Today's News..

1. The nation has agreed with the U.S. to provide political and security incentives to North Korea depending on how committed the North is to making the Peninsula nuclear free..

2. A global credit rating firm said that North Korea's nuclear shutdown is encouraging but the move alone is not enough to alter the geopolitical risk on the Peninsula nor Seoul's rating..

3. The number of unsolicited messages mobile users received during the first half of this year inched up from 2006 despite government crackdown efforts..

4. A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 jolted the northwestern part of Japan yesterday killing at least 6 and injuring hundreds of people..

5. A British explorer braved the icy waters of the Arctic and swam one kilometer at the North Pole to raise awareness about global warming..


David Beckham makes his U.S. debut

Soccer superstar David Beckham made his first appearance last Friday for the L.A. Galaxy of Major League Soccer. Although soccer is considered mostly a fringe sport in the U.S., Beckham promised that it "can be as big here as it is everywhere around the world." Beckham was acquired by the Galaxy and MLS last January, when he was losing his luster with Spanish team Real Madrid, as well as his home country England. Since then, howerer, he has been recalled to England's national team and helped Real Madrid win the Spanish league title.

Including endorsements and merchandising, Beckham stands to make as much as &250 millioin U.S. in the move. When questioned about his level of commitment to soccer n the U.S., Beckham replied, "For me it has always been about the football. That has always been the reasoning behind every move in my career."


Chinese lashes at foreign media for poor export quality image.

Chinese officials are blaming the international media, particularly from the United States, for exacerbating fears about the safety of the country's food and drug exports, a newspaper reported Monday. The accusation followed shortly after China suspended meat imports from some U.S. companies, possibly to turn the tables on American complaints about Chinese exports. The U.S. and other countries have put Chinese products under the microscope since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found North American cats and dogs had been poisoned by tainted Chinese pet food last April. Li Changjiang, minister of the Chinese General Administration of Quality Supervision, was quoted as saying, "One company's problem doesn't make it a country's problem. If some food products are below standard, you can't say all the country's food is unsafe."



From Morning Special..