Special forces kill eight Somali pirates, capture five in the Indian OceanAll of the 21 crewmembers of a South Korean freighter seized by Somali pirates armed with machine guns and rifles in the Indian Ocean last Saturday were safely rescued by South Korean troops, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday.The South Korean 58-year-old captain of the Samho Jewelry suffered abdominal gunshot wounds, but

Remnants of a star that exploded more than 13 billion years ago could be the first star of the universe, BBC news reported. (MCT)All that is left of this pioneer is the gas cloud it threw out into space when it first exploded. The remains of the star are said to have been found when its contents were illuminated by brilliant light coming from the surroundings of a black hole. To identify the stars

Korean national sports delegation held Friday their inaugural ceremony for the upcoming Asian Winter Games, which is slated for Jan. 30-Feb. 6 in Kazakhstan.Korea is sending 150 athletes and officials to the games, vowing to accomplish a back-to-back third place finish at the seventh Winter Asiad.Four years ago at Asia’s biggest winter extravaganza in Changchun, China, Korea came in third place be

Ivan Reitman ― whose directing career (“Ghostbusters”) is so long in the tooth that he actually has a son, Jason, directing Oscar-worthy comedies ― has his best outing in decades with “No Strings Attached,” an amusing flip of the “friends with benefits” sex-leads-to-love romantic comedy formula.It’s a movie benefiting from another sparkling, sexy and emotionally available performance by Natalie Po

EL TARTER, Andorra (AP) ― It is less than 32 kilometers from border to border. It has two heads of state, a bishop from Spain and the president of France, but its official language is Catalan. Its mountains rise higher than 2,745 meters, and they accommodate some 20 kilometers of ski slopes.This is Andorra, a tiny landlocked principality that is almost all vertical, tucked in the eastern Pyrenees

MADRID (AFP) ― A new hotel has opened in the heart of Madrid proudly declaring that it is complete rubbish.More of a wooden shack than a five-star establishment, the walls of the Beach Garbage Hotel are strewn with detritus dragged up by the tide, recovered from landfills or snapped up at flea markets.Among the wall decorations: plastic drums, wooden frames, musical instruments, striped socks, tir

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― For Natalie Portman, 2011 is already shaping up to be an unforgettable year.The actress is getting big awards buzz for her turn as a ballerina gone mad in “Black Swan.” She already won a Golden Globe, she is up for a Screen Actors Guild award and she is sure to hear her name when Oscar nominations are announced next week.Portman also has four other movies slated for release this

South Korea’s top men’s doubles badminton duo said on Friday they’re ready to defend their Korea Open championship when the world’s most lucrative badminton event starts next week.The tandem of Jung Jae-sung and Lee Yong-dae said they’re looking forward to competing against the world’s best players before home fans, adding they’re going to bear down especially hard.  Lee Yong-dae“There are a lot o

South Korea will meet its old football nemesis Iran in the quarterfinals of the ongoing Asian Cup in Doha, Qatar, at 1:25 a.m. Sunday, Korean time, for their fifth straight showdown in the final eight of the regional tournament.South Korea’s poor history against Iran ― with no victories in their last six meetings ― has been well-documented. The first loss for Cho Kwang-rae, the current South Korea

NEWPORT, Rhode Island (AFP) ― Eight-time Grand Slam singles champion Andre Agassi, among only seven men to achieve a career Grand Slam, has been elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, officials said Thursday.Agassi’s induction ceremony will be conducted July 9 at the Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, during the ATP Hall of Fame Championships grass-court event. He will be the only e