Boris Nemtsov, a charismatic Russian opposition leader and sharp critic of President Vladimir Putin, was gunned down Saturday near the Kremlin, just a day before a planned protest against the government.    Russian police look at the body of Boris Nemtsov, a former Russian deputy prime minister and opposition leader, at Red Square in Moscow on Feb. 28, 2015. YonhapThe death of Nemtsov, a 55-year-old former deputy prime minister, ignited a fury among opposition figures who assailed the Kremlin fo

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has urged the North's military to become elite units in full preparation for war with the United States after inspecting the new guard unit hall at a war museum, Pyongyang's media said Saturday.   Kim has toured the recently opened the guard unit hall at the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum, which contains records of the 1950-53 Korean War and hosts a statue of the country's founder and Kim's grandfather, Kim Il-sung, according to the official Korean Ce

The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday unanimously passed a bill that calls for strengthening sanctions on North Korea as well as countries and businesses helping the communist regime in its pursuit of nuclear weapons.   Rep. Ed Royce, chairman of the committee, and Rep. Eliot Engel, the committee's ranking member, introduced the legislation (H.R. 757) earlier this month. A similar bill in the House last year but was later scrapped after the Senate did not act on it before the previo

► 현대차, 반 값 가격 경쟁력 갖춘 도요타 수소차 ‘미라이’의 약진에 투산 수소차 가격 인하 결정. 가격 인하 폭은 논의 중 현대차가 가격 경쟁력을 갖추고 수소차 시장에서 급부상하고 있는 도요타의 세단형 첫 수소차 ‘미라이’를 견제하기 위해 최근 투싼 수소차의 가격 인하를 전격 결정한 것으로 알려졌다. 익명을 요구한 한 수소차 업계 관계자는 “최근 현대차가 투싼 수소차의 국내 최대 고객인 광주시청에 최근 가격 인하 결정 사실을 통보한 것으로 안다’’고 본지에 밝혔다. 수소연료전지차 산업을 육성 중인 광주시는 작년 대당 정부 지원금 6천만을 받아 대당 9천만원을주고 현대차 투싼 수소차 5대를 구매한 바 있다. 광주시는 올해 투싼 수소차를 10대 추가로 구매할 계획에 있으며, 구매한 수소차는 7월 광주에서 개최되는 유니버시아드 대회에 투입할 계획이다. “현대차가 투싼 수소차 가격 인하를 전격 결정한 이유는 도요타가 최근 출시한 수소차 ‘미라이’의 약진을 견제하기 위한 조치로 이해할 수

A Singaporean navy ship has located the fuselage of the crashed AirAsia plane in the Java Sea, Singapore's defense minister said Wednesday.Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said on his Facebook page that images taken by a remote controlled vehicle from the ship showed parts of the plane's wing and words on the fuselage.He said Indonesian search officials have been notified so they can begin recovery operations.The plane disappeared from radar on Dec. 28 less than halfway into a two-hour flight from Su

The already strained political relations between North Korea and China will become more uncertain unless Pyongyang fulfills its denuclearization commitments, a Chinese foreign policy researcher said Wednesday. In a rare frank comment on China's relations with South and North Korea, Yan Xuetong, director of the Institute of Contemporary International Relations of Tsinghua University, said Beijing's ties with Pyongyang "are not as close as" its ties with Seoul.  China's relationship with its only

The South Korean military began its annual war exercise involving all branches of service on Monday to bolster its defense posture against belligerent North Korea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.   This year's 12-day Hoguk exercise involving the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps "will focus on ways to establish supreme military defense capabilities against (North Korea's) possible regional provocations and all-out war," the JCS said in a statement.   The exercise was to be conducted across

▲무역협회, 코엑스, 서울시와 한전 부지 내 프리미엄 전시 컨벤션 시설 개발 논의 시작 ▲코엑스, 삼성동 159번지 일대 마이스(MICE) 산업 클러스터로 변모시켜 창조경제 성공 모델 도전 　서울시가 현대차가 매입한 한전 부지 중 일부를 기부체납 받아 전시 컨벤션 중심 복합단지로 개발하기 위해 무역협회, 코엑스와 논의를 시작함에 따라 단지 내 ‘제2의 코엑스’ 건설이 유력시 되고 있다. 코엑스 변보경 사장은 ``한전 부지 내 차별화되고 고급화된 전시•컨벤션 센터 설립을 위해 서울시와 논의를 시작했다’’고 최근 코리아헤럴드와의 인터뷰에서 밝혔다. 한국무역협회 산하 전시•컨벤션 기업인 코엑스가 지난 1년 한전 부지 맞은편에 위치한 무역센터 단지 (삼성동 159번지)를 마이스 산업 (MICE: 전시, 컨벤션, 관광 융복합 산업) 클러스터로 진화시키는 프로젝트를 가시화 하면서 업계 관계자들은 이 두 기관의 한전 부지 개발 참여를 점쳐왔다. ``(한전 부지 포함) 삼성동 코엑스 일대는 향후

South Korea on Thursday proposed a symposium next year to discuss a logistics network across Eurasian nations as part of President Park Geun-hye's ambitious initiative to bind Eurasian nations closer together.    South Korea made the proposal as more than 50 leaders from Asia and Europe opened their biennial two-day Asia-Europe Meeting, known as ASEM, in Milan.   The proposed symposium would bring together officials and experts from Russia, China and other countries as well as international orga

A high-level meeting of a U.N. biodiversity conference ended Thursday, adopting a declaration that summarizes conservation initiatives and global development suggestions made during the three-week conference.    The two-day meeting was organized as part of the 12th meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which is underway in the eastern city of Pyeongchang, 182 kilometers from Seoul. It brought together some 20 heads of international organizations, including the United Nations D

The South Korean military said Monday it has deployed additional weapons to islands near the tense western maritime border to better deal with North Korea's growing threats.   The disputed sea border remains a powder keg with the two Koreas fighting bloody battles there in 1999, 2002 and 2009. In the latest incident, both sides briefly exchanged fire last week as a boat from the North violated the Northern Limit Line.   Drawn by the U.S.-led United Nations Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korea

French economist Jean Tirole, winner of the Nobel prize for economicsFrench economist Jean Tirole won the Nobel prize for economics Monday for research on market power and regulation that has helped policy-makers understand how to deal with industries dominated by a few dominant companies.    Calling Tirole ``one of the most influential economists of our time,'' the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said he's made contributions in a range of research areas. But it highlighted his role in clarify

Song Kwang-yong, the senior presidential secretary for education, tendered his resignation and President Park Geun-hye accepted it before her state visit to Canada, Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday. Cheong Wa Dae, however, did not provide the reason for Song's resignation, saying only that he wanted to get back to a university. Song served the post only for three months. In June, the former professor at Seoul National University of Education was chosen by President Park as the secretary in charge of ed

South Korean President Park Geun-hye left for Canada Saturday for a three-day state visit on a trip that will also take her to New York where she will address the U.N. General Assembly.   In Ottawa, Park is scheduled to meet with South Korean residents there before meeting separately with Gov. General David Johnston and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, according to Park's office.    The summit with Harper on Monday will be Park's third with him. In March, Harper visited Seoul as the two countries

France is back at America's side in conducting military strikes in Iraq.More than a decade after spurning President George W. Bush's war against Saddam Hussein, France on Friday became the first country to join U.S. forces pounding targets inside Iraq from the air in recent weeks _ this time in pursuit of militants of the Islamic State group.Flying from the United Arab Emirates, two French Rafale jets fired four laser-guided bombs to destroy a weapons and fuel depot outside the northern city of

A man jumped over the fence of the White House in the U.S. and made it through the front door before officers managed to apprehend him, just minutes after President Barack Obama had departed, the Secret Service said. The rare breach on Friday was likely to renew intense scrutiny of the Secret Service, an agency whose storied history has been marred in recent years by multiple allegations of misconduct by officers. It was unclear whether a fence-jumper has ever made it into the White House before

Indonesia was formally named the host country for the 2018 Asian Games on Saturday, filling the void created when Vietnam relinquished its hosting rights over financial concerns.  Indonesia's National Olympic Committee said Saturday that events would be held in the capital of Jakarta, along with the regions of South Sumatra and West Java.    Committee Chairwoman Rita Subowo said the bid had strong support from the central and regional governments and that much of the infrastructure was already i

North Korea claimed Saturday that an American it recently sentenced to six years of hard labor intended to go to prison to reveal the human rights situation in the North to the world, and seek political refuge by pretending to have secret information about the U.S. government.   On Sunday, the North sentenced Matthew Todd Miller to six years of hard labor for committing acts hostile to the communist nation.  Miller had been indicted on charges of tearing up his tourist visa and seeking asylum up

Lee Ha-sung in wushu captured  South Korea's first gold medal at the ongoing Incheon Asian Games on Saturday. Lee Ha-sung in wushu, Korea's first gold medalist in the 2014 Asian Games (Yonhap)Competing in the men's changquan final, Lee scored 9.71 points  for the host's first gold medal at Ganghwa Dolmens Gymnasium in the  western port city. Jia Rui of Macau was the silver medalist with  9.69 points. Daisuke Ichikizaki of Japan got the bronze with 9.67 points.    Lee earned 5.00 points in qualit

Popular South Korean celebrities shined over the opening ceremony of the 2014 Asian Games on Friday, as they appeared in short succession and kept the spectators glued to their seats.   Minutes before the start of the pan-continental sports festival, South Korean boy band EXO entered the stage amid a boisterous crowd. Dedicated fans packed one side of the stadium and screamed as the group performed its 2013 hits "Wolf" and "Growl."     South Korean celebs, including actor Kim Soo-hyun (second fr