The Seoul-led international organization on green growth began its official operations on Tuesday.The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) kicked off inaugural meetings of its assembly and council in the day for a two-day run in central Seoul, during which it will select its secretary general and permanent council members, according to the Secretariat.The GGGI was officially launched last week as an international entity, upgrading the Seoul-based think tank set up in 2010 to promote strategies f

Statins, a cholesterol lowering drug may lower the risk of esophageal cancer, especially in those with Barrett‘s esophagus, U.S. researchers say. Study author Siddharth Singh, a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist, said squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma are two main types of esophageal cancer.Barrett’s esophagus, a complication of gastroesophageal reflux disease, raises the risk of adenocarcinoma, the more common type of esophageal cancer. Barrett‘s esophagus is a precancerous condition in w

Millions of people using Android apps are at risk of having their personal data revealed, security researchers in Germany report. Researchers at the University of Leibniz and Philipps University of Marburg tested 13,500 popular apps in Google‘s Play store and found almost 8 percent failed to protect bank account and social media logins. The insecure apps failed to implement standard scrambling systems, researchers said, allowing “man-in-the-middle” attacks to spy on data passed along when

Being shy or bold can be a matter of life or death for a trout, Canadian researchers say, with shyness being a better survival strategy.Fish respond to, and learn from threats, they said, and experiments show bold trout forget predator odor, and hence a potential predator threat, quicker than shy trout.As predators can be present in different locations and at different times, learning and retaining information about a predator threat, and being able to recall it at a later stage, is key to respo

U.S. President Barack Obama accused Republican candidate Mitt Romney of being consistently wrong on foreign affairs as the two presidential rivals squared off in their third and final debate Monday with the race in a dead heat two weeks before Election Day.Obama criticized Romney's support for beginning the war in Iraq, for opposing his plans to withdraw troops from Iraq, for inconsistent stances on Afghanistan and for opposing nuclear treaties with Russia. ``Every time you've offered an opinion

The European Union (EU) has decided not to accept France's claim that its domestic auto market has been hit by a surge in imports of South Korean vehicles, Seoul's trade ministry said Tuesday.On Monday, the European Commission, the executive body of the EU, reviewed a request made in July by France, and decided not to put South Korean autos on a prior surveillance list. The move could trigger a safeguard measure against imports from South Korea in the worst-case scenario, according to the minist

North Korea suffered flood damage at its major nuclear test site but it has made good progress in restoration, security experts said Monday, citing satellite photos."Satellite imagery of North Korea's underground nuclear test site at Punggye-ri in the country's northeastern corner shows that significant repairs have been undertaken to mitigate damage caused by this summer's floods," said James Hardy and Allison Puccioni, analysts at IHS Janes, a London-based security information firm.South Korea

A senior U.S. envoy on children's issues will travel to South Korea later this week for consultations on Seoul's long-overdue entry into an international treaty on adoption, officials here said Monday.Amb. Susan Jacobs, the special advisor for children's issues at the State Department, is scheduled to visit Seoul from Wednesday to Friday."She will review Korea's plans to accede to the Hague Adoption Convention," an official at the department said.Formally named the "Hague Convention on Protectio

North Korea has unilaterally imposed hefty taxes on eight South Korean firms operating in the joint industrial complex in the North's border city of Gaesong, a Seoul government official said Friday."Eight out of 123 South Korean companies in the Gaesong complex were slapped with taxes totaling $160,000," the Unification Ministry official said, requesting anonymity.Of the eight firms, one was levied $87,000 and another was ordered to pay $30,000, the official said, adding another firm has already

Singles, especially those without children, will need to budget more money for healthcare in old age than those who are married, U.S. researchers say. The MetLife Mature Market Institute's monthly Market Trends report said the 2010 Census revealed married couples are 48 percent of U.S. households. Those with children age 18 and younger comprised just 20 percent of households and those with two children were 8 percent. From a planning perspective it is harder to control costs when injured

 영국의 한 조사에 따르면 잠자는 자세를 보면 그 사람의 성격을 알 수 있다는 연구 결과가 나왔다.바디 랭귀지 전문가인 로버트 핍스가 조사한 연구에 따르면 조사 대상의 58%의 사람들이 잘 때 태아처럼 몸을 웅크리고 자는 것으로 나타났다. 이렇게 무릎을 구부리고 얼굴을 아래로 하는 “태아 자세”로 자는 사람은 걱정을 많이 하는 스타일이라고 핍스는 말했다.두 번째로 흔한 자세는 “통나무 자세”인데 이렇게 자는 사람들은 성격이 완고하고 고집이 세다고 한다.나머지 2가지 유형에는 “갈망하는 유형”의 자세와 “자유낙하형”이 있다.“갈망하는 자세”로 자는 사람들은 항상 꿈을 쫓는 사람들로서 매일 아침에 그 날에 성취한 도전들을 갈구한다고 한다.“자유낙하형”의 자세로 자는 사람들은 자신의 삶에 대해 통제권이 거의 없다고 느낀다고 핍스는 말했다.(코리아 헤럴드) <영문 기사>Personality is revealed by the body’s position: researchA British ne

A Croatian priest has run off with almost one million euros ($1.3 million) after illegally selling church property, officials said Tuesday, amid media reports the Catholic clergyman had fled with a married woman.Franciscan priest Sime Nimac earlier this year signed a deal with a local firm to sell a plot of church land, the Split archdiocese said in statement.Nimac, 34, the former parish priest of

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made a surprise visit to a front-line island near the tense western sea border with North Korea on Thursday, the scene of a deadly artillery attack by the communist nation two years ago.It is the first time that Lee has visited the island of Yeonpyeong near the Yellow Sea border with the North. The island was bombarded in the North's shelling attack in November

South Korea and China are moving to introduce a one-strike out system for their fishing boats caught fishing illegally in the other country's territorial waters, the Seoul government said Thursday.Currently, boats caught while fishing illegally in the other country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) are banned from entering the other country's EEZ for three years.The so-called one-out, three-year sys

Two Japanese ministers were part of a cross-party group of lawmakers who visited a controversial Tokyo war shrine Thursday, the day after opposition leader Shinzo Abe angered China by paying homage there.Dozens of parliamentarians were at Yasukuni Shrine, an AFP journalist witnessed, as part of celebrations for Japan's autumn festival.Among the lawmakers were transport minister Yuichiro Hata of th

The government is moving to extend various incentives for diesel imports that are traded electronically in a move to further stabilize energy prices that might have a large impact on overall consumer prices, market observers said Thursday.They said the government has already decided to extend the incentives until the end of next year. Most of the incentives, which include a full tax exemption, as

South Korean diplomats on Wednesday made their final pitch for Seoul's bid to regain a seat on the U.N. Security Council. A vote will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday at the U.N. General Assembly in New York.South Korea is competing with Cambodia and Bhutan for the seat assigned to the Asian region. The winning nation will replace India for the 2013-2014 term. Asia has two slots for nonpermanent members

A Billboard crown remained elusive this week for Psy, a Korean rapper, but he may smile at news that some American fans were reinstated after losing jobs for a parody of "Gangnam Style."For the fourth consecutive week, "Style" was placed at No. 2 on the Billboard chart, updated Wednesday, once again tackled by Maroon 5's "One More Night.""The battle for No. 1 wasn't as close as last week," Billboa

North Korea's leadership has dissolved a key communist party organization tasked with managing slush funds for the ruling Kim family, a news report said Wednesday.Japan's Kyodo News Service reported Pyongyang has abolished the agency, code-named "Office 38," under the Workers' Party of Korea.It quoted unidentified "sources familiar with North Korean affairs." Kyodo's story has not been confirmed i

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight U.S. rallies on better housing data, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 4.88 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,960.03 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor gained 0.22 percent and its affiliate auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis added 0.84 percent. Mobile phone maker LG Ele