South Korea's pop sensation Psy was named the No. 1 celebrity on China's own Twitter-like social network service, the service operator said Friday, reflecting his popularity even in China. Sina Corp., a leading Chinese online media company, said Psy was the celebrity who was the most talked about by users on its popular Weibo microblog service in 2012, garnering 109 million mentions. Psy, who is called "Uncle Bird" by Chinese fans, was the distinctive leader on the list of 2012 Weibo Celebrities

Spanish lawmakers passed 39 billion euros' ($52 billion) worth of austerity measures Thursday, prompting fresh protests by demonstrators angry at cuts to pay and public services.The government says the tough cuts in the 2013 budget are needed to fix the public finances of the eurozone's fourth-biggest economy, stricken by the collapse of a construction boom in 2008.After the lower house of Congress dominated by the conservative governing Popular Party voted through the budget, hundreds of demons

The U.N. General Assembly on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to rebuke Syria, Iran and North Korea for human rights abuses.With Syria's conflict worsening by the day, a resolution condemning the Syrian government and its allied militias came as a diplomatic blow for President Bashar al-Assad.The 193-state assembly passed the resolution slamming "grave" and "systematic" abuses with 135 votes in favor, 12 against, including Russia and China, and 36 abstentions.A similar resolution last year gained 1

The U.N. Security Council on Thursday unanimously approved sending an African-led military force to help re-conquer northern Mali from Islamist militants.A resolution passed by the 15-member council gave the force an initial one-year mandate to use "all necessary measures" to help the Mali government take back territory from "terrorist, extremist and armed groups."West African nations say they have 3,300 troops ready to go to Mali to help rebuild the country's army and support a military operati

On Monday this week, the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced the signing of left-handed pitcher Dana Eveland. The former member of the Baltimore Orioles in Major League Baseball (MLB) signed a one-year pact worth $300,000, which included a signing bonus of $50,000, according to the Eagles. The figure was in line with the KBO salary cap on foreign players.It seemed like a harmless announcement, a typical offseason move by a KBO team trying to shore up its pitching sta

Five planets are orbiting a sun-like star not far the Earth, one in the so-called "habitable zone" where liquid water can exist, British astronomers say.An analysis of existing planet-hunting data by astronomers at the University of Hertfordshire with international colleagues uncovered the quintet of planets circling the star Tau Ceti, the BBC reported.The star is the second nearby one known to host planets, joining Alpha Centauri, our sun's closest neighbor.The five planets include worlds with

The U.S. Army said Wednesday it will seek the death penalty against the soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers in a predawn rampage in March, a decision his lawyer called “totally irresponsible.”The announcement followed a pretrial hearing last month for Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, 39, who faces premeditated murder and other charges in the attack on two villages in southern Afghanistan.The slayings drew such angry protests that the U.S. temporarily halted combat operations in Afghanistan, a

The number of South Korean corporate bankruptcies fell to the lowest level in eight months last month amid the protracted downturn, the central bank said Thursday. The number of firms that went belly-up totaled 93 last month, compared with 116 in October, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).It is the lowest since 90 firms recorded in March. The on-month drop in corporate bankruptcies is largely attributable to the economic situation not becoming any worse amid continued government efforts to bo

There are some characteristics shared by past U.S. school shooters, but there are not enough similarities to develop any distinctive profile, researchers say. Dr. Daniel J. Flannery at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and colleagues said they conducted a thorough examination of past studies focusing primarily on targeted and rampage, or spree, shootings.Targeted shootings are those where there is a specific target, individual group or institution. Rampage or spree shootings are those

Park Geun-hye, daughter of a divisive military strongman from South Korea's authoritarian era, has been elected the country's first female president, a landmark win that could mean a new drive to start talks with rival North Korea.After five years of high tension under unpopular incumbent Lee Myung-bak (Lee Myuhng Bahk), Park has vowed to pursue engagement and step up aid to North Korea, despite the latter's widely condemned long-range rocket launch last week.On Thursday, Park mentioned the Nort

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and all members of the Security Council except the United States criticized Israel on Wednesday, demanding an immediate halt to new settlement construction.Representatives of the 14 council members stepped to the microphone outside the council chamber after its monthly Mideast briefing to denounce the Israeli settlement plans, which they warned are threatening a two-state settlement with the Palestinians. The move was clearly aimed at intensifying pressure on I

Therapy dogs visit hospitals and nursing homes, comfort dogs are in Newtown, Conn., and soon a dog will help students in school with anger, officials say. School psychologist Angela Mullally says she is hopeful a therapy dog will be working at School 19 in the Rochester City School District in New York this school year to help students with anger issues, WHAM-TV, Rochester, reports. Mullally is working with the National Education for Assistance Dog Services to get a therapy dog in School 19.  "W

President Barack Obama and the top Republican in Congress swapped barbed political charges yet carefully left room for further negotiations on an elusive deal to head off year-end tax increases and spending cuts that threaten the U.S. economy.Republicans should “peel off the war paint” and take the deal he's offering, Obama said sharply at the White House on Wednesday. He buttressed his case by noting he had won re-election with a call for higher taxes on the wealthy, then added pointedly that t

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start on Thursday, boosted by expectations for the president-elect and her new government scheduled to take office next year, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 11.48 points, or 0.58 percent, to 2,004.57 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Wednesday, ruling conservative candidate Park Geun-hye won the presidential election against rival Moon Jae-in of the liberal opposition by garnering 51.6 percent of the vo

Jenni Rivera's “celestial graduation” was marked by festive music, heartfelt speeches in Spanish and English and passionate chants of “Jen-ni! Jen-ni!”Rivera's children and famed singers Olga Tanon and Joan Sebastian performed during the nearly 2-hour Christian-themed memorial service Wednesday at the Gibson Amphitheatre, where thousands of fans gathered to salute the “Diva de la Banda” who died in a plane crash Dec. 9.One fan, Veronika Flores, drove nearly eight hours from her home in Woodland,

The U.S. Commerce Department announced Wednesday that it has reached a final decision to slap heavy anti-dumping duties on South Korean-made washing machines.In a ruling described by the American firm Whirlpool Corp., the department determined that LG, Samsung and Daewoo have sold large washers in the U.S. at "dumping margins of 9.29 percent to 82.41 percent."The anti-dumping duties for the two leading South Korean makers of electronics products -- LG and Samsung -- were set at 13.02 percent and

A key figure in the reform process is likely to be former independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, who dropped out of the race last month after negotiations to merge candidacies with Moon fell through.Ahn, the 50-year-old founder of South Korea's largest anti-virus software firm, AhnLab, had advocated political reform and a break away from the old-style party-centered politics that had lost the confidence of many South Korean voters.He resisted the DUP's calls to join the party and instead ran as an

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed hope Wednesday that South Korea's incoming Park Geun-hye administration will take a role in the U.N.'s initiative to address global challenges."The Republic of Korea is a highly valued and steadfast partner of the United Nations in the work for international peace and security, development and human rights," Ban said in a statement issued by his spokesperson, using South Korea's formal name.Ban, formerly South Korea's foreign minister, said he hopes f

U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he would work closely with President-elect Park Geun-hye of South Korea on issues of mutual concern."I look forward to working closely with the Park administration to further enhance our extensive cooperation with the Republic of Korea on a wide range of important bilateral, regional and global issues," Obama said in his congratulatory message.Hours earlier, Park of the conservative ruling party was declared the winner of South Korea's presidential

President Lee Myung-bak congratulated ruling party presidential candidate Park Geun-hye on her certain victory in the tightly contested South Korean election Wednesday, his office said."Congratulations on your victory. You went through a lot of trouble," presidential spokesman Park Jung-ha quoted Lee as saying in a two-minute phone conversation with the candidate.Lee called the 60-year-old candidate of the conservative Saenuri Party at around 9:40 p.m. as the official vote count showed Park woul