North Korea on Tuesday unilaterally canceled plans to hold talks with two South Korean aid organizations that had planned to visit the communist country to discuss humanitarian assistance for flood victims.Okedongmu Children in Korea and Foundation of Inter-Korean Cooperation said they received fax messages from North Korea's National Reconciliation Council calling off talks set for Wednesday in G

North Korea Aug. 28, 2012

South Korea's Samsung Electronics said Saturday it will contest a U.S. court ruling that it must pay rival technology giant Apple damages of more than $1 billion for patent violations."We will move immediately to file post-verdict motions to overturn this decision in this court and if we are not successful, we will appeal this decision to the Court of Appeals," Samsung said.The statement came just

Technology Aug. 25, 2012

Korean rapper Psy said Saturday lots of good things look likely to happen for him, returning from a 10-day trip to the United States to discuss working in collaboration with Justin Bieber's management agency.During the visit, Psy met with Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun.The K-pop singer was reportedly offered a chance to release his hit single "Gangnam Style" in the United States."Nothing has been

Aug. 25, 2012

Jurors who zipped through more than 600 questions in three days to arrive at their verdict in the intellectual-property battle between Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. had as their leader an engineer with a patent to his name.Velvin Hogan, foreman of the nine-member panel, told the court during jury selection last month that he spent seven years working with lawyers to obtain his own patent,

Technology Aug. 25, 2012

The South Korean military plans to conduct regular military exercises in waters near the easternmost islets of Dokdo early next month but they may be delayed because of increased tension over Japan's renewed territorial claims, a military source said Saturday."The Navy has set up a plan to stage the drills to defend Dokdo for four days from Sept. 9," the source said.The plan is pending final confi

Defense Aug. 25, 2012

Samsung's loss Friday in a U.S. lawsuit brought by Apple Inc. has set an amber light before the future of the Google-backed Android operating system.More than a year of courtroom fights between Samsung and Apple mean more than just patent disputes between the arch-rivals in the world's smartphone and tablet computer markets.Also at issue is Apple's claim that the Android operating system, which ru

Technology Aug. 25, 2012

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Mexican federal police fired on a U.S. Embassy vehicle and wounded two U.S. government employees Friday after their vehicle drove into a rural, mountainous area outside the capital where the officers were looking for criminals, Mexican and U.S. officials said.The two embassy employees were hospitalized, one with a leg wound and the other hit in the stomach and hand, according t

World News Aug. 25, 2012

VIENNA (AP) -- Iran has shrouded a building that the U.N. nuclear agency suspects was used for secret work on atomic weapons, meaning spy satellites can no longer monitor Tehran's alleged efforts to clean up the site, diplomats told The Associated Press on Friday.For months, satellite images have recorded what the International Atomic Energy Agency suspects is an attempt to sanitize the site. At t

World News Aug. 25, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) -- A laid-off clothing designer fatally shot an executive at his former company outside the Empire State Building on Friday, setting off a chaotic showdown with police in front of one of the world's best-known landmarks. Officers killed the gunman and at least nine others suffered minor wounds, likely all of them by stray police gunfire, authorities said.The gunshots rang out on the

World News Aug. 25, 2012

MADRID (AFP) -- Standard and Poor's on Wednesday affirmed Spain's credit rating at BBB+ with the outlook still negative on fears that measures to help the eurozone struggler will fall short."In our view, Spain's commitment to the ongoing implementation of a comprehensive fiscal and structural reform agenda remains strong," S&P said, referring to a raft of new austerity measures passed by the conse

World Business Aug. 1, 2012

ATHENS (AP) -- Greece's Socialist party remains at odds with its conservative coalition partners over a proposed round of new austerity cuts needed for country to remain in an emergency loan program, a senior party official said Wednesday.Socialist official Panos Beglitis made the remarks, hours before leaders of three parties in the coalition are to hold a third meeting in a week to try and hamme

World Business Aug. 1, 2012

Korea and Turkey signed their free trade deal on Wednesday, paving the way for South Korean firms to tap deeper into the Eurasian nation, Seoul's trade ministry said.Seoul Trade Minister Bark Tae-ho and Turkish counterpart Zafer Caglayan signed the pact on merchandise in the Turkish capital of Ankara earlier in the day, according to the ministry."The Korea-Turkey FTA is expected to serve as a good

Aug. 1, 2012