Reuters: World record roller coaster 14 March

The oil spill occurred after a large crude oil carrier was hit by a barge last Friday. The workers cleaning up wore absorbent clothing, while the coast guard had 138 vessels releasing containment fences and oil skimmers.The cost of cleaning was expected to far surpass the 104 million U.S. dollars it cost South Korea to clean up a spill 1995. The South Korean government has come under criticism for being slow to response to the spill.

Over the past several days, the North has lashed out at the new conservative government in Seoul and its ally the United States by test-firing missiles, expelling South Korean officials at a joint factory park in the North and threatening to slow down a nuclear disarmament deal.

Twenty-one South Korean aid workers entered their third week in captivity in Afghanistan where they are being held by Taliban rebels. Negotiators are working flat out to free the group while families back in South Korea are worried sick as two hostages have already been killed. Ordinary South Koreans are rallying around the hostages' relatives in a show of solidarity.

Exit polls showed that Lee's GNP party won more than half of the vote - his closest rival won around just a quarter. The margin of victory was the biggest since democratic elections started 20 years ago. It was also one of the lowest turnouts in South Korea's presidential elections. Lee had entered the election firm favourite despite being under investigation for alleged fraud. The former Hyundai Group executive and ex-Seoul mayor will take over the presidential Blue House after 10 years of liberal leaders.

It's been a roller coaster year for French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Dubbed the "bling bling president," his popularity ratings have bounced up and down. A look back at this year of big hope and great disappointment.

The U.S. and South Korean troops have staged a street fighting exercise as part of an annual military training drill to deter a North Korean attack. North Korea denounced the training, saying it was preparation for an attack.

India's giant Tata Group has unveiled the world's cheapest car which analysts say could revolutionise prices worldwide and change the way the nation of 1.1 billion people travels. The long-awaited Nano will carry a sticker price of 100,000 rupees or 2,500 dollars, and is aimed at getting millions of increasingly affluent Indian families to trade their motorbikes four-wheel comfort.

A stove that recommends recipies, wallpaper that changes colour at the touch of a finger and a table that may just be the world's largest iPod --- it's not science fiction, just the first wave of futuristic homes in South Korea.

French engineering giant Alstom, creator of the high-speed TGV train, unveiled Tuesday a new-generation, super-fast prototype: quicker, cleaner, bigger -- and tailored specially for export. President Nicolas Sarkozy helped cut the ribbon on the AGV, which stands for Automotice Grande Vitesse, or High-Speed Railcar -- a bullet-train designed with a cruise speed of up to 360 kilometres per hour (210 mph).