WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The brain undergoes changes in adolescence that suppress fearful experiences learned in childhood, said a study released Monday that could explain why teenagers act so brashly at times.   Scientists studied the fear responses of mice for clues about how adolescents would react to situations that resembled prior experiences that involved pairing of electric shocks and tonal n

Social Affairs Jan. 11, 2011

   HONG KONG -- The number of mobile phone subscribers in China exceeded 850 million last year as more Chinese people began to consider mobile phones everyday necessities, a government report showed Monday.   The net addition of Chinese mobile users reached a record high of more than 100 million in 2010 alone, according to the report from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

Industry Jan. 10, 2011

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest supplier of memory chips, flat-screen panels and TVs, is scheduled to announce an estimate of its earnings for the October-December quarter this week, a company official said Thursday.   Samsung will report its guidance of the fourth-quarter earnings on Friday, the official said.    The company is estimated to have posted 3.39 trillion won ($3.02 billio

Industry Jan. 6, 2011

South Korea plans to beef up safety guidelines for "makgeolli" amid the traditional rice wine's rising popularity at home and abroad, the government said Thursday.   The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) said it plans to develop a standardized Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) model for makgeolli manufacturers during the first half of the year. HACCP is a global guideline

Food Jan. 6, 2011

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il told a visiting South Korean businesswoman in 2009 that he had ordered the removal of a missile launch scene from his country's mass propaganda show because "Americans did not like it," according to a U.S. diplomatic cable.   The cable, found on WikiLeaks and released this week by a New York-based blogger, offered a rare look into how the aging but omnipotent leader

North Korea Jan. 4, 2011

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top computer memory maker, will likely spend more than 30 trillion won ($26.67 billion) in investment this year, industry sources said Tuesday.    The forecast came a day after company chairman Lee Kun-hee said that the company's investment for this year will be larger and bigger than last year's. The company earmarked 26 trillion won(US$23 billion) for investm

Industry Jan. 4, 2011

WASHINGTON -- The United States Monday called on North Korea to take concrete steps toward its denuclearization before reopening the six-party nuclear talks, which have been stalled for more than two years over the North's provocations.   "We have noted public statements about the potential for improved dialogue between North and South," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said. "Obviously,

North Korea Jan. 4, 2011

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves rebounded in December from the previous month as a weaker U.S. dollar boosted the conversion value of assets in other currencies, the central bank said Tuesday.   The country's foreign reserves reached US$291.57 billion as of the end of December, up $1.34 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).   The foreign reserves expanded b

Jan. 4, 2011

South Korean stocks began higher on Tuesday as overnight rallies on Wall Street boosted investor sentiment, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 3.77 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,073.85 in the first 15 minutes of trading.   Shipbuilders led the climb with market leader Hyundai Heavy Industries jumping more than 3 percent and its smaller rival Daewoo Shipbu

Jan. 4, 2011