A shell from the Vietnam War killed four children and seriously injured four other villagers when it exploded at a family party, police said Monday.The children, a girl and three boys aged between four and 11-years-old, died on Sunday after finding the unexploded shell while they played in a garden, according to police officer Luong Van Tri.Four others -- two men and two children aged five and 12 -- were seriously wounded in the blast which occurred in Vinh Long province, he added."The owner of

China may maintain its annual economic growth target at 7.5 percent next year in a sign the new leadership headed by Xi Jinping won’t tolerate a bigger slowdown from the lowest goal since 2004. Nine of 16 analysts surveyed over the last two weeks by Bloomberg News forecast the government will set a goal unchanged from 2012, while six expect a decline to 7 percent and one sees an increase to 8 percent. Top economic officials meet this month to map out policies for 2013 and may set the target that

영국 교육관련 회사 피어슨(Pearson)이 전세계 선진국들의 학업 성과 순위를 발표했다. 이는 국제학력시험 결과와 교육시스템을 동시에 평가한 것으로, 한국은 핀란드에 이어 2위를 차지했다.피어슨은 2006년에서 2010년까지 수학, 과학, 읽기 능력을 측정한 국제시험결과로 학업성과를 평가했으며, 대학에 진학하는 학생수와 졸업 비율에 초점을 맞추어 각국의 교육 시스템을 조사했다.한국에 이어 홍콩, 일본, 싱가폴이 상위권을 기록했다. 멕시코, 브라질 그리고 인도네시아가 최하위권을 기록한 것으로 드러났다.피어슨의 최고 교육고문으로 있는 마이클 바버(Michael Barber)는 상위권 국가들이 모두 사회 전체의 교육 열기가 뜨거운 “교육 문화”를 가지고 있다고 평가했다. 단순히 교육에 대한 지출이 높은 것이 아니라, 교육에 높은 가치를 두는 사회적 분위기가 가장 중요하다고 연구진은 밝혔다. 바버는 핀란드와 한국은 교육에 있어서 시스템 등 많은 요소들이 상이하지만 교육에 대한 관심이 뜨거

South Korea remained the nation with the largest income gap between men and women among advanced countries with the gender pay gap hardly narrowing over the past decade, a report showed Friday.According to the report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), South Korea found its gender income gap to be 39 percent, the highest among 28 surveyed member nations, as of 2010.It means that South Korean women are paid 39 percent less than their male counterparts, lower than

The nation's top prosecutor on Friday offered to resign after senior prosecutors refused to comply with his instructions following a string of disgraceful scandals within the powerful investigative body.Prosecutor General Han Sang-dae said in a news conference that he will step down leaving all reform tasks to his successor."As the prosecutor general, I offer my apology to the people for a huge shock and disappointment," Han said.President Lee Myung-bak immediately accepted Han's resignation, sa

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday as investor sentiment was dented by rising concerns on the U.S. fiscal cliff issue, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 0.3 percent, or 5.76 points, to 1,929.09 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Carmakers led the decline, with No.1 player Hyundai Motor falling 0.22 percent, while its smaller auto parts affiliate Hyundai Wia moved down 0.84 percent.Brokerages also fell, with Samsung Securities losing 0.61 percent, wh

Just in time for Christmas, scientists have confirmed a vast amount of ice at the north pole on Mercury, the closest planet to the sun.The findings are from NASA's Mercury-orbiting probe, Messenger, and the subject of three scientific papers released Thursday by the journal Science.The frozen water is located in regions of Mercury's north pole that always are in shadows, essentially impact craters. It's believed the south pole harbors ice as well, though there are no hard data to support it. Mes

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday on the settlement of the Greece bailout deal, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 5.80 points, or 0.3 percent, to trade at 1,914.31 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech blue chips drove up the shares, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics increasing 0.71 percent, while LG Electronics gained 1.05 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO added 0.47 percent.Carmakers also traded higher, with No.1 player Hyundai Motor ris

South Korea's brand value reached US$1.6 trillion this year, ranking ninth among 39 countries surveyed, a local think tank said Tuesday.Asia's fourth-largest economy has received good marks in the corporate field, thanks mainly to its strong exports and market share growth around the world, according to the state-run Institute of Industrial Policy Studies (IPS).Brand value covers both corporate and country-level recognition and products made in the country. It also calculates the level of social

The South Korean government will award a medal to a prominent activist who claimed that he was tortured by the Chinese government earlier this year for his efforts to promote human rights there, the government said Tuesday.Kim Young-hwan, a 49-year-old activist, has said that he was arrested in China in March for helping North Korean defectors there and was tortured by Chinese security officers during his 114-day detention. Beijing flatly denied the accusation.During the Cabinet meeting presided

스페인으로부터의 분리 독립이냐, 아니면 현상 유지냐.오는 25일 주민투표를 통해 독립 찬반 여부를 묻는 스페인 카탈루냐 지방이 결국 분리 독립의 길을 걸을 수 있을지 주목받고 있다.21일 영국 더타임스를 비롯한 유럽 언론에 따르면 현재 독립을 찬성하는 분위기는 ‘예사롭지 않은’ 수준이다.지난 9월 11일 지역 중심도시 바르셀로나에서 열린 독립 지지 시위에는 100만여 명의 인파가 참가했다.그간 분리독립에 신중한 입장이었던 아르투르 마스 카탈루냐 지방정부 수반도 더타임스와의 인터뷰에서 “중요한 뭔가가 변화하고 있다”고 말했다.카탈루냐 주민들 사이에서 독립 목소리를 키우는 가장 큰 요인은 ‘스페인 중앙 정부로부터 받는 것은 없으면서 빼앗기는 것은 많다’는 인식이다.2009년 카탈루냐 지방정부 통계를 보면 세금 등으로 카탈루냐에서 스페인 정부로 빠져나간 돈이 스페인 정부에서 공공 서비스나 지출 같은 방식을 통해 유입된 돈보다 164억 유로(약 22조7천억 원) 많았다.독립 지지자들은 카탈

The British pop star Elton John will perform in South Korea next month as part of his global tour to mark the 40th anniversary of his hit single "Rocket Man," according to a local promoter of the event.It will be the first time in eight years for the rock singer-songwriter and composer to visit South Korea on a concert tour.The 65-year-old musician will perform at Seoul's Olympic Park Gymnastics Arena on Nov. 27 and at Busan's BEXCO convention center on Nov. 29, according to the Seoul promoter,

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has decided to dissolve Japan's parliament as early as Friday, with an election possibly next month, media said Tuesday, a move likely to unseat him from power.Noda will call an election for as early as December 16 or as late as January 20, according to major Japanese news media, including the Nikkei business daily and the liberal-leaning Asahi Shimbun.After months of speculation over the date of the next national ballot, the issue surged to the fore on Monday after

미국 하버드대학교 학생들이 우주로 보내려던 역사 상 첫번째 햄버거가 어디로 사라졌는지 확실치 않다고 밝혔다. 그들은 다람쥐가 먹었을 것으로 예상한다고 밝혔다.햄버거는 지난 달 헬륨 풍선에 배달려 우주로 날아갔다. 그러나 풍선이 다시 땅으로 내려와 매사추세츠 주의 큰 나무에 걸리면서 상자에서 햄버거가 사라졌다고 밝혔다.렌조 루시오니(Renzo Lucioni)는 더보스톤글로브(The Boston Globe)지에 30미터 높이에 있던 바람이 다 빠진 풍선을 가져오기 위해 정원사를 고용해야 했다고 밝혔다. 풍선을 가져왔으나 햄버거는 사라지고 없었다. 루시오니는 다람쥐가 가져갔을 거라고 말했다.풍선에 달려있던 카메라는 햄버거가 사라지기 전에 꺼져버렸다. 따라서 햄버거의 미스터리를 푸는 데 도움이 되지 못했다. 그러나 카메라는 ’b.good’ 햄버거 체인점이 기부한 햄버거가 떠오르는 구름과 상공을 배경으로 하여 찍힌 멋진 사진들을 담고 있었다.해당 동영상은 유투브에서 일주일 미만의 기간 동안

South Korean stocks opened lower on Monday as foreign investors and institutions offloaded local shares, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 5.27 points, or 0.28 percent, to 1899.14 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Big-cap tech firms led the decline, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics falling 0.45 percent and flat panel giant LG Display sliding 1.13 percent. Top chipmaker SK hynix moved down 1.57 percent.Logistics shares also traded in negativ

South Korea's producer prices grew at their slowest on-year pace in three months in October due to eased growth of oil costs and the won's ascent, the central bank said Friday.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, inched up 0.2 percent in October from a year earlier, slowing from a 1 percent on-year gain in September, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The October figure marked the slowest expansion since July, when producer prices fell 0.1 percent on-year.The in

U.S. President Barack Obama has chosen Asia as the destination of his first overseas trip since re-election, according to the White House Thursday.Obama is scheduled to visit Thailand, Burma and Cambodia Nov. 17-20, it said.The trip comes as the Obama administration pushes to rebalance U.S. diplomacy towards Asia."In Thailand, he will meet with Prime Minister Yingluck to mark 180 years of diplomatic relations and reaffirm the strength of our alliance," the White House said in a press release. "I

Foreign investment banks (IBs) expect the South Korean economy to see its growth improve at a gradual pace next year, helped by global stimuli and the recovery of domestic demand, a report showed Tuesday.Morgan Stanley projected the monetary easing by the United States and China will improve global economic conditions, benefiting South Korea's exports, a main driver of the country's growth, according to a report by the Korea Center for International Finance.South Korea grew 0.2 percent on-quarte

South Korean stocks opened higher on Tuesday as policy uncertainties abated ahead of the imminent U.S. presidential vote, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 3.78 points, or 0.2 percent, to trade at 1912.00 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Carmakers led the gain, with No.1 player Hyundai Motor moving up 1.75 percent, while its smaller affiliate Kia Motors gained 1.24 percent. Top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis climbed 1.16 percent. U.S. stocks ended hig

내년에는 경기 부진과 구조조정 확산으로 고용시장이 크게 위축될 것으로 전망된다.올해는 불경기에도 베이비붐 세대(1955∼1963년 출생자)의 창업활동으로 이례적으로 높은 고용 증가가 있었지만, 이 추세가 내년까지 이어지기는 어려울 것으로 분석된다.기업들은 신규채용을 자제하는 것에서 그치지 않고 그동안 미뤄왔던 구조조정을 단행해 내년 취업자 증가 수는 20만명대로 추락할 것이라는 예측이 나온다.4일 금융투자업계와 통계청에 따르면 취업자 증가 수는 2009년 마이너스(-)를 보인 후 2010년 32만3천명, 2011년 41만5천명을 기록했다.올해 예상치는 한국은행 43만명, 한국고용정보원 38만5천명으로 고용은 지난 몇년 간 경기 부진에도 비교적 높은 성장을 보인 것으로 나타났다.하지만 내년에는 사정이 크게 다를 것으로 전망된다. 전문가들은 경제 성장률이 3%대 초반 내지는 2%대로 추락하면서 ‘저성장’ 국면이 지속되면 한계에 몰리는 기업과 자영업자들이 급증할 것으로 분석했다.LG경제연