TOKYO (AFP) -- The Japanese mainland braced for Typhoon Jelawat on Sunday amid warnings of landslides, floods and monster waves, a day after it injured scores of people on southern Okinawa island.The powerful typhoon was expected to hit the western region of the main island Honshu and move towards central areas, including Tokyo, later in the day, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.Jelawat, about

Expressways to and from the capital South Korean Seoul were packed with vehicles early Sunday as residents continued to head for thier hometowns on the second day of the traditional thanksgiving holiday.Transportation authorities said traffic congestion on major highways linking Seoul and other major regional cities may worsen in the evening and continue until midnight.A road trip from Seoul to th

The growth of household debt in South Korea lost steam for a 11th consecutive month as of July from a year earlier, largely due to government efforts to curb its increase, central bank data showed Sunday.Household loans extended by depository financial firms grew at a rate as low as 4.6 percent at the end of July from a year earlier, compared with the 8.6 percent tallied in the previous year, acco

A German court on Friday found Apple Inc.'s patent infringement claim on Samsung Electronics Co. invalid, giving an upper hand to the South Korean company that suffered a crushing defeat in an earlier U.S. jury verdict.The district court in Mannheim, one of the three German courts the two rivals have been facing off in, ruled Samsung didn't infringe the iPhone maker's patent on multi-touch flags.

The ruling party's presidential candidate, Park Geun-hye, said Friday she plans to clarify her position on the controversial legacy left behind by her father, the late President Park Chung-hee, as the issue has continued to hurt her campaign ahead of December's election.The 60-year-old candidate of the conservative Saenuri Party came under fire last week after claiming there were "two verdicts" ov

VLADIVOSTOK -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak opened a Facebook page Friday, saying he hopes the social networking site will help him connect more with the public."I begin a Facebook page from today. I hope you will come take a look at past pictures and how things are going recently, and I wish we could share how our lives are going whenever possible," Lee said in his first posting with a pi

LONDON (AFP) -- Australian team officials were on Thursday investigating an incident in which a drunken rower was arrested at the London Olympics, officials said.Josh Booth, 21, was detained early Thursday after allegedly damaging a shop front near the rowing venue in Eton Dorney, west of London, and later required hospital treatment after he fainted and hit his head.He was released without charge

LONDON -- The nation's top sports body said Thursday four female badminton players disqualified from the London Olympics will be sent home, along with an assistant coach, for their attempts to throw women's doubles matches earlier this week.The Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) said the two doubles teams, Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na and Ha Jung-eun and Kim Min-jung, along with coach Kim Moon-soo, ha

The Korean Olympic team redeemed the county’s name in football, winning a friendly against Syria at Hwaseong Stadium on Thursday.Team coach Hong Myeong-bo sent a powerful message to his home crowd that he wanted to bring home a gold medal from the 2012 London Olympics after a 3-1 win over Syria.Korea dominated the pitch for most of the match, keeping the ball in Syrian territory and volleying one

The conservative minority Liberty Forward Party changed its name to the Forward Unification Party and elected Rhee In-je as new chairman."I have been tasked to take over the helm of this drifting party,” Rhee said, after being elected in the party’s national convention on Tuesday.The sixth-term lawmaker, who was the party’s emergency leadership council chief, won 934 out of 1,103 votes. The party

The main opposition Democratic United Party, rejected the suggestion of the Unified Progressive Party to form an inter-party unity against the prosecution’s forceful investigation.“Our top priority is to restore order within the party and to regain the people’s trust,” said the DUP’s interim chief Park Jie-won in the party’s primary in Jeju on Sunday.Park nevertheless expressed concerns over the p

JAKARTA (AP) -- Lady Gaga canceled her sold-out show in Indonesia after Islamist hard-liners threatened violence, claiming her sexy clothes and provocative dance moves would corrupt the youth.The controversy was a blow to the predominantly Muslim country's reputation for combining free speech and democracy with a mostly moderate brand of the faith.Fans were devastated, despite the promoter's offer

WUHAN (AFP) -- Superstar Lin Dan led hosts China to an emphatic victory over South Korea in the Thomas Cup final on Sunday, sending a stark message he and his teammates are in peak form for the London Olympics.Widely regarded as the best player of all time and a sporting hero in China, Lin threw his t-shirt into the Wuhan crowd after his side were far too good in seeing off the Koreans 3-0 -- repe

A millionaire's daughter was sentenced to two years imprisonment Friday for chauffeuring looters around London during last summer's riots.Laura Johnson, 20, a student at Exeter University, was convicted of burglary and handling stolen goods, The Daily Telegraph reported. She had thousands of dollars in electronic items in her car when she was arrested Aug. 9, 2011.Johnson, whose parents run a mark