Sales at South Korea’s major discount chains dropped from a year earlier last month, reflecting a worsening consumer sentiment in the wake of a possible global economic slowdown, the government said Monday. Sales at the country’s three major discount chains slipped 1.1 percent from the same period last year in September, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. “Sales at large discount o...

That tenacious team, aptly known as the Pohang Steelers, has been doing the chasing for much of 2011. The green shirts of Jeonbuk Motors have led the pack for months, like a pace-setting marathon runner that never lets up. The race is almost over and Pohang doesn’t look like it’s catching its prey but it has been a sterling effort. A last-minute goal from Ulsan Horang-I on Sunday ended the Steel...

PITTSBURGH (AP) ― Blaine Gabbert keeps showing the Jacksonville Jaguars why he’s their quarterback of the future. The present remains painful. A day after his 22nd birthday, Gabbert shook off five sacks to lead struggling Jacksonville within a desperation pass of a stunning upset over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Yet Gabbert’s heave, like the last five Sundays for the Jaguars, came up em...

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Georgia (AP) ― Ben Crane wasn’t sure why he was even playing the McGladrey Classic. The real mystery came Sunday afternoon, when he sat down next to a shiny silver trophy. “What the heck am I doing here?” Crane said. His wife is expecting their third child, though a Caesarian section is scheduled for Monday in Dallas. Crane thought about withdrawing five minutes before his te...

MILWAUKEE (AP) ― An afterthought in early September, the St. Louis Cardinals are taking their wild ride all the way to the World Series. David Freese hit a three-run homer in the first and manager Tony La Russa turned again to his brilliant bullpen for seven sturdy innings as St. Louis captured its 18th pennant with a 12-6 victory over the bumbling Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday night. Albert Pujo...

Regulator could order sale at extra panel meeting The Financial Services Commission has decided to speed up procedures to order Lone Star Funds, convicted of stock manipulation, to sell a large portion of its stake in Korea Exchange Bank. The financial regulator is likely to order the U.S. buyout fund to dispose of 41.02 percent out of its 51.02 percent stake in KEB in early or mid-November. “...

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea's state media have been paying close attention to the upcoming Seoul mayoral election for months, mainly attacking the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) and its candidate, an analysis by Yonhap News Agency showed Monday. The Oct. 26 by-election was made necessary in late August after former Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon stepped down after he failed to block an opposition-l...

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- The government has established new detailed rules for censoring domestic pop songs harmful to minors in order to enhance the objectivity of the process, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said on Monday. The ministry has come under fire for applying too strict standards when choosing local music albums to ban from being sold to those younger than 19. The ministry said ...

SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- A suspected hacker wanted on suspicion of stealing customer data earlier this year from Hyundai Capital, an affiliate of South Korea's top automaker, has recently been arrested in the Philippines, police here said Monday. The 35-year-old man, identified only by his surname Shin, allegedly broke into the computer system of the financial firm several times between Februa...

WASHINGTON, Oct 17, 2011 (AFP) - Babies who are born early and small are five times as likely as normal infants to develop autism, according to a two-decade-long US study released Monday. Premature babies have long been known to risk a host of health problems and cognitive delays, but the study in the journal Pediatrics is the first to establish a link between low birth weight and autism. US re...

SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is developing a new type of aircraft that can take off and land vertically to conduct reconnaissance missions, Seoul's top procurement official said Monday. Noh Dae-rae, head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), said at a local seminar that South Korea is developing a tilt-rotor type of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which has the same ...