A Hong Kong crime thriller about a battle between police and gangsters will open the international film festival in the South Korean port city of Busan Thursday under the festival's new plan to focus on Asian diversity.Founded in 1996, the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has grown into one of Asia's largest film festivals.It was an unspoken rule that BIFF usually kick-starts its 10-day ev

Film Oct. 4, 2012

Turkey shelled Syria in retaliation for cross-border fire that killed five of its nationals, in a sharp escalation of tensions between the neighbors.Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's cabinet, furious about the attack, was set to seek clearance for possible future cross-border military operations at a special parliament session Thursday morning.Turkish shelling meanwhile continued after nightfa

World News Oct. 4, 2012

The United States on Wednesday remained guarded publicly about talks on South Korea's ballistic missile capability, apparently reflecting the sensitivity of an issue associated with nonproliferation efforts.A series of press reports in Seoul said the allies have reached a deal to allow South Korea to develop ballistic missiles with the range of up to 800 kilometers, enough to cover all of North Ko

International Oct. 4, 2012

"Gangnam Style," a song by South Korean rapper and YouTube sensation Psy, failed to reach the top of an updated Billboard chart released Wednesday.The song stayed behind Maroon 5's "One More Night" for the second consecutive week in the Billboard Hot 100, according to the Billboard.com.Billboard said the race was "extremely close," adding "Night" bests "Style" by fewer than 500 overall chart point

Performance Oct. 4, 2012

While a 73-year-old Georgia woman was out celebrating her birthday with her family, her home burned down, officials said.The unfortunate event happened Saturday at the Cherokee County home of Eva Childers, TWSB-TV, Atlanta, reported.Childers said she and her family were celebrating in Dawsonville when the fire occurred."Time we got up there, the neighbors called and said my house was burning," Chi

World News Oct. 2, 2012

Two nuclear reactors at two separate atomic power plants in South Korea stopped operation Tuesday due to technical problems, but there was no risk of radiation leak at either sites, the plants' operator said.The Shingori 1 Reactor in Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, was shut down at 8:19 a.m. after a warning signal indicated a malfunction in the control rod, which is used to control the r

Social Affairs Oct. 2, 2012

South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. says it has filed a motion with a U.S. court to add Apple's iPhone 5 to their ongoing patent battle.Samsung says it filed the motion Monday with the California court, alleging that Apple's new phone infringes on eight of its patents.The two companies are locked in a struggle for supremacy in the global smartphone market, leading to legal cases in courts across

Technology Oct. 2, 2012

The number of mentally disturbed criminals has jumped almost three-fold in last 10 years, data showed Tuesday.A total of 2,120 criminals with mental diseases were apprehended last year, almost three times higher than 739 in 2002, according to the data compiled by the National Police Agency (NPA).The statistics submitted to Rep. Shin Hak-yong of the Democratic United Party come as the country has b

Social Affairs Oct. 2, 2012

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer gave birth to a boy late Sunday, adding motherhood to her challenges as she tries to steer the struggling Internet company in a new direction. The birth came a week ahead of the Oct. 7 due date that Mayer shared with the public in July. She announced her pregnancy on her social networking accounts just a few hours after Yahoo hired her as its third full-time CEO in less tha

People Oct. 2, 2012

The 21-year-old boyfriend of a freshman found dead in her dorm room at State University of New York at Brockport has been charged with murder, authorities say.The Monroe County medical examiner said Sunday Alexandra Kogut, 18, of New Hartford died of blunt force trauma, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported.Clayton Whittemore, a Utica College student who also is from New Hartford, was arre

World News Oct. 2, 2012