More than 55 percent of parents snoop on what their children are doing through social networking systems, the Daily Mail reported.According to the research conducted by computing company Bullguard Internet Security, about 40 percent of parents monitor their children’s status updates and posts on their wall.Social networking systems such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter have become widely popular w

A man crashed into mother’s house with a light aircraft after making a phone call that he would “drop by.”Konrad Schmidt, a 47 year-old engineer from Switzerland, had attempted a suicide attack with his rented Diamond Aircraft DA42 in his town, located north of Zurich last Saturday.Luckily, the 68 year-old mother survived from the crash because she was in the basement when the incident occurred.Sh

A wallet has been returned to its owner one week after being lost -- with a winning lottery ticket still inside. The winner is said to have bought 10 pension-type lottery tickets, handing them out to friends and keeping just one.After getting drunk, however, he lost his bag with the wallet inside. Luckily, he was able to get the belongings back a week after the announcement of the winner.The winne

The Renault Group will appoint Francois Provost, the French carmaker’s deputy managing director in Russia, to head Renault Samsung Motors on Sept. 1, an official at Renault Samsung Motors said Thursday.Provost will replace Renault Samsung’s current CEO Jean-Marie Hurtiger, who took the Seoul office in May 2006.“Renault Samsung will have new leader effective Sept. 1. Francois Provost will transfer

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Scientists have found a new contributor to male infertility, a protein that is supposed to coat sperm to help them swim to an egg, unless that coating goes missing.About 20 percent of men may harbor gene mutations that leave their sperm coat-free and thus lower their fertility, an international research team reported Wednesday.Today's reproductive tests cannot spot the problem, s

The National Tax Service said on Thursday it has requested the country’s major Internet portals such as Naver and Daum to provide personal information about some 1,300 influential bloggers.The tax agency’s move comes as a growing number of local bloggers with a large pool of readers get enmeshed in money-for-article scandals. Recently, a high-profile blogger who belongs to the country’s largest po

SHANGHAI (AP)—Wracked by injuries that curtailed his playing time in the NBA, Yao Ming called it quits on his basketball career Wednesday during a packed news conference in his hometown. The Houston Rockets center and No. 1 draft pick in the 2002 NBA draft confirmed weeks of speculation about his retirement by opening with a simple statement: “I will formally end my career.”He promised, though, th

WASHINGTON (AFP) – U.S. President Barack Obama met separately Wednesday with his top Democratic allies and Republican foes to hammer out a compromise that would avert a disastrous early August debt default.But the negotiations wrapped up without news of a breakthrough.With an August 2 deadline looming, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama would accept a short-term deal to raise the debt cei

Making kindness contagious in SeoulA group of benevolent strangers is seeking donations for a pay-it-forward project in Korea. Seoul Giving Club is to hold a giveaway next month. Organizers are inviting people to make financial donations to the club’s biggest pay-it-forward event to date. The movement aims to spread goodwill by performing small acts of kindness and encouraging the recipients to do

 BERLIN (AFP) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy agreed early Thursday on a "joint position" concerning a Greek rescue package, a French delegation source said.This position, reached after hours of discussions, would be submitted to EU president Herman van Rompuy overnight and would be the basis for discussions among eurozone leaders in Brussels on Thursday, th

South Korea may end its six-year antidumping measures against Chinese pigments as their prices have risen enough to pose little threat to local competitors, Seoul's trade commission said Thursday.The decision to end the antidumping tariffs on Chinese anatase titanium dioxide used in paint and plastic goods was reached at a meeting of the Korea Trade Commission (KTC) on Wednesday.South Korea began

The new commander of U.S. forces stationed in South Korea said their mission is to protect the South against outside aggression and maintain stability in the region.In a posting entitled "Command Philosophy and Priority" on the homepage of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), Gen. James Thurman said in order to accomplish that mission, "readiness is essential.""To stay ready, our combined forces must be led

With skepticism spreading about the possibility of the U.S. government securing ratification of a free trade pact with South Korea this summer, South Korean officials expressed concern Wednesday over major diplomatic and political fallout at home.The Lee Myung-bak administration has eagerly awaited the passage of the free trade agreement (FTA) bill before the U.S. Congress goes into recess on Aug.

A ruling party lawmaker on Wednesday disclosed fresh allegations of embezzlement involving Busan Savings Bank, insisting that the corruption-ridden lender bought real estate along the southwest coast for inflated prices that were up to 10 times more expensive than the market value.Rep. Ko Sung-doug of the Grand National Party (GNP) said the Busan-based institution, which was suspended in February