Most Popular
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Ador CEO denies allegations, accuses Hybe of mistreating NewJeans
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Medical reform committee kicks off despite boycott from doctors
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10-man S. Korea lose to Indonesia to miss out on Paris Olympic football qualification
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Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
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DP leader says he will meet Yoon without conditions
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Over 9,000 hotline calls made by stalking victims in 2023
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Second Gimpo civil servant found dead, after apologizing for not finishing work
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[Hello India] Hyundai Motor vows to boost 'clean mobility' in India
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Monthly users on local streaming platforms outpace Netflix, Disney+
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US will take steps for three-way engagement on nuclear deterrence with S. Korea, Japan: Campbell
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A no-fly zone for Syria
BRUSSELS ― There is a saying, too often used in interpreting international relations, that my enemy’s enemy is my friend. Sometimes it proves true; often it does not.Thirty years ago, the Afghan mujahedin were mistaken for friends of the West when they fought their country’s Soviet invaders. But how lazy that assumption seems now, given all that has since happened.Syria’s deepening crisis, and the criminal use of chemical weapons there, has created a similar dynamic and dilemma. But the West nee
Sept. 3, 2013
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[Kim Seong-kon] The folly of capsizing our own Noah’s Ark
With communism long dismissed as “the God that failed,” capitalism is now under fire. Leftist writers and scholars argue that capitalism, albeit better than communism, has serious side effects like the polarization of the rich and the poor, mammonism and dehumanization. Indeed, capitalism is certainly not impeccable and must be applied judiciously to reduce its many problems. In 2011, a Hollywood movie entitled “In Time” poignantly criticized the inherent problems of capitalism using intriguing
Sept. 3, 2013
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Indian economy needs second phase of reform
India’s economy has stalled. Growth in the second quarter fell to 4.4 percent at an annual rate, down from 8 percent two years ago. The rupee has slumped. Consumer-price inflation is about 10 percent and rising. The country faces what could be a full-scale financial crisis. This would be a testing situation even if India had a well-functioning government, but it doesn’t. With a general election due next May, politics are paralyzed. Between now and the vote, the Reserve Bank of India, led by its
Sept. 2, 2013
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Obama is about to undermine Mideast doctrine
For five years, President Obama has more or less successfully adhered to a very specific, though not immediately discernible, doctrine when formulating American policy in the Muslim world.Many foreign policy experts believe that Obama doesn’t have a Middle East policy at all ― a clear-cut set of ideas that guide American engagement in the greater Middle East. This, we are told, is a big problem.But the conventional wisdom is wrong. There is, in fact, an Obama doctrine. And for the first time sin
Sept. 2, 2013
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The risk of taking on Syria
So the U.S. launches a military strike. Then what?As the Obama administration and the U.S. military plot military action against Syria, they should be spending just as much time ― and arguably more ― considering what happens next. Once Washington crosses the threshold of action, there’s no retreating from blame for anything that follows, whether through action or inaction. And in the weeks and months to come, dangers will only deepen.First, quick hits rarely achieve enduring political goals ― an
Sept. 2, 2013
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[Jeffrey D. Sachs] Global development goals make a difference
NEW YORK ― The world’s governments meet at a special session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 25 to discuss how to accelerate progress on the Millennium Development Goals, and also to agree on a timetable for a new set of Sustainable Development Goals. The MDGs, adopted in 2000, will conclude in 2015, to be followed by the SDGs, most likely for the 2015-2030 period.The MDGs focus on ending extreme poverty, hunger, and preventable disease. They have been the most important global d
Sept. 2, 2013
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Saving Europe’s real hegemon
MUNICH ― Last June, the European Commission announced its about-face on bank restructuring. The money for recapitalizing distressed banks would now come primarily from creditors, not European taxpayers, with a pecking order to specify which lenders would be repaid first. All of this is welcome, at least in principle. In practice, however, the scheme leaves much to be desired.The problem is that a very long list of exceptions reduces the recoverable assets to such an extent that in many cases it
Sept. 1, 2013
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[William Pesek] Korea faces midlife crisis
As economists scour the earth for clues on which country is headed for a crash next, should they be worrying about South Korea (KOSPI)? An oddly timed question, perhaps, given Korea’s resilience compared with its Asian compatriots. Even if the region is not on the verge of a 1997-style meltdown, scary drops in the Indian rupee, Indonesian rupiah, Malaysian ringgit and Thai stocks are fueling anxieties almost everywhere. Korea is a rare exception: It has a current-account surplus equal to 4.9 per
Sept. 1, 2013
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America’s new pastime: JPMorgan probes
Hardly a week goes by without a new report about a government investigation of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and how much money the bank might have to pay because of some alleged violation of the law. The ritual is familiar by now. Details of the probe emerge, then settlement talks get leaked by one side or the other before the case is resolved, perhaps as a pressure tactic or to alert the market so that the final deal is barely news once it’s unveiled. And the outcome proves unsatisfying because the com
Sept. 1, 2013
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A report card for U.S. policy in the Mideast
Think the United States is fairing badly in the Middle East? Convinced that our policy is chaotic, confused and contradictory, from North Africa to the Persian Gulf?Think again. It may not be politically correct to admit it, but when it comes to furthering America’s core national interests, Washington isn’t doing badly at all. And here’s why.Defining U.S. national interests is a critically important task, and not enough attention is paid to it. If you don’t know where you’re going, the old saw g
Sept. 1, 2013
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[Mohamed A. El-Erian] The lessons of Lehman’s morbid legacy
NEWPORT BEACH ― As the fifth anniversary of the disorderly collapse of the investment bank Lehman Brothers approaches, some analysts will revisit the causes of an historic global “sudden stop” that resulted in enormous economic and financial disruptions. Others will describe the consequences of an event that continues to produce considerable human suffering. And some will share personal experiences of a terrifying time for the global economy and for them personally (as policymakers, financial-ma
Sept. 1, 2013
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[Robert Reich] Trimmings for Labor Day
The good news this Labor Day: Jobs are returning. The bad news this Labor Day: Most of them pay lousy wages and provide low, if not nonexistent, benefits.The trend toward lousy wages began before the Great Recession. According to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute, weak wage growth between 2000 and 2007, combined with wage losses for most workers since then, means that the bottom 60 percent of working Americans are earning less now than 13 years ago.This is also part of the explanat
Aug. 30, 2013
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Struggle for equality continues 50 years later
Fifty years ago, on a hot Wednesday afternoon in the nation’s capital, Martin Luther King Jr. stood in the shadow of Abraham Lincoln and told America about a dream he had.There is no way he could have imagined then that an African-American boy, who was only 2 years old at the time, would grow up to be president of the United States. And that on another Wednesday afternoon, exactly 50 years later, that black president would stand on the same steps of the Lincoln Memorial to deliver a speech in co
Aug. 30, 2013
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Microsoft’s useful life may be near its end
Steve Ballmer’s announcement last week of his retirement from Microsoft Corp. after 13 years at the helm leaves some puzzling questions for his successor ― about Microsoft’s epic decline, its uncertain future and the ultimate purpose of a public company. Resolving them may well prove impossible. And that’s OK. Under Ballmer, who succeeded Bill Gates as chief executive officer in 2000, Microsoft failed to anticipate or adequately respond to almost every technological innovation that came along, f
Aug. 29, 2013
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[Joel Brinkley] The West must act in Syria
Sooner or later, the United States and its Western allies are going to have to go into Syria with force, like it or not. There’s little choice.I’m not talking about retaliation for the apparent chemical-weapons attacks that killed hundreds of people and injured thousands more. The Syrians have committed a grave international crime ― and crossed President Obama’s “red line” once again. Some sort of response is warranted, even if only to show that the United States means what it says, and hencefor
Aug. 29, 2013
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Huge economic cost of Philippine floods
The Philippine government was pleased that casualties from last week’s unusually heavy monsoon rains were kept to a minimum. The economic losses caused by the severe flooding in Metro Manila and its surrounding provinces, however, have been huge.The economy virtually came to a halt ― financial markets were closed, transportation around the metropolis was in chaos, factories in affected areas were shut down, air travel was affected as roads going to the airport became impassable and crucial infra
Aug. 29, 2013
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Bo trial may become genesis of power struggle in China
The administration of Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping has faced a problem, the settlement of which can never be forgotten in consolidating Xi’s power base. Of course, we are speaking of the case in which Bo Xilai, the former top official of the southwestern megacity of Chongqing and former member of the Communist Party’s Politburo, was charged with bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.In the public hearing of the case held in Shandong Province, Bo thoroughly dismissed al
Aug. 29, 2013
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[Fiona Chan] Fears of Asian financial crisis may be overblown
The “taper terror” returned to haunt Asian markets last week, spurring investors to dump regional shares and currencies on growing dread that the United States central bank may reduce its gigantic stimulus program next month.They fear that a pullback of U.S. quantitative easing will mean less liquidity going into Asian assets while also raising U.S. interest rates and the greenback ― an outcome that will make Asia less attractive as an investment destination.But a few observers are entertaining
Aug. 29, 2013
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Are hospitals already saving money for Medicare?
Medicare continues to exhibit remarkably slow growth: a modest 3 percent over the past year. That’s great news, but a debate is raging about whether this is caused by a weak economy (and therefore will reverse as the economy recovers) or other factors (and therefore may persist, drastically improving the budget outlook). Two new studies tilt toward the optimistic possibility. The first, a technical paper from the Congressional Budget Office, parsed the decline in cost growth per beneficiary from
Aug. 28, 2013
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[David Ignatius] American credibility is at stake
WASHINGTON ― What does the world look like when people begin to doubt the credibility of American power? Unfortunately, we’re finding that out in Syria and other nations where leaders have concluded they can defy a war-weary America without paying a price. Using military power to maintain a nation’s credibility may sound like an antiquated idea, but it’s all too relevant in the real world we inhabit. It has become obvious in recent weeks that President Obama, whose restrained and realistic forei
Aug. 28, 2013