BASEL, Switzerland (AP) ― Roger Federer advanced to the quarterfinals and Andy Murray withdrew because of an injury just before his first-round match at the Swiss Indoors on Wednesday.Andy Roddick also advanced, using his serve to beat Tommy Haas of Germany 6-3, 6-4 in the late match. The seventh-seeded American had 12 aces and never allowed Haas a break point chance.Federer, defending champion at his hometown event, dropped a set against Jarkko Nieminen of Finland for the first time in their 12

A Seoul appellate court ruled Thursday that the top national university's 2006 dismissal of disgraced stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk was illegal, overturning a lower court's previous decision.Hwang, a former veterinary professor at the Seoul National University (SNU), filed a suit against the sch

Kosdaq-listed frontrunner in capacitor eyes future-oriented items for growthPark Hwan-woo, president and CEO of KOSDAQ-listed Sungho Electronics Co. (www.sungho.net) was quick to use metaphor in explaining what the company’s core business is. And his metaphor of choice is a human heart. Not that Sungho is making an artificial heart. The company’s specialty is producing capacitors, a component used extensively for a variety of electronic devices. So instead of blood, Park said the capacitors pump

POSCO, South Korea’s leading steelmaker, said Thursday that it has signed a steel supply contract with a European home appliance maker, a deal that will help the steelmaker expand its presence there.Under the deal with Gorenje, the largest Slovenian manufacturer of home appliances, POSCO will supply steels, including cold-rolled steel plates used for the production of refrigerators and washing machines, over the next three years.POSCO did not give specifics on how many steel plates it will suppl

Five vehicles made by Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. have won 2012 Canadian Car of the Year awards, industry sources said Thursday.The cars that ranked first in their sections were Hyundai’s Accent subcompact, Elantra compact and Veloster compact sports car and Kia’s Optima and Optima hybrid mid-size sedans.Sources said the five awards mark the highest number of honors given to a carmaker in the North American country and reflects sharp improvements in both design and perfo

CEO Hill promotes reform to compete with local commercial banksStandard Chartered First Bank Korea is considering opening several branches which offer offline and online services 24 hours a day and seven days a week, the first of their kind in the local financial sector.For the plan, the bank is reportedly benchmarking the case of a Singapore unit of the U.K.-based Standard Chartered Group.“In a shopping mall in Singapore, there is an SC bank branch providing customers with services till late at

The government on Thursday outlined plans to transform about 10 percent of the country’s gas stations into “alternative” vendors to supply petroleum products as part of its fight against runaway fuel prices.Seeking to lessen the dominance of the country’s four refiners and stimulate competition, the government has devised measures that includ multiplying non-franchise and self-service stations.Through the plan, ministry officials expect to cut gas prices by around 100 won (9 cents) per liter by

Shoplifting, employee and supplier fraud, organized retail crime and administrative errors cost the nation’s retail industry 2.41 trillion won ($2.13 billion) over the past year, an international report found Thursday. The amount was equivalent to 1.3 percent of the industry’s total sales in 2011, according to the Global Retail Theft Barometer Report, which monitors the cost of “shrink” in the global retail industry. Korea was first included this year on the list of 43 countries to be surveyed o