The Korea Herald

SpaceX blasts off to space station in historic first

May 23, 2012

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AFP) ― Opening a new era in private space flight, the U.S. company SpaceX on Tuesday became the first commercial outfit to launch its own craft toward the International Space Station.The test flight of the Dragon space capsule, which launched atop SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket at 3:44 a.m., aims to show that industry can restore U.S. access to the ISS after NASA retired its space shuttle fleet last year.The mission is set to include a fly-by and berthing with the station in t
'Device' claim causes France-U.S. jet to divert to Maine

May 23, 2012

A French woman forced a transatlantic flight from Paris to North Carolina to be diverted to Maine on Tuesday after claiming she had a "surgically implanted device."This photo is not directly related to the article (Bloomberg)The U.S. Airways jet with 179 passengers and crew on board landed safely in Bangor, Maine, where the woman was taken into custody by the FBI before the Boeing 767 continued it
Auction claims it's selling vial with Reagan blood

May 23, 2012

A Channel Islands auction house says it's selling a vial that allegedly contains blood residue from Ronald Reagan _ a move denounced Tuesday by the late U.S. president's family and his foundation.The vial being auctioned online was used by the laboratory that tested Reagan's blood when he was hospitalized after a 1981 assassination attempt in Washington, the PFCAuctions house said.Reagan's son Mic
Lady Gaga tweets about Indonesian concert censorship

May 22, 2012

JAKARTA (AFP) -- Lady Gaga broke her silence about a jeopardised concert in Jakarta, saying on Twitter Tuesday that she was facing censorship from Indonesian authorities and threats of violence from Islamic hardliners.Indonesian police have said they would not issue a permit for the June 3 show after objections from Islamic groups, but the promoters say they are still fighting for a way to stage
Everest will be crowded again days after 4 killed

May 22, 2012

KATMANDU, Nepal (AP)--Days after four people died amid a traffic jam of climbers scrambling to conquer Mount Everest, Nepal officials said a similar rush up the world's tallest peak will begin soon, and there's little they can do to control it.About 200 climbers are expected to attempt to scale the summit of the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) mountain between Friday and Sunday, Nepali mountaineering of
US ambassador to Kabul to quit: embassy

May 22, 2012

KABUL (AFP)--The US ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, is to leave his post this summer, the embassy in Kabul confirmed Tuesday."Amb Crocker has confirmed with regret that he will be leaving Kabul this summer," the embassy said on its Twitter feed, a day after the conclusion of a NATO summit in Chicago in which leaders charted a path out of the Afghan war.The veteran diplomat, who was appoin
Private rocket blasts off for space station

May 22, 2012

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) -- A first-of-its-kind commercial supply ship rocketed toward the International Space Station following a successful liftoff early Tuesday, opening a new era of dollar-driven spaceflight.The SpaceX company made history as its Falcon 9 rocket rose from its seaside launch pad and pierced the pre-dawn sky, aiming for a rendezvous in a few days with the space station. The
Syrian bloodshed spills into Beirut

May 22, 2012

BEIRUT (AFP) ― Street battles between pro- and anti-Syrian groups in Beirut killed two people on Monday, a security official said, sparking concerns of a wider conflict in Lebanon.The violence erupted hours after reports emerged that troops had shot dead Sheikh Ahmad Abdul Wahid, a prominent anti-Syria Sunni cleric, when his convoy failed to stop at a checkpoint in north Lebanon on Sunday. Another cleric in the car was also killed.Washington expressed concern over the killings and urged restrain
Italy quake zone hit by aftershocks

May 22, 2012

FINALE EMILIA, Italy (AFP) ― Thousands of people prepared to spend a second night sheltering in cars and tent cities in northeast Italy Monday after a strong earthquake killed six people and caused massive damage.Sunday’s 6.0-magnitude quake reduced homes and historic buildings to rubble in sparsely populated countryside around the city of Ferrara, Italy’s industrial heartland but also home to priceless architectural treasures.Firefighters and police made house-to-house checks and rescuers set u
U.N. nuclear chief says deal with Iran reached

May 22, 2012

VIENNA (AP) _ The chief of the U.N. nuclear agency says he has reached a deal with Iran on probing suspected work on nuclear weapons and adds that the agreement will ``be signed quite soon. ``Yukiya Amano says some details still need to be worked out. But he tells reporters that Iranian officials say that those will not stand in the way of signing the deal.Amano spoke Tuesday on return from Tehran
Court won't reduce student's music download fine

May 22, 2012

A former Boston University student who was ordered to pay $675,000 for illegally downloading and sharing 30 songs on the Internet says he will continue fighting the penalty, despite the Supreme Court's refusal Monday to hear his appeal.Joel Tenenbaum, 28, of Providence, Rhode Island, said he's hoping a federal judge will reduce the amount.``I can't believe the system would uphold a six-figure dama
U.N. nuclear chief seeks pact on wider Iran probes

May 22, 2012

TEHRAN (AP) ― The head of the U.N. nuclear agency pushed Monday for a breakthrough pact with Iran to resume inspections into suspected secret atomic weapons work and possibly set in motion further dealmaking when envoys from Tehran and world powers gather later this week in Baghdad.The mission by International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano ― his first to Iran since taking the post in 2009 ― raised speculation about greater flexibility by Iranian officials as they struggle to balance th
6% of Ore. 8th-graders play 'choking game'

May 22, 2012

About 6 percent of Oregon eighth-grade teens said they have engaged in the "choking game," researchers found. Sarah K. Ramowski, Robert J. Nystrom and Dr. Kenneth D. Rosenberg, all of the Oregon Health Authority, Public Health Division in Portland, used data from the 2009 Oregon Healthy Teens survey. The survey was a cross-sectional weighted survey of 5,348 eighth-graders that questioned lifetime
Alleged thief passes swallowed diamond

May 22, 2012

A Canadian man who allegedly tried to steal a $20,000 diamond passed the gem nine days after he swallowed it, police said.A salesperson at a Windsor, Ontario, jewelry store alerted police when Richard Mackenzie Matthews, 52, allegedly swallowed the 1.7-carat diamond and two cubic zirconia gems, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Sunday. The salesperson said Matthews tried to switch the diamo
Bus with students falls off Albania cliff; 12 die

May 22, 2012

A bus carrying university students on a pre-graduation trip toppled off a mountain cliff in southern Albania, killing 12 people and injuring another 21, authorities said.University officials said two buses had been taking 75 third-year language and literature students and three professors from Aleksander Xhuvani University in the city of Elbasan on a trip to the southern city of Saranda. Rescue pe