The pomp surrounding his selection was just the beginning of an exceptionally busy few days for Pope Francis. A look at the first night _ and what comes after. THE SELECTIONFrom the moment of uttering ``I accept'' in Latin, in front of his fellow cardinals in the Sistine Chapel, the job is his, and it starts instantly.According to tradition, his first act is declaring his choice of name as the Roman Catholic church's 266th pontiff. That done, he's whisked off to the Room of Tears, just beyond th

World News March 14, 2013

A company involved in South Korea's largest-ever urban development project failed to pay back debts worth 5.9 billion won ($5.3 million), company officials said Wednesday, raising concerns over the collapse of the 30-trillion-won project.Yongsan Development Co., the asset manager of Dreamhub Project Financing Vehicle Co. which was created for the development project, was required to pay the debts of an interest of asset-backed commercial papers worth about 200 billion won, by 9 a.m. Wednesday, s

Industry March 13, 2013

European scientists say they know why for some animal species it's fathers rather than mothers that take care of their young -- and it's all down to numbers.The role reversal in species such as sea horses and some others has evolved because of an imbalance in the numbers of males relative to females, the said.In 1871, Charles Darwin observed that in most animals, it is the females that spend most time looking after the young while males focus on competing with each other for females.However, in

Technology March 13, 2013

Several female smartphone users in South Korea have been the targets of sexual assault, raising alarms about the use of the devices on the streets.According to the police, sex offenders targeted women using smartphones or wearing earphones.Police arrested a man who sexually harassed three women listening to music or surfing the Internet through their mobile devices on their way home at night. The 22-year-old man, surnamed Cho, victimized women in their 20s in Anyang and Uiwang, both in Gyeonggi

Social Affairs March 12, 2013

President Park Geun-hye finalized the selection of all 40 presidential secretaries after placing the highest importance on the expertise of the candidates, her spokesman Yoon Chang-jung said Tuesday.Many of them have already been working since Park took office on Feb. 25.In the foreign policy and security sectors, career diplomat Kim Hyoung-zhin was chosen as secretary for foreign affairs, senior defense ministry official Youn Je-uk as defense secretary and university professor Hong Yong-pyo as

Politics March 12, 2013

South Korea has stepped up surveillance in cyberspace to counter possible provocations by North Korea as tension runs high amid the communist country's threats of a nuclear war, the communications watchdog said Tuesday.Following Pyongyang's nuclear test last month, Seoul has issued the fourth-highest level of cyber alert and has been conducting 24-hour monitoring of the state telecommunications network, according to the Korea Communications Commission.South Korea's cyber alert system consists of

North Korea March 12, 2013

South Korea's foreign ministry said Tuesday that an Armistice Agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War remains valid, despite the North's threats to scrap the cease-fire deal. "The terms of the Armistice Agreement cannot be unilaterally invalid or terminated," foreign ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young said, demanding North Korea withdraw the threats. North Korea said early this week that the armistice was "completely invalid," in response to tougher U.N. sanctions against the North's third nuc

North Korea March 12, 2013

South Korean President Park Geun-hye will visit the United States on her first overseas trip as president, and the two countries are working on details to set up the trip for early May, the presidential spokesman said Tuesday.When Park will make her first overseas trip as South Korea's president and whether the destination will be the U.S. has been a focus of media attention amid speculation that she may visit China first ahead of Washington.Park "plans to visit the United States at the invitati

International March 12, 2013

최근 진행되고 있는 공정위의 외제차 조사는 여러모로 의미가 깊다. 조만간 결과가 나올 것으로 예상되는 가운데, 외제차 업계에 미치는 영향은 부정적이지만은 않을 것으로 보인다. 오히려, 긴장은 현대자동차로 대표되는 국내차 시장일 수도 있다. 일단 어차피 맞을 매였다. 게다가 장기적으로는, 이번 조사로 인해 수입차 가격은 필연적으로 떨어질 것이고, 수리비용 등의 에프터 서비스에도 긍정적인 영향을 줄 수 있다. 현재 한국에서 팔리는 수입차는 미국이나 유럽 등에 비해 많게는 두 배, 적게도 거의 천만 원 가량 더 비싸다. 이는 모두 본사정책에 의해서다. 이 같은 현실을 봤을 때, 한번쯤 정부 조사의 대상이 될 만했다. 하지만 정부도 할 일은 있다. 세금으로 인해 수입가격이 지나치게 높은 점이 수입차 본사로 하여금 국내판매가를 높이도록 부추기고 있다. 폭풍이 지나가고 나면, 반드시 수입차가 더욱 소비자-프렌들리하게 다가올 날이 온다. 그때는 이미

한국어판 March 11, 2013

‘영어유치원’으로 알려진 유아 대상 영어학원의 수업료가 다소 낮아질 것으로 보인다.서울시교육청이 사교육비 안정을 위해 최근 고액 수강료를 받는 학원을 대상으로 지도•감독을 강화하기로 했다고 밝혀 최근 논란이 되고 있는 유아 대상 영어학원의 원비도 인하 될 것으로 기대되고 있다.5∼6세 아동을 대상으로 원어민 강사 등이 영어 수업을 하는 유아 대상 영어학원은 교육료를 적게는 월 80만원에서 최고 월 200만원까지 받는 것으로 알려졌다.사교육의 중심 강남지역 일부 유아 대상 영어학원은 수업료와 교재비, 통학 버스비 등을 합쳐 월 200만원이 넘는 수업료를 내기도 해 ‘귀족유치원’이라는 말이 나오기도 했다. 일부는 박근혜 정부의 무상보육 정책을 무색하게 할 정도로 인기가 높아 입학하기도 쉽지 않은 것으로 알려졌다.시교육청은 신고한 내용보다 더 많은 원비를 요구하는 학원을 단속하는 한편 수업료가 교습료 조정기준 (교습비 조정을 위한 판단 기준)보다 지나치게 비싼 학원은 학원비 조정 명령을

한국어판 March 11, 2013