A South Korean student staying in Melbourne was severely wounded after being assaulted by a group of Australian adolescents there, consular officials said Wednesday.The 33-year-old South Korean man surnamed Chang was attacked on Sep. 27 at a park near his school in the southern Australian city by several local teenagers, who cut off a joint of his little finger and broke his left arm, according to the officials."When I was sitting in the park with my friend, more than 10 white teenagers came to

Social Affairs Nov. 7, 2012

A California homicide suspect representing himself told jurors he has "no remorse, no regrets, no mercy" after allegedly killing his girlfriend and her friend.Nathan Burris, 49, of Oakland, Calif., told jurors Monday he'd appreciate a snappy conviction so he can get back to prison in time for "Monday Night Football." The Contra Costa County Superior Court failed to oblige and his seven-day trial wore on, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday. Burris has admitted he killed his live-in girlf

World News Nov. 7, 2012

A boy with a gene possibly dangerous to students with cystic fibrosis returned to his California school after officials yielded in moving him to another school.Colman Chadam, 11, missed 11 days of class at Jordan Middle School in Palo Alto, Calif., while school administrators worked out a settlement with his parents over whether his genetic mutation, related to cystic fibrosis, posed a risk to other students with the often-fatal lung condition, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday.Palo A

People Nov. 7, 2012

South Korea's elderly suicide rate was the highest among the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), data showed Tuesday, prompting the country to come up with measures to counter the rise of suicides among economically strapped senior citizens.According to the data compiled by the OECD, 81.8 per 100,000 South Korean elderly citizens under 74 years of age committed suicide in 2010, while 160 out of 100,000 people took their own lives among those aged 7

Social Affairs Nov. 6, 2012

French researchers found that the scent of fresh baked bread makes people act kinder. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Southern Brittany, suggest that certain smells can trigger a more positive mood, which leads to a greater degree of altruism in strangers. Eight young men and women volunteered to stand outside either a bakery or a clothing boutique, and then stepped in front of a passing shopper and dropped their belongings. The experiment -- which was repeated about 400

Technology Nov. 5, 2012

A 29-year-old woman who disappeared from a small town in western Sweden and was later found is suspected of having staged the disappearance, police say.The woman, whose name was reported only as Angelica, went missing Sept. 13 after working an evening shift as an instructor at a swimming pool in Mariestad, The Local.se reported Saturday.She was found two days later in a forest in Gothenburg, bound with tape and showing signs of having suffered physical assault. She told police she had been kidna

People Nov. 5, 2012

A New York City nanny accused of fatally stabbing two young children in her care was charged with first-degree murder Saturday night, police said.Police spokesman Paul J. Browne said Yoselyn Ortega, 50, was charged after investigators interviewed her at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center where she is recovering from self-inflicted cuts, The New York Times reported.Ortega is accused in the Oct. 25 slayings of Lucia Krim, 6, and her brother, Leo, 2, at their Manhattan apartment. The

World News Nov. 4, 2012

A mother and father in Pakistan-administered Kashmir killed their 15-year-old daughter by dousing her with acid after seeing her talking to a young man, police said Thursday.Local police officer Tahir Ayub told AFP the father, Mohammad Zafar, had had suspicions about his daughter Anvu Sha and became enraged when he saw her with a boy outside their home on Monday."Zafar beat her up and then poured acid over her with the help of his wife. She was badly burnt but they did not take her to hospital u

World News Nov. 4, 2012

For more than five months _ while Julie Cervera struggled to pay a $600 electrical bill, feed her family and keep the cable company from shutting off her service because she couldn't pay _ she was a millionaire without knowing it.Meanwhile, her $23 million lottery ticket languished forgotten in the glove compartment of her car.On Thursday, someone texted her a photo of her daughter, Charliena Marquez, buying the winning ticket for her at a Palmdale Liquor store. The photo had been released by lo

World News Nov. 4, 2012

North Korea on Saturday openly called for an opposition victory in South Korea's upcoming presidential election, accusing President Lee Myung-bak's conservative government of ruining inter-Korean relations.The North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, a powerful party organization, denounced South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party as a "disaster" that brews "all sources of misfortune" for Koreans."If Saenuri Party, a group of obsolete conservatives, takes the office, it would make th

Social Affairs Nov. 4, 2012