Michael Phelps will set his sights on a record-extending 20th Olympic swimming gold on Tuesday when he tries to wrest back the 200m butterfly title from Chad le Clos.Katie Ledecky will also be battling for another key swimming title on an Olympic day in which 14 golds will be up for grabs.Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time has already topped the podium in Rio after the USA's 4x100m win, and will now go for individual glory at the age of 31. United States` Michael Phelps competes in

Monday was barren day for South Korea at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, with a handful of medal contenders unable to deliver on expectations.With no medals won Monday, South Korea remained stuck at two gold, two silver and one bronze. The country has set out to grab at least 10 gold medals and finish in the top 10 in the medals table for the fourth consecutive Olympics.South Korea is now eighth in the medal standings. The U.S. led the medal standings for the second straight day with five golds, se

[THE INVESTOR] The South Korean government Friday vowed to work towards improving relations with China in light of escalating concerns of fraying relations on political, economic and cultural fronts due to an advanced missile defense system deployment here. They also denied news reports that China was possibly taking “retaliatory actions.”“The government is keeping a keen eye on the Chinese media’s reaction and various measures carried out (by the Chinese government). We (the government) will wo

　South Korea’s presidential office Friday reiterated that the U.S. advanced missile system would be deployed by the end of next year as backlash continued after President Park Geun-hye suggested the day before that she was open to considering changing the deployment location. 　Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Jeong Yeon-guk told reporters the president’s remarks were intended “to respond to the request for a review” from the protesting residents. He added that the government would “look into other are

[THE INVESTOR] The South Korean Defense Ministry said Thursday that it may revise its plan to deploy the advanced U.S. missile defense system in Seongsan-ri, Seongju-gun, North Gyeongsang Province.The ministry’s statement followed President Park Geun-hye’s remarks earlier in the day that she will consider stationing the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in other places in Seongju.“If the local government requests so, the ministry will review other places within the Seongju area for THAA

Tokyo on Sunday elected its first female governor to lead the city as it prepares to host the 2020 Olympics, as voters turned to a leader promising clean politics after two predecessors resigned over money scandals.Yuriko Koike was announced the winner by Japanese media as soon as voting ended, based on her definitive lead in exit polls. She will take charge of a sprawling capital with a population of more than 13 million and an annual budget bigger than Sweden's. “I am pushing for a Tokyo where

LONDON (AP) -- London is under Harry Potter’s spell once more -- and J.K. Rowling hopes the rest of the world will eventually follow. The stage play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” had its gala opening Saturday in London’s West End and is already the theater event of the year.　 JK Rowling arrives at the Palace Theatre in London, Saturday. (Yonhap)Rowling joined director John Tiffany, playwright Jack Thorne and the cast onstage to receive a raucous standing ovation at the end of the two-part

China’s ambitions to become a pioneer in nuclear energy are sailing into troubled waters.Two state-owned companies plan to develop floating nuclear reactors, a technology engineers have been considering since the 1970s for use by oil rigs or island communities. Beijing is racing Russia, which started developing its own in 2007, to get a unit into commercial operation.In China's case, the achievement would be tempered by concern its reactors might be sent into harm’s way to support oil exploratio

Some 80 people, including French nationals, gathered at the French embassy in Seoul on Sunday to commemorate those killed in last week's truck attack in Nice.   Participants at the gathering, including French Ambassador to South Korea Fabien Penone and embassy officials, prayed for the victims of the attack.    The ambassador extended his condolences to the family of the victims and thanked the South Korean government for its support, while urging them to stand together against terrorism.   The

Four people were killed and 16 others were injured on Sunday as five vehicles piled up on an expressway in Gangwon Province, police said.   The collision took place at 5:54 p.m. on the Seoul-bound side of the Yeongdong Expressway, and those injured were taken to nearby hospitals, they said.   Police said a bus bumped into a passenger car, causing a mass collision of cars behind it. (Yonhap)

(AFP) Turkish authorities rounded up dozens of senior military personnel and judges in a ruthless crackdown Sunday, after thousands massed in the streets nationwide overnight to denounce a coup aimed at ousting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.   World leaders including US President Barack Obama have strongly condemned the attempted putsch but also urged Turkey to respect the "rule of law" in its aftermath, especially after pictures emerged showing the rough treatment of some coup plotters when ar

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea is facing opposition within and beyond the peninsula following its announcement made with the U.S. of a plan to station an advanced U.S. missile defense system here, On Friday, Seoul and Washington presented their plan to complete the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system here to counter growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, ending a five-month consultation period. As of Sunday, North Korea had yet to release a statement on the ma

NASA celebrated a key triumph on Tuesday as its $1.1 billion Juno spacecraft successfully slipped into orbit around Jupiter on a mission to probe the origin of the solar system.NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California erupted in cheers as the solar observatory entered its aimed-for orbit around the biggest planet in our cosmic neighborhood at 11:53 p.m. “We are there. We are in orbit. We conquered Jupiter,” said Scott Bolton, NASA’s principal investigator from the Southwest Resea

U.S. agents were investigating the alleged Islamist links of a slain gunman Sunday after an assault on a Florida gay nightclub left 50 dead. In what became the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, carnage erupted at the Pulse club in Orlando before the attacker was shot dead by a police SWAT team. “We know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate,” President Barack Obama said.Pope Francis and world leaders joined him in condemning the attack, which is being treated

North Korea on Wednesday aired a video image of the submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in flight after its launch in April.A documentary aired earlier in the day by the country's state-run Korean Central TV Station showed an SLBM being launched from a submerged submarine and soaring vertically into the air.Kim Jong-un watched the launch from the shore and the flight scene was replayed several times with the film roughly titled "(he) displays the zenith of a revolution."The video also ca

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday expressed their willingness to improve strained ties over the North's nuclear weapons program, with both sides saying that they would work together to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. The message was exchanged during a meeting in Beijing between Chinese President Xi Jinping and a visiting high-level North Korean delegation, led by Ri Su-yong, vice chairman of the North Korean ruling party's central

The aunt of North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-Un lives anonymously in the United States, where she runs a dry-cleaning business after having defected in 1998, The Washington Post reported Friday.Ko Yong-Suk -- who lives with her husband Ri Gang and their three children under assumed names -- was the sister of Ko Yong-Hui, one of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il's wives and mother of Kim Jong-Un.Close to North Korea's communist regime, the couple was sent to Switzerland to look after me

A growing number of listed South Korean firms have split their stocks in a bid to boost turnover and attract individual investors, the main bourse operator said Saturday. A total of 27 companies listed on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets have reduced the face value of their stocks this year, with seven more expected to follow suit in the third quarter, the Korea Exchange (KRX) said. Among them are Lotte Confectionery Co., the food unit of retail giant Lotte; Crown Confectionery Co.; and Doosan Heavy

A crime journalist has been shot dead in Manila, police and colleagues said Saturday, the latest addition to a lengthening list of unsolved murders of media workers in the Philippines.Alex Balcoba, 56, was attacked in central Manila late Friday outside a watch repair shop owned by his family, the country's National Press Club said in a statement.The club's president Paul Gutierrez said the attack on Balcoba, a reporter for the People's Brigada tabloid, brought to more than 30 the number of journ

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Friday that an interest rate hike would be appropriate in the coming months if the economy keeps improving.While economic growth was relatively weak at the end of last year and beginning of this year, it appears to be picking up now based on recent data, Yellen said during a discussion at Harvard University.She said she expects the Fed to “gradually and cautiously increase” its key interest rate “and probably in the coming months, such a move would be appr