South Korea's fair trade watchdog said Wednesday it has imposed fines and sanctions on retail giant Shinsegae subsidiaries for inappropriately supporting affiliates through low sales commission rates.The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said it gave fines of 4.06 billion won (US$3.65 million) to three Shinsegae companies -- Shinsegae, E-mart and Everyday Retail -- and ordered them to correct their prac

Industry Oct. 3, 2012

The New York Police Department is deploying a surge of detectives to patrol an increasingly mean new beat: Facebook and other social networks.Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Tuesday that he's doubling the number of detectives assigned to combating local teen gangs and that increased surveillance of social networks will be a major part of the strategy.The gangs under scrutiny are not the big

World News Oct. 3, 2012

The United States government is still waiting for an assurance from North Korea that it is serious about denuclearization, an official said Tuesday."We are urging restraint, we are calling for the DPRK (North Korea) to take steps to reassure the international community that it is serious about working with us on the denuclearization agenda," Victoria Nuland, spokeswoman for the State Department, s

North Korea Oct. 3, 2012

Rep. Park Jie-won, the floor leader of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP), was indicted without detention on Friday on suspicion of accepting illegal campaign funds from two troubled savings banks, prosecutors said.Park, who served as a chief of staff under the late former President Kim Dae-jung, is suspected of receiving a combined total of 80 million won (US$72,000) from the heads

Politics Sept. 28, 2012

Spain and Greece outlined plans Thursday to reduce government spending and raise taxes to convince international lenders and financial markets they are on track to cut their deficits.The latest round of belt-tightening comes as economies across Europe get weaker and public resentment toward austerity grows stronger.Spain's plan to slash its deficit in 2013 and 2014 signals to many analysts that it

World Business Sept. 28, 2012

LG Display Co., the world's No. 2 maker of liquid crystal displays, filed a lawsuit Thursday against tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. over alleged violation of its patents.In a press conference in Seoul, LG Display claimed Samsung Electronics, the world's largest smartphone manufacturer, had infringed seven of its patents on organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel technologies."The company fil

Industry Sept. 27, 2012

Independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo apologized Thursday over allegations his wife evaded paying around 10 million won (US$8,940) in taxes by under-reporting the price of an apartment she bought in 2001.The apology came one day after local media reported allegations that Ahn's wife, Kim Mi-kyung, did not report the correct price of an apartment she bought in southeastern Seoul by at le

Politics Sept. 27, 2012

Tunisian civil society groups expressed outrage after a young woman was accused of indecency on Wednesday by two policemen jailed for raping her, amid criticism of the Islamist-led government on women's rights.The woman and her fiancé were summoned by a magistrate to face the two policemen, both found guilty of rape and jailed, who accuse her of "indecency," a group of Tunisian NGOs said. The crim

World News Sept. 27, 2012

Federal laws are needed to regulate social networking sites to give users the right to determine what happens to their "digital afterlives," a U.S. expert says.Jason Mazzone, a University of Illinois expert in intellectual property law, says allowing social networking sites to set policy regarding the content of accounts of deceased users does not adequately protect individual and collective inter

Technology Sept. 27, 2012

"Gangnam Style," a song by South Korean rapper and YouTube sensation Psy, jumped to second place on Billboard's Hot 100 chart Wednesday.The song entered the chart two weeks ago, ranking 64th, and soared the 11th last week.Psy's "Gangnam Style" has been "powered by buzz generated by its video in which the Korean rapper shows off his horse-imitating moves," read a note on the website Billboard.biz.I

Performance Sept. 27, 2012

Active video gaming with dancing and boxing was associated with higher energy expenditure in children, researchers in Britain said. Stephen R. Smallwood and colleagues from the University of Chester in England examined the physiologic responses and energy expenditure of active video gaming using a video game with a webcam-style sensor device and software technology that allows the player to intera

Technology Sept. 26, 2012