Liderul nord-coreean Kim Jong-il a murit de un atac de cord în timp ce  era  într-o călătorie cu trenul, a  raportat  mass-media de stat , ceea ce a dus la  o  preocupare imediată privind   controlul de stat  şi programul său nuclear.

   Un crainic de televiziune  îmbrăcat  în negru, a declarat  ca Kim Jong-il   in  varsta   de 69 de ani a murit sâmbătă de  epuizare fizică şi psihică   la locul de muncă în drumul său de a oferi "îndrumări  in domeniu."

    Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-il's youngest son, is seen as the leader-in-waiting after he was appointed to senior political and military posts in 2010.

North Korea's official KCNA news agency said the elder Kim died at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday (6:30 p.m. EST on Friday) after "an advanced acute myocardial infarction, complicated with a serious heart shock." Kim had suffered a stroke in 2008, but had appeared to have recovered from that ailment.

South Korea, still technically at war with the North, placed its troops and all government workers on emergency alert, Yonhap news agency reported. But Seoul's Defense Ministry said there were no signs of any unusual North Korean troop movements.

"Up until tonight, if anybody had asked you what would be the most likely scenario under which the North Korean regime could collapse, the answer would be the sudden death of Kim Jong-il," said Victor Cha, a Korea expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank in Washington.

"And so I think right now we're in that scenario and we don't know how it's going to turn out."

The White House said President Barack Obama had been notified of the reports of Kim's death and it was closely monitoring and in touch with South Korea and Japan.

The United States was committed to stability on the Korean peninsula as well as to its allies, the White House press secretary said.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told ministers at a special security meeting to prepare for the unexpected, including on border affairs, Japan's top government spokesman said.

China, North Korea's only major ally, has yet to comment.

Asian stocks and U.S. index futures fell, with South Korean shares tumbling as much as 5 percent, and the dollar gained after the announcement. The Korean won fell 1.8 percent.

Kim Jong-un was at the head of a long list of officials making up the funeral committee, indicating he would lead it, and a key sign that he had taken, or been given, charge.

But there will be enormous questions over how much credibility the younger Kim has, since he is only in his late 20s and has had little time to prepare for the role.

"Kim Jong-un is not yet the official heir, but the regime will move in the direction of Kim Jong-un taking center stage," said Chung Young-Tae at the Korea Institute of National Unification. "There is a big possibility that a power struggle may happen.

"It's likely the military will support Kim Jong-un," he added. "Right now there will be control wielded over the people to keep them from descending into chaos in this tumultuous time."

Exista viata dincolo de Soare.

Cometa Lovejoy a supravietuit intalnirii cu astrul, desi astronomii erau convinsi ca va fi topita de cele 1,1 milioane de grade Celsius din coroana solara.

Iata insa ca ratacitoarea stea a reusit, chiar daca si-a pierdut o parte din coada formata din gheata.

Expertii cred ca n-a pierit in flacarile solare gratie dimensiunilor sale uriase.

Acum, astronomii ar vrea sa-i dea un nou nume - Phoenix - ca pasarea legendara care renaste din propria cenusa.

Portugalia trece la austeritate: taxa suplimentara pentru companiile cu profit de peste 10 mil. euro

Guvernul portughez a anuntat, astazi, o taxa suplimentara de cel putin 5% pentru companiile cu profituri de peste 10 milioane de euro, informeaza Reuters. Masura de austeritate este necesara pentru a respecta obiectivele fiscale convenite in pachetul de ajutor financiar de la UE si FMI, sustin oficialii portughezi.

  La prima sesiune de lucru a Consiliului European din 8 şi 9 decembrie,s-a ajuns     la  un  acord   de  acţiune pe termen scurt pentru a depăşi criza datoriilor şi   reguli  fiscale  noi  pentru zona euro. 

    La o conferinţă de presă Herman Van Rompuy, Preşedintele Consiliului European, şi José Manuel Barroso, preşedintele Comisiei Europene, a explicat măsurile pe termen scurt.

  Până la 200 de miliarde € vor fi puse la dispoziţia FMI, Fondul european de stabilitate financiară (FESF) leverage "vor fi rapid dislocate" şi Mecanismului European de Stabilitate (ESM) ar trebui să intre în vigoare în iulie 2012. 

   Pentru termen mediu şi lung, cele 17 ţări din zona euro şi alte şase, Bulgaria, Danemarca, Letonia, Lituania, Polonia şi România, va încheia un tratat inter-guvernamentale.

  Acest compact fiscal, care urmează să fie semnat nu mai târziu de martie 2012, va stabili o regulă nouă, mai puternică fiscala, inclusiv automatismul mai mult în procedura de deficit excesiv.Republica Cehă şi Suedia nu au încă un mandat de a participa. 
Guvernanţă a zonei euro va fi, de asemenea, consolidată de exploataţie reuniuni la nivel înalt euro obişnuite de cel puţin două ori pe an.

În a doua zi, şefii de stat sau de guvern vor continua discuţiile cu privire la problemele menţionate mai sus şi vor dezbate politicile economice, energetice, extinderii şi al relaţiilor externe.