GENEVA (AP) — The Sun-Drop Diamond of South Africa, a giant pear-shaped yellow gem weighing 110.3 carats, has sold for more than $10.9 million at auction Tuesday, beating previous records for a jewel of its type.Including commission the unidentified telephone bidder paid almost $12.4 million f

 PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A long-lost version of the Air Force One recordings made in the immediate aftermath of President John F. Kennedy's assassination, with more than 30 minutes of additional material not in the official version in the government's archives, has been found and is for sale.

HONG KONG, Nov. 15 (Yonhap) -- Moody's Investors Service said Tuesday it has placed the credit rating of Hynix Semiconductor Inc. under review for possible upgrade following SK Telecom Co.'s bid to buy a controlling stake in the company.SK Telecom, South Korea's top mobile operator, said it will pay

SEOUL, Nov. 15 (Yonhap) -- Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was attacked by a 62-year-old woman Tuesday during a civil defense exercise in a subway station but was not hurt, witnesses said.The woman, only identified by her last name Park, hit the mayor on the neck while the liberal mayor was watching a pub

SEOUL, Nov. 15 (Yonhap) -- Disgraced comedian-turned-director Shim Hyung-rae was indicted without physical detention Tuesday on charges of not paying workers of his own movie production house, prosecutors said.Shim, the head of Younggu-Art Entertainment, was accused of failing to pay 891 million won

 (Yonhap News)President tells opposition Seoul will ask U.S. to revise disputed FTA clause if Assembly passes billPresident Lee Myung-bak offered Tuesday to open a new round of negotiations with the U.S. on a set of controversial clauses in the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, once the parliament ratifies the treaty. Lee made the proposal to Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, during a meeting with party leaders at the National Assembly. “The president said he wo

Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Samsung Electronics Co., embroiled in patent disputes with Apple Inc. around the globe, won an early trial on its claim that the iPhone and iPad 2 in Australia infringe its patents on 3G wireless transmissions.Australia Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett today ordered tha

LONDON (AP) _ The parties will be at the palace _ at least during next year's Summer Olympics.Queen Elizabeth II has approved renting out fancy rooms at St. James's Palace as party venues during the 2012 London Olympics.Buckingham Palace says holders of royal warrants _ companies with long-standing

In a file picture taken on April 28, 2011 Larry, the 10 Downing Street cat, walks on the cabinet table wearing a British Union Jack bow tie ahead of the Downing Street street party in central London. (AFP)Downing Street defended its resident cat Larry on Monday after Prime Minister David Cameron rep

(AP) How far does a mosquito fly? Harry Boerema wants to know.Boerema lives near a drainage project, where Dutch authorities are dredging a huge meter-deep (3-foot) basin in the northern rural landscape to head off flood waters and protect towns and villages from disaster.The project threatens to in

SEOUL, Nov 14, 2011 (AFP) - North Korea has opened a department store in its capital offering luxury goods for the ruling elite to try to bolster loyalty before a second dynastic succession, officials and reports said Monday.The store named Potongkang opened in February, selling imported high-end br

North Korea's government-run Web site began linking posts critical of South Korea to popular social networking sites (SNS) to allow netizens to more easily spread its message online, in its latest effort to step up cyber propaganda. The official Web site of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunificati

NEW YORK (AP) — The Kindle was always an odd product name. Amazon used a verb to name a thing, raising the question: Kindle what? Now we have the answer: Kindle Fire.The Kindle Fire is the first full-color, touch-screen Kindle. It's available in the U.S. starting Tuesday for $199.A price like

JAKARTA, Nov 14, 2011 (AFP) - A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia's eastern North Maluku province on Monday, meteorologists said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, and no tsunami alert.The quake occurred at 11:05 am (0405 GMT) with an epicentre 69 kilometres (4

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—The family of an Indiana teenager filed a civil lawsuit against USA Swimming and others Thursday, saying officials didn’t do enough to protect the girl from the sexual assaults by her coach.The suit, filed in Marion County Superior Court, levels accusations against the umbrel

GENEVA (AP) — The Western Black Rhino of Africa has been declared officially extinct, and two other subspecies of rhinoceros are close to meeting the same fate, a leading conservation group said Thursday.The International Union for Conservation of Nature said a recent reassessment of the Weste

 The US space agency is getting ready to launch later this month the biggest, most expensive robotic vehicle ever built to explore Mars for signs of previous life there, NASA said Thursday.The Curiosity rover, known formally as the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), is a $2.5 billion state-of-the-a

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- Apple Inc.'s iPhone 4S was released in South Korea on Friday with great fanfare as the country's two largest mobile carriers heated up their competition to lure customers.SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest mobile operator, and the runner-up KT Corp. invited fans to cele

LONDON (AP) _ Britain's advertising standards watchdog on Wednesday banned a Marc Jacobs perfume ad starring actress Dakota Fanning, saying it seemed to sexualize a child and could cause serious offense.Four readers complained about the magazine ad for Jacobs' recently launched ``Oh, Lola!'' perfume

TORONTO (AP) _ Toronto's zoo is splitting up a pair of male penguins whose affection has drawn headlines and jokes about ``Brokeback Iceberg.''The African penguins have shared the nest they built since coming to the zoo about a year ago. But since the penguins are an endangered species, zoo official