MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) _ Somali pirates holding South Korean hostages have demanded the release of prisoners and compensation from their government for a commando raid that killed several pirates earlier this year.The demand is the second time that pirates have sought to use hostages to negotiate a prisoner exchange in addition to a ransom.One of the pirates holding 25 crew aboard the MV Gemini t

Foreign Affairs July 15, 2011

MIRYANG, South Korea, July 15 (Yonhap) -- A high-speed train from Seoul was forced to stop in the southeastern city of Miryang on Friday after passengers complained of smoke rising from the back of the train, railroad officials said.The KTX-Sancheon, the first locally made high-speed train that runs at a speed of up to 300 kilometers per hour, came to an abrupt halt Friday morning in this city 386

Social Affairs July 15, 2011

A girl from Arizona reportedly died after suffocating in a box while playing hide-and-seek. The 10 year-old victim, whose name has not been released, was playing with cousins at her home.The girl hid in a container, but could not open it by herself and suffocated.She was found the next morning. Her family tried in vain to revive her with CPR.The girl reportedly enjoyed the game, and once hid insid

July 15, 2011

The iPhone’s popularity is creating a buzz around the world with rumors of the smartphone possibly out during mid-August, according to reports. Tech media website Cnet said the rumor started with a notice posted by Gekko Ltd, a staffing firm located in the United Kingdom.Gekko said it is looking for full-time iPhone sales staff who were willing to work five days a week from Aug. 16 until Oct. 29 i

Technology July 15, 2011

The Coca-Cola Company officially denied the local news reports on making inroads into the North Korean market.“No representative of The Coca-Cola Company has been in discussions or explored opening up business in Pyongyang, North Korea,“ Kent Landers, a PR official of the company, told the Korea Herald via email on Friday.Meanwhile, Park Chul-soo, president of Chosun Daepoong Group also denied the

Industry July 15, 2011

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab have come up with "social x-ray specs" that can interpret others’ facial expressions, according to reports. The creator of the glasses, Rosalind Picard said that they can identify human facial expressions such as thinking, agreeing, concentrating, interest and disagreement. This is made possible with the help of a built-in camera

Technology July 14, 2011

Online retail giant Amazon plans to unveil a tablet computer before October in a bid to carve out a slice of a growing market dominated by Apple's iPad, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.The newspaper, citing "people familiar with the matter," also said Amazon plans to release two updated versions of its Kindle electronic reader in the third quarter of the year.The Journal said the tablet

Industry July 14, 2011

SEOUL, July 13 (Yonhap) -- A total of 174 people died "solitary deaths" in Seoul last year, with no one to take care of their bodies and funerals, the city government said Wednesday.Among the 25 administrative wards, Joong-gu and Yeongdeungpo-gu-- districts with the highest number of homeless -- had the largest number of such deaths, 43 and 27, respectively, said the city government, citing a 2010

Social Affairs July 13, 2011

SEOUL, July 13 (Yonhap) -- The number of smartphone subscribers in South Korea hit 15 million this week, according to data from the country's three mobile operators released Wednesday. South Korean smartphone subscribers numbered 15.35 million as of Monday, including 7.8 million users at the industry leader SK Telecom Co., 5.45 million at KT Corp. and 2.1 million at LG Uplus Corp., the mobile carr

Technology July 13, 2011