The communications watchdog on Thursday imposed a business suspension on the country's No. 2 mobile carrier and fined it and two other rivals for providing excessive subsidies to lure customers.KT Corp. will be banned from attracting new customers for seven days, as it is judged to have led an overheated competition in the local telecom market, and was fined 20.2 billion won (US$17.84 million), the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said.The watchdog also slapped fines of 36.4 billion won and

Industry July 18, 2013

South Korea's tax agency and prosecutors have launched an investigation into suspicions that assets of former President Chun Doo-hwan might be concealed in diverse insurance products under the names of his family members, relatives and close aides, industry sources said Thursday.The probe is part of intensifying efforts by the government to find concealed assets of the former president who was ordered by a court in 1997 to return to the state coffers the 220 billion won (US$196.8 million) he was

Politics July 18, 2013

North Korea denounced Panama Thursday for interdicting a North Korea-flagged ship on suspicion of drug transport, calling it a "fiction.""The Panamanian investigation authorities rashly attacked and detained the captain and crewmen of the ship on the plea of 'drug investigation' and searched its cargo but did not discover any drug," a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said, according to Pyongyang's official news agency, KCNA."Yet, they are justifying their violent action, taking issue with

North Korea July 18, 2013

Greece's Parliament narrowly approved a new batch of austerity measures early Thursday, including thousands of public-sector job cuts and transfers, demanded by the country's creditors to keep vital bailout loans flowing.Lawmakers in the 300-seat house backed the cutbacks in an article-by-article vote, with two of the governing coalition's 155 deputies failing to back crucial articles.It was the first major test for conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras since a left-wing party abandoned hi

World Business July 18, 2013

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has been charged by German prosecutors with paying a $44 million bribe, placing his future as head of the motor sport series in doubt.The 82-year-old British billionaire has been under investigation since a German banker was convicted of taking the payment from him in connection with the sale of a stake in F1.The Munich state court said Ecclestone has until mid-August to respond to charges of bribery and incitement to breach of trust in connection with Gerhard

More Sports July 18, 2013

Cuba's admission that it was secretly sending aging weapons systems to North Korea has turned the global spotlight on a little-known link in a secretive network of rusting freighters and charter jets that moves weapons to and from North Korea despite U.N. sanctions.The revelation that Cuba was shipping the arms, purportedly to be repaired and returned, is certain to jeopardize slowly warming ties between the U.S. and Havana, although the extent of the damage remains uncertain. Experts said Cuba'

North Korea July 18, 2013

The lawmakers chosen to review classified records from the 2007 inter-Korean summit have not been able to locate the wanted transcripts after two rounds of searches, raising the possibility that they may be permanently lost, parliamentary sources said Wednesday.Ten legislators were selected from ruling and opposition parties to confirm dialogue exchanges between then South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader at the time, Kim Jong-il, to see if Roh made remarks or insinuated dis

Politics July 18, 2013

Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that the U.S. economy is gradually improving but emphasized that the Federal Reserve is not locked into any timetable for scaling back policies aimed at jolting growth.The Fed chairman told Congress there is no ``preset course'' and that any decision to reduce its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program will depend on how the economy performs. And he said that the Fed could maintain or increase those purchases if it sensed the economy was weakening.The bond purchases

World Business July 18, 2013

A North Korean ship carrying weapons system parts buried under sacks of sugar was seized as it tried to cross the Panama Canal on its way from Cuba to its home country, which is barred by United Nations sanctions from importing sophisticated weapons or missiles, Panamanian officials said Tuesday.The ship appeared to be transporting a radar-control system for a Soviet-era surface-to-air missile system, according to a private defense analysis firm that examined a photograph of the find.Panamanian

North Korea July 17, 2013

``Glee'' actor Cory Monteith, who had struggled for years with substance abuse and once said he was lucky to be alive, died of an overdose of heroin and alcohol, the British Columbia coroner's office said Tuesday.``There is no evidence to suggest Mr. Monteith's death was anything other than a most tragic accident,'' the office said in a statement.The 31-year-old was found dead in his Vancouver, British Columbia, hotel room on Saturday after he didn't check out on time. He was believed to be alon

Television July 17, 2013

In one of the most harrowing spacewalks in decades, an astronaut had to rush back into the International Space Station on Tuesday after a mysterious water leak inside his helmet robbed him of the ability to speak or hear and could have caused him to choke or even drown.Italian Luca Parmitano was reported to be fine after the dangerous episode, which might have been caused by an unprecedented leak in the cooling system of his suit. His spacewalking partner, American Christopher Cassidy, had to he

Technology July 17, 2013

Liz Cheney announced Tuesday she will run for the U.S. Senate in 2014, six years after her father Dick Cheney's two terms as vice president."I'm running because I believe it is necessary for a new generation of leaders to step up to the plate," the 46-year-old Republican, from the conservative western state of Wyoming, said in a statement.The younger Cheney's bid puts her on a collision course with the state's senior Senator Mike Enzi, 69, a member of the Republican old guard and one of the Sena

People July 17, 2013

Yahoo's second-quarter results didn't give investors a reason to celebrate the completion of CEO Marissa Mayer's first year running the Internet company.The numbers released Tuesday showed Yahoo Inc.'s earnings are still rising, but they also highlighted the challenges facing the Sunnyvale, California, company as it loses ground to rivals Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. in the online advertising market that generates most of their revenue.Wall Street focused on Yahoo's revenue problems instead of

World Business July 17, 2013