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North Korea Tries to Ramp Up Its Lagging Tech Infrastructure

Returning home one spring five years ago from a secret visit to Beijing in his armored, fully wired train car, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il got an unnerving, firsthand demonstration of the potential downside of technology. A huge explosion ripped through the Ryongchon border station, and some officials initially thought it was an assassination attempt triggered by a cell phone. As it turned out, the fireball was more likely the result of two trains’ colliding nearby, possibly as a result of miscommunication about changed schedules stemming from Kim’s clandestine travels

Box Office Weekend: Bully for Bullock

On Father’s Day weekend, while dads were playing catch with their sons and preparing the backyard barbecue, women rushed to theaters to see a romantic comedy with a female star. The Proposal, with Sandra Bullock as a Canadian publishing exec who must marry her harried male assistant in order to stay in the U.S, whacked the opposition and topped the North American box office.

New York Times reporter escapes Taliban

A New York Times reporter who was held by the Taliban for seven months has escaped, the newspaper reported Saturday. David Rohde told his wife, Kristen Mulvihill, that he and a local reporter, Tahir Ludin, climbed over the wall of a compound late Friday where they were being held in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan.

Monsoon season compounds refugees’ troubles

"Refugees are the most vulnerable people on Earth. They are fighting to survive." — Angelina Jolie, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees goodwill ambassador The world’s population at the end of last year included 42 million displaced people, 80 percent of them in developing nations, according to a report this week by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Many of these refugees are living in minimal standards for shelter and are exposed daily to the harshest elements of weather, the report says

Gates: U.S. ready against N. Korea strike

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the United States could defend itself in the event of a North Korean missile launch toward Hawaii, and that U.S. officials were monitoring the situation carefully.

Sri Lanka Tourism Looks to Boom After War’s End

Hoteliers big and small in Sri Lanka are getting ready to cash in on what they say is the inevitable boom around the corner after last month’s end to the nation’s bloody quarter-century-old civil conflict. Tourism in this tropical-island nation was one of the industries hit hardest by the war between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam . From the white-sand beaches of Hikkaduwa to the verdant mountains of Kandy, the tourism industry has endured a 25-year-old yo-yo ride with profits fluctuating from year to year with the state of the conflict.

U.S. tracking N. Korea ship with possible weapons, official says

The U.S.

Moussavi calls for day of mourning in Tehran’s streets

Supporters of opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi planned to turn Tehran into a sea of black Thursday when thousands of them march, dressed in dark clothes, to mourn comrades killed or wounded while calling for a new presidential election. Demonstrators expected to start their rallies from mosques across the Iranian capital, converging in a city square Thursday afternoon, for what is expected to be one of the largest protests since last Friday’s disputed election

North Korea qualifies for 2010 World Cup

North Korea qualified for the 2010 World Cup finals by battling to a 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday night. The point saw them edge into second place in Asian qualifying Group 2 ahead of Saudi Arabia on goal difference

Will Offshore Searches Slow North Korean Nukes Or Spark a Military Confrontation?

After more than 15 years of largely fruitless diplomacy, the U.S. and its allies are preparing a high-seas quarantine to try to ensure that North Korea’s nuclear knowledge doesn’t leach beyond its borders