이집트 동북부 시나이반도에서 16일(현지시간) 관광버스를 겨냥한 폭탄 테러로 한국인 3명과 이집트인 운전자가 숨졌다고 현지 언론이 보도했다.또 21명이 부상해 인근 병원으로 옮겨져 치료를 받고 있다고 현지 매체는 전했다.사상자 대부분은 한국인 관광객인 것으로 알려졌다. 사건이 발생한 지역의 시나이반도 동북부의 관광지인 타바 인근으로 이스라엘과 국경에서 가까운 곳이다.주이집트 한국대사관은 현지 언론과 이집트 당국 등을 통해 사실 관계를 확인하고 있다고 밝혔다.폭발물의 정확한 출처는 파악되지 않았지만 한 보안당국 관계자는 차량 폭발물이나 원격 조정을 이용한 도로변에 매설된 폭발물일 가능성이 크다고 전했다. (khnews@heraldcorp.com) <관련 영문 기사>Egypt: Sinai blast kills 4 South Korean touristsAn explosion ripped through a tourist bus near a border crossing between Egyp

일반적인 사랑은 상대방에게 대가를 바라는 반면 그보다 더 깊은 희생적인 사랑은 보상을 구하지 않는 것으로 나타났다. 예일대 의대 연구진에 따르면 진심으로 타인의 행복을 바라면 코카인 등의 자극에 반응하는 뇌의 보상회로의 활동이 억제되는 것으로 나타났다.  연구진이 이 두 종류의 사랑을 비교하기 위해 기능성자기공명영상(fMRI)를 살펴본 결과 사랑하는 사람의 사진을 보여줬을 때 보상회로가 강하게 활성화되는 반면 숙련된 명상가들이 마음속으로 “모든 존재들이 항상 행복하기를”과 같은 말을 되뇌었을 때 이 부분의 활동은 사라지는 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 명상은 불교에서 강조되는 수행법의 이를 통한 희생적인 사랑을 보여준 예로는 마더 테레사와 달라이 라마가 있다.(khnews@heraldcorp.com)<관련 영문 기사>Selfless love turns off brain's reward area, researchers sayResearchers at the Yale School of Med

A North Korean ship caught in July while trying to move undeclared Cuban weapons through the Panama Canal left Saturday to return to Cuba, the Foreign Ministry said.The Chong Chon Gang freighter departed from the Panamanian port of Colon with a crew of 32, the ministry said in a statement.The ship got the green light last week to leave Panama after Pyongyang paid a fine of nearly $700,000.Back in July, en route from Cuba, the ship was stopped on suspicion of carrying drugs as it tried to enter t

A Seoul appeals court on Friday annulled the dismissal of 153 former employees of Ssangyong Motor Co. who were part of the company's mass layoff plan in 2009.Overturning a lower court's decision to rule in favor of the country's smallest carmaker, the Seoul High Court declared invalid the management's decision and ordered the reinstatement of the former employees."The court deems that the (management) did not make enough efforts to avoid the layoffs," judge Cho Hae-hyeon said in his ruling.The p

A group of South Korean officials crossed the border into North Korea Friday to check facilities for the reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War later this month.The two Koreas agreed Wednesday to hold the reunions at Mount Kumgang, a scenic resort on North Korea's east coast, from Feb.20-25. The following day, they exchanged the lists of families set to meet with their long-lost relatives, with 85 from Seoul and 95 from Pyongyang. If the reunions take place, they will be the fi

A U.S. research institute says an upgrade of North Korea's main rocket launch pad could be complete by April meaning it would be ready for new launches.The U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies says new satellite imagery shows modifications underway at the west coast site of Sohae mean it could eventually accommodate rockets up to 50 meters long. The analysis was published Thursday on the institute's website, 38 North.North Korea is not thought to have su

A Seoul court on Thursday acquitted a former head of the Seoul police agency of hampering a police investigation into allegations that the nation's intelligence agency meddled in the 2012 presidential election.The Seoul Central District Court delivered a not-guilty verdict to Kim Yong-pan, the former chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA), citing a lack of evidence and credibility of a key witness testimony.Kim was indicted on charges of abusing his authority to cover up the case b

A Seoul appellate court on Thursday commuted a former top tax official's prison term to three and a half years for taking bribes from CJ Group, a food and entertainment conglomerate, in 2006.Jeon Goon-pyo, 60, had received a four-year sentence from a lower court after he was found guilty of accepting $300,000 in U.S.bills from CJ Group officials in exchange for favors during a tax audit into the conglomerate in July 2006, shortly after he was named commissioner of the National Tax Service (NTS).

Four leaders of the state rail company's union have been indicted on charges of spearheading an illegal strike and inflicting financial losses to the firm, prosecutors said Thursday.The leaders of the union of state-run Korea Railroad Corp.(KORAIL), including its head Kim Myung-hwan, are under suspicion of playing leading roles in the strike that disrupted the national rail system for more than three weeks, the longest such strike ever. "It was a political strike that was launched against the go

The U.S. Homeland Security Department is warning airlines flying to Russia that terrorists may try to smuggle explosives on board hidden in toothpaste tubes.The threat was passed onto airlines that have direct flights to Russia, including some that originate in the United States, according to a law enforcement official speaking Wednesday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the warning.The official said the airlines were warned that explosive devices coul

A group of American celebrities and other activists want President Barack Obama to refuse to sign an international trade agreement until Japan bans the capture and slaughter of dolphins in the fishing town of Taiji.Backing the effort are Oscar-winning performers Sean Penn, Cher, Susan Sarandon, Jennifer Hudson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Charlize Theron as well as TV stars Ellen DeGeneres and William Shatner, and many others.The Oscar-winning 2009 documentary ``The Cove'' chronicled the dolphin roundup