에 도착했다고 한다. 이들의 방문은 미국의 유료채널 HBO의 TV 프로그램으로 제작돼 4월초 방영될 예정이다.이로서 얼마 전 있었던 구글 에릭 슈미트 회장의 방북에 이어 올해에만 두 번째로 미국의 유명인사가 북한을 방문하게 되었다. 이번 방문은 북한이 국제사회의 경고를 무시하고 제3차 핵실험을 강행한지 불과 2주만에 이뤄진 것이라 더욱 눈길을 끌고 있다.VICE 측에 따르면 방문단은 아이들을 위한 농구캠프를 주최하고, 현지농구 선수들과의 친선경기를 통해 “농구 외교”를 할 것이라고 한다.이번 방문을 주최한 VICE의 설립자 셰인 스미스는 “농구 코트 위에서 공통점을 찾는 것은 아름다운 것”이라면서 “전통

과거 미 프로농구(NBA) 무대에서 활약하며 ‘코트 위의 악동’으로 이름을 날린 데니스 로드맨이 26일 북한을 방문했다.AP통신 보도에 따르면 로드맨 (52)은 묘기 농구단인 할렘 글로브트로터스의 선수 세 명과 국제문화를 다루는 매거진을 발행하는 회사인 VICE의 관계자들과 함께 평양에 도착했다고 한다.  이들의 방문은 미국의 유료채널 HBO의 TV 프로그램으로 제작돼 4월초 방영될 예정이다.이로서 얼마 전 있었던 구글 에릭 슈미트 회장의 방북에 이어 올해에만 두 번째로 미국의 유명인사가 북한을 방문하게 되었다. 이번 방문은 북한이 국제사회의 경고를 무시하고 제3차 핵실험을 강행한지 불과 2주만에 이뤄진 것이라 더욱 눈길을 끌고 있다.VICE 측에 따르면 방문단은 아이들을 위한 농구캠프를 주최하고, 현지농구 선수들과의 친선경기를 통해 “농구 외교”를 할 것이라고 한다.이번 방문을 주최한 VICE의 설립자 셰인 스미스는 “농구 코트 위에서 공통점을 찾는 것은 아름다운 것”이라면서 “전

A lawyer for the family of a 9-year-old Massachusetts rapper who appears in sexually suggestive videos is criticizing authorities' decision to investigate whether the boy is the victim of possible child abuse or neglect.The boy who performs as “Lil Poopy,” is a thriving, well-adjusted fourth-grader with a good home life, good grades and musical talent, attorney Joseph Krowski Jr. said Monday of client Luie Rivera Jr., who is of Puerto Rican descent.“This is just what I would call a racially-ting

The National Assembly on Tuesday confirmed former veteran prosecutor Chung Hong-won as prime minister in a first step to form the Cabinet of new President Park Geun-hye.Chung, 68, was named as Park's first prime minister earlier this month, after serving as chief of her ruling Saenuri Party's candidate nomination committee ahead of last April's general elections. Before that, he served as a public prosecutor for nearly 30 years and worked as a lawyer after retiring from public office.Chung's con

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected artillery units conducting live fire exercises to check if they could "fight an actual war," the communist country's media reported Tuesday.The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) report monitored in Seoul said Kim ordered the exercises and visited a unit to guide the artillerymen. The news wire service did not give details on when the exercises were conducted or which unit Kim guided, but the drills may have taken place on Monday when South Korean Preside

Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co., a South Korean builder, filed for a debt workout program on Tuesday as part of its efforts to get back on its feet again amid a cash crunch, a company official said.The move came days after the builder said its capital had been wiped out due to massive losses for the second consecutive year in 2012 amid the country's protracted housing market slump."We sent an official document to Woori Bank, the main creditor bank," a Ssangyong E&C official said, as he

Swedish furniture giant Ikea became entangled in Europe's widening meat scandal Monday, forced to withdraw meatballs from stores across Europe amid suspicions that they contained horse meat.Stores in the U.S. and Canada were not affected, Ikea said.The company reacted after authorities in the Czech Republic said they had detected horse DNA in tests of 1-kilogram (2.2-pound) packs of frozen meatballs that were labeled as beef and pork. The Czech State Veterinary Administration said it tested two

The proportion of spending on food items by low-income earners in South Korea rose to the highest level in eight years in 2012, data showed Tuesday, suggesting that price hikes toughened the livelihoods of the economically weak people.According to the data by Statistics Korea, the so-called Engel's coefficient for households in the lowest 20 percent income bracket rose to 20.79 percent last year from 20.7 percent tallied a year earlier, marking the highest figure since 2004 when it was 20.8.The

The number of tourists traveling overseas hit a January record, thanks to a strong won, travel portal Tourgo said Tuesday.The state-run online database engine revealed that the number of tourists headed abroad totaled slightly more than 1.4 million, a 21.8 percent increase from the previous month. In particular, about 50 percent more prospective travelers are visiting travel agencies, searching for tour packages to Japan, hoping for more economical deals thanks to the strength of the won against