Outgoing U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said Tuesday the U.N. Security Council's failure to take action to stop the conflict in Syria is ``a moral and strategic disgrace that history will judge harshly.''She told reporters at her final news conference Tuesday before starting her new job as U.S. national security adviser on July 1 that the paralysis of the U.N.'s most important body is ``a stain'' on the council that she will regret forever _ even though she maintained that the U.S. and its allies we

President Barack Obama said Tuesday that the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project from Canada to Texas should only be approved if it does not worsen carbon pollution.The $7 billion pipeline has become a contentious issue, with Republicans touting the jobs it would create and demanding its approval and environmentalists urging the Obama administration to reject it, because it would carry carbon-intensive oil from Canadian tar sands to the Texas Gulf Coast.``Allowing the Keystone pipeline to be b

The United States is apparently losing its game with North Korea as the Barack Obama administration, stuck in "Strategic Patience 2.0," is "skating dangerously close to accepting North Korea as a nuclear state," an expert said here Tuesday.Joel Wit, a former State Department official known for his expertise on North Korea, said Washington seems to be overly optimistic about Beijing's possible shift in policy on Pyongyang."Everyone wants denuclearization," Wit said at a forum hosted by American S

Direct financing by South Korean companies sank 29.3 percent in May as firms refrained from raising money in sluggish stock and bond markets, the financial regulator said Wednesday.Local companies raised a total of 8.85 trillion won (US$7.60 billion) last month by selling stocks and bonds, compared with the 12.5 trillion won the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).In the first five months of this year, corporate direct financing dropped to 49.5 trillion won from

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Monday proposed to earmark $25 billion for public transport following days of mass nationwide street protests, in a bid to seize the political initiative.She also suggested a referendum on broad "political reform" in response to public exasperation with substandard public services and rampant official corruption in Brazil, the world's seventh largest economy.The president also warned against any repeat of the violence and vandalism that marred Thursday's pro

Confusion over the whereabouts of National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden grew on Monday after a jetliner flew from Moscow to Cuba with an empty seat booked in his name.The founder of the WikiLeaks secret-spilling organization, Julian Assange, insisted he couldn't go into details about where Snowden was, but said he was safe.Snowden has applied for asylum in Ecuador, Iceland and possibly other countries, Assange said.An Aeroflot representative who wouldn't give her name told The Associate

More signs of distress in China's economy and rising bond yields led to a broad sell-off in stocks Monday, leaving key market indexes down more than 5 percent from their record highs last month.It was the first 5 percent decline - referred to on Wall Street as a ``pullback'' - since November.Pullbacks that occur during bull markets tend to be ``nasty and brutish'' _ but short, said John Manley, chief equity strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management. He said it's common to get declines of 3 perc

Historic U.S. immigration legislation cleared a key Senate hurdle with votes to spare on Monday, pointing the way to near-certain passage within days for stepped up security along the border with Mexico and a chance at citizenship for millions living in the country illegally.The vote was 67-27, seven more than the 60 needed, with 15 Republicans voting to advance legislation at the top of President Barack Obama's second-term domestic agenda.The vote came as Obama campaigned from the White House f

Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's flamboyant former premier, was sentenced to seven years in prison and banned from politics for life Monday for paying an underage prostitute for sex during infamous ``bunga bunga'' parties and forcing public officials to cover it up.It was the most damaging setback yet for the 76-year-old Berlusconi, who has been tried numerous times for his business dealings but never before for his personal conduct.Still, he vowed that his days as a political force are not over. He h

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is not expected to meet separately with his North Korean counterpart on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Brunei next week, officials said Monday.Both Kerry and North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun reportedly plan to attend the annual security forum, potentially setting the stage for some rare diplomatic interaction.The State Department, however, indicated chances are slim that Kerry and Pak will hold a one-on-one meeting."I think that'd b

The Barack Obama administration is expected to maintain its strategy of letting South Korea play a leading role in engaging North Korea through diplomacy, a former senior U.S. official said Monday.Kurt Campbell, who served as assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs until February, said this stance reflects a "clear and subtle change" in Washington's approach towards Korea."I think in the past the leading edge of diplomacy with North Korea was often the relationship between

외줄타기 최고기록 보유자 닉 왈렌다가 24일 새로운 역사 쓰기에 도전한다. 작년에 나이아그라 폭포를 외줄타기로 건넜던 그는 이번에도 여러 개의 카메라와 마이크를 설치해 죽음의 도전하는 현장을 생생하게 보도 할 계획이다. 하지만, 나이아그라 폭포를 건널 당시와 다르게 이번에는 어떤 안전 장치도 없이 약 25분 동안 진행될 스턴트를 할 예정이다. 그랜드 캐니언은 나이아그라 폭포에 비해 6배 높으며 뉴욕의 엠파이어 스테이트 빌딩보다 높다.이번 도전은 한국시간 24일 월요일 오전 10시 디스커버리 채널에서 방영될 예정이다. 왈렌다는 이번 스턴트를 위해 4년을 계획 했으며 그랜드 캐니언과 동일한 환경을 재연하기 위해 플로리다에서 1000미터 길의 줄과 시속 80km의 바람을 만드는 장치를 이용해 연습을 해왔다.시속 73km 이상의 바람이 불거나 천둥 번개가 칠 경우에 스턴트가 지연되거나 다음 날 다시 진행될 예정이다. 그는 “나는 기독교인이며 죽으면 어디로 갈지 분명히 알고있다. 그것이 내가

CJ그룹의 비자금 조성 및 탈세 의혹을 수사 중인 서울중앙지검 특수2부는 이재현 CJ 회장에게 25일 오전에 출석하라고 통보했다고 밝혔다.검찰은 이 회장이 출석하면 국내외 비자금 운용을 통해 510억원의 조세를 포탈하고 CJ제일제당의 회삿돈 600여억원을  횡령한 혐의와 일본 도쿄의 빌딩 2채를 구입하는 과정에서 회사에 350여억원의 배임을 저지른 혐의 등에 대해 집중 조사할 방침이다.검찰은 또 이 회장이 비자금으로 서미갤러리를 통해 고가의 미술품을 구입하는 방법으로 비자금을 세탁하고 관리했다는 의혹도 확인할 계획이다.이와 관련, 검찰은 CJ그룹의 미술품 거래를 대행한 홍송원 서미갤러리 대표를 두 차례 불러 조사했다.검찰은 이 회장의 혐의 확인을 위해 비자금 조성 및 운용과 탈세 등의 과정에서 ‘금고지기’로서 핵심적인 역할을 한 CJ글로벌홀딩스의 신모 부사장을 지난 8일 구속하고 강도 높은 조사를 벌이고 있다.검찰은 지주회사 및 계열사의 분식회계와 국내외 차명계좌 거래, 해외 페이퍼

Historic sites in North Korea's ancient city of Gaeseong were added to the world heritage list of UNESCO on Sunday, official sources said.The decision was made during the 37th session of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, earlier in the day, sources following the event said. The session is set to continue until Thursday.The decision has been widely expected as the sites were recommended last month by the Paris-based International Council on Monuments and Sites, an advisor