Migrant workers sit near a police electric car patrolling around Shanghai train station on Sunday, May 22, 2011 in Shanghai, China.(AP-Yonhap News)As the economic gap between North and South Korea widens, more North Koreans think that unification led by South Korea would make their lives better, Radio Free Asia reported. North Koreans are also well aware of the economic prosperity the South has es

(MCT)LONDON (AP) _ A respected international panel of experts says cellphones are possible cancer-causing agents, putting them in the same category as the pesticide DDT, gasoline engine exhaust and coffee.The classification was issued Tuesday in Lyon, France, by the International Agency for Research on Cancer after a review of dozens of published studies. The agency is an arm of the World Health O

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― AIDS claimed a string of celebrity victims in its early days, from Rock Hudson to Freddie Mercury, but fellow stars have played a major role in fighting the killer disease over the years since.Elton John and Elizabeth Taylor were among leading figures who used their celebrity from the start to raise awareness and funds for research into HIV, as well as reducing the stigma of wh

Royal Bank of Scotland also faces sanction from financial regulatorFinancial regulators have taken punitive actions against two European bank branches for their irregular trading of derivatives and plan to reprimand another Europe-based bank operating in Seoul.In a statement Tuesday, the Financial Supervisory Service said it has issued a warning against the Seoul branch of HSBC Holdings plc and Cr

Korea is poised to stimulate the market for solid gold rings as the popularity of the traditional first-birthday gift has slackened in the face of skyrocketing commodities prices, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Tuesday. Gold prices per “don,” a Korean measure equivalent to 3.75 grams, have surged more than four-fold in six years to roughly 230,000 won ($213), the ministry said in a stateme

Controversy over when U.S. sprayed defoliants in Korea continuesA Korea-U.S. probe team on Tuesday began taking soil samples just outside Camp Carroll, a U.S. base in Waegwan, North Gyeongsang Province where a considerable amount of Agent Orange was allegedly buried in 1978.A separate investigation team also kicked off its first basic onsite inspection at the now-defunct Camp Mercer in Bucheon, Gy

South Korea on Thursday welcomed the top diplomats from 14 Pacific island countries as the sides sought to expand cooperation on climate change and other issues of regional concern. “It has been only three decades since Korea established bilateral ties with the Pacific Islands countries,” South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said in a speech at the meeting in Seoul. “There is still much to

The main opposition Democratic Party has decided to oppose the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement bill in the June parliamentary plenary session and to urge the government to begin a renegotiation.In preparation for the June session, which is to kick off Wednesday, DP lawmakers gathered Tuesday in a daily workshop to discuss pending issues.“We refuse to ratify the current free trade bill, which is th

Meeting comes as GNP is embroiled in leadership crisisPresident Lee Myung-bak will meet with the ruling party’s factional leader and strongest presidential hopeful Rep. Park Geun-hye this Friday, Lee’s aide said Tuesday, 10 months after their previous meeting in August last year.During the luncheon meeting with Lee, the former chairwoman of the Grand National Party will discuss the outcome of her

The Ministry of Health and Welfare is considering forcing cigarette companies to label toxic chemicals and their quantities on cigarette packets, news reports said Tuesday.If implemented, it would be the nation’s strongest-ever antismoking warning on cigarette packaging. A family walks past a no-smoking sign, warning smokers that starting this June, those caught smoking at Seoul, Gwanghwamun and C