Syria's opposition expressed disappointment Sunday that President Barack Obama had put on hold military action against the Damascus regime, but said it was confident US lawmakers would green-light a strike.   To general surprise, the US leader on Saturday broke with decades of precedent to announce that he would seek approval from Congress for action against Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons.   This effectively pushed military action back until at least September 9, when US lawmakers retur

South Korea on Sunday denounced Syria for apparently using chemical weapons on its own people, supporting a recent U.S. assessment that a nerve agent attack had been carried out by the Bashar Assad regime."Our government strongly condemns such brutal acts of crime," the foreign ministry here said in a statement. "Individuals in connection with the use of chemical weapons in Syria must be held accountable."The White House earlier announced that it "assesses with high confidence" that the Syrian g

삼성과 LG, 롯데그룹을 제외한 10대그룹 상장사들이 올해 상반기 '마이너스 성장'을 했다. 작년 상반기에는 삼성전자와 현대차를 필두로 한  '전차(電車) 군단'이 10대그룹의 실적 성장을 이끌었지만 올해는 엔저 여파로 자동차가 주춤해 I T 홀로 분투했다.◇ 삼성그룹 '독주'…10대 그룹 영업이익의 50% 차지1일 한국상장사협의회와 에프앤가이드에 따르면 10대 그룹 상장사의 별도 재무제표 기준 상반기 영업이익은 24조3천542억 원으로 작년 같은 기간의 25조3천969억 원보다 4.11% 감소했다. 순이익은 21조5천599억 원으로 작년 상반기보다 9.31% 줄어 감소폭이 더 컸다. 이는 3월 결산법인이었다가 올해부터 12월 결산으로 바뀐 금융계열사 실적을 제외한 수치다. 10대 그룹 상장사 중 상반기 영업이익이 작년보다 늘어난 곳은 26곳에 불과했다.40곳은 영업이익이 줄었고 13곳은 적자를 냈다. 올해 상반기에도 삼성그룹의 '독주'와 철강•조선•화학이 주력 업종인 그룹사의 부진

우리나라의 바닷물 온도 상승 속도가 세계 평균 보다 3배 이상 빠른 것으로 나타났다.국회 농림축산식품해양수산위원회 김춘진 의원은 해양수산부로부터 제출 받은 해 양수온 변화 자료를 분석한 결과 이같이 조사됐다고 1일 밝혔다.국립수산과학원은 1968년부터 연근해 207개소에서 정선해양관측(정해진 해양관 측망의 범위 내에서 해양상태 조사를 목적으로 하는 관측)을 실시한 결과 2010년까지 43년간 우리나라 주변 해양의 표층수온은 1.29도 상승했다.같은 기간 세계 표층수온은 0.40도 상승에 그친 점을 감안하면 우리 연근해 해수온도는 세계 평균의 3배가 넘는 셈이다. 수온상승 등 기후변화로 우리 바다의 어획량, 어종 분포, 어종의 생태학적 변동이 나타났다.특히 연근해 어장에서는 해수온 변화로 명태•도루묵 등 냉수성 어종의 생산량이 줄고, 오징어•멸치•참다랑어 등 난류성 어종의 생산이 증가하는 등 어업환경이 심각한 변화를 맞고 있다.   또 2000년 이후 우리 연근해에서는 폭염으로 보름달

The temperature of South Korean waters has risen 1.29 C over the past 43 years, which is about triple the global average in the same period, government data showed Sunday.The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said that the sea surface temperature rise was gauged at 207 locations around the Korean Peninsula from 1968 to 2010. In the same period, the world's sea surface temperature rose by 0.4 C, it said.A lawmaker who obtained and released the data said that the steep temperature rise has affected

South Korea's trade surplus widened from a year earlier last month as the growth of its exports significantly outpaced that of its imports, the government said Sunday.In August, the country's outbound shipments came to about US$46.36 billion, up 7.7 percent from the same month last year, while its imports only inched up 0.8 percent on-year to some $41.45 billion, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The country's trade surplus reached $4.91 billion, up from $2.75 billion in Au

Samsung Electronics Co.'s organic light-emitting diode (OLED) televisions that disappeared during their delivery to the IFA electronics trade show in Berlin last year have recently been discovered in Germany, company officials said Sunday, adding that local police are looking into the case for its possible link to a technology leak.Two of Samsung's 60 display OLED TV sets went missing after being shipped from the company's plant in Suwon south of Seoul to the site of the IFA 2012 in Germany in A

The head of Kumho Tire Co. has said his company is seeking to complete construction of its suspended plant in the United States, a move that could give South Korea's second-biggest tire maker a foothold in the world's second-largest auto market.Kumho Tire broke ground for its first plant in the U.S. state of Georgia in 2009, but the construction has since been stalled as creditors placed the key affiliate of Kumho Asiana Group under a debt workout scheme to help the country's 14th-biggest busine

North Korea said Saturday that it had to cancel the planned weekend visit of a special U.S. envoy to the country because of fresh U.S. military provocations.Robert King, special envoy on North Korean human rights issues, had planned to begin a two-day visit to the communist nation on Friday to secure the release of Kenneth Bae, a 45-year-old Korean-American man serving a prison term there.North Korea said it had agreed to allow King's visit on humanitarian grounds but the U.S. "ruined" the atmos

An elderly South Korean male tourist was missing after falling off a cruise ship off the country's east coast Saturday, the coast guard said.The 75-year-old, identified only by his family name Jeong, fell overboard three kilometers northwest of Jumunjin, a port on the east coast, at around 2:50 p.m., it said.Coast Guard officials said they sent ships and a helicopter to the area to search for the missing man.The search was suspended due to darkness and will resume on Sunday, they said.Lee Dong-j

Professor Seo Kyoung-duk of Sungshin Women’s University gave a lecture on the Korean islets of Dokdo claimed by Japan to ethnic Koreans living in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Tuesday.The 40-year-old professor and Korea PR expert said some 80 students and their parents gathered at Tashkent International School. “They had enthusiasm in learning about Dokdo,” he said. 　“I taught the students about the meaning and importance of Dokdo and explained why it is Korea ‘s territory.” 　Seo has visited Korean i

경찰이 불법으로 개인정보를 수집해 유통한 혐의로 2명의 국내 남성을 구속하고, 나머지 28명을 불구속 입건했다고 29일 밝혔다. 충북지방경찰청에 따르면 용의자 중 한 명은 중국에서 사들인 개인정보를 국내에 174만건 유통해 3천 480만원을 챙긴 혐의를 받고 있다.또 다른 용의자는 경기도 일대에 차린 사무실에 텔레마케터 14명을 고용해 대출관련 개인정보를 수집, 판매 함으로 1억 8천 만원을 모은 것으로 알려졌다.    대부 중개업자인 함씨는 ‘오토콜’ 을 사용, 텔레마케터 13명과 함께 개인정보를 수집한 혐의를 받고 있다.오토콜은 자동으로 전화번호를 생성하는 프로그램이다.경찰은 개인정보를 제공한 중국인들과 이것을 구매한 다른 피의자를 찾고 있다. (임우정 인턴기자 / 코리아헤럴드)<관련영문기사>Suspects caught for selling personal dataPolice in North Chungcheong Province arrested two South Korean me