U.S. students behind in math, science, analysis says

American children aren’t necessarily getting smarter or dumber, but that might not be good enough to compete globally, according to numbers cited Tuesday by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. He noted a special analysis put out last week by the National Center for Education Statistics that compares 15-year-old U.S. students with students from other countries in the Organization for Economic Development

Share

S. Korea to again attempt first rocket launch

South Korea will try again Tuesday to get its first space rocket into orbit, state media reported. A series of delays have kept the rocket and its satellite payload earthbound, including a technical glitch that halted Wednesday’s countdown less than eight minutes before blastoff.

Share

Report: Koreas hold rare high-level talks

South Korea’s unification minister met with North Korea’s unity leader Saturday in another sign that icy relations between the two rival nations could be thawing, the South’s state media reported. The meeting was the first high-level cross border contact in nearly two years, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. South Korea’s Unification Minister Hyun In Taek held talks with Kim Yang Gon, head of the North’s Workers’ Party unification, the agency reported

Share

N. Korea feels ‘owed’ direct talks with U.S., Richardson says

North Korea believes it’s owed bilateral talks with the United States after the communist government released two detained American journalists this month — a notion that senior Obama administration officials quickly rejected on Wednesday. “They feel, the North Koreans, that by giving us the two American journalists, that they’ve made an important gesture,” New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson told CNN Wednesday after meeting with two North Korean diplomats

Share

South Korea president honors Yang’s U.S. PGA win

South Korea’s Yang Yong-Eun’s historic victory over Tiger Woods in the U.S. PGA Championship ensured he became the first Asian-born male winner of a major and prompted an excited reaction across the world of golf. The 37-year-old was two shots adrift of overnight leader Woods but kept his cool to card 70 to the American’s 75 to win by three on the final green at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota.

Share

UK embassies: We can’t help you buy shoes

And now a public service announcement from the British foreign office: “The government views Hyundai Group’s joint statement with North Korea in a positive way, but it is at the nongovernmental level,” Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said. “For this agreement to be realized, the governments of South and North Korea need to reach a concrete agreement through dialogue.” A Hyundai subsidiary handles all tourism and business projects between the Koreas

Share