U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta reiterated Wednesday that the U.S. will not only maintain its military presence in the Pacific region, but strengthen it, dismissing speculation over a possible troop drawdown in South Korea. The new American defense chief made the remarks during his meeting with U.S. troops in Seoul. He arrived here in the afternoon as part of his first Asian tour that includ...

In terms of campaigning, the race for Seoul mayor was characterized by how relatively unflashy it was, focusing instead on volunteering and directly communicating with citizens. The most conspicuous change from past races was the relative lack of loudspeakers, which were typical of street campaigning in the past. The two candidates decided they should listen more and speak less to win the publi...

Samsung Electronics donated the first solar-powered internet school for use in South Africa on Tuesday. The equipment was handed over to the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Boksburg, located in the northeastern region of the country. The solar-powered Internet school is a mobile classroom created from a shipping container. The classroom can hold up to 21 students at a time, and is features includ...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Amazon’s spending on expansion will eventually help its bottom line, but right now it’s costing the online retailer on Wall Street. The Seattle-based company’s third-quarter net income fell 73 percent despite revenue growth as Amazon built sales fulfillment centers at a rapid clip. Neither that drop nor its revenue outlook for the current quarter made investors happy. Its s...

DETROIT (AP) ― Quality should be Job 1 at Ford again. The brand’s ranking fell 10 spots in Consumer Reports’ annual auto reliability survey, hurt by glitchy touch screens and transmissions. It now ranks 20th out of 28 major brands, based on a survey of the magazine’s subscribers. The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker had been closing the quality gap with Japanese brands in recent years, but it may ...

A charity dog costume contest will be held in Seoul on Oct. 30. The event to benefit Korean animal charities will run from 1-6 p.m. at Roofers bar in Itaewon. The event for Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth will see pooches decked-out in costumes take part in talent shows to win prizes. Owners are invited to dress up too at the Halloween-themed event. Entry to the contest is a suggested do...

Two fund-raisers to support cancer sufferers have made almost 4.5 million won in one day. First, a Cancer Sucks event at White Box Theatre in Seoul on Saturday afternoon raised almost 2 million won for the Korean Cancer Society. Participants paid 10,000 won each to dress up and dance to record a music video. “Overall, it was a fabulous event,” said organizer Mitzi Kaufman. “A huge thank you is...