South Korea's average 'Net speed plunges 24%, iPhone blamed In the course of three months during 2009, South Korea's average Internet connection speed dropped by a dramatic 24 percent. Think about the magnitude of the decline here: one of the world's most wired countries suddenly sees its overall Internet speeds reduced by a quarter over a few months while similarly positioned countries like Sweden, the Netherlands, and Hong Kong all saw speed increases. What happened? Blame it on the iPhone. According to Akamai's ...

Do liberals read only liberal blogs? On Friday, I received a press release pitching a new book on how to live like a liberal. The book offers helpful suggestions for: Watching MSNBC instead of Fox News Powering a laptop with a solar power-generating backpack Progressive financial investment Where and how to find a like-minded mate ... You get the idea. What really caught my eye was item number one: the idea that people of a particular political persuasion should stop watching news produced by those of ...

China's economic growth surges but inflation low China's economic growth surged to 11.9% in the first quarter, possibly giving Beijing room to allow its currency to rise, but analysts warned it faces growing pressure to cut back stimulus and keep the world's third-largest economy from overheating. The strong performance reported Thursday might allow a loosening of politically volatile currency controls by offsetting possible losses in export industries. Analysts expect Beijing to let the yuan rise sometime this year, though President Hu Jintao ...

Wall Street Higher as UPS, Transports Offset Greece U.S. stocks edged higher on Thursday as a strong profit forecast from United Parcel Service Inc propelled transportation shares, offsetting worries that debt-plagued Greece was ready to use an emergency bailout package. Economic bellwether UPS climbed 6.1 percent to $69.49 after the package delivery company said first-quarter earnings would be much higher than expected and raised its full-year outlook. "The underpinning for our move higher is in place, meaning earnings season has begun. It has ...

White House Defends NASA Plans Today President Obama Will Announce Two Major Space Program Developments President Obama is expected to announce two major developments today at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida that could take the nation's space program to another level. The first is the development of a new "heavy lift rocket" that will be used to lift future deep-space craft and is supposed to "push the boundaries" of U.S. exploration in space with the ultimate goal of sending American astronauts to ...

Handicapping Obama's Supreme Court Picks Sources numerous and equally dismissable report that President Obama has a op Tenlist of potential SCOTUS candidates to replace the outgoing John Paul Stevens. Since no one can honestly claim to know what the president is thinking, here my stab at his top ten (after conferring with a few TNL friends) as potential choices, with pluses and minuses for each. Trust me - youl want to stick around for the 10th. 1. Elena Kagan (49), Solicitor General ...

Volcanic ash halts European flights A plume of volcanic ash from Iceland has halted flights across Europe as authorities shut down airspace in Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia, stranding hundreds of thousands of passengers. U.S. flights are on hold. Christopher Elliott, National Geographic Traveler magazine's reader advocate and Navigator columnist, was online today at Noon ET to take your questions about how your travel plans may be impacted. A transcript follows. ____________________ Springfield, VA: Do you think my Air France flight to Paris tonight at 10:30 ...

Toyota conducts safety tests on all SUV models Toyota announced safety tests on all its sport-utility vehicle models in a sweeping effort Thursday to reassure buyers after Consumer Reports warned against buying the 2010 Lexus GX 460 in the automaker's latest public relations debacle. Toyota Motor Corp., plagued by recalls since October and accusations it responded too slowly to problems, said it had yet to decide whether to recall the GX 460 SUV, sold mainly in North America but also in the ...

Iranian playing in NBA scores with America Hamed Haddadi, left, is the NBA's first Iranian basketball player. STORY HIGHLIGHTS Hamed Haddadi began playing for Tennessee's Memphis Grizzlies in August 2008 Despite U.S.-Iran tensions, strains appear absent with teammates, fans alike NBA had to apply to the U.S. government for a license to let Haddadi play He's been trying to bridge gap between Iranian-Americans and basketball From nuclear weapons to human rights, the image of Iran is quite negative in America. But with little fanfare, one Iranian ...

Death Toll in China Quake Rises to 617 The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck western China  Wednesday rose to at least 617 people on Thursday, with 10,000 more injured as many remained buried under debris, Chinese state media reported. The quake, which struck at 7:49 a.m. in Qinghai Province, bordering Tibet, had a magnitude of 7.1, according to China’s earthquake agency. At least 18 aftershocks measuring more than 6.0 followed throughout the day, government officials said, according to Xinhua. China’s ...