The Doosan Bears defeated the Lotte Giants 7-2 on Thursday to stay alive in the opening round of the playoffs in South Korea's top professional baseball league.In the Korea Baseball Organization action at Sajik Stadium, some 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, Choi Joon-suk belted a two-run home run for the Bears in the first inning and Oh Jae-won added two runs batted in, as the Bears cut the seri

The granddaughter of Korean Emperor Gojong, the 26th monarch of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), lost a trial to reclaim land that she claims was taken over by the government without following due process.Princess Yi Hae-won and 16 other people who are descendants of the dynasty that was stripped of its powers by Japan in the early 20th century had filed a legal suit asking for the return of 12,700

Korean pop singer Psy has broken the Guinness World Record with his smash hit “Gangnam Style.” Guinness World Records has named his music video the most  “liked” in history, earning over 2,295,231 “likes” on YouTube as of Saturday.“Having been the ‘have you seen this?’ video of the last two months across the web, it’s great to be able to award a record for this tremendously popular video,” said Da

Two construction workers were killed and 12 others were injured Saturday after they fell from a bridge under construction in this city near the northern border, police and emergency officials said.The upper part of the concrete bridge in Paju, north of Seoul, collapsed at around 8:50 a.m., and 14 workers who were working on the bridge fell 15 meters down to the ground, they said. Seventeen were wo

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones, said Friday that it will release its brand new Galaxy Note 2 phablet in Seoul next week.The official launch is earlier than the October date given by Shin Jong-kyun, head of Samsung's IT and mobile unit, at the IFA 2012 trade fair in Berlin last month when the phablet was first unveiled.The company said the start of sales

South Korean rapper-singer Psy topped the iTunes Chart in 30 countries with his single "Gangnam Style," YG Entertainment said Friday.Psy's management agency in Seoul said "Gangnam Style" ranked as the top single on Britain iTunes after enrapturing fans in such countries as the United States, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Argentina and Brazil.It said the song remained at the top of the iTunes w

The U.N. nuclear watchdog adopted a resolution Friday denouncing North Korea for its continued nuclear activity.In the resolution approved at the annual general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, its member states urged North Korea "not to conduct any further nuclear test."The secretive communist nation has conducted two underground nuclear tests, in 2006 and 2009.The

South Korean Shin Ji-yai defeated American Paula Creamer in a record playoff battle on Monday for her first LPGA Tour win in nearly two years.At the Kingsmill Championship on the River Course of Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia, Shin parred the ninth playoff hole to edge Creamer, who three-putted for bogey.The playoff was the longest between two players in LPGA Tour history, breaking the

Japan's financial services minister was found dead at his home on Monday in what police believe was a possible suicide, media said.Tadahiro Matsushita, 73, who was also the state minister in charge of postal reform for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, was found collapsed at his house in Tokyo and confirmed dead at hospital shortly afterwards, public broadcaster NHK said.Kyodo News and Jiji Press, ci

A Seoul court sentenced the chairman of a now-suspended savings bank to 12 years in prison on Tuesday for extending more than 200 billion won ($177 million) in illegal loans.Shin Hyun-kyu, chairman of the Tomato Savings Bank, was charged last year with dereliction of duty, for incurring huge losses to the troubled bank through illegal loans.The bank's operation was suspended by the nation's top fi

A former close aide of President Lee Myung-bak will be summoned Friday morning for questioning over his alleged involvement in a bribery scandal surrounding an ailing savings bank, prosecutors said Wednesday.Kim Hee-jung resigned earlier this week as a secretary handling the president's personal affairs after allegations emerged that he took bribes from a savings bank chief accused of a massive lo

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Soccer fans from all over the world are kicking the ball around in the center of Ukraine's capital to combat racism and promote tolerance.Ukraine has been rocked by allegations of racism and a call by a former England soccer star to not attend matches here because fans might return ``in a coffin.'' Ukrainian officials angrily deny the claims and promise a warm welcome to fans

About 8,000 people gathered in central Moscow to rally for fair elections, the day before Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is sworn in for a third term as Russia’s president, according to police estimates.That’s more than the 5,000 people that organizers and city officials agreed would participate in a deal was reached after protests peaked at tens of thousands in February.Putin, who has been prime m

BANGKOK (AP) -- Explosions and a fire in one of the world's largest petrochemical plants have killed 12 and injured more than 100 people in eastern Thailand.The blaze at a factory belonging to Bangkok Synthetics, a synthetic rubber manufacturer, forced an evacuation of workers and more than 1,000 residents Saturday in Rayong province, 180 kilometers (110 miles) southeast of Bangkok.Rayong governor

Syrian forces clashed on Saturday with rebels in two major cities, monitors said, despite U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon's latest rebuke to Damascus over its assault on protest hubs ahead of a peace deadline.The U.N. secretary general strongly condemned attacks on cities across the country by forces of President Bashar al-Assad, as activists said at least 35 people, most of them civilians, were killed on