North Korea drummed up threats of an all-out nuclear war with South Korea and the U.S. on Sunday, one day ahead of the two allies‘ planned joint military drill which the communist country denounces as targeting the North. “Our front-line military groups, the army, the navy and the air force, the anti-aircraft units and the strategic rocket units, who have entered the final all-out war stage, are awaiting the final order to strike,” North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun, the most widely circulated daily pu

Former U.S. President George W. Bush will be remembered as a "great artist," his painting teacher says.In an interview with WAGA-TV, Atlanta, Bonnie Flood of Cumming, Ga., said she spent a month with Bush in Boca Grande, Fla., giving him 6 hours of daily instruction, Politico reported Friday.She told the Fox affiliate the former president started out painting dogs and graduated to landscapes as he became more comfortable with the medium.Three of Bush's paintings became public when a hacker poste

A Jamaican teenager said he uncovered buried treasure dating back to the 1860s while working to clear a vacant lot in Kingston.Michael Taylor, 19, was using a sledge hammer to demolish a concrete column in the lot Wednesday discover what appeared to be a vault, he told The Gleaner, Kingston, Jamaica.Taylor called over fellow workers who helped him open the vault. Inside it, they found a vial containing silver coins, a medallion and a parchment paper."We tried to take up the paper but it just cru

여야의 대립으로 정부조직법 개정안의 국회 처리가 지연되면서 여당인 새누리당에서 과거와 같은 강행처리를 원천 차단한 국회 선진화법을 놓고 논란이 벌어지고 있다. 18대 국회 말인 작년 5월 국회를 통과한 국회법 개정안은 국회의장의 직권상정을 대폭 제한하고, 여야가 첨예하게 대립하는 쟁점 법안은 재적의원 5분의 3(180명) 이상이 동의해야 신속처리법안으로 올릴 수 있도록 하는 내용이다. 당시 여당의 법안 일방처리 관행에 제동을 걸며 `폭력국회' 오명을 씻어낼 수 있다는 기대 속에 마련됐지만, 과반을 기본으로 하는 의사결정구조가 흔들리면서  ` 식물국회'가 될 것이라는 반론이 거셌다. 새누리당에서는 7일 국회법 개정 논의가 표면화됐다. 심재철 최고위원은 최고위원회의에서 "선진화라는 거짓말로 분칠된 국회 선진화법 때문에 우려했던 식물국회, 식물정부가 현실화되기 시작했다"며 "한마디로 말해 소수파의 발목잡기를 제도적으로 보장하는 `소수파 발목잡기법'이라고 얘기할 수밖에 없다"고 비판했다.

The impish boy who showed off his dance moves alongside PSY in “Gangnam Style” is hoping to go viral, too.The 7-year-old nicknamed “Little PSY” is releasing an electro pop song next week through iTunes. The boy whose real name is Hwang Min-woo says he wants to gain global fame like his “big brother,” PSY.Sporting a black suit and a sleek haircut, Min-woo performed at a news conference in South Korea on Wednesday. He is the latest recruit in the increasingly global K-pop industry.Min-woo is a sec

Top Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio said he was “proud” to play a character who “represents everything wrong” about the American antebellum era. The 38-year-old arrived in Seoul on Wednesday to promote his latest film, Academy Award-winning “Django Unchained.” In the western film directed by the legendary Quentin Tarantino, set in the antebellum era of the Deep South of the U.S., DiCaprio stars as Calvin Candie, a cruel plantation owner who is chased after by a freed slave Django (Jamie Foxx),

미래창조과학부 핵심 기능을 둘러싼 여야 대치로 불거진 정국 파행이 새 정부 출범 9일째이자 2월 임시국회 회기 마지막날인 5일에도 지속하면서 국정공백 장기화가 현실화됐다.이에 따라 박근혜 정부는 국무회의 대신 '청와대 수석비서관 회의' 등을 통해 사실상 '비상 국정체제'에 돌입할 것으로 보인다.청와대와 야당이 '강 대 강' 충돌을 빚음에 따라 국정 파행은 불가피해졌으며 이는 고스란히 국민 피해로 이어지게 됐다. 특히 '식물 정부'가 현실화함에 따라 경제ㆍ안보위기 대응과 일자리 창출 및 복지확충 등 민생은 뒷전으로 방치된 양상이다. 실제 정부 각 부처의 경우, 수장의 공백으로 예산집행과 사업시행 등 핵심 업무 가 사실상 마비돼 '국민행복, 희망의 새시대'라는 정부의 국정 비전이 무색한 상황 이다. 이에 따라 여야 정치권과 청와대의 민생을 볼모로 한 정쟁, 정치력 부재에 대한 여론 비판이 고조될 전망이다.여야는 4~5일 이틀간 막판 쟁점인 종합유선방송국(SO), IPTV, 위성방송의 인

A 75-year-old Japanese man died after 25 hospitals refused to admit him to their emergency rooms 36 times over two hours, citing lack of beds or doctors to treat him, an official said Tuesday.The man, who lived alone in a city north of Tokyo, called an ambulance after suffering breathing problems at his home in January.Paramedics rushed to his house but were told in turn by all 25 hospitals in the area that they could not accept the man because they did not have enough doctors or any free beds,

NASA says the Curiosity rover is returning to normal after a computer problem limited its activities.The space agency said Monday that the car-size rover exited safe mode over the weekend. In safe mode, the rover suspends its science activities but is still in contact with Earth.Curiosity is now preparing to resume its science experiments _ perhaps by next week.Engineers still don't know what caused Curiosity's memory glitch.The rover was in the middle of analyzing powder from a rock it had rece

Samsung’s next smartphone will include a feature to track a user‘s eye movements to automatically scroll pages, The New York Times reported.The Galaxy S IV, to be introduced this month, will track a user’s eyes to determine when and how to scroll images on its display, a Samsung employee who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Times.For example, when a user‘s eyes reach the bottom of a page of an article, the display will automatically scroll down to reveal the next page of text.Samsung has

Twelve former members of a university band were charged Monday with manslaughter in the 2011 hazing death of a drum major.Ten of the Florida A&M University band members had been charged last May with third-degree felony hazing for the death of 26-year-old Robert Champion, but the state attorney‘s office said they are adding the charge of manslaughter for each defendant. They also have charged two additional defendants with manslaughter, though they have yet to be arrested.The second-degree mansl

South Korea defeated Australia 6-0 in the first round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) on Monday, staying alive in the tournament after the devastating loss to the Netherlands last week.In the Pool B contest at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, South Korea built an early lead and held on for its first win at this year's WBC.Starter Song Seung-jun held the Australians scoreless over four innings and Lee Seung-yeop and Lee Dae-ho, batting third and fourth, each had three hits for Sout

박근혜 대통령이 4일 취임 일주일 만에 대국민 담화를 발표한 것을 계기로 국정공백의 장기화 국면을 피할 수 있을지 관심이 모아 진다.향후 임시국회 개최 여부를 단언할 수 없는 만큼 2월 임시국회 회기인 오는 5일 까지 정부조직법 개정안이 처리되지 않을 경우 국내외적인 안보와 경제 위기 상황 속에서 국정 파행이 불가피할 것으로 보인다.이럴 경우 박 대통령이 이날 대국민 담화와 청와대 수석비서관 회의에서 언급한 대로 "일을 하고 싶어도 할 수 없는 식물정부가 되는 헌정 사상 초유의 일"이 현실화할 수밖에 없다. 하지만 조기에 파행에서 벗어날 묘책을 마련할 전망은 밝지 않다. 여야 간의 '기싸움'은 이제 '감정싸움' 양상으로까지 번졌다. 박 대통령이 삼고 초려해 발탁한 김종훈 미래부장관 내정자의 사퇴 파장도 크게 작용했다.'박근혜 정부'의 핵심인 미래창조과학부의 김 내정자는 4일 국회 정론관에서 기자회견을 자청, 개편안을 둘러싼 '정치권의 난맥상'을 비판하며 내정자직 사퇴를 전격 선언했다

 대표적인 건강 위험요소인 흡연, 음주, 비만 때문에 지출되는 진료비가 한해 6.7조원으로 전체 건강보험진료비의 14%를 넘는 것으로 조사됐다. 건강보험공단 건강보험정책연구원에 따르면 최근 4년간 (2007~11년) 관련 진료비가 40%이상 급증했고 특히 흡연 (과거 및 현재 흡연) 때문에 지출된 건강보험 진료비를 추산한 결과 2007년 1조 512억원에서 2011년 1조5천633억원으로 48.7%나 늘었다. 흡연요인 진료비의 질병별 비중은 뇌혈관질환(24.12%), 고혈압(22.2%), 기관지 및 폐암(12.72%), 허혈성 심장질환(8.75%) 등의 순으로 나타났다.음주로 인한 질병 진료비도 같은 기간 1조7057억원에서 2조4336억원으로 42.68%나 늘었고, 특히 고혈압(33.78%), 당뇨(15.95%) 등이 음주로 진료비가 많이 늘어난 대표적 질병이었다. 비만 때문에 2011년에 발생한 진료비도 2조6919억원으로 지난 2007년 1조8971억원보다 41.89% 늘어났다

An American man accused of strangling an Irish exchange student in Tokyo told a Japanese court Monday he had no intention of killing the woman but acknowledged he was with her the night she died.As his trial began, 19-year-old Richard Hinds of Memphis, Tennessee, denied intentionally suffocating Nicola Furlong last May 24. He acknowledged he and Furlong, 21, were in a hotel and said he lightly pressed her neck while the two had sex. “I do not believe I was the cause of her death,‘’ Hinds told th

South Korean police said Monday U.S. military officials have asked them to delay questioning of an American soldier who was shot and wounded in a car chase as he is currently under treatment. The 23-year-old private first class, who serves in the 8th U.S. Army at Yongsan Garrison, was shot in the shoulder after midnight on Saturday during a car chase through the capital city. The soldier refused to cooperate with police officers who were dispatched to Itaewon subway station after receiving calls

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watched a basketball game with a former National Basketball Association (NBA) player in Pyongyang, local-based foreign media sources said Thursday. Kim Jong-un, the first chairman of the National Defense Commission in North Korea, watched a basketball game between the Harlem Globetrotters and the North's U-18 squad with American Hall of Fame basketball player Dennis Rodman, according to Chinese state-run media Xinhua News Agency.A day earlier, Rodman practiced wit

The United States on Thursday pledged $60 million in "non-lethal" aid to rebels battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime after talks with the opposition in Rome.In a grim reminder of the violence that has racked the country for two years, the announcement of aid came at the same time as news that a car bomb went off in a suburb of the flashpoint city of Homs, killing several people."The US will be providing an additional $60 million in non-lethal assistance to support the efforts of th

Hackers mainly based in the United States attacked two Chinese military websites including the Defence Ministry page an average of 144,000 times a month last year, the ministry said on Thursday.China's first report of attacks on its websites steps up a war of words between the powers, after a US security company said last week that a Chinese military unit was behind a series of hacking attacks on US firms."The Defence Ministry and China Military Online websites were hacked from overseas on avera

Somalia's president has offered an amnesty to young pirates in a bid to end attacks off the Horn of Africa nation's coast as he seeks to rebuild the war-torn country, he told AFP."We have been negotiating with the pirates indirectly through the elders," said President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. "Piracy has to end."Mohamud, elected by lawmakers six months ago, said that he wanted to offer an "alternative means of earning a living" to young Somalis who have taken up the gun to join pirate gangs.Howeve