STOCKHOLM (AFP) -- Canada's Alice Munro won the Nobel Literature Prize on Thursday for her short stories that focus on the frailties of the human condition.She is just the 13th woman to win the coveted award, and the first Canadian.The Swedish Academy described Munro, 82, as a "master of the contemporary short story", a genre that has only rarely been honoured with the world's most prestigious literary award.It hailed her "finely tuned storytelling, which is characterised by clarity and psycholo

일본 정부는 후쿠시마(福島) 등 8개현 수산물에 대한 한국의 수입금지 조치에 대해 세계무역기구(WTO)에서 문제제기할 방침이라고 NHK가 5일 보도했다. NHK에 따르면 일본 정부는 '한국의 수산물 수입금지 조치에 과학적 근거가 부족한 만큼 철회해야 한다'는 자신들의 주장에 대한 국제사회의 이해를 얻기 위해 오는 16∼17일 제네바 WTO 본부에서 열리는 WTO 회의때 공식적으로 입장을 설명할 방침을 굳혔다.이는 한국 정부의 수입금지 철회를 이끌어내기 위한 압박의 하나로 보인다. 지난달 일본 수산청 당국자가 한국을 방문해 금수 철회를 요구했지만 한국이 받아들이지 않자 국제사회에 호소하기로 한 셈이다. 앞서 산케이 신문은 지난달 14일자에 일본 정부가 WTO에 한국 정부를 제소하는 방안을 검토하고 있다고 보도한 바 있다. 한국 정부는 후쿠시마 제1원전 오염수 해양 유출 사태로 국민 불안이 커지자 후쿠시마, 이바라키, 군마, 미야기, 이와테, 도치기, 지바 아오모리 등 8개 현에서 나오

YEONGAM -- Two-time defending champion Sebastian Vettel took the pole at the Formula One Korean Grand Prix here on Saturday.The Red Bull star posted the fastest lap of 1 minute and 37.202 seconds in the qualifying race on the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam, about 400 kilometers south of Seoul.Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes finished 0.218 second behind the German.The final race of the only F1 stop in South Korea is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Sunday.It is the third-consecutive and the sixth-

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Republicans launched a furious counter-attack on the White House as the US government shutdown drags into a fifth day with no end in sight.With lawmakers heading into the weekend, Congress appeared no closer to resolving the impasse, even as a far more challenging fiscal hurdle -- the need to raise the US debt ceiling or suffer a catastrophic credit default -- was barely 12 days away."This isn't some damn game," boomed House Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congres

Japan is to file a complaint to the World Trade Organization on Korea for placing a partial import ban on Japanese fishery products, according to Japan’s public broadcaster NKH on Saturday.The Japanese government is planning to share its disgruntlement during the WTO meeting as “Korea’s ban on fishery products from Fukushima and  neighboring prefectures is baseless and thus should be called off,” according to the broadcaster. The WTO general meeting is slated to be held in Geneva on Oct. 16-17.S

한미일 합동 해상 군사 훈련에 대해서 북한 측이 "북침핵전쟁 도발 기도" 라고 맹비난하면서 강력 대응을 다짐했다.북한의 노동당 기관지 노동신문은 토요일 사설을 통해서 미국의 초대형 항공모함 등이 참여하는 이번 훈련은 대북 대화에 찬 물을 끼얹는 일이라고 표현했다.또한 한반도이 남쪽 해안에서 진행될 군사 훈련은 남북 간의 긴장감을 고조시키고 충돌을 유발할 수 있다고도 전했다.대화와 평화를 중시하지만 대북 핵전쟁 도발 시에는 단호하게 대응하겠다는 것이 북한 측의 주장이다.한편, 유도 미사일 군함들을 동반한 미국의 초대형 항공모함 조지워싱턴호는 금요일 부산항에 도착해서 화요일부터 시작 예정인 합동 해상 훈련에 대비하고 있다.코리아헤럴드 배현정 기자 (tellme@heraldcorp.com)<관련 영문 기사>North Korea on Saturday lashed out at the planned trilateral joint naval exercise next week among South

South Korea and the United States held small group talks Saturday on how best to share the cost of maintaining American troops on the Korean Peninsula after past negotiations failed to make headway.Diplomatic sources said the closed door meeting was attended by Hwang Joon-kook, special ambassador for the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) talks, and his U.S. counterpart Eric John.The location of the talks has not been disclosed other than that it is taking place on the outskirts of Seoul. Insiders

North Korea on Saturday lashed out at the planned trilateral joint naval exercise next week among South Korea, the United States and Japan, calling it a plot to start a nuclear war.The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), said in a commentary monitored in Seoul that the large-scale maneuver involving a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier can only be seen as a move that pours cold water on dialogue efforts with the North and will lead to heightened tensions.The d

The remains of a South Korean prisoner of war (POW) who died in the Northwere returned home, the defense ministry here said Saturday.The ministry said the remains of Sohn Dong-shik arrived earlier in the day and were sent to the Agency for Killed in Action Recovery & Identification for DNA analysis to confirm his identity.The transfer of Sohn's remains, who held the rank of sergeant in South Korea's 9th Infantry Division during the Korea War (1950-53), was facilitated by local civic groups such

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- US pop icon Madonna was raped at knifepoint when she was a young struggling artist in New York, she revealed in an article published Friday.The 55-year-old also recalled being held up at gunpoint and having her seedy apartment burgled three times, saying she was "scared shitless" at times before she started making it as a singer and dancer.In a piece for Harper's Bazaar, she also talked about her time living in Britain married to director Guy Ritchie, saying there is "nothin

Korean movies attracted more than 100 million people to box offices for the second straight year in 2013, official data showed Saturday.According to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), which monitors ticket sales in the country, audience numbers hit the vaunted mark as of Friday this year. It said the numbers translate into an average Korean seeing at least two locally made movies this year. South Korea has a population of 50 million.It added that the figure is significant because the 100 million m

South Korean stocks are expected to trade in negative terrain next week, weighed down by uncertainties arising from a prolonged political impasse in the United States, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slid 0.74 percent this week from the previous week, closing at 1,996.98.The main index moved in a tight range, putting shares directionless since Washington declared a partial halt to its government operations as of Oct. 1 (Seoul time) after the Republicans and

LYON (AFP) -- One of China's most wanted crime bosses, Chuanbo Lu, has been arrested in South Korea and handed over to the Beijing authorities, international police agency Interpol announced on Monday.Lu's arrest is a "severe blow" to a "significant international organised crime network," said Jong-Gil Kim, head of the Seoul police's international crime investigation unit.Lu was wanted for attempted murder and for being one of the main leaders of a major crime syndicate involved in extortion, dr

A Seoul court ordered state prosecutors Monday to indict two figures from the state intelligence agency for their alleged involvement in a high-profile election meddling scandal.The scandal centers on allegations that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) launched an online smear campaign to sway public opinion in favor of President Park Geun-hye, the then ruling party candidate, ahead of last year's presidential election.Then NIS chief Won Sei-hoon was indicted in June on charges of interferi

NEW YORK CITY (AFP) -- Miss New York Nina Davuluri is the new Miss America, but a barrage of racist tweets quickly greeted the crowning of the first winner of Indian descent.The 24-year-old aspiring physician beat contestants from 49 other states, the US capital city's District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to win the coveted crown in Atlantic City, New Jersey late Sunday.In second place was Miss California Crystal Lee, who earned a $25,000 scholarship.But racist slurs abounded

BRUSSELS (AFP) -- The European Union's 28 foreign ministers are to hold emergency talks Wednesday to review the bloc's relations with Egypt, an EU diplomat told AFP.A decision to convene the emergency meeting at around noon in Brussels was agreed by senior diplomats holding a preparatory round of talks Monday on the spiralling bloodshed in Egypt, said the diplomat, who asked not to beidentified.

Unionists at Hyundai Motor Co. decided Monday to go on a partial strike this week after negotiations with the management stalled on wage hikes and welfare benefits.Union leaders said there will be a four-hour strike on Tuesday and Wednesday. The workers will return in full on Thursday when labor-management negotiations are scheduled. Unionists will decidewhat to do depending on how the negotiation round proceeds, the leaders said.Over 70 percent of the unionists at Hyundai Motor, the country's l

The prosecution on Monday sought to add two years to the prison term of the convicted chairman of SK Group in an appeals trial, accusing him of "deriding" the justice system.Chey Tae-won, 53, is currently serving a four-year prison term from January for embezzling company money to make personal investments in stock futures and options in 2008, but the prosecution is requesting a six-year term.Chey, who inherited the country's third-largest conglomerate from his father, allegedly misappropriated

VATICAN CITY (AFP) -- Pope Francis, fresh from a trip to Brazil, said on Monday he did not judge homosexuals but condemned the gay lobby as a "serious problem".He also said women should be given a bigger role in the Church, but refused to consider their ordination, saying the "door is closed" on the issue.Referring to homosexuals, the pope told journalists on the plane back to Rome: "The problem is not having this orientation, it is lobbying. That's the most serious problem I think.""If someone

North Korea on Wednesday proposed talks with Seoul next week on resuming a joint tour program to Mount Geumgang and reunions of separated families, the Unification Ministry said.South Korea accepted the proposal for family meetings but effectively refused talks on the tourism project, according to the ministry. The inter-Korean tour program was halted in 2008 after a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier at the scenic mountain resort. Family reunions have been on hold sinc