For a lesson in what Hasan Rowhani's reformist-backed presidency could mean for Iran, a promise Sunday by the ultra-powerful Revolutionary Guard to cooperate with him is a good guide.Like the rest of Iran's ruling Islamic establishment, the Guard, which has kept a tight lid on any hints of opposition for years, is for the moment embracing Rowhani, even though he is almost certain to return once-silenced moderates into the political fold and restore the voice of liberal-leaning Iranians who dance

South Korea will try to book a ticket to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil in style, as it readies to host continental rival Iran in an Asian qualification match here this week.The kickoff will be 9 p.m. Tuesday at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, about 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul. It will be the final World Cup qualifier for both countries.South Korea enters the match as the leader of Group A with 14 points on four wins, two draws and one loss. Iran is in second at 13 points with four win

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday fueled by gains in blue chip exporters, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 7.54 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,896.78 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares gathered ground, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics adding 0.51 percent and its smaller rival LG Electronics gaining 0.27 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO gained 0.32 percent.Carmakers also traded bullish, with No. 1 player Hyundai Motor rising 0.51

The scoreline may suggest otherwise, but Spain cruised to an easy 2-1 victory over Uruguay in their Confederations Cup opener on Sunday, winning with first-half goals by Pedro and Roberto Soldado.Spain had a little luck with the first goal, which may have been heading wide when it took a huge deflection off Uruguay defender Diego Lugano to beat goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. The second was perfect finishing by Soldado after a cute reverse pass from Cesc Fabregas.Luis Suarez scored a consolation go

Riot police firing tear gas and water cannons repelled thousands of anti-government protesters attempting to converge on Istanbul's central Taksim Square on Sunday, unbowed even as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended his crackdown at a rally of his supporters.  A day after police quashed an 18-day sit-in at the square's Gezi Park, Erdogan spoke to hundreds of thousands of his supporters on one side of Turkey's largest city, and throngs of protesters angrily tried to regroup and reclaim

Justin Rose won the U.S. Open with a closing 70 at Merion Golf Club on Sunday for his first major championship. He finished with a 1-over 281 total, two shots ahead of Phil Mickelson and Jason Day to become the first Englishman to win the U.S. Open in 43 years.The 32-year-old Rose overcame his share of misadventures on a course that challenged all comers despite being the shortest at a major in nine years. He took the sole lead for good because of others' mistakes at No. 15: Mickelson and Hunter

The White House said Sunday North Korea should first prove its seriousness about dialogue through actions, "not nice words," effectively turning down the communist nation's offer of bilateral negotiations without "preconditions" attached."Those talks have to be real. They have to be based on them living up to their obligations, to include on proliferation, on nuclear weapons, on smuggling and other things," said Denis McDonough, President Barack Obama's chief of staff."So we'll judge them by the

Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas announced Sunday that he will resign over a spy and bribery scandal involving his government. Necas said he also will quit on Monday as chairman of his conservative Civic Democratic Party. He has been under pressure to quit since police conducted raids all across the country this week and arrested eight people, including Necas' closest aide and the head of his office, Jana Nagyova. She was charged with ordering a military intelligence agency to spy on three people

여대생 청부살인 사건’의 범인 윤모씨(68)의 형집행정지와 관련해 주치의의 허위, 과장 진단서 작성 의혹을 수사 중인 검찰이 13일 주치의가 근무하는 병원을 압수수색했다.윤씨는 2002년 자신의 사위와 이종사촌인 여대생 하모씨의 관계를 불륜으로 의심, 하씨를 청부 살해한 혐의로 기소돼 2004년 대법원에서 무기징역을 선고받았다.이후 윤씨는 세브란스 병원의 주치의 박모 교수가 발급한 진단서에 명기된 유방암, 파킨슨 병 등을 이유로 2007년 형집행이 정지된 후 5차례 이를 연장했다.이와 관련, 피해자 하씨의 가족은 윤씨가 거짓 환자 행세를 하며 세브란스 병원 등 호화병실에서 지냈다는 의혹을 제기했고 허위 과장 진단서 작성 혐의로 박 교수를 지난 4월 검찰에 고발했다.검찰은 박모 교수를 조만간 소환해 조사할 예정이다. (코리아 헤럴드)　 <관련 영문 기사>Severance Hospital raided over ‘contract killing‘ sick noteKorean prosecut

일본에서 청소년들 사이에서 애정의 표현으로 눈알을 직접 핥는 행위가 유행하고 있다.스스로를 초등학교 교사라고 밝힌 한 네티즌은 최근 네이버 일본법인이 운영하는 네이버 마토메에 글을 올려 6학년 남자아이가 한 소녀의 눈알을 핥는 장면을 목격했다고 밝혔다.소스라치게 놀란 그에게 아이들은 “우리만 하는 것이 아니라 다른 아이들도 모두 하고 있다”고 설명했고, 곧이어 열린 학급회의에서 반 학생들 중 3분의 1정도가 ‘눈알 핥기’를 경험한 적이 있었다는 것이 드러났다.자신이 중학교 교사라고 밝힌 또 다른 네티즌은 최근 반 학생들 사이에서 눈병이 급증하는 추세를 보였는데, 체육관에서 소녀의 눈을 핥고 있는 한 소년을 보고 그 이유를 알게 되었다고 적었다.이 행위는 아이들 사이에서 깊은 애정을 표하는 의미가 있다고 한다.허핑턴 포스트에 따르면 ‘눈알 핥기’ 유행은 일본을 넘어 미국에까지 전파된 듯 보이는데, 버진 아일랜드의 일렉트리카 에너지아스 씨는 인터뷰를 통해 자신의 남자친구가 몇 년전부터

The Japanese baseball commissioner apologized on Friday for the confusion caused by introducing a new ball this season without notifying players. Nippon Professional Baseball commissioner Ryozo Kato held a meeting with representatives of the 12 teams and apologized for the mess while saying his management of the situation was insufficient.“I've caused a lot of trouble for the fans, players and people connected to the game,” Kato said. “Baseball is very important in Japan's sporting culture and I

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday agreed to halt plans to redevelop an Istanbul park at the centre of two weeks of mass anti-government unrest, in a move protesters welcomed as "positive".It marked the first easing of tensions in the standoff, which has presented the Islamist-rooted government with the biggest challenge of its decade-long rule and earned it criticism from the West.Hours after giving a "last warning" to defiant demonstrators camping out in Gezi Park, Erdogan

Former President Chun Doo-hwan is estimated to have accumulated about 933 billion won ($829 million) in illegal wealth, the main opposition party said Friday, stepping up calls for him to pay his long overdue fines.Chun, who ruled from 1981-88, was ordered by the Supreme Court in 1997 to return 220 billion won he was found to have accumulated illegally to the state coffers. He refused to make the payment, saying he was almost penniless. The former president has so far paid only a quarter of the

South Korean organizers of a joint celebration marking the 13th anniversary of the historic inter-Korean summit said Friday that the two Koreas will be holding separate events this year due to strained bilateral ties. The South Korean Committee for the Joint Implementation of the June 15 Summit Declaration said because Seoul has not given permission for its members to attend a celebration in the North, it contacted its counterpart in the communist country and notified them they will hold separat