Most Popular
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Court refuses injunction on medical school expansion
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Is NewJeans headed for a long 'break'?
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Jimin of BTS, actor Song Da-eun suspected to be dating, again
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Police raid popera singer Kim Ho-joong's house over hit-and-run suspicions
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What's next for the government's push in quota hike?
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Trump may like to 'solve' N. Korean nuclear problem if reelected: ex-official
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Kepco to raise electricity prices as total debt soars past W200tr
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Woman falls to death from acquaintance's home after exhibiting ‘unexplained' behaviors
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N. Korea slams planned S. Korea-US military drills, warns of 'catastrophic aftermath'
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N. Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles toward East Sea: JCS
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Session is the wrong choice for Quebec
The deadly shooting by a mentally disturbed gunman in Montreal on Wednesday was a horrific capstone to what had been acrimonious and unsettling provincial elections in Quebec. Pauline Marois, the leader of the separatist Parti Quebecois, now becomes premier and vows to push for a referendum on secession for the French-speaking province. Shortly before her victory celebration was thrown into chaos by the gunman, she proclaimed, “The future of Quebec is to become a sovereign country.” The Quebecoi
Sept. 6, 2012
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Japan needs to prepare for Nankai megaquake
The Cabinet Office’s Central Disaster Prevention Council said last week that a megaquake of magnitude-9 in the Nankai Trough off the Pacific coasts and its ensuing tsunami could kill up to 323,000 people in 30 prefectures including Tokyo, with about 70 percent of the deaths tsunami-related. Malfunctioning water gates would cause 23,000 more deaths.The estimated number of victims shot up from the 2003 estimate of some 24,700 deaths. By comparison, some 19,000 people died or went missing in the 3/
Sept. 6, 2012
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Is Romney answer to U.S. economic, fiscal problems?
There are just over two months left until the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 6.The Republican Party, aiming to reclaim the office after a four-year absence, held its national convention in the state of Florida last week and officially nominated former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as its president and House of Representatives Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan as its vice president.In his acceptance speech, Romney sharply criticized U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration for its mism
Sept. 6, 2012
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[Andrew Sheng] The knowledge economy and Internet use in Asia
How big is the impact of the Internet’s potential on Asia, including the impact on development of the knowledge economy?We all have a sense that the information and communications technology (ICT) industry has transformed social media, education and the way business is done. But we are not sure what is the best way to use the knowledge economy to propel our future growth.In 1973, American sociologist Daniel Bell predicted the arrival of the post-industrial society by 2000, with a world dominated
Sept. 6, 2012
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[Richard Weitz] The NATO global hub
WASHINGTON, DC ― What should an alliance do when its leading member and dominant pillar decides to shift its focus to the other side of the world? NATO leaders have been grappling with this question since U.S. President Barack Obama’s announcement of his administration’s “pivot” to Asia last year compelled them to examine the alliance’s global role.NATO leaders have examined their approach to managing relations with countries, such as China and Russia, that still view NATO as a potential threat
Sept. 5, 2012
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Unglamorous but effective ways to create jobs
We keep hearing that the U.S. presidential election is all about jobs. So why aren’t we getting more concrete ideas from the candidates about how to create more of them? That’s a trick question; we know there are no easy answers. Declaring that you will produce 12 million jobs in your first term by lowering taxes, boosting domestic energy production and cutting government spending, as Republican nominee Mitt Romney does, isn’t convincing. Nor is President Barack Obama’s promise to lower unemploy
Sept. 5, 2012
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Obama must remake political persona
There still are Kennedy Democrats; there are Clinton Democrats. There are fewer Obama Democrats. This reflects more the president’s style than his substance; he’s in the mainstream of his party, so popular that any primary challenge was out of the question. Yet he remains strangely unfamiliar to some core constituencies. If Barack Obama is reelected, the biggest challenge won’t be ideological: He’s not the left-winger his opponents depict. The economy will be the dominant issue, events will shap
Sept. 5, 2012
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How far will India bend before China?
The Indian government will once again demonstrate to the world that it is no longer an independent entity. China’s defence minister General Liang Guanglie started his three-day visit to Mumbai yesterday to discuss revival of joint military exercise and more confidence building measures between both countries. The first exercise was held in China in 2007 and the second in India in 2008. This is the first visit by a Chinese defence minister in the past seven years. Both governments will discuss wa
Sept. 5, 2012
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[Kim Myong-sik] Reflections on nation at restored royal houses
Geoncheong-gung, King Gojong’s private residence in Gyeongbok Palace, must have an increased number of visitors these days as the recent spats with the Japanese over Dokdo and the sex slavery during World War II should have raised people’s historical consciousness. As the volumes of Japanese and Chinese travelers coming to the palace ― one of the main tourist attractions in Seoul ― are growing steadily, some tour guides bring their groups to the place located in the rear part of the palace compo
Sept. 5, 2012
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GOP foreign policy shows it’s easy to talk tough
Having read the GOP’s foreign-policy platform, with its slashing critique of the president, I can already say this: A Mitt Romney foreign policy would likely wind up looking much like Obama’s. Despite a call for another “American century” in which we possess the “strongest military and strongest economy,” a President Romney would soon confront the realities of today’s world.For starters, a hefty part of the GOP’s foreign-policy platform, and its call for global leadership, focuses on boosting th
Sept. 4, 2012
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[Lee Jae-min] Global issues, local verdicts
Why do they always have Mr. Foreman, instead of Mr. Smith or Mr. Brown, in a jury trial? That was a small mystery in my mind following the Korean subtitles of Hollywood movies. The Korean subtitles translated “Mr. Foreman,” as it appeared in a judge’s famous question of “Mr. Foreman, has the jury reached the verdict?” as if it were a last name of one of the jurors. It was not until long afterwards that I realized who this Mr. Foreman was: It is a special term referring to a head juror.Amusingly,
Sept. 4, 2012
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Shintaro Ishihara provokes Japan’s neighbors
Shintaro Ishihara, governor of Tokyo, is sending a survey team to the Senkaku Islands on Sunday in defiance of a Japanese government order on visits without permission.Ishihara couldn’t get permission, but his team is visiting three of the eight tiny islets called the Tiaoyu or Diaoyu Islands which both Taiwan and China claim as their inherent territory. The visit is to pave the way for him to buy the islands to defend against the People’s Republic of China in lieu of lame duck Prime Minister Yo
Sept. 4, 2012
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In Tehran, NAM gets a new lease on life
Last week, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei inaugurated the summit of Nonaligned Movement leaders in Tehran with a blistering attack on the “dictatorship” of Western countries at the United Nations Security Council. The Iranians then had to listen stony-faced to Egypt’s President Mohamed Mursi, the first Egyptian head of state to visit Iran since 1979, as he stressed the need for a united opposition to their ally, the murderous Syrian regime. Over several decades NAM summits, includi
Sept. 4, 2012
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[Kim Seong-kon] Pipers in group-oriented society
It is well known that Korean society is highly group-oriented and interdependent. Perhaps that is why in Korea individuality is often ignored or regarded as something selfish and thus incompatible with the community spirit.Habitual gatherings at City Hall Square to watch the national soccer team is a good example of Koreans’ affinity for group activities. According to reports, on the night of the soccer game between Korea and Japan at the London Olympics, approximately 30,000 Korean soccer fans
Sept. 4, 2012
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Vietnam’s dilemma in relations with U.S., China
In Hugh White’s latest book, “The China Choice: Why America Should Share Power,” the Australian professor argues that, for the sake of regional peace, the United States and China should carve up Asia between them. In particular, the U.S. should consider ceding Indochina to China, the former defence official added.That suggestion has caused apoplexy throughout the region, not least from Vietnam, given its chequered history with China.But if one takes the hard-headed realist’s perspective, one can
Sept. 3, 2012
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[Robert B. Reich] GOP erases George W. Bush
As Bill Clinton is resurrected by the Democrats, George W. Bush is being erased by the GOP ― as if an entire eight years of American history hadn’t happened.While Clinton stumps for President Obama, Mitt Romney has gone out of his way not to mention the name of the president who came after Clinton and before Obama.Former President Clinton will have a starring role at the Democratic National Convention. Former President George W. Bush won’t even be at the Republican one ― the first time a nationa
Sept. 3, 2012
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Rapists: prevention, punishment, and treatment?
Whenever highly publicized sex crimes occur in Korea the debate on chemical castration reemerges and politicians cash in on the popularity of appearing tough.Reported recently was that the ruling Saenuri Party are “considering” making chemical castration mandatory for sex offenders. Naturally the liberal left human rights brigade will rise to defend the rights, and not the responsibilities, of the criminals while at the same time ignoring the rights of their victims. Before sanctioning chemical
Sept. 3, 2012
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Ecuador provides latest strange twist in Assange tale
The grant of extradition to WikiLeaks founder and alleged sex-crime perpetrator Julian Assange by Ecuador is the most bewildering twist yet in this long, bizarre saga. Up to now, the government of Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa was better known for stifling freedom of the press at home than for championing the free flow of information. If ever there was an odd coupling of convenience, this is certainly it.There’s no mystery over why Assange, a 41-year-old Australian, should choose to go on t
Sept. 3, 2012
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Heads of state shun their own health care systems
Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s dictator, died last week ― in a Brussels hospital.Why didn’t he get medical care at home? Look at the state of his people’s health, and you’ll understand.The government provides vaccinations for only 5 percent of the children. Fewer still receive antibiotics when they contract pneumonia. Only 20 percent of teenage girls are educated about AIDS. Is it any wonder that Ethiopia’s average life expectancy is 56 ― among the world’s lowest?Eleven years ago, 53 African nations s
Sept. 3, 2012
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[J. Bradford DeLong] Grassroots democracy in U.S.
BERKELEY ― When the French politician and moral philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville published the first volume of his “Democracy in America” in 1835, he did so because he thought that France was in big trouble and could learn much from America. So one can only wonder what he would have made of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida.For Tocqueville, the grab for centralized power by the absolutist Bourbon monarchs, followed by the French Revolution and Napoleon’s Empire, had destroyed
Sept. 3, 2012