South Korea's fair trade watchdog said Wednesday it has imposed fines and sanctions on retail giant Shinsegae subsidiaries for inappropriately supporting affiliates through low sales commission rates.The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said it gave fines of 4.06 billion won (US$3.65 million) to three Shinsegae companies -- Shinsegae, E-mart and Everyday Retail -- and ordered them to correct their prac

The New York Police Department is deploying a surge of detectives to patrol an increasingly mean new beat: Facebook and other social networks.Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Tuesday that he's doubling the number of detectives assigned to combating local teen gangs and that increased surveillance of social networks will be a major part of the strategy.The gangs under scrutiny are not the big

The United States government is still waiting for an assurance from North Korea that it is serious about denuclearization, an official said Tuesday."We are urging restraint, we are calling for the DPRK (North Korea) to take steps to reassure the international community that it is serious about working with us on the denuclearization agenda," Victoria Nuland, spokeswoman for the State Department, s

Rep. Park Jie-won, the floor leader of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP), was indicted without detention on Friday on suspicion of accepting illegal campaign funds from two troubled savings banks, prosecutors said.Park, who served as a chief of staff under the late former President Kim Dae-jung, is suspected of receiving a combined total of 80 million won (US$72,000) from the heads

Spain and Greece outlined plans Thursday to reduce government spending and raise taxes to convince international lenders and financial markets they are on track to cut their deficits.The latest round of belt-tightening comes as economies across Europe get weaker and public resentment toward austerity grows stronger.Spain's plan to slash its deficit in 2013 and 2014 signals to many analysts that it

This image provided by NASA shows shows a Martian rock outcrop near the landing site of the rover Curiosity thought to be the site of an ancient streambed, next to similar rocks shown on earth. (AP-Yonhap News)The NASA rover Curiosity has beamed back pictures of bedrock that suggest a fast-moving stream, possibly waist-deep, once flowed on Mars _ a find that the mission's chief scientist called ex

(123rf)Police in Canada have charged two suspects with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy who showed up at a man's house Monday wearing only a hoodie and chains.The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have charged David James Leblanc, 47, and Wayne Alan Cunningham, 31 with sexual assault and unlawful confinement, The (Halifax) Chronicle Herald reported Wednesday. The suspects remained at large, the C

LG Display Co., the world's No. 2 maker of liquid crystal displays, filed a lawsuit Thursday against tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. over alleged violation of its patents.In a press conference in Seoul, LG Display claimed Samsung Electronics, the world's largest smartphone manufacturer, had infringed seven of its patents on organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel technologies."The company fil

(UPI)German scientists analyzing an ancient Buddhist statue discovered by a Nazi expedition to Tibet in 1938 say it was carved from a rare form of meteorite.The 22-pound statue, known as the Iron Man, was discovered by an expedition of German scientists led by renowned zoologist Ernst Schafer and supported by the Nazi party.Historians believe that support may have been based on a belief the origin

Independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo apologized Thursday over allegations his wife evaded paying around 10 million won (US$8,940) in taxes by under-reporting the price of an apartment she bought in 2001.The apology came one day after local media reported allegations that Ahn's wife, Kim Mi-kyung, did not report the correct price of an apartment she bought in southeastern Seoul by at le

Tunisian civil society groups expressed outrage after a young woman was accused of indecency on Wednesday by two policemen jailed for raping her, amid criticism of the Islamist-led government on women's rights.The woman and her fiancé were summoned by a magistrate to face the two policemen, both found guilty of rape and jailed, who accuse her of "indecency," a group of Tunisian NGOs said. The crim

Federal laws are needed to regulate social networking sites to give users the right to determine what happens to their "digital afterlives," a U.S. expert says.Jason Mazzone, a University of Illinois expert in intellectual property law, says allowing social networking sites to set policy regarding the content of accounts of deceased users does not adequately protect individual and collective inter

(MCT)A new comet discovered by Russian skywatchers could be one of the brightest objects in the sky when it approaches Earth next year, astronomers say.Presently appearing as just a tiny dot in the sky beyond Jupiter, the comet was discovered Sept. 21 by Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok of the International Scientific Optical Network in Russia and confirmed Tuesday by the International Astronom

"Gangnam Style," a song by South Korean rapper and YouTube sensation Psy, jumped to second place on Billboard's Hot 100 chart Wednesday.The song entered the chart two weeks ago, ranking 64th, and soared the 11th last week.Psy's "Gangnam Style" has been "powered by buzz generated by its video in which the Korean rapper shows off his horse-imitating moves," read a note on the website Billboard.biz.I

Active video gaming with dancing and boxing was associated with higher energy expenditure in children, researchers in Britain said. Stephen R. Smallwood and colleagues from the University of Chester in England examined the physiologic responses and energy expenditure of active video gaming using a video game with a webcam-style sensor device and software technology that allows the player to intera

(AP)A Minnesota woman said her 4-year-old Pekingese adopted a newborn kitten found by her grandson and began producing milk for the tiny feline.Pat Weber of Jordan said her teenage grandson found the days-old kitten, which had yet to open its eyes, on the floor of their pole barn, where it had apparently been abandoned by its mother, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Tuesday."He brought her in

Japan's main opposition party chose former premier Shinzo Abe as its new leader Wednesday, a victory likely to see him reinstated as prime minister in general elections expected this year.The hawkish conservative, who was Japan's youngest ever prime minister during his year-long stint, comfortably beat his rival in a run off for the job of president of the Liberal Democratic Party.In a speech afte

 이거 JK가 지난 22일, ‘크리에이터스 프로젝트’ 공연 도중 백인 관객들에게 인종차별적인 발언을 퍼부은 것에 대해 트위터를 통해 사과의 뜻을 표명했다.그는 트위터를 통해 “다시 한번 (인종차별 발언에 피해를 입은) 선량한 분들에게 사과합니다”라고 말하면서 자신이 이날 한 행동은 정당화될 수 없다고 말했다.타이거 JK가 트위터에 올린 글에 따르면 이날 백인관객 중 일부가 계속해서 그에게 싸이의 ‘강남스타일’에 나오는 말춤을 추어보라고 요구했다고 한다.그는 이에 분노해 “난 당신들을 웃기려고 여기 온 것이 아니다. 춤 추려고 온 것도 아니다”라고 했다고 한다. 타이거 JK는 이후 백인들을 향해 자신이 “미쳐 날뛰었다 (went crazy)”고 적었다. 또한 그는 백인 관객들에게 욕설을 퍼부으며 CNN과 헐리

(UPI)A Russian diamond mining company said it has unearthed a rare 158.2-carat diamond worth more than $1.5 million.Alrosa, Russia's largest diamond mining company, said the gem was discovered this month at factory No. 16 of the Nyurbinsk mine in the Republic of Yakutia, northeastern Russia, RIA Novosti reported Tuesday."In the estimate of Alrosa's specialists, this diamond may be sold for over $1

U.S. President Barack Obama made no mention of North Korea when he addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.It is the first time that Obama did not raise the North Korea issue in his U.N. speech since taking office in 2009.Indeed, North Korea, armed with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, was once a frequent topic in major speeches on foreign affairs by U.S. presidents.But Obama skipped