Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab have come up with "social x-ray specs" that can interpret others’ facial expressions, according to reports. The creator of the glasses, Rosalind Picard said that they can identify human facial expressions such as thinking, agreeing, concentrating, interest and disagreement. This is made possible with the help of a built-in camera

Online retail giant Amazon plans to unveil a tablet computer before October in a bid to carve out a slice of a growing market dominated by Apple's iPad, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.The newspaper, citing "people familiar with the matter," also said Amazon plans to release two updated versions of its Kindle electronic reader in the third quarter of the year.The Journal said the tablet

Coca-Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken have recently agreed with North Korean officials to open branches in Pyongyang, according to news reports. (MCT)Some 10 executives from the companies visited Pyongyang from July 5-9 on the invitation of the North’s Korea Taepung International Investment Group, a major channel for attracting foreign investment. Sources said their branches will be established as

SEOUL, July 13 (Yonhap) -- A total of 174 people died "solitary deaths" in Seoul last year, with no one to take care of their bodies and funerals, the city government said Wednesday.Among the 25 administrative wards, Joong-gu and Yeongdeungpo-gu-- districts with the highest number of homeless -- had the largest number of such deaths, 43 and 27, respectively, said the city government, citing a 2010

SEOUL, July 13 (Yonhap) -- The number of smartphone subscribers in South Korea hit 15 million this week, according to data from the country's three mobile operators released Wednesday. South Korean smartphone subscribers numbered 15.35 million as of Monday, including 7.8 million users at the industry leader SK Telecom Co., 5.45 million at KT Corp. and 2.1 million at LG Uplus Corp., the mobile carr

 About half of American adults watch online videos unrelated to work while on the job, a U.S. survey showed. Men watch twice as often as women.The study showed that 25 percent watch news clips and 15 percent view viral videos. Other popular choices were sports (11 percent) and television shows (9 percent). Some are bold enough to view full-length feature films (4 percent) and even pornography (3 p

This file photo shows a Japanese woman browsing for beef in a food hall in Tokyo. (Bloomberg)More than six times the legal limit of radioactive caesium has been found in beef from Fukushima prefecture, home to Japan's crippled nuclear plant, an official statement said Saturday.The meat came from one of 11 cows shipped this month to Tokyo from a farmer in Minamisoma city, according to the statement

SEOUL, July 12 (Yonhap) -- A North Korean joint venture with a European company has opened a luxury restaurant in the capital of the isolated country, the company said Tuesday.Hana Electronics JVC opened "The Restaurant at Hana" and related leisure facilities such as a swimming pool, sauna, hairdresser and bar in its headquarters in Pyongyang, Europe-based Phoenix Commercial Ventures said on its W

German soccer legend Franz Beckenbauer vented over Munich’s failure to win the rights to host 2018 Winter Olympics, blaming it on European countries’ “selfishness.” Pyeongchang, an internationally unfamiliar town with population of a little higher than 40,000, won 63 votes from International Olympic Committee members at the election in Durban, South Africa, last week. Munich managed 25 votes while

An American politician who allegedly posted himself an imitation grenade has been accused of making false police report.Leroy Schaffer, a city councilman from Minnesota, told authorities that somebody had sent him a bomb. It turned out to be a ploy to buy sympathy from people.On July 1st, the accused had called police concerning a suspicious package he had received from Chicago. He told officers t

An American fishing tour operator is under a criminal investigation by the U.S. Justice Department, accused of conducting sex tourism in Brazil, according to reports.The defendant, Richard Schair operated Wet-A-Line Tours until 2009, allegedly using sports fishing expeditions in the Amazon as covers for tourists to have sex with underage girls. The lawsuit was filed last month by Atlanta law firm

LOS ANGELES, July 10, 2011 (AFP) - A California woman kidnapped as a schoolgirl and repeatedly raped over 18 years in captivity described graphic details of her ordeal, in a first ever TV interview aired Sunday.Jaycee Dugard, who was 11 when she was seized and kept in a back yard compound by Phillip and Nancy Garrido in 1991, described how she gave birth to two daughters of her own -- and how that

A man who set fire to his own home to retaliate against his noisy neighbor was sentenced to two years by Changwon District Court.The 46-year-old arsonist, who lives in an apartment, said the neighbor upstairs was too noisy and he could not stand it. He said in the hearing that despite frequent remonstrations, the situation did not change.On the day of the accident, his neighbor ignored his complai

MOSCOW (AP) _ A half-century-old tourist boat with 188 people on board listed and sank quickly in one of the world's largest reservoirs amid wind and rain Sunday, authorities and survivors said, and dozens of children were believed to be among the 101 people missing. Two bodies were recovered.About 30 children gathered in a cockpit in the double-decker Bulgaria moments before it sank into the rese

 LUCKNOW, India, July 11, 2011 (AFP) - Rescue teams pulled bodies and survivors Monday from the wreckage of two Indian passenger trains that derailed in separate incidents over the weekend, leaving 63 dead and 200 injured.Nearly a dozen carriages of a packed express jumped the rails in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, while a second derailed as a result of a suspected bomb attack in

SEOUL, July 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's budget carriers are coming under fire for a string of mishaps that have raised concerns about the safety of the airlines and the quality of flight crews, local industry sources said Saturday.Sources said the discoveries of a Eastar Jet Co. pilot trying to fly a plane while still being under the influence of alcohol last month and the failure of a Jeju Air Co

ADDIS ABABA, July 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak sprayed disinfectant at alleys and toilets in Ethiopia on Saturday as he engaged in volunteer work at a poverty-stricken village in a symbolic gesture of returning the African nation's help during the Korean War.Lee's visit to Kebena Village, one of four major poverty areas in this Ethiopian capital, was one of a series of activi

DECATUR, Georgia (AP) _ Pittsburgh Steelers star wide receiver Hines Ward was arrested early Saturday in Georgia on a drunken driving charge, sheriff's officials said.The former Super Bowl MVP and reigning ``Dancing With the Stars'' champ was booked into the DeKalb County jail just outside Atlanta at 3:41 a.m. and charged with driving under the influence. He was released on $1,300 bond.The sheriff

SEOUL, July 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's leading automaker Hyundai Motor Co. said Sunday that it has launched a new Sonata turbo model with upgraded performance and competitive options designed to meet consumer demands.The new model of the top selling mid-size sedan has a 2.0-liter gasoline direct injection (GDi) engine that produces a maximum horsepower of 271 and 37.2 kilogram-meters of torque.

Men are about five times more likely to be killed by lightning because they are more reckless, a recently survey showed. AccuWeather.com., a U.S. online weather service, has recently unveiled the result of its survey of lightning-related deaths that occurred in the U.S. from 1995 to 2008. (AP)Of 648 people killed by lightning, men accounted for 82 percent. This year, there have been six such death