President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande will showcase a revamped relationship between two old allies that is now a cornerstone of diplomatic efforts in Iran and Syria during a glitzy state visit Tuesday, though the rendezvous has been overshadowed by the intrigue of a European love triangle.The partnership between the U.S. and France, which dates back to the American Revolution, has slowly improved after hitting a low point a decade ago, when the French public and politicia

Disgraced cloning scientist Hwang Woo-suk's controversial NT-1 "embryonic stem cell line" officially received a United States patent on Tuesday in a development that could reignite debate surrounding his research.The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) public notification site confirmed the "human embryonic stem cell line prepared by nuclear transfer of a human somatic cell into an enucleated human oocyte" has been patented and subject to legal protection.The office added that a patent ha

VCNC, the operator of Between, a mobile messenger application for couples, said Monday it has successfully attracted investment from DeNA Co., a global leader in mobile Internet services. The Korean start-up said the investment is aimed at forming a business alliance to promote the mobile application and turn it into an open platform to improve its sales drive.“We are pleased to welcome DeNA as a strategic investor,” VCNC’s chief executive Park Jae-uk said in a press release. “We look forward to

세계 광고계의 거장 존 헤가티는 24일 영국 BBC와의 인터뷰에서 그 동안 삼성은 “모방자”의 위치에 있었다고 말하며, 그런 모습에서 탈피해 “독창성을 가지고 시장을 선도 할 필요가 있다”고 꼬집었다. 그는 삼성은 매우 훌륭하고 성공한 브랜드이며 인정받을 만하지만, “삼성의 거의 모든 제품이 애플의 제품을 모방한 것 같았다“며 애플의 편을 들면서 삼성은 앞으로 더욱 “창조적 (inventive)”이어야 한다고 말했다. 존 헤가티는 리바이스, 아우디 등 세계적인 기업의 광고를 제작했으며, 그 공로를 인정 받아 2007년 영국 왕실로부터 기사 작위를 받았다. 　(코리아헤럴드 김영원 기자)　　<관련 영문 기사>　　Advertising legend criticizes Samsung　John Hegarty, a founder of British advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty, said that Samsung Electronics needs to be

The feud between LG Electronics and environmentalists over the firm’s construction plan for its U.S. headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, is far from over as more activists are joining the opposition side. According to The New York Times, environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Natural Resources Defense Council and a local conservation group said they would raise the ante in the ongoing legal battle against the Korean firm to halt the construction of its headquarters atop the

(Yonhap) -- North Korea on Wednesday demanded that South Korea and the U.S. cancel their annual joint military drills scheduled to begin in late February and continue through April, warning that the drills would destroy inter-Korean relations.South Korea and U.S. forces plan to conduct command post exercise Key Resolve and joint field training exercise Foal Eagle between late February and April to enhance joint combat readiness and deter threats from the North.The Committee for the Peaceful Reun

(AP) -- Michelle Obama turns 50 later this week, and she isn't ruling out future use of plastic surgery or Botox.The first lady tells People magazine in an interview hitting newsstands Friday, her birthday, that women should be free to do whatever they need to do to feel good.Mrs. Obama adds that she doesn't imagine resorting to plastic surgery or Botox but that she's also learned to "never say never."The first lady has never missed a health checkup, including a mammogram or Pap smear, and has h

Tencent Holdings Ltd., Asia's largest Internet company by market value, will spend HK$1.5 billion ($193 million) to buy a stake in China South City Holdings Ltd. Tencent will pay HK$2.2 for each of the 680.3 million new shares, or about 9.9 percent, of China South City, the Shenzhen-based company said in an e-mailed statement today. The offer is 1.4 percent higher than China South City’s closing price on Jan. 13. The share was halted for trading yesterday. The Internet company will use China Sou