Most Popular
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Over 80,000 millionaires, 20 billionaires in Seoul: report
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Korean battery makers heave sigh of relief over 2-year IRA reprieve
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Yoon apologizes over first lady’s Dior bag scandal, but accuses special probe attempt as political maneuvering
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Young Korean doctors seek plan B: cosmetic dermatology or overseas
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South Korea open to Indonesian proposal to cut KF-21 payments
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Girl hanging on bridge, police trying to rescue her both fall off; rescued immediately
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Coupang earnings hit hard by losses from ailing Farfetch
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[K-pop’s dilemma] Time, profit pressures work against originality
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Why femicide and dating violence are growing issues in S. Korea
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Arrest warrant issued for medical student for allegedly killing girlfriend after breakup
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[Gregory Rodriguez] Secularism continues to gain ground
Woohoo! Secularism has arrived. That was one reaction to the news that Pitzer College in Claremont, California, is launching a secular studies department.“Well, it’s about time!” wrote an eager academic in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The editor of CNN’s Belief blog didn’t know “whether to be surprised that it happened or surprised that it took so long.”The blog at the conservative journal F
May 22, 2011
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[Ban Ki-moon] Dysfunctional disarmament forum
GENEVA ― As the U.N. Conference on Disarmament begins a seven-week session in Geneva, its future is on the line. Whereas countries and civil-society initiatives are on the move, the conference has stagnated. Its credibility ― indeed, its very legitimacy ― is at risk.The “CD,” as it is informally known, has long served as the world’s only multilateral forum for negotiating disarmament. Its many imp
May 22, 2011
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[Steve Lopez] Schwarzenegger’s lies have a familiar ring
Back in October of 2003, I witnessed a remarkable spectacle at a San Diego rally for gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger. As I talked to people about allegations that Schwarzenegger had crudely groped women against their will, using his celebrity and power to have his way, they were outraged.Not at Schwarzenegger, but at the Los Angeles Times, for reporting the stories.Even after Schwarz
May 22, 2011
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[Song InYeup] Haiti’s great miracle ― Hope is in sight now!
It has been 487 days since a devastating earthquake hit Haiti, an island in the center of the blue Caribbean Sea. Haiti has suffered what we call “the fivefold difficulty” ― an earthquake, shortages of daily goods, crimes, violent demonstrations and cholera. But since Feb. 4, the situation has begun to stabilize. Now people do daily life with hope, although they are still in the midst of difficult
May 22, 2011
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[Radek Sikorski] The front line of democracy across North Africa
BENGHAZI ― This week, I flew to Benghazi to meet Libya’s Transitional National Council (TNC), a visit coordinated with European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton and NATO allies. I was the first Western foreign minister to travel to Libya since the crisis began. What I saw reminded me of my country 20 years ago, just after Poland’s first free elections, which, together with the fall of th
May 22, 2011
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TEPCO’s compensation plan for victims
The government on May 13 decided on the overall framework of a scheme to help Tokyo Electric Power Co. compensate people who have suffered losses from the accidents at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.Compensation will be paid to those who were evacuated from their homes as well as to farmers, fishermen and others who have suffered financial losses due to the accidents.The government plans
May 20, 2011
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How do you close a state park in California?
Californians cannot expect state parks, as beloved as they are, to be spared from the budget ax. Not when the elderly are going without home health aides and schools are pink-slipping thousands of teachers. Whether it’s practical to close 70 of the state’s parks, as Gov. Jerry Brown proposes, is another matter.The state Department of Parks and Recreation has done a thoughtful job of targeting park
May 20, 2011
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[Akira Fujino] China’s view of Japan brighter since quake
Whether the March 11 earthquake and tsunami could turn bilateral relations in a positive direction has been the subject of some discussion.Wang Lixiong, a Chinese writer from Beijing, was in Japan ― on his first visit to the nation ― on March 10, for meet-and-greet events with readers of his work.After the disaster hit the next day, Wang watched developments in Tokyo, the Kansai region and other p
May 20, 2011
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[David Ignatius] Now for the Obama follow-through
WASHINGTON ― With his much-ballyhooed speech on the Middle East, President Obama set himself a challenge that can be summarized in two words: Follow through. Obama spoke with more clarity than some analysts had expected about the two most incendiary issues in the region right now: President Bashar al-Assad’s violent suppression of protests in Syria, and the risk of a new Palestinian explosion if a
May 20, 2011
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Gender-selective abortions not forgivable
It’s understandable for would-be parents to have a preference for the sex of their child. All over the world, there are fathers who say they want a little boy who will one day play catch with them in the backyard. Likewise, there are dads who long for the sweetness a little girl brings to a family. Moms also either hope for a little girl to share in the experience of being female or wish for a boy
May 20, 2011
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Normal military exchanges with the U.S.
Compared to the robust Sino-U.S. trade ties and the frequent exchanges at official and people-to-people level, Sino-U.S. military exchanges have remained dormant in recent years. But thanks to the efforts of both sides, Beijing and Washington are making headway in fixing this weak link in their bilateral relations. A group of high-ranking Chinese military officers, led by Chief of the General Staf
May 20, 2011
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Poll to set new standard in spin tactics
Now that there are 47 days left before the election ― Thailand’s 26th and by far the most important at this political juncture ― just look at the ways various contesting parties are positioning themselves to win or cheat votes. They will be like the spaghetti-western movies ― the good, the bad and the ugly. There are plenty of the last two groups already.In the past few days, quite a few alarming
May 20, 2011
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[Hiroaki Koide] Japan risks nuclear disaster for consumer convenience
TOKYO ― I have been warning about the possibility of catastrophic nuclear power accidents for the past 40 years. That the very nightmare I always predicted has come true makes it no less alarming to watch the ongoing Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster unfold.Nuclear power plants are machines; machines can fail at times. Nuclear power plants are constructed and operated by people; people are no
May 20, 2011
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Finally, a big fish on Wall Street is hooked
A federal jury last week answered a challenge that armies of government regulators and enforcement officials largely have ignored: The jurors convicted a major Wall Street financial figure for crimes committed during the sleaziness that led to the 2008 financial collapse.Raj Rajaratnam, 53, once the manager of the Galleon Group, one of the largest hedge funds in the world, was convicted Wednesday
May 19, 2011
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[Barbara Shelly] ‘Ruined’ health industry is making massive profits
Who would you figure to be America’s highest-paid CEO?Someone from the tech industry, maybe. Or bioscience. Or petroleum. And to be sure, some sweet compensation packages and bonuses are to be had in those fields.But according to Forbes, America’s highest paid chief executive officer hails from the industry that President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are roundly accused of trying to de
May 19, 2011
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It’s time to shift to Plan B for PIIGS
NEW YORK ― The countries known collectively as the PIIGS ― Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain ― are burdened with increasingly unsustainable levels of public and private debt. Several of the worst-hit ― Portugal, Ireland, and Greece ― have seen their borrowing costs soar to record highs in recent weeks, even after their loss of market access led to bailouts financed by the European Union
May 19, 2011
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[Trudy Rubin] Is bin Laden’s death the start of change?
Will the killing of Osama bin Laden really be “a game-changer” in the Afghan war?Defense Secretary Robert Gates said it may be. And this is the big question I’ll be exploring on a trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan.Will bin Laden’s demise speed the U.S. troop exit? My gut tells me it will make a difference, but not as big as Congress and a war-weary public would like.The state of play in Afghanistan
May 19, 2011
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France’s reform anchors laws in constitution
PARIS ― A new and important acronym has entered the French political lexicon: QPC, which stands for the rather austere-sounding “Priority preliminary ruling on the question of constitutionality.” Under QPC, which was part of the constitutional reforms that France implemented in July 2008, any citizen involved in legal proceedings can now contest the constitutionality of a legislative provision.Thi
May 19, 2011
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[Matthew Lynn] IMF needs a different type of leader
It couldn’t have come at a worse moment. A bailout of Portugal was being completed. Greece was tottering on the edge of a default. And where was the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, the man meant to be guiding the world economy through this chaos?Dominique Strauss-Kahn was in a cell in New York’s Rikers Island jail, awaiting his next court hearing on charges of sexually assaul
May 19, 2011
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The dogs of war serving in the U.S. military
The Navy SEALs who raided Osama bin Laden’s compound aren’t the only members of the mission to be cloaked in mystery. The military dog the commandos took along is too. The government won’t even release his ― or her ― breed, although most military dogs are German shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Labradors or Lab mixes. We do know the canine was included in the very private meeting President Obama held
May 18, 2011