The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday it is pushing to ban drinking in public parks starting next year to enhance public health and reduce disturbances. The municipal government said it submitted to the land ministry last month a proposal of revising relevant law to prohibit drinkingin the city's 2,000-odd parks.Smoking is not allowed in public parks according to law, but no similar rule

Technology July 5, 2012

Mexican electoral authorities said Wednesday they are recounting more than half the ballot boxes used in the weekend's presidential election after finding inconsistencies in the vote tallies.Of the 143,000 ballot boxes used during Sunday's vote, 78,012 will be opened and the votes recounted, said Edmundo Jacobo, executive secretary of Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute.Jacobo said the recount co

World News July 5, 2012

French police searched Nicolas Sarkozy's offices and home Tuesday as part of their probe into suspected illegal financing of his successful 2007 presidential election campaign, his lawyer said.Magistrates are investigating claims that staff for Liliane Bettencourt, heiress to the L'Oreal cosmetics empire and France's richest woman, gave envelopes stuffed with cash to Sarkozy aides to finance the c

World News July 4, 2012

A lawmaker from the minor opposition party with alleged pro-North Korean sympathies was humiliated at a rally of farmers Tuesday when protesters who dislike his stance on Pyongyang grabbed him by the collar, witnesses said.Rep. Lee Seok-gi of the Unified Progressive Party (UPP), who is under pressure to resign for his involvement in a rigged vote, joined farmers in central Seoul to protest a free

Politics July 3, 2012

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday made a repeat trip to one of the four Pacific Kuril islands claimed by Japan, drawing new protests from Tokyo following years of unrelenting tensions.Medvedev arrived on the island of Kunashir which lies just north of Japan's Hokkaido island, pledging to improve the lives of the disputed chain's residents."The farthest region of our state cannot an

World News July 3, 2012

Former President Kim Young-sam has been hospitalized after showing signs of a cold, his aides and hospital officials said Tuesday.The 85-year-old Kim, who served as president from 1993 to 1998, was admitted to Seoul National University Hospital in downtown Seoul on Monday afternoon due to light cold symptoms and chest pain, according to the former president's chief secretary and hospital officials

Politics July 3, 2012

South Korea plans to call off discussions on a military logistics accord with Japan, a government source here said Tuesday, as Seoul deals with the aftermath of a controversial attempt to sign a separate military intelligence-sharing deal with Tokyo.The source said relevant government ministries are "building consensus" toward stopping talks on the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA).

Defense July 3, 2012

College basketball player Marcus Jordan, the son of retired NBA great Michael Jordan, was arrested in Omaha early Sunday following a disturbance outside a downtown hotel.According to a news release, police responding to a call at the Embassy Suites found hotel security trying to subdue Marcus Jordan, who was having an argument with two women in the hotel driveway.The release said Jordan was ``very

More Sports July 3, 2012

Dr. Jim Yong Kim, the new head of the World Bank, said Monday that his institution will endeavor to help boost prosperity and eradicate poverty worldwide.Meeting the press formally for the first time since the start of his five-year tenure, Kim said he assumed the presidency of the World Bank "at a pivotal moment for the global economy."He said the Washington-based organization is the "most import

July 3, 2012

British tycoon Richard Branson on Sunday became the oldest person to kite-surf the Channel, a day after abandoning an attempt due to his kite being too small.The billionaire adventurer crossed from Dymchurch, Kent, to Wimereux in northern France in three hours, 45 minutes to set a new Guinness World Record.However, Branson failed in his bid to become the fastest person of any age to cross the Chan

More Sports July 3, 2012

Two crew members of a South Korean vessel sailing off Japan's southwestern coast have died, a Japanese media report said Monday.Japan's maritime police received an emergency call from the 994-ton "Chemhana" at about 3:05 p.m. stating two crew members were in critical condition after apparent gas inhalation, Kyodo News said.The two -- one a 56-year-old Korean and the other a 28-year-old from Myanma

Social Affairs July 3, 2012