Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered fiery rejoinders Wednesday to Republican critics of the Obama administration's handling of the deadly attack on a U.S. mission in Benghazi, facing off with lawmakers who included potential 2016 presidential rivals.At times emotional and frequently combative, Clinton rejected Republican suggestions in two congressional hearings that the administration tried to mislead the country about the Sept. 11 attack that killed Chris Stevens, the U.S. amba

The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to suspend the U.S. debt ceiling until May, averting a potential default crisis and buying time for high-stakes budget negotiations.The bill, which must be approved by the Senate before being signed into law by President Barack Obama, temporarily has defused partisan tensions, as Democrats and Republicans struggle to reach a broader deal to rein in deficits and the federal debt.The Republican-introduced measure passed 285-144, with bipartisan support.

북한은 23일 한반도 비핵화를 위한 방침을 끝낼 것을 선포하며 물리적 대응조치를 언급해, 핵실험 가능성을 시사했다. 이는 유엔 안전보장이사회가 작년 12월 있었던 북한의 장거리 로켓 발사에 대한 대북제제 결의 채택에 반발한 것으로 보인다. 북한은 이날 외무성 성명에서 “미국의 가증되는 대조선 적대시정책으로 6자회담, 9•19공동성명은 사멸되고 조선반도 비핵화는 종말을 고했다”며 "앞으로 조선반도 지역의 평화와 안정을 보장하기 위한 대화는 있어도 조선반도 비핵화를 논의하는 대화는 없을 것"이라고 강조했다고 조선중앙통신이 이날 전했다.북한은 또한 이번 조치에 대변해 “핵억제력을 포함한 자위적인 군사력을 질량적으로 확대강화하는 임의의 물리적 대응조치들을 취하게 될 것”이라고 밝히면서 추가적인 핵실험의 가능성을 내비쳤다.김호섭 중앙대학교 정치국제학과 교수는 “북한은 이번 제제를 (우주 프로그램 개발을 할 수 있는) 주권에 대한 침해로 받아들일 수 있다”고 설명했다. 김 교수는 또한 북한이

Minerals once more than three miles below the martian surface are the strongest evidence yet the Red Planet may have supported life, researchers say.New research suggests ingredients for life have been present in the martian subsurface for much of the planet's history, they said.Scientists have been studying McLaughlin Crater, one of many martian craters where impacting meteors have acted like natural probes, bringing up rocks from far beneath the surface.Spectrometer data on those rocks from NA

Prime Minister David Cameron is expected to offer British citizens a vote on leaving the European Union if his party wins the next election, a move sure to trigger alarm among fellow member states.Cameron will be making his long-awaited speech on the United Kingdom's future relationship with Europe on Wednesday. It was postponed last week due to the hostage crisis in Algeria.He will acknowledge that public disillusionment with the EU is “at an all-time high,” saying that the terms of Britain's m

South Korea is ready to deal with the local currency's rapid rise that may be caused by quantitative easing moves by the United States and Japan, Seoul's top economic policymaker said Wednesday."Measures have been prepared," Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan told reporters, though he declined to elaborate on details.He also vowed to make efforts to ease currency fluctuations, a key factor in Asia's fourth-largest economy where exports account for about 57 percent of the country's gross domestic prod

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, who worked to get trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama through Congress, is leaving the Obama administration next month.Kirk, a former mayor of Dallas, announced his departure in a brief statement Tuesday. He had served as the administration's top trade negotiator through President Barack Obama's first term in office.Kirk also led the administration's effort to bring cases before the World Trade Organization that accused China of unfair trade

Sony shares rocketed 12.20 percent Friday after the embattled Japanese consumer electronics giant said it was selling its US headquarters in Manhattan for $1.1 billion as part of a huge restructuring.The Tokyo-listed shares finished at 1,149 yen, boosted by a weak yen and after the announcement that New York-based commercial property firm Chetrit Group was leading a consortium that agreed to buy the Madison Avenue skyscraper.The sale, expected to close in March, comes as the firm undergoes a cor

U.S. authorities arrested 12 people charged with bringing women from Mexico and Nicaragua into the United States and forcing them to work as prostitutes, the Justice Department said Thursday.Eleven women were rescued from the traffickers and 44 other people were detained for questioning, said a statement from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.The leader of the gang, identified as Joaquin Mendez Hernandez, was said to have brought women into the country with the promise of empl

A seven-year-old boy brought a gun to school in his book bag Thursday, New York police said.The find -- a .22 caliber handgun -- caused police to place the Wave Preparatory Elementary School in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens on lockdown for about an hour.The student has not been identified, and police declined to specify whether the gun was loaded. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.Thursday morning's discovery came during a heated debate about gun control in the United State

A South Korean fishing boat sank in waters far south of the country's southern island of Jeju on Friday, leaving four dead and four missing, the Coast Guard and the foreign ministry said.The 29-ton Hwanggeum 3005 carrying nine people -- two Chinese and seven South Koreans -- caught fire in waters 289 nautical miles off of Jeju's city of Seogwipo around 3:40 a.m., due to an unidentified cause, they said. The boat went down about three hours and 40 minutes later after being burned down. One Chines

A European spacecraft has captured a striking image of a river-like structure on Mars believe formed when running water flowed in the distant martian past.A high-resolution stereo camera on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter photographed the 1,000-mile steep-sided channel running through the Promethei Terra Highlands, an ESA release said Thursday.Dubbed the Reull Vallis, it is believed to have been created in Mar's Hesperian period that ended between 3.5 and 1.89 billion years ago,

Police in Las Vegas say at least 40 people witnessed the shooting-death of a 14-year-old boy, but no one has come forward.The shooting of Haji Mohamud happened early Saturday after a party outside a Las Vegas apartment complex, the Las Vegas Sun reported.Metro Police Lt. Ray Steiber Wednesday pleaded for witnesses to come forward."There are people out there -- who were there -- that know exactly what happened ... and who killed a 14-year-old boy," Steiber said. "There's parents out there who may

China's economy is finally rebounding from its deepest slump since the 2008 global crisis but the shaky recovery could be vulnerable to a new downturn in global trade.Growth rose to 7.9 percent in the three months ending in December, up from the previous quarter's 7.4 percent data showed Friday. For the year, the economy grew by 7.8 percent, which was China's weakest annual performance since the 1990s.Retail spending and factory output rose, but analysts say China could suffer a setback if expor

직장에서의 관리직 등 리더쉽을 발휘하는 위치에 오르는데 있어 유전적인 요소가 많이 작용한다는 연구결과가 나왔다.“우리가 확인한 유전자형 rs4950은 리더쉽을 후대에 물려주는 것과 관련 있는 것처럼 보입니다”라고 연구를 주도한 유니버시트 컬리지 런던의 장-엠마누엘 드 네베는 말했다. 그는 하버드 대학, 뉴욕 대학, 캘리포니아 대학 연구진이 공동으로 진행한 이 연구에서 4,000 여명의 유전자 샘플을 연구했고, 그 결과 rs4950이 리더쉽과 관련이 있다는 점을 밝혀냈다. 연구진은 리더쉽의 유무를 직장에서 관리직에 있느냐 없느냐 여부로 판단했다.그러나 연구진은 유전자만으로 리더가 결정되는 것은 아니며 리더 자리에 오르기 위해서는 일과 관련된 기술을 얻는 것이 가장 중요하다고 덧붙였다.“’리더쉽은 기술이다’라는 일반적인 믿음은 아직 유효합니다만, 우리는 리더쉽의 일부는 유전적인 형질에 달려 있다는 점을 밝혀낸 거죠”라고 드 네베는 말했다.그는 rs4950이 환경적 요인 등 다른 요소들과

직장에서의 관리직 등 리더쉽을 발휘하는 위치에 오르는데 있어 유전적인 요소가 많이 작용한다는 연구결과가 나왔다.“우리가 확인한 유전자형 rs4950은 리더쉽을 후대에 물려주는 것과 관련 있는 것처럼 보입니다”라고 연구를 주도한 유니버시트 컬리지 런던의 장-엠마누엘 드 네베는 말했다. 그는 하버드 대학, 뉴욕 대학, 캘리포니아 대학 연구진이 공동으로 진행한 이 연구에서 4,000 여명의 유전자 샘플을 연구했고, 그 결과 rs4950이 리더쉽과 관련이 있다는 점을 밝혀냈다. 연구진은 리더쉽의 유무를 직장에서 관리직에 있느냐 없느냐 여부로 판단했다.그러나 연구진은 유전자만으로 리더가 결정되는 것은 아니며 리더 자리에 오르기 위해서는 일과 관련된 기술을 얻는 것이 가장 중요하다고 덧붙였다.“’리더쉽은 기술이다’라는 일반적인 믿음은 아직 유효합니다만, 우리는 리더쉽의 일부는 유전적인 형질에 달려 있다는 점을 밝혀낸 거죠”라고 드 네베는 말했다.그는 rs4950이 환경적 요인 등 다른 요소들과

U.S. troops in South Korea will continue to be restricted to their bases from 1 to 5 a.m. for "mission readiness," according to their top commander."This curfew is imposed due to operation and mission-readiness requirements," Gen. James Thurman, chief of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), said in a recent memorandum carried by the Stars and Stripes, a U.S. military newspaper. "I expect USFK will maintain an appropriate state of awareness and mission preparedness for a significant period."Former USFK

Regional powers have managed to produce "significant progress" in their drawn-out talks on how to punish North Korea for its latest rocket launch, multiple diplomatic sources said Thursday.But nobody can pin down the exact timing of a deal, a source in Washington said."It's true that there has been significant progress in the discussions at the U.N. Security Council," one source told Yonhap News Agency. "Members of the council are working to finalize the consultations. There is a common percepti

North Korea's young leader is more likely to opt for additional rocket launches than pulling out a nuclear test card in the foreseeable future, a renowned U.S. expert said Thursday.The chances of a nuclear test are "still less than 50-50," Frederick Fleitz, formerly a CIA official, told Yonhap News Agency.Fleitz worked at the CIA for 19 years, dealing with weapons intelligence, nonproliferation and arms control.In the early 2000s, he also worked as chief of staff to John Bolton and Robert Joseph

Algerian helicopters and special forces stormed a gas plant in the stony plains of the Sahara on Thursday to wipe out Islamist militants and free hostages from at least 10 countries. Bloody chaos ensued, leaving the fate of the fighters and many of the captives uncertain.Dueling claims from the military and the militants muddied the world's understanding of an event that angered Western leaders, raised world oil prices and complicated the international military operation in neighboring Mali. At