Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
BIE iNews Views 12.23.12
South Korean officials reported that the recent rocket launch by North Korea demonstrates
its technology is capable of hitting the U.S. West Coast. The South’s defense officials
were unable to confirm that the North has the reentry technology needed to succeed in
delivering a nuclear warhead.
Top of Form South Korea has experienced rapid industrialization
but amid Seoul’s affluent neighborhoods are some ramshackle areas where residents
depend on charcoal for heat. The number of households burning charcoal increased from
15,700 in 2003 to 25,000 last year and even more this winter. Carbon monoxide poisoning
is always a concern and several deaths have been reported. Mid- to late January are the
coldest periods in Korea.
North Korea confirmed that it has detained Kenneth Bae, an American tourist, for committing
a crime against the state and will put him on trial. News reports from North Korea say
that Mr. Bae has confessed to his crimes and could be sentenced to hard labor for five
to ten years. According to Mr. Bae’s colleagues, he crossed the border shouting, “I came
here to proclaim God’s love.”
Shinzo Abe, Japan’s new Prime Minister, is trying to improve relations with South
Korea by not celebrating Takeshima Day, which could mark a shift in policy aimed at dealing
with more pressing threats from China and North Korea. He previously served as Prime
Minister from 2006-2007.
Many feared a 140-meter in diameter asteroid would collide with Earth in February 2040,
but scientists now say the closest it will come to Earth is about 900,000 kilometers
or more than twice the distance to the moon. If a collision with an asteroid this size
ever occurs, 100 megatons of energy will be released, or several thousand times more power
than the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end World War II.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has dealt a blow to Apple in its legal battle
with Samsung Electronics over smartphone patents, declaring that a patent that helped Apple
win $1.05 billion in damages against Samsung in a jury trial should not have been granted.
The patent office’s action was made public by Samsung in a filing in Federal District
Court in San Jose. In the court document, Samsung, the Korean electronics giant, said
that the action should be weighed in evaluating its petition for a new trial and its challenge
to the damages’ award. Apple is expected to appeal.