Another conflict flared up within the ruling Grand National Party on Thursday, after one of its reformist leaders called for the ruling party to drop the word “conservative” from its charter. The idea was first floated by Kim Jong-in, a key member of the party’s emergency leadership council who has been at the center of controversy recently over his outspoken criticism of the party old-guard.“A party that confines itself to a frame of political conservatism can’t survive in this rapidly changing

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (AP) ― Richard Hamilton scored 14 points in his return to The Palace, and the Chicago Bulls shut down the Detroit Pistons in a 99-83 victory Wednesday night.Hamilton started after missing the previous two games with a sore left groin. He received a warm welcome from Detroit fans, many of whom stood and applauded the veteran guard who spent nine years with the Pistons before being waived prior to this season.Hamilton went 5 of 9 from the field and added five assists. Derric

LONDON (AP) ― Manchester United handed the initiative back to Manchester City in the English Premier League title race on Wednesday, losing 3-0 at Newcastle on a night its former goalkeeper Tim Howard scored a freak goal in Everton’s loss to Bolton.Newcastle condemned United to a second defeat in four days, with Demba Ba and Yohan Cabaye grabbing superb goals either side of halftime and Phil Jones scoring a late own goal to heap more misery on Alex Ferguson’s side.United was three points behind

MIAMI (AP) ― Carlos Zambrano will get a much-needed fresh start with the Miami Marlins. The Chicago Cubs traded their former ace Wednesday for Marlins right-hander Chris Volstad, pending physicals and approval by Major League Baseball, a person familiar with the negotiations said. The person confirmed the deal to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the teams hadn’t announced a deal.Zambrano wore out his welcome in Chicago because of repeated meltdowns and tantrums. The most re

The 2012 PGA Tour season kicks off this week, and the season-opening event will be sponsored by Hyundai Motor Co., the country’s largest automobile maker.The company announced Thursday that it was again named the official sponsor of the U.S. PGA Tour opener, which is scheduled to tee off on Friday in Hawaii. The traditional first event of the PGA Tour has been played at Kapalua Resort on the island of Maui since 1999. The tournament has had several title sponsors, and Hyundai Motor Co. took over

South Korea’s unification ministry said the government will open the possibility of a high-level dialogue with North Korea in line with President Lee Myung-bak’s New Year address, as part of its yearly plan for 2012.However, the ministry made it clear that Pyongyang should come clean on the two deadly attacks on South Korea in 2010 before seeking progress in inter-Korean relations.“To keep the Korean Peninsula peaceful and stable, the ministry will establish a South-North dialogue channel and ma

Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's tech giant, is expected to announce its preliminary fourth-quarter sales and operating profit data on Friday, market sources said Thursday.According to the sources, Samsung Electronics will likely post sales ranging from 43 trillion won ($37.3 billion) to 47 trillion won for the October-December period. Its operating profit is expected to reach about 5 trillion won. During the first three quarters of last year, Samsung Electronics posted 117.7 trillion won

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. plan to hire 1,400 new workers and invest about 360 billion won in facilities this year in order to abolish night shifts and reduce excessive working hours, the labor ministry said Wednesday. The nation’s largest and second largest carmakers will phase out their current two-shift production system until they will run two day shifts only starting from later this year. They plan to complete the transition by 2013. The decision came after their w

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The United States said Tuesday that the new North Korean leadership’s stated refusal to engage with South Korea bodes ill for reviving six-party nuclear disarmament talks.“That’s not going to be conducive to getting back to the table,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters when asked about the North Korean stand.North Korea Friday ruled out engagement with South Korea’s current government of conservative President Lee Myung-bak, a day after proclaiming Ki

Itaewon Global Village Center volunteers will participate in a range of activities in January starting with a trip to a center for disabled people. Participants will visit the Yongsan Center for the Disabled from 2-4:30 p.m. on Jan. 13. Volunteers will help center users to make crafts to sell on in the local area, raising some money for the makers. Another event will see volunteers visit the Yongsan Senior Welfare Center from 1:30-3 p.m. on Jan. 16. English speakers are invited to do some free-t