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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Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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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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A militarized Japan?
Japan’s new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has announced plans to revise his country’s famous pacifist constitutional provision, Article 9, which renounces “war as a sovereign right of the nation.”On the surface, Abe’s proposal may seem merely symbolic, suggesting that he simply wants to add an explicit recognition of the country’s right to military self-defense. Since Japan has long maintained “self-defense” forces, the predictable expressions of concern in foreign capitals may seem overblown.But
Jan. 15, 2013
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[Kim Seong-kon] The smartphone strikes back
In the 1960s, American society turned to diverse, colorful liberalism and progressivism after experiencing the dark era of McCarthyism and conservatism. Revolting against the monochromatic social atmosphere of the 1950s, which Irving Howe labeled, “This Age of Conformity,” young Americans in the 1960s regarded themselves as liberals, progressives and the New Left.In his insightful book, “Gates of Eden,” an analysis of the American sixties, Morris Dickstein defines the American 1960s as the age o
Jan. 15, 2013
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Vietnam is a country to watch in Asia
DA NANG, Vietnam ― A mystery pervades this part of the world.In the Middle East, Africa, Russia, parts of Europe ― even the United States ― thousands of angry citizens have stood up to challenge their governments over the last two years. In several cases, of course, they have thrown dictators out of office.But here in Asia, home to some of the world’s most authoritarian nations, we’ve seen none of that at all. Vietnam, however, may be setting a path for other Asian states. Late last month, the s
Jan. 14, 2013
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[David Ignatius] A grim outlook in Syria
WASHINGTON ― Growing chaos in the liberated areas of northern Syria is convincing some members of the Syrian opposition that the country will become a “failed state” unless an orderly political transition begins soon to replace President Bashar al-Assad. This stark analysis is contained in an intelligence report provided to the State Department last week by Syrian sources working with the Free Syrian Army. Describing the situation in the area from Aleppo to the Turkish border, where Assad’s army
Jan. 14, 2013
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Sexual denial doesn’t mix well with inequality
Women hold up half the sky, as Mao Zedong once declared. Decades later, they don’t hold up much of anything in the halls of Chinese power. In 2012, Liu Yang proved the inverse of Mao’s point, at least as far as China is concerned. The 34-year-old became the first Chinese woman to orbit the Earth. Her milestone highlighted a less heavenly reality: It’s easier for a Chinese woman to circle our planet in outer space than to reach the highest rungs of male-dominated Beijing politics. Expectations th
Jan. 14, 2013
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The death of depth
It’s very likely that kids will find this column to be, like, totally stupid, and will conclude that they can write one sooooo much better. They will declare this on their Twitter feed, sandwiched between the hundreds of photos of themselves making that pursed-lips “duck face,” then wait for the “friends” they’ve never met in person to tell them how hot they look.That’s because compared with 30 years ago, more American students think they’re above average in writing, leadership, intelligence, dr
Jan. 14, 2013
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[Mohamed A. El-Erian] The global political economy’s 2013 outlook
NEWPORT BEACH ― Watching America’s leaders scramble in the closing days of 2012 to avoid a “fiscal cliff” that would plunge the economy into recession was yet another illustration of an inconvenient truth: messy politics remains a major driver of economic developments.In some cases during 2012, politics was a force for good: consider Prime Minister Mario Monti’s ability to pull Italy back from the brink of financial turmoil. But, in other cases, like Greece, political dysfunction aggravated econ
Jan. 14, 2013
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[David Ignatius] Eisenhower has lessons for today
WASHINGTON ― It’s telling that one of Chuck Hagel’s favorite gifts to friends recently has been a biography of President Dwight Eisenhower, a war hero whose skepticism toward the military is a model for Hagel’s own. Thinking about Eisenhower’s presidency helps clarify the challenges and dilemmas of Barack Obama’s second term. Like Ike, Obama wants to pull the nation back from the overextension of global wars of the previous decade. Like Ike, he wants to trim defense spending and reduce the natio
Jan. 13, 2013
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Obama’s opportunities for historic progress
Recent second presidential terms have been difficult. Ronald Reagan became enmeshed in the Iran-contra scandal; Bill Clinton was impeached, though not convicted; and George W. Bush’s popularity cratered, thanks to two mismanaged foreign wars, mishandled hurricane relief and a collapsing domestic economy.Yet, every American president since Rutherford Hayes has sought a second term. And the traumas of Barack Obama’s controversy-filled first four years failed to prevent him from winning re-election
Jan. 13, 2013
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Solace for late actress Choi Jin-shil’s children
Dear kids,It must be heartbreaking mourning the death of your mother, uncle, and father in your tender years. And the manner of their untimely passing must be especially difficult to understand. It’s hard for me to even imagine the extent of your grief and the depth of your sorrow. Although I don’t know you personally, I’ve been a fan of your mother, and a grief-stricken admirer of her work. Now, after reading the sad news of your father’s death, I have become a sympathizing stranger. Clearly, y
Jan. 13, 2013
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Al-Jazeera should be a welcome source for U.S. news junkies
AMMAN, Jordan ― The Arab world’s best-known satellite TV network purchased the American cable channel Current TV last week. That means you may soon be able to add “Al Jazeera America” to your remote control favorites. If you’re a news junkie like me, you should tune in. The network, founded 15 years ago in the Qatari capital of Doha, has forever improved TV news, especially in the Middle East.Before al-Jazeera, many Arabs could watch only state-owned and -run television stations that primarily b
Jan. 13, 2013
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[Joseph E. Stiglitz] Long-term action vital in weak economy
NEW YORK ― In the shadow of the euro crisis and America’s fiscal cliff, it is easy to ignore the global economy’s long-term problems. But, while we focus on immediate concerns, they continue to fester, and we overlook them at our peril.The most serious is global warming. While the global economy’s weak performance has led to a corresponding slowdown in the increase in carbon emissions, it amounts to only a short respite. And we are far behind the curve: Because we have been so slow to respond to
Jan. 13, 2013
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How to make immigration reform happen
Could this be the moment? After years of gridlock and legislative disappointment, policymakers on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue are laying the groundwork for immigration reform. The White House has been building a coalition, including labor, business and advocacy groups, to power a final push. Meanwhile, a bipartisan bloc in the U.S. Senate has begun to outline comprehensive changes that have proved elusive in years past. Although common ground among Democrats and Republicans is otherwise lim
Jan. 11, 2013
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[Alex Joffe] Netanyahu the Palestinian
PHILADELPHIA ― In January, Israeli voters will go to the polls for an election that promises to hand Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu a renewed mandate. Few prospects are more loathsome to the Israeli left, U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration, most European leaders, or many American Jews.But no one regards the prospect of another Netanyahu government with more anguish than the Palestinians. In the Arab-Israeli conflict’s long, tortured history, they have reviled no Israeli prime minist
Jan. 11, 2013
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The silent revolution underway inside the IMF
The International Monetary Fund, at long last, has begun to open up. Gone are the days when it acted as a handmaiden of Western, mainly U.S., economic orthodoxy. It is even throwing a gauntlet down to the mighty U.S. Federal Reserve, questioning the effects its constant monetary boosting has had on the rest of the world.Given that the IMF is the key arbiter on many key issues of global finance and economics, and hence also over global fairness and equity, the change should be greatly welcomed. O
Jan. 10, 2013
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[Paul Bracken] Rules for second nuclear age
NEW HAVEN ― North Korea’s launch of a long-range missile in mid-December was followed by a flurry of global condemnation that was almost comical in its predictability and impotence. But the launch underscored a larger reality that can no longer be ignored: the world has entered a second nuclear age. The atomic bomb has returned for a second act, a post-Cold War encore. This larger pattern needs to be understood if it is to be managed.The contours of the second nuclear age are still taking shape.
Jan. 10, 2013
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Mending ties with China
The dispute between Japan and China over the sovereignty issue involving the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea has caused bilateral ties to plummet. China is repeatedly violating Japanese territorial waters and airspace around the islands. Japan needs to enhance its ability to protect its territorial waters and airspace in the area. More importantly, the Abe administration must make strenuous diplomatic efforts to find opportunities to talk quietly with China in an effort to put bilateral re
Jan. 10, 2013
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End accident cover-ups
The two recent incidents that had been covered up in Shanxi province, one concerning water contamination and the other an explosion in a tunnel, should remind policymakers of the urgency to rethink the country’s accident reporting mechanism. An accident in a coal chemical plant led to chemicals leaking into the river in Changzhi, Shanxi province, which necessitated cutting off the water supply downstream, including some areas in neighboring Henan and Hebei provinces. The leak was discovered on D
Jan. 10, 2013
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Abe’s ability to tackle problems faces test
With the change of government, positive signs have emerged for the nation’s prospects for this year.Since just before the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was launched, the super-strong yen has weakened and stock prices have jumped, apparently reflecting high hopes for the Abe administration’s economic measures. On Friday, the first trading day of 2013, most stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange climbed, recovering levels seen before the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011.Can
Jan. 10, 2013
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[Andrew Sheng] A synthesis of the Chinese and Western minds
Browsing through my library during the holidays, I came across a book on comparative Western and Chinese philosophy that had an old saying: “Every Chinese person is a Confucian when everything is going well; he is a Taoist when things are falling apart; and he is a Buddhist as he approaches death.” Chinese culture is like ancient pyramids of different worldviews built over one another. The earliest was animism, where one believed in different gods; the Book of Changes taught two sides to every s
Jan. 10, 2013