Lionel Messi extended his record streak by scoring in his 12th consecutive Spanish league game to give leader Barcelona a 1-1 draw at Valencia on Sunday, while Atletico Madrid remained perfect at home through 20 games in all competitions.Midfielder Ever Banega struck first for Valencia in the 33rd, only for Messi to level for the visitors from the penalty spot six minutes later.Former Valencia star David Villa had Barcelona's best chance late but failed to finish on the break before goalkeeper V

Phil Mickelson completed a wire-to-wire victory in the Phoenix Open, again flirting with history in a dominating four-day run at TPC Scottsdale.Mickelson shot a 4-under 67 on Sunday to finish at 28-under 256, two strokes off the PGA Tour record of 254 set by Tommy Armour III in the 2003 Texas Open.Mickelson missed a chance for a 59 in the first round when his 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole caught the right edge of the cup, curled 180 degrees and stayed out. He settled for a 60 and followe

Hugo Chavez is making steady progress recovering from cancer surgery, said the leader of Venezuela's parliament, who said the convalescing president is "clearly" moving ahead in his recovery."The health of Comandante Chavez is clearly recovering," said National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello. "He continues to make consistent but gradual progress."Chavez has not been seen or heard from since his last cancer operation on December 11 in Havana, and any news about his health is closely monitore

Paraguayan presidential candidate Lino Cesar Oviedo has been killed in a helicopter crash, authorities said Sunday, ending a dramatic political career that included coups and repeated attempts to lead this impoverished 6.5 million-person country. Oviedo was returning with his bodyguard from a political rally in northern Paraguay Saturday night when his pilot encountered bad weather. All three were killed in the crash, said Johnny Villalba, a spokesman for Paraguay's airport authority. Defense Mi

한국의 인구 대비 성형수술 비율이 세계에서 가장 높은 것으로 나타났다.영국 경제주간지 이코노미스트와 일간지 데일리메일은 국제성형의학회(ISAPS)의 보고서를 인용해 2011년 인구 대비 성형수술 횟수 비교에서 한국이 1위를 차지했다고 지난달 31일보도했다.ISAPS는 국가별 공식 통계와 성형외과 전문의로부터 제출 받은 자료를 종합해 보 고서를 작성했다. 한국은 2011년 인구 1천 명당 성형수술 횟수가 13건을 넘은 것으로 집계돼 이 부문 1위에 올랐다. 한국인 77명 중 1명꼴로 성형 수술을 받은 것이다.특히 19∼49세 도시 거주 한국 여성은 5명 중 1명꼴로 성형 수술을 받은 것으로 집계됐다. 한국 여성에게 가장 인기가 많은 수술은 쌍꺼풀 수술로 드러났다. 인구 대비 성형수술은 한국이 제일 높았지만, 절대량은 미국이 311만 건으로 한국의 5배 가량으로 높았다. (코리아헤럴드)<관련 영문 기사>Korean women top plastic surgery ratioWomen in

경찰청은 1일 강압적이거나 폭력적인 졸업식 뒤풀이를 막기 위한 선도 활동을 강화한다고 밝혔다.경찰은 졸업식 시즌인 2월을 맞아 학교폭력 예방교육을 하고, 졸업식 당일에는 학교나 뒤풀이 예상지역을 순찰하기로 했다고 밝혔다. 이와 관련해 경찰은 순찰 강화가 필요하다고 판단한 학교 1,360 곳과 학생들이 뒤풀이를 하기 위해 찾을 곳으로 예상되는 1,464 곳을 선정했다.이러한 악습을 막기 위해 경찰은 뒤풀이 주도자 뿐만 아니라 단순 가담자 역시 처벌하기로 했다고 전했다.선도 대상은 단체로 길가에서 옷을 벗는 행위, 다른 학생들에게 알몸이 되게 하는 행위, 뒤풀이 명목으로 돈을 뺏는 등 가혹행위이다.대구경찰청 배기명 여성청소년계장은 “경미한 행위는 현장지도로 끝나지만 과도 한 졸업식 뒤풀이가 형사처벌 대상이라고 판단되면 주동자뿐 아니라 단순가담자도 모두 사법처리할 방침”이라며 학생들에게 “무분별한 행위를 하지 말 것”을 당부했다.경찰은 또한 술, 담배 등을 청소년에게 판매하거나, PC방이

Japan's hawkish Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told lawmakers Friday he intends to release a new statement on World War II, a move that could cause friction with neighboring nations including China."I would like to announce a future-orientated statement that will suit the 21st century," Abe said. "On the timing and the content I'd like to think thoroughly hereafter."The nationalist premier said he wanted to update a landmark statement issued in 1995 by then-prime minister Tomiichi Murayama, seen as a

North Korea has covered the entrance to one of the tunnels at an underground nuclear site in an apparent effort to avoid satellite monitoring as the communist nation makes final preparations for an imminent nuclear test, intelligence sources said Friday. The latest move comes as South Korea and the United States are mobilizing intelligence assets, including spy satellites, to detect early signs of a third atomic test in Punggye-ri in the North's northeastern tip. The sprawling nuclear test site

SK Innovation Co., the holding company of South Korea's biggest refiner, said Friday that its net income rose 50.8 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier thanks to a strong won. Net profit came to 228 billion won (US$209.5 million) in the October-December period, compared with 151 billion won a year ago, SK Innovation said in a regulatory filing. Sales rose 1.4 percent on-year to 17.15 trillion won, but operating profit fell 44.1 percent to 202 billion won, the company said."The South

Japan's jobless rate stood at 4.2 percent in December, edging up from 4.1 percent in the previous month, the government said on Friday.For the entire 2012 period, the unemployment rate fell 0.3 percent on-year to 4.3 percent, marking two straight years of improvement, according to the internal affairs ministry.The December data, slightly higher than market expectations of 4.1 percent, comes after Japan's new government under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled a huge stimulus plan aimed at boosti

China has the highest risk of a downturn among 32 of the world’s largest economies stemming from its outsized proportion of investment spending, according to Standard & Poor’s. Australia, India and Vietnam show an “intermediate risk” of a slowdown based on comparisons of investment, size of gross domestic product and growth, Terry Chan, a Melbourne-based analyst for the credit-ratings company, wrote in a report released today. China has the highest investment-to-GDP ratio in the world, the repor

Unemployment, recession, debt, crisis and bailouts: These have been the sort of words that have been associated with the euro currency over the past few years.So it may come as a bit of a surprise to hear that a relatively poor country on the edge of the European Union is hurtling toward full membership within the year.Latvia is the country in question and its lawmakers passed legislation Thursday that brought membership one step nearer in spite of widespread worries among the population. Latvia