LONDON (AP) ― For two decades, Eric Selby had been completely blind and dependent on a guide dog to get around. But after having an artificial retina put into his right eye, he can detect ordinary things like the curb and pavement when he’s walking outside.“It’s basically flashes of light that you have to translate in your brain, but it’s amazing I can see anything at all,” said Selby, a retired e

TechnologyFeb. 15, 2011

BARCELONA, Spain (Yonhap News) ― LG Electronics Inc., the world’s besieged No. 3 cell phone maker, aims to more than quadruple its smartphone sales from last year to 30 million units in 2011 in a bid to revive its money-losing mobile business, a company executive said Tuesday.LG will also lift its overall mobile phone sales by 30 percent to 150 million units, aiming to outnumber the industry’s sta

TechnologyFeb. 15, 2011

Multitasking, speedy IE9 coming to windows phoneBARCELONA (AFP) ― Microsoft announced Monday an Internet-friendly revamp of its Windows Phone operating system to help capture new territory in the smartphone wars.Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer unveiled a series of improvements this year to Windows Phone, which got a major boost last week when it was adopted by leading handphone maker Nokia.The softw

IndustryFeb. 15, 2011

Eurozone to put up $674b for post-2013 bailout fund, disagreement over debt crisisBRUSSELS (AP) ― European finance ministers decided Monday to provide 500 billion euros ($674 billion) for a new crisis fund that will come into force in 2013, but continued to fight over the best way to combat the current debt crisis that has crippled the eurozone over the past year.The ministers “agreed on the provi

IndustryFeb. 15, 2011

The world’s largest shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries announced on Tuesday that it would set up a 30 billion won ($27 million) fund for supporting small and medium sized enterprises’ research and development efforts in collaboration with the Small and Medium Business Administration.The shipbuilder and the Small and Medium Business Administration will each be responsible for raising 15 billion w

IndustryFeb. 15, 2011

New chairman to put group in gear for competition with KB, WooriHan Dong-woo, nominated to head Shinhan Financial Group, faces the daunting challenge of restoring the group’s reputation and mending in-house frictions. The former vice chairman of the group’s insurance unit was tapped as the next chairman of the nation’s third-largest financial group Monday.Shinhan has suffered a management crisis d

Feb. 15, 2011

Competition among mobile messenger operators to get more fierceKim Ji-young was dumbfounded to find out that she had not used up all of her mobile text messages when she checked her monthly plan last month.It was unusual for the 30-year-old to be in this situation, for she would normally be charged 10,000 to 20,000 won ($8.88-$17.78) more per month, just on text message fees.When asked what kept h

TechnologyFeb. 15, 2011

WASHINGTON, (AFP) - A NASA spacecraft is just hours from its long-anticipated encounter with a comet, and skywatchers hope the flyby will shed light on how the comet's surface has changed since it skimmed by the Sun in 2005.The US space agency's Stardust-NExT mission spacecraft "is within a quarter-million miles (402,336 kilometers) of its quarry, comet Tempel 1, which it will fly by tonight," NAS

TechnologyFeb. 15, 2011

WASHINGTON, (AFP) - A NASA spacecraft is just hours from its long-anticipated encounter with a comet, and skywatchers hope the flyby will shed light on how the comet's surface has changed since it skimmed by the Sun in 2005.The US space agency's Stardust-NExT mission spacecraft "is within a quarter-million miles (402,336 kilometers) of its quarry, comet Tempel 1, which it will fly by tonight," NAS

TechnologyFeb. 15, 2011

Device will be priced below $150; company aims to sell 300m cell phones, 7.5m tablet PCs and 6m samrtphones this yearBARCELONA, Spain (Yonhap News) ― Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s No. 2 cell phone supplier, plans to release a cheaper smartphone in an effort to sharply boost its smartphone sales by meeting rising demand for lower-end phones, its mobile chief said Monday. “This year, we will

IndustryFeb. 15, 2011

WASHINGTON, (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday called for more investment in building infrastructure to catch up with South Korea and other outperforming countries.In a message to Congress attached to his budget for the 2012 fiscal year, Obama said the U.S. "lags behind other nations when it comes to the infrastructure of the future," noting that "only 63 percent of American househo

TechnologyFeb. 15, 2011

The number of female workers in South Korea grew in 2010 as the economic recovery boosted employment among women job seekers, data showed Tuesday.The average number of female workers came to 9.91 million last year, up 142,000 from a year earlier, according to the data offered by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and Statistics Korea.Female workers have been on a steady increase in recent years

Feb. 15, 2011

WASHINGTON, (AFP) - Most Americans believe China is the world's leading economy, even though in reality the rising Asian power's GDP trails that of the United States, a poll said Monday.Some 52 percent of Americans said China was the "leading economic power in the world today," against 32 percent who said their own country, the Gallup poll said. The percentage who said China has soared over recent

Feb. 15, 2011

Shinhan Financial Group nominated Han Dong-woo, a former vice chairman of the group’s life insurance unit, as the single candidate for its chairman ship Monday.The nation’s third-largest financial group said its candidate selection committee picked Han out of the four potential candidates for the top post.Woori Finance Holdings Co., Korea‘s top financial services company, also named two candidates

Feb. 14, 2011

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Apple is developing new lines of smaller and cheaper iPhones and overhauling its software to facilitate users’ access to entertainment, photos and video, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.The new device ― code-named “N97” ― will be about half the size of the iPhone 4 and cost about half as much as Apple’s main line of iPhones, the Journal said, citing a person who saw a pr

IndustryFeb. 14, 2011