Jeju Island has been voted as one of the new seven wonders of nature by people across the world. The scenic island was chosen along with the Amazon Rainforest and River (in Brazil and several other countries), Halong Bay (Vietnam), Iguazu Falls (Argentina and Brazil), the Komodo National Park (Indonesia), the Puerto Princesa Underground River (the Philippines) and Table Mountain (South Africa).The list of the seven natural wonders was announced Saturday by the New7Wonders Foundation, a nonprofit

ANKARA (AP) ― Turkish commandos in civilian clothes slipped onto a hijacked passenger ferry and posed as hostages before fatally shooting a suspected Kurdish rebel carrying explosives in a 12-hour drama that ended before dawn Saturday.There were no other casualties aboard the Kartepe, that was hijacked on Friday after it left the northwestern port city of Izmit. There were 18 passengers on board, including five women, as well as four crew and two trainees, authorities said.Despite the success of

HONOLULU (AP) ― President Barack Obama lobbied the skeptical leaders of Russia and China for support in keeping Iran from becoming a nuclear-armed menace to the world, hoping to yield a “common response” to a deepening problem.Yet Obama’s talk of solidarity with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Chinese President Hu Jintao was not publicly echoed by either man Saturday as Iran moved anew to the fore of the international stage ― and to the front of the fierce U.S. presidential race.The United

Diplomats say will work to unify Assad opposition if regime fails to adhere to demandsCAIRO (AP) ― In a surprisingly sharp move, the Arab League voted Saturday to suspend Syria over the country’s bloody crackdown on an eight-month uprising and stepped up calls on the army to stop killing civilians.The decision was a humiliating blow to a regime that prides itself as a bastion of Arab nationalism, but it was unlikely to immediately end a wave of violence that the U.N. estimates has killed more th

MOSCOW (AFP) ― Russia on Monday launches three astronauts for the International Space Station on a key mission Moscow hopes will restore faith in its space program after an unprecedented string of failures.Two Russians and one American will blast off on a Soyuz-FG rocket from Russia’s Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 0414 GMT, the first manned launch since the retirement of the US shuttle made Russia the sole nation capable of taking humans to the ISS.It is also the first launch after an unm

BOSTON (AP) ― When he was running for Massachusetts governor in 2002, Mitt Romney’s campaign courted voters at a Boston Gay Pride weekend by handing out fliers proclaiming “All citizens deserve equal rights, regardless of sexual preference.”Just a year later, Romney emerged as a leading voice against gay marriage, opposing the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling overturning the ban on same-sex marriage.With Romney’s positions evolving on everything from abortion to gay rights, embryoni

YANGON (AFP) ― Myanmar’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is likely to contest an upcoming by-election, a party spokesman said Saturday, paving the way for a political comeback after years of exclusion by army generals.Her National League for Democracy, delisted last year for boycotting the first elections for 20 years, will consider on Friday whether to re-register as a political party, after Myanmar’s president recently approved changes to the registration laws.“The NLD is likely to register an

GENEVA (AFP) ― A James Bond Rolex watch complete with a buzz saw and a hyper-intensified magnetic field to deflect bullets will come up for auction in Geneva on Monday, said Christie’s.“The watch is unique. It is the watch that Syd Cain ― the famous engineer ... had modified for the film Live and Let Die,” said Aurel Bacs, Christie’s international director for watches.Estimated to fetch between 200,000 and 400,000 francs ($220,312 and $440,624), the stainless steel watch worn by Roger Moore who

Foodies craving a taste from the Great White North in Korea have received a helping hand. The Canadian Embassy published a list of Canadian products available in Korea and where to purchase those products.A vast amount of Canadian products can be found at various supermarkets and discount chains across the country. “You may have to go to more than one outlet to fill your pantry, but discovering new shopping opportunities is half the fun of shopping for quality Canadian products,” said the embass

Next year, French citizens living in Korea will be invited to vote for the presidential elections, and for the first time in the history of the Fifth Republic, the parliamentary elections.To participate in these elections, French citizens must be registered on the electoral roll in Seoul before Dec. 31. Registration can only be made at the embassy’s consular section. For more information on the elections, visit www.ambafrance-kr.org.