The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it found five people died in the past three years after downing the popular energy drink Monster Energy.The New York Times reported Monday the information does not prove a link between Monster Energy and the deaths or any health problems. The newspaper said the mother of a 14-year-old Maryland girl who died in December after drinking large cans of Monster Energy two days in a row obtained the FDA records recently under the Freedom of Information Act. Th

Technology Oct. 23, 2012

Six Italian scientists and a government official were sentenced to six years in jail on Monday for multiple manslaughter in a watershed ruling that found them guilty of underestimating the risks of a killer earthquake in 2009.They were also ordered to pay?more than nine million euros (almost $12 million) in damages to survivors in the devastated medieval town of L'Aquila in a case that has sparked outrage in the international science community.Seismologists in Italy and beyond were horrified by

World News Oct. 23, 2012

The United Nations is already planning for a peacekeeping force in Syria should a cease-fire in that country take hold and pending a Security Council mandate, the U.N. peacekeeping chief said Monday.Herve Ladsous said, however, it was still too early to say how many peacekeepers might be deployed in such an eventual force.“I would confirm that, of course, we are giving a lot of thought to what would happen if and when a political solution or at least a cease-fire would emerge,” Ladsous told repo

World News Oct. 23, 2012

LG Chem Ltd., the world's largest battery maker, on Monday denied reports by U.S. media outlets that it has delayed starting commercial operation of its American lithium-ion battery plant, thus failing to create jobs and leaving about 200 workers idle. U.S. media outlets including Fox News and Wood TV have reported the factory built using US$150 million of taxpayer funds is putting workers on furlough before a single battery has been produced. "The report is not true," LG Chem said in a statemen

Industry Oct. 22, 2012

A Seoul court on Monday posthumously cleared a local man of espionage charges and apologized to his bereaved family a half century after he was executed for being a "double agent" for both Koreas.Shim Moon-kyu was sent to North Korea to carry out espionage activities in 1955, two years after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce. Shim, however, was detected by the North and trained for one year and seven months to become a North Korean spy. Upon returning home, Shim immediately turned himself

Politics Oct. 22, 2012

South Korea plans to go ahead with the scheduled launch of its space rocket this week, at least for now, though weather conditions and other factors may prompt last-minute changes, the science minister said Monday."We have confirmed after considerations of weather conditions and preparations for the launch that the launch will be possible on Oct. 26," Minister of Education, Science and Technology Lee Ju-ho told reporters.The space rocket, the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1), is currently s

Technology Oct. 22, 2012

Around 1,000 workers from Iran's Entekhab group staged a demonstration at the South Korean embassy in Tehran on Sunday after an acquisition deal with Daewoo Electronics went sour due to sanctions.The demonstration by workers from the private Iranian company was aimed at retrieving a down payment of $70 million (53 million euros) Entekhab had paid in 2011 to Daewoo, company spokesman Hamid Ghaznavi told AFP.In November 2010, Entekhab Industrial Group signed a contract sealing its acquisition of S

Industry Oct. 22, 2012

Around 100 protesters and 11 policemen were hurt on Sunday as Kuwaiti riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets in clashes with tens of thousands of demonstrators, witnesses and officials said."The number of wounded protesters in hospital has exceeded 100 after riot police attacked them," director of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights Mohammad al-Humaidi said on his Twitter account.The interior ministry said in a statement that 11 policemen were wounded after protesters threw rocks on them,

World News Oct. 22, 2012

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's right-leaning party on Sunday retained power in his home region of Galicia despite recession and biting austerity measures, official results showed.The result means Rajoy has avoided a political humiliation in a traditional Popular Party stronghold that would have undermined his standing just as he tries to convince world markets that he can fix Spain's finances and economy.But a second regional election in the Basque Country added to the Spanish leader's c

World News Oct. 22, 2012

A naked woman who showed up at a party in Spring Hill, Fla., uninvited and with a weapon was killed after approaching two off-duty cops, authorities say.The woman, whose name and age were not released, was acting irrationally as she walked up to the off-duty officers, identified as Hernando County Sheriff's Deputy Rocky Howard, 31, and Tampa police officer William Mechler, 26, the Tampa Bay Times reported. It wasn't clear whether one or both off-duty officers shot the woman, and it wasn't disclo

World News Oct. 21, 2012

The music video of "Gangnam Style" by South Korean rapper-singer Psy ranked third on YouTube's all-time list of most-viewed videos Sunday, according to the singer's management agency.The viral video beat out "Love the Way You Lie" by U.S. hip-hop star Eminem to jump to the third slot, drawing 515 million views as of Sunday morning, YG Entertainment said."As the number of views for 'Gangnam Style' is rising quickly, we expect, if this trend continues, he will be able to top the list sooner or lat

Performance Oct. 21, 2012

Japan's Coast Guard Sunday saved all 64 Chinese seamen from their burning cargo ship, as the two nations remain locked in an acrimonious dispute over contested islands.The coast guard was alerted by Taiwan authorities late Saturday about a fire on the 12,703-ton Ming Yang and sent patrol vessels and aircraft to the scene, around 150 kilometers southeast of Okinawa.By 2:30 am Sunday a Japanese coast guard ship had saved 21 people who escaped on a life raft, while 43 others remained on the deck of

World News Oct. 21, 2012

The number of passengers on international flights to and from South Korea reached a record high in the third quarter on increased demand from Chinese and Japanese tourists.The number of international passengers reached 12.95 million in the July-September period, up 10.4 percent from a year earlier, according to statistics by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.The figure is 1.22 million higher than the previous quarterly record of 11.73 million during the same period last year.T

Oct. 21, 2012