전국철도노조가 9일 오전 9시부터 파업에 들어갔다.철도노조의 이번 파업은 2009년 11월 26일부터 12월 3일까지 8일간 진행한 파업 이후 4년 만이다.노조는 코레일(한국철도공사)의 수서 발 KTX 운영회사 설립 이사회 개최 중단 등을 요구하며 파업에 돌입했다.김명환 철도노조 위원장은 파업에 앞서 이날 오전 8시 민주노총에서 총파업 돌입 관련 입장을 밝혔다.김 위원장은 "이번 파업은 국민의 철도를 지키기 위한 불가피한 선택"이라며 "열차가 멈춰 불편하더라도 국민 대다수가 반대하는 철도민영화를 막아내고자 하는 철도 노동자들의 상황을 이해해 달라"고 호소했다. 노조는 파업이 시작된 오전 9시 전국 131개 지부별로 총파업 출정식을 진행했으며 오후 2시에는 서울, 부산. 대전, 전주, 영주역 등 전국 5개 지방본부별 총파업 출정식도 할 예정이다. 노조는 열차운행에 필요한 필수 유지인력 8천500여명을 현장에 남겨 뒀다고 밝혔다.코레일과 노조는 8일 오후부터 막판 교섭을 진행했지만, 모

피겨여왕 김연아의 우승 인증샷이 눈길을 끌고 있다. 지난 8일 일본 피겨선수 안도 미키는 자신의 인스타그램을 통해 “자그레이브의 골든 스핀 대회 후. 연아의 우승을 축하해. 너와 함께 경기를 치를 수 있어서 좋았어. 앞으로도 행운이 있길 바란다”는 글과 함께 김연아의 우승을 축하하며 함께 찍은 인증샷을 게재했다. 공개된 사진에는 김연아와 안도 미키가 카메라를 향해 환한 미소를 짓고 있다. 이들은 라이벌임에도 불구하고 다정한 모습을 연출해 훈훈함을 자아냈다. 김연아와 안도 미키는 크로아티아에서 개최된 ‘골든 스핀 오브 자그레브’ 대회에서 각각 1위와 2위를 차지했다. 한편, 김연아는 9일 입국 후 내년 2월에 열리는 소치동계올림픽을 위해 연습에 매진할 예정이다.<관련 영문 기사>Japanese skater Miki congratulates Kim Yu-naJapanese skater Miki Ando congratulated Kim Yu-na on Sunday for her seaso

North Korea said Monday its leader’s powerful uncle was purged for “anti-party, anti-revolution activities” including corruption, drug use and gambling. The North’s state media confirmed the Seoul intelligence agency’s report last week on an apparent ouster of Jang Song-thaek, former vice chairman of the potent National Defense Commission. Jang has played a double game by pursuing private interests and working to create a faction while pretending to obey the party and leader, the (North) Korean

 [기사요약]집비둘기로 인한 도시피해와 시민들의 건강 문제는 우리의 삶과 가장 밀접하다 할 수 있는 환경 이슈다. 비둘기로 인한 여러 가지 피해 사례들을 반영하여 2009년에 환경부는 비둘기를 유해조수로 지정을 했지만, 지정 4년 째 마땅한 후속 대책이나 조사를 하지 않는 것으로 밝혀졌다. 비둘기의 생태 특성을 고려하지 않고 과다 증식한 결과, 단기간에 사랑의 상징에서 도시의 애물단지로 전락해버린 것이다. Korea grapples with health risks, damage from city pigeonsgrapple with 고심하다. 해결책을 강구하다city pigeons 집비둘기 (=Feral pigeons, street pigeons)[1] Throughout history, pigeons and doves have been symbols of love and peace and used as messengers over long distances. symbols of: ~

Japan and Southeast Asian countries are in talks over expanding currency swap arrangements to help cushion their economies in financial emergencies, an official said Thursday, ahead of a Japan-ASEAN summit next week.A swap is a device useful in times of economic stress, when normal foreign exchange markets can seize up, in which financial authorities agree to buy local currency with something much more liquid -- usually the U.S. dollar.Tokyo is now talking with five countries -- Indonesia, the P

Satellite images of one of North Korea's largest political prison camps suggests its inmate population is expanding, Amnesty International said Thursday in a report detailing rape and torture in the North's notorious gulag.The report by the London-based rights watchdog included rare testimony from a former camp guard, as well as from former inmates about the brutality prevalent in the prison system."For Amnesty International, which has been investigating human rights violations for the last 50 y

지난해 태어난 아이는 앞으로 81.4년을 살 것으로 나타났다.지난해 기준으로 45세인 남성이 더 살 수 있는 기대여명은 34.5년이지만 암•심장병•당뇨병 등 주요 사망원인을 피하면 기대 여명이 10년가량 늘어난다.◇男女 건강한 생존기간 66년…韓여성 기대수명 OECD 6위통계청이 5일 발표한 '2012년 생명표'를 보면 지난해 태어난 아이의 기대수명은 81.4년으로 10년 전보다 4.4년 연장됐다. 남녀 간 기대 수명 차이는 6.7년에 달하지만 아픈 기간을 제외하면 기대 여명 차이는 1.5년으로 줄어든다. 지난해 출생아의 기대수명을 보면 남자는 77.9년, 여자는 84.6년이다. 이 중 유병기간을 제외한 기대여명은 남자가 65.2년, 여자는 66.7년이다. 남자는 12.7년을, 여자는 17.9년을 질병이나 사고에 따라 아픈 상태로 생존한다. 즉 생존 시간은 여성이 훨씬 길지만 건강하게 사는 기간은 큰 차이 없다는 의미다. 각자가 주관적으로 건강하다고 생각하는 기대여명은 남자가 66.

Top U.S. officials expressed concern Tuesday at reports that Chinese telecoms giant Huawei is set to build a new broadband network in South Korea that Washington sees as a possible spying risk.Huawei, barred from projects in the United States and Australia over national security concerns, was reportedly selected as a subcontractor for LGU+, a subsidiary of South Korea's LG Corp, to build a Long Term LGU+Evolution (LTE) network.But U.S. defense and intelligence officials and key lawmakers on Capi

Pohang Steelers captured the South Korean professional football championship with a nail-biting victory in the season finale on Sunday.Pohang defeated Ulsan Hyundai 1-0 with a last-second goal by Kim Won-il on the road at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, about 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to take the 2013 K League Classic title.With the riveting victory, Pohang ended the season with 74 points, one ahead of Ulsan, for their first K League championship since 2007.Ulsan entered the match in f

새해 예산안 처리의 법정시한인 12월2일 이전 예산안이 국회를 통과할 가능성은 사실상 사라졌다. 법정시한을 하루 남긴 1일에도 예산안은 국회 예산결산특별위원회에 심의는 커녕 상정조차 되지 않은 상태다. 입법부인 국회가 지난 2003년 이후 11년 연속으로 헌법에 규정된 예산안 처리 시한을 어기는 상황이 벌어진 것이다. 지난해 헌정 사상 처음으로 해를 넘겨 예산안을 처리하는 불명예 기록을 세운 국회는 올해 '준(俊)예산 편성'이라는 또다른 오점을 향해 제어장치없이 다가가고 있다. 특히 제1야당인 민주당이 새누리당의 황찬현 감사원장 후보자 인준 강행에 반발해 국회 의사일정을 전면 거부하고 있어 국회 운영이 언제쯤 정상화될지도 예측하기 어려운 상황이다. 상대적으로 온건협상파인 민주당 김한길 대표조차 "내 직을 걸고 투쟁을 이끌겠다"고 선언한 만큼 연말까지 국회가 파행을 거듭할 것이라는 암울한 전망이 지배적이다.다만 새누리당은 새 정부 첫 정기국회에서 예산안 처리가 지연되고 주요 과제의 입

Samsung Electronics will reportedly roll out two variants of the Galaxy S5 early next year, equipped with a 64-bit ARM chip.A premium Galaxy lineup will likely sport a 5-inch flexible OLED display and a metal chassis, while a stripped-down model will come in a plastic body, according to a news report.It is expected that the new models will run on the 64-bit Exynos chipset and a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip.  The smartphones will be equipped with 3 GB of RAM, a 16-megapixel camera, and a 4000mAh batt

China on Thursday rejected South Korea’s demand to adjust its recent demarcation of an air defense zone in the East China Sea, which has raised tension by covering an area over Korea’s southwestern submerged rock of Ieodo.Vice Defense Minister Baek Seung-joo made the demand during his talks in Seoul with Wang Guanzhong, the deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.Wang came here to attend the regular bilateral strategic defense dialogue, where China’s unilateral draw

Pope Francis issued the mission statement for his papacy Tuesday, outlining how the Catholic Church and the papacy itself must be reformed to create a more missionary and merciful church that gets its hands dirty as it seeks out the poor and oppressed.In the document, Francis pulled together the priorities he has laid out in eight months of homilies, speeches and interviews and put them in the broader context of how to reinvigorate the church's evangelical zeal in a world marked by indifference,

South Korea on Tuesday expressed its displeasure with the European Union's preliminary designation of the country as an illegal fishing nation, noting it has already revised law to intensify fishing regulation set to go into effect early next year, according to a ministry official."South Korea has consistently sought to react to various issues raised by the European Union since last year, and the result of such efforts was the revision to the law on deep-sea fishing, which was legislated in late

In the early years after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the CIA turned some Guantanamo Bay prisoners into double agents then sent them home to help the U.S. kill terrorists, current and former U.S. officials said.The CIA promised the prisoners freedom, safety for their families and millions of dollars from the agency's secret accounts.It was a risky gamble. Officials knew there was a chance that some prisoners might quickly spurn their deal and kill Americans.For the CIA, that was an acceptable ris

A fatal gas leak at a local power plant left one dead and three others in critical condition on Tuesday, local authorities said.Police here in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, about 120 kilometers south of Seoul, said the leak at Hyundai Greenpower's plant at around 7 p.m. Tuesday killed a worker surnamed Yang. Eight others were transferred to Dangjin Hospital, with three of them said to be in critical condition.Police believe that one worker was doing maintenance work on the plant's boiler

North Korea on Tuesday blasted the United States for laying out "absurd preconditions" for the resumption of long-stalled nuclear disarmament talks, saying it will never accept them.In an interview with the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the spokesman for the North's foreign ministry accused Glyn Davies, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, of unreasonably demanding Pyongyang meet its commitments to denuclearize before the six-party talks can resume, while Washin

Japan's lower house of parliament passed a controversial new state secrets bill Tuesday, which critics say is draconian and will impinge on press freedom and the public's right to know.After a morning of debate, the ruling bloc with support from one opposition party voted for the bill, which would give Tokyo far broader powers in deciding what constitutes a state secret, and severely punish those who leak the information.The legislation was sent to the upper house for more debate. That chamber i

One of South Korea's most wanted fugitives and former gang boss, Cho Yang-eun, has been arrested in the Philippines and is set to be handed over to the South Korean authorities, Seoul police said on Tuesday, confirming an earlier media report from China.Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said the 63-year-old Cho, wanted for charges of fraud, was arrested inside a casino in the northern Philippine city of Angeles.Earlier on Tuesday, China's Xinhua news agency, from Manila, reported the arrest of Ch

China's aircraft carrier was set to depart for the South China Sea on Tuesday for a training mission, state media said, amid growing concerns over Beijing's newly declared air defense zone that sparked a war of words with Japan.It is the first time that China sent its sole aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, to the South China Sea since it was commissioned last year, Xinhua news agency reported.The Liaoning was escorted by two missile destroyers, the Shenyang and Shijiazhuang, and two missile frigat