After an apparent completion of the hurried power transition to young leader Kim Jong-un recently, North Korea is revving up its diplomacy with China and Southeast Asian nations to solidify the standing of the new leader, an analyst said Sunday. Kim, who is believed to be in his late 20s, took the helm of North Korea about six months ago, following the death of his father and longtime ruler Kim Jo

North Korea June 17, 2012

Scientists have found new evidence they say supports the theory that a knuckle bone and other human remains found under a church floor in Bulgaria may be of John the Baptist.The relics found in a small marble sarcophagus two years ago on a Bulgarian island called Sveti Ivan, which translates as Saint John, also included a human tooth, part of a skull and three animal bones.A research team from Oxf

World News June 17, 2012

Rep. Lee Seok-gi, an opposition lawmaker under pressure to resign for being involved in an election fraud and sympathetic to North Korea, has rekindled the pro-North controversy by disapproving of South Korea's national anthem, Aegukga.Lee, a member of the Unified Progressive Party (UPP), has grabbed the media spotlight after he was elected to parliament in April through the UPP's rigged proportio

Politics June 17, 2012

Casey Anthony, acquitted last year in the death of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee in Florida, says she was rightly found not guilty.In her first public remarks since her release from jail for lying to authorities about the girl's disappearance, Anthony told CNN's Piers Morgan she loved her daughter and didn't kill the child, whose skeletal remains were found in 2008 near her grandparents' home in

People June 14, 2012

Residents in a town outside Boston voted Monday night to make the foul-mouthed pay fines for swearing in public.At a town meeting, residents voted 183-50 to approve a proposal from the police chief to impose a $20 fine on public profanity.Officials insist the proposal was not intended to censor casual or private conversations, but instead to crack down on loud, profanity-laden language used by tee

World News June 14, 2012

Two 15-year-old girls have been arrested for human trafficking in Ottawa and another 17-year-old girl was being sought Tuesday for her alleged role in forcing teens into prostitution, police said."It's shocking," police spokesman Staff Sergeant John McGetrick said of the pimping case.Ottawa police said they found three female victims, aged 13 to 17 years, who had been lured to a Walkley Road resid

Social Affairs June 14, 2012

Moody's slashed Spain's credit rating by three notches Wednesday, days after the government set a deal to borrow 100 billion euros ($125 billion) to shore up its banks.“This will further increase the country's debt burden, which has risen dramatically since the onset of the financial crisis,” Moody's said.The rating was dropped three levels from A3 to Baa3, the lowest level of “investment grade” o

World Business June 14, 2012

취업 브로커에게 속아 미국으로 건너갔다가 6년간 강제로 성매매를 해야 했던 한 한국여성의 안타까운 사연이 미국 CNN방송에 의해 소개되었다.스스로를 ‘수’라고만 밝힌 이 여성은 취업을 하기 위해 브로커에게 7천달러 (한화 약 8백만원)이나 주고 한국에서 미국으로 건너왔다. 그러나 실제로 그녀가 하게 된 일은 성매매였다. 수 씨는 ‘오퍼레이션 차이나 돌 (Operation China Doll)’ 란 매춘조직에 의해 샌프란시스코의 사창가에서 그녀는 많게는 하루에 10명에 달하는 손님을 받도록 강요당했다.수 씨는 “처음에는 싫다고 했지만 그럴 때마다 폭행을 당했다”라고 밝혔다. 그녀는 하루에 네 시간밖에 수면을 취하지 못했고, 포주들은 피해자들이 도망치지 못하도록 문과 창문을 잠가뒀다고 말했다.끔찍한 나날을 보내

Podcast June 13, 2012