South Korean pop sensation Psy has been hailed as a "ready-made star" by the U.S. weekly music magazine Billboard in its latest issue.Psy, whose real name is Park Jae-sang, was featured on the cover of the Nov. 3 issue of Billboard, the magazine said on its Web site on Friday (local time).The cover story analyzes several factors that helped the 34-year-old entertainer succeed with his hit song "Gangnam Style," which features comical horse-riding dance moves. The video went viral on YouTube in Ju

Culture Oct. 27, 2012

Less than two weeks before China's once-in-a-decade leadership transition, a top official said economic reforms should center on its state-owned enterprises that have been the major driving force behind the country's explosive growth."Facing the current political and economic circumstances inside and out of the country, it is necessary to further promote and enhance the reform of state-owned enterprises, so that they can fully play the leading role in the national economy," said Wu Bangguo, Chin

World Business Oct. 27, 2012

South Korean police and military launched an investigation after a solider was allegedly shot by a poacher during training on Friday night in Eumseong County, North Chungcheong Province. The 21-year-old corporal surnamed Lee was allegedly hit by an air gun pellet in the collarbone at around 11:20 p.m., authorities said. His unit based in Gyeonggi Province was staging a weeklong drill in nearby mountains. “While Lee and another corporal were engaged in ambush exercises, a sport utility vehicle su

Social Affairs Oct. 27, 2012

TOKYO (AFP) -- A Japanese court dismissed a sexual harassment and unfair dismissal suit against fashion house Prada after management told a female worker to lose weight and keep in shape.Rina Bovrisse, 38, who also claimed a Prada human resources manager had branded her "ugly", said she would appeal the case and that the ruling by a female judge at Tokyo District Court was unacceptable.Bovrisse was demanding Prada pay her 58 million yen ($728,000) for emotional distress."This decision by the jud

World News Oct. 27, 2012

Chinese industrial companies' profits rose in September for the first time in six months, adding to signs economic growth is picking up following a seven-quarter slowdown.Net income rose 7.8 percent from a year earlier to 464.3 billion yuan ($74.3 billion), the National Bureau of Statistics said today in Beijing. That compared with a 6.2 percent decline in August, the year's largest drop.Today's report followed data showing industrial production and retail sales accelerated in September and a ma

World Business Oct. 27, 2012

UBS AG, Switzerland's largest bank, will cut as many as 10,000 jobs companywide as the trading business shrinks, a person with knowledge of the plan said.Many of the reductions will come in the trading businesses overseen by investment-bank co-head Carsten Kengeter and probably will occur over several quarters, said the person, who requested anonymity because the plans haven't been publicly announced. An announcement may come when UBS reports third- quarter earnings Oct. 30, the person said.Chie

World Business Oct. 27, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican challenger Mitt Romney used a government report showing tepid economic growth to hammer President Barack Obama less than two weeks before Election Day, but the report also had some good news for the president.With the Commerce Department reporting a modest 2 percent growth rate unlikely to make a big dent in unemployment, Romney said Obama inherited a bad situation when he took office and "made the problem worse." He criticized Obama for failing to reduce borrowing

World News Oct. 27, 2012

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- It used to be that Microsoft was the evil empire, and Apple the scrappy underdog.Now the roles are reversed, and Microsoft is challenging a dominant Apple, which has staked its claim as the leader of the sizzling mobile sector for tablets and smartphones, as well as the biggest seller of digital music.Microsoft, still the biggest force in the PC market with its Windows operating system, is making a new, belated effort on Apple's turf.The Redmond, Washington-based giant has la

World Business Oct. 27, 2012

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (AP) -- Democratic candidate for Congress Michelle Lujan Grisham is part of the next generation of college-educated, middle-class Latino congressional candidates. Unlike many of their early predecessors, the new Latino candidates don't come from labor backgrounds, and some are seeking seats outside of predominantly Hispanic districts.They are the beneficiaries of civil rights gains, demographic changes and new congressional seats created by recent redistricting. They incl

World News Oct. 27, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Obama administration officials defended their response to the September attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, amid new claims that the White House failed to send help quickly enough as militants overran the mission. The U.S. ambassador and three other Americans died in the hourslong battle.Fox News reported that security officers working for the CIA in Benghazi heard the attack on the consulate but were twice told to wait before rushing to the compound. Fox also rep

World News Oct. 27, 2012

BEIJING (AP) -- A 23-year-old man has become the fifth Tibetan in a week to set himself on fire and die in a county in far western China to protest against Chinese rule, a rights group said Saturday.Tsewang Kyab set himself on fire Friday evening on the main street of Amuquhu town in Xiahe county, London-based Free Tibet said.Earlier Friday, a 24-year-old Tibetan farmer, Lhamo Tseten, died from self-immolation near a military base and a government office in Amuquhu, the group said. China's offic

World News Oct. 27, 2012

SITTWE, Myanmar (AFP) -- Thousands of displaced people have surged towards already overcrowded camps in western Myanmar, the U.N. said Saturday, after vicious new communal violence that has left dozens dead.Seething resentment between Buddhists and Muslims erupted this week in a wave of fresh unrest in Rakhine state, prompting international warnings the unrest imperils the nation's nascent reform process.The official death toll stood at 67. Roughly half the dead were women, according to a state

World News Oct. 27, 2012

The South Korean stock market may gain ground next week, but advances are not likely to be large amid nagging concerns about the global economy, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 1,891.43 this week, down 2.7 percent from a week earlier, beset by the eurozone debt problems and weak corporate earnings results.The KOSPI fell below the 1,900-point for the first time in more than one month Friday after the central bank said that Korea's third-quarter g

Oct. 27, 2012

The United States' special envoy for North Korea said there would be no major changes in U.S. policy toward Pyongyang no matter who wins the November presidential election, a report said Saturday.Glyn Davies, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, said in a recent forum at Stanford University that since the Reagan administration, the U.S. government has pursued a "dual approach" of using both dialogue and pressure in dealing with North Korea, regardless of whether a Democrat or

Foreign Affairs Oct. 27, 2012