공상과학 영화 속의 괴물 ‘고질라’를 닮은 수수께끼의 화석이 발견되어 과학자들을 당혹스럽게 하고 있다. 속칭 ‘고질라 화석’이라고 불리는 이 화석은 지난 3월 미국 켄터키 주에서 발견되었고 길이가 190cm, 무게가 68킬로그램 정도 나간다. 그러나 정작 이 화석이 동물인지, 광물인지, 식물인지조차 알 수 없어 과학자들을 당황시키고 있다. 화석을 발견한 아마추어 고생물학자 론 파인 씨는 이 화석이 고질라를 닮았다는 이유로 ‘고질루스’라고 이름을 붙였다. 그는 이 사건이 “궁극적인 미해결사건”이라고 말했다. 또한 파인씨는 이 화석들의 표면으로 보면 뿌리혹들 중 하나는 아닌 것 같고, 뼈가 없는 것으로 보아 생선도 동물도 아닌, 물에서 서식하는 산호나, 스펀지, 또는 해초류 중 하나로 보인다고 밝혔다....

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top automaker, said Friday its Sonata hybrid has received the "top satisfaction" award from a U.S.-based automotive research company. The carmaker said the mid-size car ranked No. 1 in the hybrid and electric-powered passenger car segment checked by AutoPacific Inc. This car segment was first launched in 2010 with the Mercury Milan hybrid and Lincoln MKZ hybrid b...

The remains of South Korean soldiers killed in North Korea during the Korean War returned home on Friday via the U.S., marking the first such repatriation of South Korean war dead since the 1953 armistice. Twelve sets of remains, two of which have been positively identified, were among 226 sets recovered in the northern part of North Korea by a U.S. excavation team between 2000 and 2004, before ...

South Korea's state-run think tank Sunday cut the nation's growth forecast for this year to 3.6 percent from 3.8 percent estimated in November, citing weakening demand amid a global slowdown. The Korea Development Institute, in its twice-yearly economic forecast report, said however the global economy would likely pick up pace in 2013 to help Asia's fourth-largest economy to expand 4.1 percent t...

South Korea's military is reviewing a plan to lease text-only mobile phones to soldiers, in a move to allow them to better communicate with their family members, friends and loved ones, a military source said Sunday. Conscripts are banned from possessing mobile phones while on duty and on-base access to the Internet is strictly prohibited. Enlisted men currently only use public phones at their ...

South Korea's economic fundamentals remain strong despite global financial market uncertainty triggered by worries Greece will exit the eurozone, a government policymaker said Thursday. Vice Finance Minister Shin Je-yoon said in an economic review meeting that political turmoil in Greece following anti-austerity election results have fueled overall market woes and affected global stock markets, ...

South Korea's jobless rate decelerated in April thanks mainly to more positions created in the service sector, a government report showed Wednesday. The jobless rate stood at 3.5 percent last month, down from 3.7 percent a year earlier, according to the report by Statistics Korea. Last month's tally also represents a drop from a jobless rate of 3.7 percent reached in March. A total of 455,000 j...

KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) -- A plane carrying 21 people crashed Monday while trying to land in Nepal's northern Himalayas, killing at least nine, authorities said. Eight survivors in critical condition were flown by helicopter to a hospital. The plane hit a mountain while it was turning around to land at Jomsom Airport, said Laxmi Raj Sharma, chief government administrator in the area. The wrecked ai...

South Korean stocks closed 1.43 percent lower Friday on lack of upward momentum and growing European debt concerns, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 27.80 points to 1,917.13, in its third straight session of decline. Trading volume was moderate at 522 million shares worth 4.32 trillion won (US$3.76 billi...

South Korea and Peru agreed to explore ways to expand industrial and energy cooperation that can benefit both countries, the government said Friday. In a meeting between Knowledge Economy Minister Hong Suk-woo and Jose Luis Silva Martinot, Peru's minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, the two sides exchanged views on how best to achieve the "comprehensive strategic partnership" arrangement annou...

The Hyundai Kia Automotive Group said Sunday it will provide 51 eco-friendly vehicles to the organizing committee of the Yeosu Expo 2012 to help facilitate logistics. The Expo will run for three months from Saturday and is expected to attract more than 8 million visitors from across the globe with the emphasis being put on challenges posed by climate change and protecting the marine environment....

57세의 한 여성이 거리에서 즉각적인 최면을 당해 16만 달러 이상의 금품을 갈취 당하는 사건이 발생했다. 피해자는 4월 15일 보스턴의 차이나타운에서 쇼핑을 하고 있던 중 세 명의 여성이 다가와 어깨를 치면서 질문을 하기 시작했고 이로 인해 최면에 걸려 금품을 빼앗겼다고 현지 경찰이 밝혔다. 세 명 중의 한 명이 피해자에게 말을 거는 사이 다른 두 여성들은 그녀에게 비닐봉투를 건네주었고, 집에 돌아가 봉투 안에 귀금속 등을 담아 몇 시간 뒤 보스턴 커먼으로 다시 나오라는 지시를 최면으로 한 것으로 추정하고 있다. 최면에 걸린 피해 여성은 집으로 돌아가 비닐봉투에 목걸이, 옥팔찌, 금반지 2개와 여권, 현금 등 16만 달러 가치의 물품을 넣은 뒤 지시받은 약속장소로 가서 비닐봉투를 세 명의 여성들에게...