배우 톰 크루즈가 부산 명예시민으로 위촉된 것과 관련,“설레고 기대된다”고 전했다.10일 영화 ‘잭 리처’의 홍보를 위해 내한한 그는 이날 오전 10시 30분 서울 여의도 콘래드 서울 그랜드 볼룸에서 열린 기자회견에서 이와 같이 전했다.크루즈는 "부산시로부터 부산 명예시민 제안을 받아 위촉식을 갖게 됐다. 흔하지 않은 기회를 얻게 되어 매우 영광스럽다"며 기자진들 앞에서 활짝 웃었다. 이어 " 생애 처음으로 부산에 간다. 서울이 이렇게 아름다운데 부산은 또 어떨지 기대가 많이 된다"고 설레는 모습을 보였다. 지난 1994년 첫 내한 이후, 6번째 내한으로 역대 최다 내한 스타가 된 톰 크루즈는 이날 기자회견 이후 부산으로 향해 레드카펫 행사를 진행한다. 이번 내한이 특별한 것은 서울이 아닌 부산에서 주요행사를 진행하기 때문이다.  이에 부산시에서는 크루즈를 비롯해 로자먼드 파이크와 크리스토퍼 맥쿼리 감독을 부산의 명예시민으로 위촉한다. 영화 '잭 리처'는 한복판에서 벌어진 저격 사건

Venezuela's Supreme Court chief on Wednesday endorsed putting off President Hugo Chavez's inauguration, siding with the government in a heated dispute with the opposition while the ailing leader struggles with complications a month after cancer surgery in Cuba. Supreme Court President Luisa Estella Morales made the statement after the opposition urged the top court to rule that the government was violating the constitution by delaying the swearing-in for a new term, which had been scheduled for

Boeing's 787 is supposed to revolutionize air travel. It just needs to get out of its own way first.The new plane is undoubtedly Boeing's most visible. It's built from composites instead of aluminum and comes with the promise of the most comfortable ride in the sky. At $200 million each, 787s are an important part of Boeing's future, even though it will be a while before it makes money on them.But this sophisticated piece of transportation wizardry hasn't been behaving as designed. Just this we

South Korea's import prices declined by the most in more than three years in December on a fall in global oil prices and a strong local currency, the central bank said Thursday. In local currency terms, the country's import prices dropped 8.8 percent last month from a year earlier, compared with a 7.6 percent on-year fall in November, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure declined for all of the second half of last year, except in August, as the Korean won's appreciation against the U

South Korea's incoming President Park Geun-hye was to meet with a special Chinese envoy Thursday as Seoul has been struggling to convince Beijing to get tough on North Korea over its long-range rocket launch last month.The issue of North Korea is likely to come up, even at least briefly, in Park's talks with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun, though the meeting is expected to be largely a courtesy call where both sides pledge close cooperation after she takes office next month.Zhang arr

The government will seek to convert irregular workers in the public sector into employees on regular working contracts as part of its efforts to make sure they have better job security, sources said Thursday. According to the finance ministry sources, the ministry is expected to report the plan to the presidential transition committee in a briefing on its 2013 policymaking scheduled for Sunday.The plan seems to be in line with the campaign pledge of President-elect Park Geun-hye that she will co

 The global football governing body said Wednesday it has extended domestic match-fixing sanctions on 41 South Korean players to worldwide lifetime bans."FIFA can today confirm the extension of sanctions on 41 players from (South Korea) related to a domestic match-fixing investigation dating back to the summer of 2011," the Zurich-based FIFA said in a press release. "All 41 players have been sanctioned with a lifetime ban from all football activity by the K League and the Korea Football Associat

Syrian rebels on Wednesday freed 48 Iranians they had been holding for months in a swap for 2,130 prisoners detained by the Syrian regime, according to a Turkish charity, a rebel spokesman and Iranian state television."This is the result of months of civil diplomacy carried out by our organization," a spokesman for the Turkish charity the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), Serkan Nergis, told AFP in Turkey.The regime's prisoners exchanged for the Iranians were of several nationalities, includ

Moviegoers in China spent 17 billion yuan ($2.7 billion) on tickets last year, turning the country into the second-largest film market in the world, the state news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday.Sales rose 30 percent from 2011, it said, citing the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), underscoring the rapid growth that has long attracted Hollywood despite China's tight restrictions on foreign films.After years of pressure, China in 2012 agreed to increase the number of fil

The government on Wednesday approved Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO)'s request to raise electricity rates by an average 4 percent starting next week, a move partly aimed at offsetting the state-run power company's chronic deficits. The price of electricity used by ordinary households will be increased by 2 percent starting from Monday, which will add an additional 930 won (US$0.88) per month to the electricity bill of each house, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a press release.Rates

A son of the late Robert F. Kennedy who was acquitted of criminal charges in a maternity ward scuffle is suing two nurses who said on TV that he hurt them.Douglas Kennedy is alleging defamation and malicious prosecution by nurses Cari Luciano and Anna Lane. He says their statements to police and on NBC‘s ``Today’‘ show held him up to ``ridicule and scorn’‘ and led to his prosecution.The lawsuit, filed Friday in White Plains, a suburb north of New York City, stems from Kennedy’s attempt a year ag

In the not-so-distant future, couch potatoes will be waving, pointing, swiping and tapping to make their TVs react, kind of like what Tom Cruise did in the 2002 movie ``Minority Report.'' That's the vision of TV manufacturers as they show off ``smart TVs.''The sets will recognize who's watching and will try to guess what viewers want to see. They'll respond to more natural speech and will connect with your smartphone in a single touch.The idea is to make TV watching easier and more pleasant as v

A military disciplinary committee said Tuesday it has ordered K-pop star Rain to not leave his unit for one week, the lightest form of military discipline that can be administered, over dating a top TV actress while on official military duty. The move comes after the 30-year-old singer, who was spotted dating actress Kim Tae-hee while he was on leave last month, faced strong backlash from the public over the special treatment of celebrities while they fulfill their mandatory military service.All

대통령직 인수위원회가 정권 변화와 관계없는 국가안보 컨트롤타워(일명 국가안보실) 설치 등 안보강화의 제도적 기반을 추진하는 배경에는 `안보가 기초적 복지'란 박근혜 당선인의 철학이 자리잡고 있는 것으로 전해졌다.8일 인수위 측에 따르면 박 당선인은 "튼튼한 안보와 강력한 안보가 국민에게 드리는 가장 기초적인 복지"란 철학을 표방한 것으로 전해졌다.기본적인 안보의 보장이 전제되지 않는다면 국민의 기초생활 역시 크게 위협받을 수 없다는 인식으로 안보와 경제가 분리된 국정과제가 아니란 생각을 드러낸 것으로 인수위 관계자들은 받아들였다고 한다. 무엇보다 박 당선인은 최근 몇년 새 발생한 천안함 폭침과 연평도 피격, 북한의 핵보유국 선언, 잇따른 북한의 로켓 발사 등 현재 처한 안보상황이 매우 어렵기 때문에 국가안보의 강화는 그 어느 때보다 절실하다는 생각을 갖고 있는 것으로 전해 졌다.국립외교원 외교안보연구소가 발표한 '2013-2017 중기 국제정세전망' 보고서에도 "오는 2월 출범하는

삼성전자가 2012년 고공행진을 이어가면서 국내 기업으로는 처음으로 매출 200조원을 돌파했다고 발표했다. 삼성전자는 작년 한해 동안 연간 매출 201조원, 영업이익을 29조원을 달성했다. 삼성전자는 작년 10월 개정된 한국채택국제회계기준을 적용해 연결기준 작년 4분기 실적을 잠정 집계한 결과 매출은 56조원, 영업이익은 8조8천억원이라고 8일 공시했다.이는 지난 3분기와 비교했을 때 매출은 7%, 영업이익은 9.2% 늘어난 수준이다. 관련 업계에서는 휴대전화 사업이 삼성전자의 사상 최대 실적을 견인한 것으로 보고 있다. “삼성의 견고한 성과는 스마트폰 판매에 기인한 것으로 보인다. 회사 전체의 실적에 휴대전화 사업이 얼만큼 기여를 하는지 주목해야 할 필요가 있다”고 KDB 대우증권의 송종호 애널리스트가 말했다. 지난해 삼성은 4억대의 휴대폰을 판매하면서 세계 최대의 모바일폰 제조업체로 부상했으며 판매된 휴대폰의 반 가량은 스마트폰인 것으로 나타났다. 전문가들은 애플의 휴대폰 판매량

An employee at a Subway restaurant in Florida says he was fired after arguing with a customer about putting ketchup on a sandwich. The ketchup fight occurred Tuesday at a Subway inside a Walmart store in Orlando, WFTV reported. Luis Martinez said he asked for a Philly cheese steak sandwich with his usual accompaniments: "American cheese, onions and ketchup."Lawrence Ordone, who was working behind the counter, said he was unable to give Martinez what he wanted. "He wants ketchup on the Philly che

Japan will increase military spending in 2013 for the first time in more than a decade, the ruling party said Tuesday, as Tokyo summoned the Chinese ambassador over a simmering territorial row.The newly-elected Liberal Democratic Party's national defense task force has decided to boost the defense budget request by more than 100 billion yen ($1.15 billion) in response to an emboldened Beijing, a party official told AFP.The relatively small amount is likely symbolic, but it reflects anxiety over

An illegal immigrant from Mexico accused of assuming the persona of a Texas teacher pleaded guilty Monday in a case that put a face on the growing crime of ``total identity theft‘’ in the United States.Benita Cardona-Gonzalez pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of possessing fraudulent identification documents in a deal with prosecutors that calls for an 18-month prison term.The 32-year-old was accused of completely assuming the persona of Houston elementary school teacher Candida Gutierrez, who

축구스타 리오넬 메시(26•바르셀로나)가 대기록의 주인공이 됐다. 메시는 8일(한국시간) 새벽 스위스 취리히에서 열린 국제축구연맹(FIFA) 2012년 시상식에서 FIFA-발롱도르(Ballon d'Or)를 수상했다. 최종 후보인 크리스티아누 호날두(레알 마드리드)와 안드레스 이니에스타(바르셀로나)를 제쳤다. FIFA-발롱도르는 한 해의 활약상이 가장 빛난 스타에게 주는 상이다. 선수가 누릴 수 있는 최고 영예 가운데 하나로 꼽힌다. 아르헨티나 출신 골잡이 메시는 이날 수상으로 2009년부터 FIFA-발롱도르 4연패를 달성했다. 메시는 전신인 FIFA '올해의 선수'까지 포함할 때 발롱도르를 가장 많이 받은 선수가 됐다. 종전 최다 수상자는 올해의 선수상을 세 차례씩 석권한 호나우두(브라질)와 지네딘 지단(프랑스)이다. 메시는 "팀의 타이틀이 더 중요하기 때문에 올해가 나의 최고의 해라고 할 수 없다"고 말했다. 그러면서 스페인 프리메라리가, 코파델레이(국왕컵), 유럽축구연맹(UEFA

Lionel Messi won the FIFA Ballon d'Or award on Monday as an expected reward for his astonishing 91-goal year for Barcelona and Argentina in 2012.Aged just 25, Messi has now been voted the world's best player for an unprecedented fourth straight year as the outstanding talent of his generation.Messi beat his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo of Spanish champion Real Madrid and Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta, who starred as Spain won the 2012 European Championship.``To tell the truth, this is reall