Most Popular
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
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Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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[Robert J. Fouser] AI changes rationale for learning languages
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Ador CEO's request for exclusive right to terminate NewJeans' contract with Hybe refused in February
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Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
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Sex is only one way to spoil a news relationship
Sleeping with a source seems like such a transparently bad idea there wouldn’t seem to be much point exploring why journalists shouldn’t do it.But with the Los Angeles Times summarily firing one of its top investigative reporters after he told his bosses he’d had a brief affair with an informant, it seems worthwhile to look at what the limits ought to be in the relations between journalists and sources.Physical intimacy is only one of many powerful off-screen entanglements that can develop amid
March 31, 2014
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[Angela Stent] No more resets in Washington-Moscow relations
WASHINGTON ― With Ukraine in turmoil and the United States and Russia warily eyeing each other’s every move, the world seems to be on the brink of a prolonged confrontation similar to the Cold War. But is it?Russia, accusing the West of supporting a coup d’etat by “fascists” and “terrorists” in Kyiv, has annexed Crimea, tested an inter-continental ballistic missile, and reserved the right to intervene militarily in eastern Ukraine to protect the Russian population there. The U.S. has sanctioned
March 31, 2014
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Crowdfunding is not a scam, it’s market research
Crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo represent a classic entrepreneurial phenomenon: Once you roll out your great idea, customers use it in ways you didn’t imagine, and you wind up in a different business than you expected.Kickstarter’s founders wanted to help artists raise money. Indiegogo co-founder Danae Ringelmann pictured aiding capital-strapped small-businesses owners like her parents. Neither intended their site to act as a test market. But, as the rags-to-riches story of
March 31, 2014
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[David Ignatius] Philanthropy with a wallop
WASHINGTON ― Money may be the root of all evil, as the saying goes, but I was reminded last week of the overwhelming good it can do when put to work at a place like the Children’s National Health System here.Big medicine, funded by the wealthiest and most generous philanthropists, is achieving astonishing breakthroughs. I was lucky enough to see some of them on a tour of the Joseph E. Robert Jr. Center for Surgical Care and the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation. Robert die
March 30, 2014
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Obama’s critics aren’t communists
PARIS ― There’s no faster or easier way to shut down legitimate debate than to slap an undesirable label on someone based on their views. Criticize same-sex marriage and you’re a bigot. Take issue with immigration policy and you’re dismissed as a racist. In the latest incarnation of this phenomenon, any conservative who dares to criticize U.S. President Barack Obama’s stance against Russia on the issue of Ukraine runs the risk of being called a Putin-loving communist.Senate Majority Leader Harry
March 30, 2014
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[Yu Kun-ha] Park unveils plans to make unification a bonanza
President Park Geun-hye has recently upended the conventional wisdom about unification of the two Koreas. Thus far, the prevailing view has been that unification would be hugely costly for the South in light of the wide economic gap between the two.Yet Park dismissed this widely accepted view, boldly asserting that unification would be a “bonanza.” She rightly noted that the benefits of unification would be much greater than the costs as it would create immense investment opportunities in the No
March 30, 2014
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Creating an Afghanistan that defines itself
NEW DELHI ― As it braces for its upcoming presidential election, Afghanistan finds itself at another critical juncture, with its unity and territorial integrity at stake after 35 years of relentless war. Can Afghanistan finally escape the cycle of militancy and foreign intervention that has plagued it for more than three decades?Two key questions are shaping discussions about Afghanistan’s post-2014 trajectory. The first concerns the extent to which Pakistan will interfere in Afghan affairs, suc
March 30, 2014
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Yellen can help Asia kick easy-money habit
Janet Yellen could be excused for feeling whipsawed in Asia. In Tokyo 17 months ago, before taking over as head of the Federal Reserve, Yellen had to defend the U.S.’s monetary largess in front of a gathering of the testy central bankers. Now the region wants the Fed to go slow as it scales back on monetary stimulus.Rather than fretting about the Fed’s tightening, Asia should be looking at the benefits as the world’s most powerful central bank charts a return to monetary normalcy. These include
March 30, 2014
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Turkey needs moral support from Korea
In trying times, brothers need each other. Whether we are dealing with a financial struggle, family issues or simply feeling down, we turn to those who are closest to us, our siblings. This is also true for nations, on a much grander scale. Turkish soldiers (one of whom was my father’s cousin) sacrificed their lives to prevent communist oppression, only to discover how close they were to their long-lost brothers. March 31 will be a new beginning, as many politicians in Turkey keep saying these d
March 28, 2014
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[David Ignatius] Fighting anew for democracy
BRUSSELS ― President Barack Obama has spoken once again during the Ukraine crisis about being on the right “side of history.” It’s one of his signature lines, but he should stop: The phrase implies there’s an inevitability to the advance of progress and justice. Would that it were so. What’s happening now in Vladimir Putin’s Russia is a reminder that history has ebbs and flows, advances and retreats, and that its interpretation is subjective. Even more, recent events are a warning that decisive
March 28, 2014
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[Robert Reich] The decline of the nation-state
We are witnessing a reversion to tribalism around the world, away from nation-states. The same pattern can be seen even in America ― especially in American politics.Before the rise of the nation-state between the 18th and 20th centuries, the world was mostly tribal. Tribes were united by language, religion, blood and belief. They feared other tribes and often warred against them. Kings and emperors imposed truces that were temporary at best.But in the past 300 years, the idea of nationhood took
March 27, 2014
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The dark side of New York Times v. Sullivan
Quiz question: What is the most important free speech ruling in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court?The best answer may well be New York Times v. Sullivan, decided 50 years ago this month. In that case, the court ruled, for the first time, that the First Amendment shields speakers and writers from libel suits.The court’s ruling has fundamentally affected not only our law but also our culture. Whenever you open a newspaper, visit a website or even do a Google search, the information that you se
March 27, 2014
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Philippines repivots defense links to U.S.
In his keynote speech at the summit of the Asia-Pacific Council of American Chambers on March 21, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario did not mince words when he warned: “Without regard for the rights of its neighbors, China has employed its naval and maritime vessels in a coercive manner, in gross violation of international law, to drive away fishermen from traditional fishing grounds, to intimidate its neighbors, to prevent exploitation of resources, and to prevent us from
March 27, 2014
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[M. Veera Pandiyan] Lessons from the hunt for ill-fated MH370
The tragic flight has exposed Malaysia’s shortcomings in many areas, but we have no other choice than to learn from the experience.It is heart rending to watch the scenes of grieving relatives, but we can only imagine the depth of their sorrow after 17 agonizing days of holding out hope.As Malaysia Airlines said in its statement to the families of the 239 passengers and crew on board Flight MH370, there are no words that can ease their pain.Two-thirds of the passengers on board the Beijing-bound
March 27, 2014
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Happiness is now a key global issue
The U.N.’s first survey of international wellbeing ranks Thailand second only to Singapore in our region.Two years after declaring March 20 the International Day of Happiness, the United Nations has released its first World Happiness Report. The U.N. has formally recognized the pursuit of happiness as a fundamental human goal. It can be argued that the U.N. has far more important issues to concentrate on, but surely we can all agree that happiness is every human’s deepest wish ― and therefore a
March 27, 2014
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[Mai Yamani] Saudi Arabia courts Pakistan
LONDON ― Over the last few years, Saudi Arabia has become increasingly estranged from its long-time protector, the United States. It viewed America’s backing for Hosni Mubarak’s fall from power in Egypt ― and its subsequent acceptance of the Muslim Brotherhood government ― as a betrayal. Then came U.S. President Barack Obama’s refusal to enforce his “red line” in Syria, after President Bashar al-Assad’s regime unleashed poison gas on its opponents. But the final straw was America’s support for t
March 26, 2014
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What really concerns China about Flight 370?
Let’s acknowledge what’s obvious: The way Malaysia has handled the loss of Flight 370 has been pathetic. What’s less obvious is China’s role in this sorry spectacle.The biggest aviation mystery since Amelia Earhart disappeared isn’t over for Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, and it may never be. Not with the families of the 154 Chinese passengers (out of 239 people) on board the missing Malaysian Air jet accusing his government of a coverup. Not with puzzled observers around the world wonder
March 26, 2014
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China sees democracy gone wild in Taiwan
Several hundred students stormed and occupied Taiwan’s national legislature on March 18 over objections to a new trade agreement with China, which they claimed was railroaded through the legislative process. One week later they remain in the chambers, supported by thousands of protestors, and an influential coterie of Chinese celebrities (other protesters were violently evicted from the government’s executive offices on Monday), blocking a vote on the pact. Inadvertently, perhaps, they also now
March 26, 2014
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[Jeffrey D. Sachs] Ukraine and the crisis of international law
NEW YORK ― Russia’s actions in Ukraine constitute a serious and dangerous violation of international law. In 1994, Ukraine agreed to give up the nuclear weapons it had inherited from the Soviet Union, in return for a solemn commitment by the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia to protect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Russia has now violated that pledge, not only harming Ukraine but also undermining the international legal framework for preventing nuclear proliferatio
March 26, 2014
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Putin provides momentum for united Europe
PARIS ― One day, monuments to Vladimir Putin may stand in Russian cities, bearing the inscription: “The man who returned Crimea to Mother Russia.” But perhaps monuments will be erected on many European squares as well, acclaiming Russia’s president as “The Father of United Europe.” Indeed, Putin’s swift move to annex Crimea has done more to harmonize European governments’ views on Russia than dozens of bilateral or multilateral meetings.In Berlin last week, I heard French and German elites speak
March 26, 2014