[Newsmaker] 'Strongest evidence' of water on Mars

Scientists on Monday announced "the strongest evidence yet" of liquid water on Mars, raising the distant prospect of microscopic life on the Red Planet.Experts at NASA hailed the findings, made with the U.S. space agency's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and said they were "revolutionizing our understanding" of Earth's neighbor."Mars is not the dry, arid planet we thought of in the past," Jim Green, NASA's planetary science director, told journalists in Washington. "Under certain circumstances, liq

World NewsSept. 29, 2015

[Newsmaker] New VW boss tries to save carmaker

Volkswagen's new boss began trying to pull the embattled carmaker out of the wreckage of a pollution test rigging scandal Saturday, as the United States and Switzerland halted the sale of the group's new diesel cars.   The 62-year-old former Porsche chief Matthias Mueller was tapped Friday to replace Martin Winterkorn, who resigned over stunning revelations by US environmental authorities that the German carmaker had fitted some of its diesel cars with software capable of cheating environmental

World BusinessSept. 27, 2015

[Newsmaker] Apple’s new iPhone hits stores

 How many iPhones can Apple Inc. sell? With the company hitting new sales records with each annual release, that’s a question facing chief executive officer Tim Cook as the latest batch of handsets hits stores on Friday around the world. The latest models, following last year’s hugely popular design overhaul that added bigger screens, may not match the success of previous releases, according to analysts.An Apple employee in Sydney takes a 'selfie' photograph of customers with the new iPhone 6s p

BusinessSept. 25, 2015

[Newsmaker] Volkswagen just latest scalp for independent campaigners

Volkswagen’s worldwide pollution cheating has been exposed in large part thanks to independent campaigners, a growing force in the scrutiny of multinationals whose activities can escape the gaze of official regulators.The revelations shaking Volkswagen, the world’s biggest automobile manufacturer by sales with a workforce of 590,000 people, can be traced to the work of the U.S.-based group International Council on Clean Transportation, which has a worldwide staff of 27.A red 2016 Volkswagen AG G

World BusinessSept. 24, 2015

[Newsmaker] Itaewon murder suspect denies 18-year-old charges

After nearly two decades including a botched initial investigation and series of trials, a movie and a reinvestigation, the murder that took place at a fast-food joint in Itaewon returned to the spotlight Wednesday with the extradition of the key U.S. suspect.Arthur John Patterson, handcuffed and donned in all white, arrived at In­cheon International Airport to face charges of murdering 22-year-old Korean student Cho Joong-pill in 1997.Patterson denied the allegations and said his Korean-America

Social AffairsSept. 23, 2015

[Newsmaker] Volkswagen slams into false emissions scam

German auto giant Volkswagen’s shares plummeted nearly 20 percent Monday as investigations spread into revelations that hundreds of thousands of its diesel cars have software that secretly thwarts U.S. pollution tests.Volkswagen, the world’s largest automaker by sales in the first half of this year, said it had halted all diesel vehicle sales in the United States during a probe into the scandal, which could lead to fines of more than $18 billion.In addition to the environmental fines, U.S. autho

World BusinessSept. 22, 2015

[Newsmaker] Park to regain control of Kumho Asiana Group

Kumho Asiana Group chairman’s long-awaited dream to bring back his business empire under his control is likely to be realized, with his reacquisition of Kumho Industrial, the de facto holding firm of the group, getting close. Kumho Asiana Group chairman Park Sam-koo makes a welcoming speech during the “2015 Korea-Japan Festival in Seoul,’’ held at the Coex, southern Seoul, on Sunday. He is in charge of the Korean organizing committee for the festival. (Kumho Asiana)Creditors of Kumho Industrial

IndustrySept. 20, 2015

[Newsmaker] Makers of Budweiser, Miller eye global merger

Bottles of Budweiser (right) and Miller beer. (Bloomberg)The makers of Budweiser aren't satisfied with being the kings of beer. They want an empire.Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's biggest brewing company and the owner of Budweiser, announced Wednesday it wants to buy SABMiller, the second-largest brewer — and the maker of long-time rival brand Miller Genuine Draft.The deal would create a multinational behemoth valued at around $275 billion with annual sales of $73.3 billion, more than three ti

World BusinessSept. 17, 2015

[Newsmaker] Turnbull sworn in as new Australian premier

Multim­illionaire former banker Malcolm Turnbull was sworn in as prime minister of Australia on Tuesday, just hours after masterminding a coup against conservative leader Tony Abbott, and pledging a new style of leadership.Turnbull is the country’s fourth prime minister in just over two years, a recent Australian political tradition the deposed Abbott slammed as a “revolving door” that was not good for the country.“This is the most exciting time to be an Australian,” Turnbull told reporters in t

World NewsSept. 15, 2015

[Newsmaker] Lydia Ko youngest major winner

With two holes left to play in her bid to become the youngest LPGA major champion at the Evian Championship, Lydia Ko stayed as relaxed and composed as a seasoned veteran. The South Korean-born New Zealander birdied both on the shores of Lake Geneva to reach a new landmark in her short but already storied career. Lydia Ko AP-YonhapA flawless final-round display ― featuring spectacular approaches and clinical putts among her eight birdies ― made Ko the youngest major champion in LPGA Tour history

More SportsSept. 14, 2015

[Newsmaker] Socialist Corbyn wins U.K. Labour leadership

Veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of Britain’s Labour opposition on Saturday in a landslide victory that puts an anti-austerity figure at the helm of a major U.K. party.The 66-year-old, whose policies have been compared to those of radical leftist Greece’s Syriza and Spain’s Podemos, won after clinching 59.5 percent of the vote, giving Britain its most left-wing leader in decades among the main parties.The new Labour chief could divide Britain’s biggest opposition party, and he

World NewsSept. 13, 2015

[Newsmaker] Apple presses deeper with new iPhones

Apple is bolstering its money-pumping iPhone line while looking to dive deep into businesses with iPads and dominate living rooms with Apple TV hardware tuned to app-loving lifestyles.Tricked-out new iPhone 6 models, along with overhauled Apple TV hardware and iPad Pro tablets with enlarged screens, were major announcements at the technology titan’s media event Wednesday in San Francisco. Apple Senior Vice President of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller talks about the new iPad Pro during an Appl

World BusinessSept. 10, 2015

[Newsmaker] Queen Elizabeth II breaks reign record

After reigning through the decline of the British empire and some of the worst scandals in royal history, Queen Elizabeth II is set to become Britain‘s longest-serving monarch Wednesday.With over 63 years on the throne, the queen is one of the most famous and respected women in the world and “embodies the history of the 20th Century,” according to historian Kate Williams.Britain`s Queen Elizabeth waves as she arrives at Edinburgh Waverley Station before boarding a train drawn by a steam locomoti

InternationalSept. 9, 2015

[Newsmaker] Samsung’s 1st biosimilar drug approved

　Samsung Group, South Korea’s leading conglomerate, has taken a significant step toward driving forward its newly-established biopharmaceuticals business, an emerging sector expected to become one of the company’s future growth engines.　Samsung Bioepis, the conglomerate’s biotechnology research and development unit, said Monday that it had gained approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to begin selling Brenzys, its biosimilar copy of Amgen and Pfizer’s rheumatoid arthritis treatment E

IndustrySept. 8, 2015

[Newsmaker] Seoul: Asia’s new fashion window?

Move over Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore. Seoul is emerging as Asia’s new fashion showcase, with the world’s top luxury firms seeking to cash in on the regional trend-setting popularity of South Korean pop culture.A woman walks past a Louis Vuitton store in the duty-free shopping area at Incheon International Airport. (Bloomberg)Fast-growing Asia is a key market driving the global luxury industry, with purchases by Chinese consumers accounting for one third of global sales, according to market r

CultureSept. 7, 2015

[Newsmaker] Global warming ‘far above’ target

Inadequate national targets for curbing climate-altering greenhouse gases meant emissions would be “far above” the level required to stave off disastrous global warming, analysts warned Wednesday.Instead of the U.N.-targeted ceiling of two degrees Celsius of average warming over pre-Industrial Revolution levels, the world was on track for 2.9-3.1 C by 2100, according to the Climate Action Tracker, a tool developed by a consortium of four research organizations.“The climate targets so far submitt

World NewsSept. 3, 2015

[Newsmaker] Sankei under fire again for attack on Park

Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun came under fire again for an online column that called President Park Geun-hye’s plan to attend China’s World War II victory event “toadyism” and likened her to a 19th-century Korean empress assassinated by Japan.President Park Geun-hye presides over a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday. (Yonhap)In its Monday edition, the conservative daily carried the column accusing Korea’s diplomacy of being historically subservient to big powers -- China, Russia or

Foreign AffairsSept. 1, 2015

[Newsmaker] Samsung C&T as new group holding company

The “new” Samsung C&T kicked off on Sept. 1 as the de facto holding company of Samsung Group, the nation’s largest conglomerate. The group’s construction, trading, fashion, food and bio businesses are now reorganized under the new umbrella company, while Samsung Electronics and Samsung Life Insurance are responsible for tech and finance pillars, respectively. Head office buildings of Samsung C&T (left) and Samsung Electronics (right)          YonhapThe merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Indust

TechnologyAug. 31, 2015

[Newsmaker] Cable car approval touches off dispute

The government’s decision to allow the construction of a second cable car route on Mount Seoraksan last week drew mixed reactions over the weekend, with civic groups blasting authorities for ignoring its potential environmental impact and local residents calling it a business opportunity.The Environment Ministry’s national park committee on Friday agreed to allow Yangyang County Office of Gangwon Province to construct a 3.5-kilometer cable car on Mount Seoraksan, one of the country’s best-preser

Aug. 30, 2015