CARDIFF, Wales (AP) ― Tom Heaton saved two penalty kicks, and Cardiff reached its first English League Cup final by beating Crystal Palace 3-1 in a shootout on Tuesday night.Cardiff dominated but only managed a 1-0 edge on a seventh-minute own goal by Anthony Gardner, leaving the aggregate 1-1 in the home-and-home, total-goals series. Gardner had scored in the first leg.Palace played a man short after captain Paddy McCarthy received his second yellow card in the 78th, and Cardiff hit the crossba

MELBOURNE (AP) ― Former and reigning Wimbledon winners Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova will meet in the Australian Open semifinals after both won in straight sets on Wednesday.Sharapova won 6-2, 6-3 against fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova, who knocked out five-time champion Serena Williams in the previous round.Kvitova earlier reached the semifinals at Melbourne Park for the first time with a 6-4, 6-4 win over unseeded Italian Sara Errani.Kvitova beat Sharapova in last year’s Wimbledon final

SAPPORO, Japan (AP) ― Yu Darvish’s desire to become the world’s best pitcher prompted his decision to leave Japan and sign with the Texas Rangers.“I want to become the kind of pitcher that will make people say ‘Darvish is the No. 1 pitcher in the world,’” Darvish said at a news conference on Tuesday.The 25-year-old right-hander agreed last week to a six-year contract with the Rangers guaranteeing him $56 million.Darvish had a 93-38 record with a 1.99 ERA in 167 games in the past seven seasons in

Liberal, conservative figures turn to TV talk shows to reach public ahead of electionsThe following is the fourth of a series of articles on Korean politics in 2012, when general and presidential elections take place in the same year for the first time since 1992. ― Ed.There was something more than a little fishy with a recent joke by Grand National Party leader Park Geun-hye.“Which is superior, a whale, or a shrimp? I say a shrimp. Whales are made into pop corn-sized snacks (‘goraebap’ chips) b

Expats can commonly be found in Seoul’s large array of bars and restaurants on any given weekend. But on one recent Saturday, a group of 50 expats spent their night roaming the streets of Seoul, not looking for a fun night out, but rather to pick up cards and fliers advertising prostitution. The flash mob, which was organized through Facebook, called for all foreigners in Seoul to give a voice to the voiceless. “We know that this isn’t the most effective way to do things, but with a big group of

JDC signs MOUs with two institutions to establish international schools in JejuA number of prestigious U.S. private schools, including Wilbraham & Monson Academy and Perkiomen School, are expected to discuss setting up overseas branches in Jeju. Jeju Free International City Development Center signed memoranda of understanding with Wilbraham & Monson Academy and Perkiomen School on each campus on Jan. 18 and 19 to establish international schools at Jeju Global Education City.JDC Chairman Byon Jon

SaKong Il, chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as President Lee Myung-bak’s special envoy from Wednesday through Sunday, KITA said Tuesday.Some 2,500 people from 90 countries including about 30 heads of states, 80 minister-level officials, 20 heads of international organizations, chief executives of private companies and academics are expected to attend the annual conference themed “the Great Transformation: Shaping N

 Leo Burnett Korea chief aims to support companies to go globalMcDonald’s Korea launched its coffee brand McCafe in 2009, but sales struggled amid the growing popularity of specialty coffee houses like Starbucks. For young women working in offices, who led the new trend of sipping a cup of brand coffee, the half-priced McCafe appeared to be not enough to satisfy their appetite for luxury. Then a television commercial changed the game. The ad, made by Leo Burnett Korea, featured consumers who par

Nokia Oyj’s first phones running Microsoft Corp. software may have sold enough units last year to help rebuild investor confidence in the Finnish company, which lost $19 billion in market value in 2011. The Lumia handsets, which went on sale in Europe in November, probably sold 1.3 million units globally to operators and retailers by the end of last year, according to the average estimate of 22 analysts compiled by Bloomberg. The projections range from 800,000 to 2 million and only one analyst p