80여명의 사망자를 내 며 3개월여 혼란이 계속되던 우크라이나에서 야권이 주도권을 잡는 방향으로 급속히 상황이 변화하고 있다. 야당이 주도하는 최고 의회(라다)는 22일(현지시간) 유일 합법 권력 기구를  자 임하면서 빅토르 야누코비치 대통령 퇴진과 5월 조기 대선을 선언했다. 수도에서 떠난 야누코비치 대통령은 사퇴 거부 의사를 밝히며 쿠데타라고  비난 했지만 그가 속한 '지역당' 의원들도 속속 탈당하고 있고 군·경도 등을 돌렸다.여기에 최대 야권 지도자 율리야 티모셴코 전 총리가 석방돼 대선 출마를  선언 함에 따라 야권의 세몰이는 더 거세질 것으로 예상된다. 야권 시위대는 이미 대통령 집무실과 대통령 사저 등을 장악하고 자신들이 수도 키예프를 통제하고 있다고 주장했다. ◇ 의회 "대통령 퇴진, 5월 조기 대선" 선언…대통령 반발우크라이나 최고 의회는 이날 야누코비치 대통령이 중대한 인권 침해 범죄를 저 지르고 직무를 유기했다며 퇴진 안건을 표결에 부쳐 참석 의원 380명 전원 찬

Below are the final medal standings for all medal winners at the Sochi Winter Olympics.Rank     Country         Gold    Silver   Bronze    Total   1     Russia           13      11        9        33   2     Norway           11       5       10        26   3     Canada           10      10        5        25   4     United States     9       7       12        28   5     Netherlands       8       7        9        24   6     Germany           8       6        5        19   7     Switzerland      

As the 2014 Winter Olympics drew to a close here in Russia, the eyes of the sporting world turned to the South Korean town of PyeongChang, the host of the next Winter Games in 2018.The Olympic Flag was handed over from Sochi to PyeongChang during the closing ceremony at Fisht Olympic Stadium on Sunday, and it will be kept in the South Korean host over the next four years.It will have been a long time coming for PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul.PyeongChang won the bid to host the Wi

The 2014 Winter Olympic Games in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi drew to a conclusion on Sunday, as the host Russia rediscovered its dominance on snow and ice.The closing ceremony took place at Fisht Olympic Stadium, the same site of the opening ceremony for the 17-day winter sports extravaganza.Under the slogan "Hot, Cool, Yours," the Sochi Olympics brought together nearly 3,000 athletes from a Winter Games record 88 countries, who competed for 98 gold medals in 15 disciplines in seven sport

The 2014 Winter Olympic Games in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi drew to a conclusion on Sunday, as the host Russia rediscovered its dominance on snow and ice.The closing ceremony took place at Fisht Olympic Stadium, the same site of the opening ceremony for the 17-day winter sports extravaganza.Under the slogan "Hot, Cool, Yours," the Sochi Olympics brought together nearly 3,000 athletes from a Winter Games record 88 countries, who competed for 98 gold medals in 15 disciplines in seven sport

Trade between South and North Korea fell to its lowest level in eight years in 2013 due to their strained relations, data showed Sunday.Inter-Korean trade reached US$1.15 billion last year, down a whopping 41.9 percent from the previous year's $1.98 billion, according to the data from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).South Korean exports to the North nose-dived 41.1 percent on-year to $531.8 million, with imports from the communist country sinking 42.5 percent to $617.2 million.T

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. saw its quarterly TV sales hit a record high during the preceding quarter on the back of rising demand for premium TV sets, data showed Sunday.Samsung, the world's largest flat TV maker, is estimated to have sold some 16.11 million units of flat-panel TVs during the October-December period, a record high on a quarterly basis, according to the data compiled by market researcher DisplaySearch.Samsung's market share stood at 28.3 percent during the fo

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest maker of smartphones, unveiled its first wearable devices that run on its own mobile operating system Tizen in Spain on Sunday, as it seeks to break its heavy reliance on Google Inc.'s Android software.The unveiling of the Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, Samsung's successors to the Galaxy Gear, which was released in September last year, also comes as the South Korean tech giant is struggling with a slowdown in its sales of high-end smartphones.The two

South Korea and the United States will carry out their annual joint military drills in a "low-key" manner from this week, the military said Sunday, amid the ongoing reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.The allies will hold the computer-based command post exercise, called Key Resolve, from Monday to March 6, involving about 10,000 South Korean and 5,200 American forces, with 1,100 coming from overseas U.S. bases. The two allies also plan to hold a combined field training drill

2014 소치 동계올림픽 피겨스케이팅 여자 싱글 순위 조작에 대한 논란이 확대되어 가는 가운데 국제빙상경기연맹(ISU)은 아직 한국측으로 부터 공식적인 이의제기를 받지 못했다고 밝혔다.  ISU측은 홈페이지에서 “모든 판정은 공정하고 엄격하게 진행됐다”며 의도적인 편파판정에 대해 부인했다. 또한 러시아 피겨스케이팅협회장의 부인과 1998년 나가노 동계올림픽 당시 판정을 조작하려다 1년 자격 정지를 받은 심판이 포함돼 있었다는 지적에 대해서도 입장을 전했다. 한편 한 외국신문이 올림픽 피겨스케이팅 심판의 익명 코멘트를 보도하였는데 이를 일부 국내언론들이 양심선언 한것으로 잘못 '오역' 한것으로 알려졌다. 미국 USA 투데이는 2014 소치 동계올림픽 피겨스케이팅 심판이지만 이번 경기 심판으로는 참여하지 않은 한 익명의 심판의 말을 인용보도했는데 그 심판은 편파 판정으로 인해 개최국 러시아의 아델리나 소트니코바가 금메달을 획득하게 하고, 김연아와 동메달을 딴

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. saw its quarterly TV sales hit a record high during the preceding quarter on the back of rising demand for premium TV sets, data showed Sunday.Samsung, the world's largest flat TV maker, is estimated to have sold some 16.11 million units of flat-panel TVs during the October-December period, a record high on a quarterly basis, according to the data compiled by market researcher DisplaySearch.Samsung's market share stood at 28.3 percent during the fo

Hundreds of South Koreans headed to North Korea on Sunday to meet relatives they haven't seen for more than six decades in family reunions taking place amid improved inter-Korean relations.A total of 357 people departed from the eastern port city of Sokcho and were to arrive at Mount Kumgang, a scenic resort on the North's east coast, later Sunday for three days of reunions with 88 relatives from the North.The meetings are the second set of reunions in a week. On Saturday, 82 elderly South Korea

South Korea's telecom and science ministry said Sunday that it has drawn up detailed events for a global conference on information and communication technologies (ICTs) slated to start in the country in October.South Korea is set to host the 19th International Telecommunications Union (ITU) plenipotentiary conference in Busan, the country's largest port city, from Oct. 20 through Nov. 7.The conference, which is held every four years and comprises ITU's 193 member states, decides on the strategic

Earnings by credit card companies in South Korea shrank 21 percent last year from a year earlier, as households tightened their purse strings amid an economic downturn and lowered merchant fees, industry data showed Sunday.The combined net income of seven stand-alone card firms came to1.73 trillion won ($1.61 billion) last year, compared with 2.2 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data.The weak bottom line came as households cut spending last year amid economic uncertainties. Also, a

2014 소치 동계올림픽 피겨스케이팅의 편파판정 논란이 가열된 가운데 금메달리스트인 소트니코바(18·러시아)의 갈라쇼에 혹평이 쏟아졌다. 소트니코바는 23일(이하 한국시각) 러시아 소치의 아이스버그 스케이팅 팰리스에서 열린 2014 소치 동계올림픽 피겨스케이팅 갈라쇼에 참석했다.이날 25번째로 등장한 소트니코바는 대형 형광색 깃발 2개를 들고 등장, 관중들의 시선을 끌었다. 그러나 소트니코바는 3분여 동안 갈라쇼에서 실수를 연발했다.소트니코바는 대형 깃발을 제대로 다루지 못해 스케이트날에 걸리면서 이내 깃발을 집어던졌으며, 점프에서도 랜딩 실수를 범했다 갈라쇼는 자유도가 높고 색다른 연기를 추구할 수 있는 것이 특색이지만 금메달리스트의 무대인지가 의심스러울만큼 그는 제대로 된 연기를 선보이지 못했다. 이에 갈라쇼를 중계하던 배기완 SBS 아나운서는 “거추장스럽게 천을 왜 들고 나왔나요”고 꼬집었다. 이어 변 위원은 “예술적인 부분에서 아직 굉장히 미완숙하다”고 평가하며 “밴쿠버의 금

"모든 사람들이 평화롭게 사는 모습을 상상해 봐요."2014 소치 동계올림픽에서 값진 은메달을 목에 걸고 선수 인생을 마무리한  '피겨 여왕' 김연아(24)가 올림픽의 마지막 은반을 밟고 '평화'의 메시지를 전하며  작별 인사를 했다.소치올림픽 피겨스케이팅 수상자들의 갈라쇼가 열린 23일(한국시간) 러시아 소치의 아이스버그 스케이팅 팰리스.암전된 링크 입구에 전체 스무 번째 순서로 김연아가 서자 그 뒤로 선명한 태극기가 떠올랐다.김연아가 링크 가운데로 이동하자 관중석 곳곳에서 박수와 환호가 이어졌다.이내 감미로운 선율과 함께 인류의 영원한 꿈인 평화를 노래하는 '이매진'의 선율이 흐르고, 김연아가 두 팔을 뻗어 회전하며 연기를 시작했다.지난해 아이스쇼에서 순백의 드레스를 입고 갈라 무대를 선보인 김연아는  이번에는 어깨 부분을 파랗게 물들여 아래쪽으로 내려갈수록 점차 연해져 흰색으로 변하는 의상을 선택했다. '이매진'은 팝가수 존 레넌이 1971년 베트남 전쟁 당시 반전의 메시지를

South Korea said Sunday it signed a currency swap agreement with Australia, a deal that it expects will boost bilateral trade and eventually help growth of their economies.The deal, signed by the central banks of the two countries in Sydney, will allow for the exchange of their local currencies up to 5 trillion won ($4.5 billion) or A$5 billion, according to a joint statement.This will be effective for three years and could be extended by "mutual consent of both sides," it said. The central bank

The photo collection of figure skating queen Kim Yu-na perfoming at the gala exhibition that closed the Olympic figure skating competition in Sochi on Sunday (Korean time). The photos are from Yonhap.

With the pressure off and no medals at stake, it was time for the Olympic figure skaters to have some fun. Before a packed house Saturday night at the Iceberg Skating Palace, where so much history was made during the Sochi Games, the loudest cheers, naturally, went to the Russian stars  When pairs champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov took the ice at the end of the 2{-hour show, now familiar chants of "Ro-ssi-ya'' filled the arena. Then all the individual gold medalists _ Americans Mery

South Korea on Saturday added what should be its final medal at the Sochi Winter Olympics, the silver in the men's team pursuit in speed skating, but will fall short of its stated objective.The team of Lee Seung-hoon, Joo Hyong-jun and Kim Cheol-min took the silver behind the favored Netherlands in the team pursuit race at Adler Arena Skating Center, winning the country's first medal in the event that became a medal sport in 2006.It brought South Korea's medal tally to three gold, three silver a