Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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[Martin Khor] Blame game stalls Doha trade talks
Few really wanted it started, and now no one knows how to end it. In between there’s been almost a decade of roller-coaster of the Doha negotiations at the World Trade Organisation.Many political leaders have now proclaimed that the “Doha Round” must be completed this year.Otherwise, it may have to be abandoned altogether, some have predicted.But there is not a lot of chance the deal will be done
March 4, 2011
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Making the most of educational investment
Korean college system needs market forcesThe following was contributed by Daniel E. Suh, professor of economics and finance, Graduate Program for Technology and Innovation Management, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH). ― Ed. Daniel E. SuhIn the first class of my investment course, I always toss out a question to my students: Have they ever made any investments? For a moment, t
March 3, 2011
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Feckless inaction on piracy off Somalia coast
The Obama administration put out a disturbingly weak statement last week after the latest piracy outrage off the coast of Somalia. Four Americans vacationing on a 58-foot yacht died during a standoff between a U.S. warship and the pirate crew that seized their vessel.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the act deplorable, which it was, but what did she urge? More “decisive action” by the “in
March 3, 2011
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Libya uprising requires low-key U.S. response
The Obama administration predictably is taking heat from conservatives about its restrained response to the crisis in Libya. There are even calls for a U.S. military response to hasten dictator Muammar Gadhafi’s departure. While well meaning, these critics seek short-term action that ignores substantial longer-term consequences.The administration’s initial restraint was appropriately designed to p
March 3, 2011
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[Edward Glaeser] China: Not a carbon copy of the U.S.
If per capita carbon emissions in China and India rose to car-happy U.S. levels, global emissions would increase by 127 percent, according to the International Energy Agency. If their emissions stopped at the levels found in hyper-dense Hong Kong, world emissions would go up less than 24 percent. As the Asian economies prosper, the United States should hope that they embrace the skyscraper more th
March 3, 2011
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[Peter Singer] Global justice and military intervention
MELBOURNE ― The world has watched in horror as Libya’s Colonel Muammar el-Gadhafi uses his military to attack protesters opposed to his rule, killing hundreds or possibly thousands of unarmed civilians. Many of his own men have refused to fire on their own people, instead defecting to the rebels or flying their planes to nearby Malta, so Gadhafi has called in mercenaries from neighboring countries
March 3, 2011
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[Michael Waldman] Obama needs Clinton rerun for budget gain
History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes, Mark Twain is thought to have said. Democrats are hoping that’s true.Fifteen years ago, fierce budget fights between Bill Clinton and the Republican Congress forced the government to shut down twice. The conflict boosted the president, revitalized his vision for government and branded Republicans as extreme.Now, as battles loom over the debt ceiling an
March 3, 2011
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[Hans-Werner Sinn] Why European Union needs automatic haircuts
MUNICH ― Having already agreed to double the AAA-rated lending capacity of the European Financial Stability Facility, the special fund created by eurozone states to provide assistance to troubled member economies, European Union countries are now discussing the conditions under which the EFSF’s funds will be made available. The crucial issue is the extent to which creditors will have to participat
March 3, 2011
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Consequences of Mideast democratic tsunami
In recent weeks, dictators across the Middle East and North Africa must have been afflicted with a severe case of agoraphobia ― the morbid fear of open spaces. After all, the groundswell of antigovernment protests have all occurred in squares ― Tunis’ Nov. 7 Square, Cairo’s Tahrir Square and, more recently, Tripoli’s Green Square.By far, Libya’s experience has been the most tragic. On Tuesday, Col
March 2, 2011
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Protecting children from abuse by parents
The Justice Ministry’s Legislative Council on Feb. 15 handed Justice Minister Satsuki Eda a recommendation that the civil law be revised so that parental prerogatives can be suspended for up to two years if necessary. The proposed step will make it possible to protect children against abuse and neglect by their parents ― such as violence, molestation, refusal to give meals and medical neglect ― mo
March 2, 2011
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[William Pesek] Indian inflation above 9% shows bankers are no longer gods
Duvvuri Subbarao knows a thing or two about inflation. India’s central-bank head defeated price gains exceeding 10 percent twice in the past two years alone.Now, Subbarao is back at battle stations as a chorus of traders say he’s behind the curve. It’s hard to argue with the wisdom of markets with Indian inflation back above 9 percent, the highest among Asia’s 10-biggest economies.Yet the Reserve
March 2, 2011
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[David Ignatius] A look into Hezbollah’s play of shadows
BEIRUT ― To visit Hezbollah officials, you turn left off the airport road, just past a billboard that shows Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad coyly waving at motorists. You then enter a neighborhood known as the “southern suburbs,” which is the dense street fortress of the Shiite militia. Here lie the headquarters of the group that now forms the strongest bloc in Lebanon’s parliament. It’s an u
March 2, 2011
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[Park Sang-seek] Implications of Arab democracy for the U.S., China
After an extensive tour of Africa in February 1960, Harold Macmillan, then British Prime Minister, made the famous “wind of change” speech. He said: “The wind of change is blowing through this continent, and whether we like it not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact.”If the term “national consciousness” is replaced by “democratic consciousness,” the same kind of wind is blow
March 2, 2011
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[Matthew Lynn] Euro saviors flinch at place in history’s dustbin
The euro wasn’t just meant to provide economic harmony. It was supposed to ensure political stability as well. Neither has happened and a generation of politicians will pay for it.Parties win and lose elections all the time. But it is rare to be destroyed as completely as Fianna Fail was in Ireland on the weekend. The party that has dominated Irish politics since independence in the 1920s was push
March 2, 2011
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[Daniel Kurtzer] The best U.S. policy for the Middle East
Does the U.S. have the assets, influence and will to affect the course of Middle East politics?At first glance, the answer appears self-evident given the extent of the country’s involvement in the region. Since the 1970s, the U.S. has been seized with Arab-Israeli peacemaking and has given Egypt more than $70 billion in aid. The U.S. has deployed military assets in the Persian Gulf to secure oil e
March 2, 2011
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Finding common ground with Chinese tourists
In the past decade Hong Kong and Macau have benefited substantially from mainland Chinese policies of letting an increasing number of tourists into the two cities. Many believed that mainland tourists were part of the contributors that helped lift Hong Kong’s economy out of the abyss following the 2003 SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) crisis. Mainland travellers, especially high rollers, a
March 1, 2011
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Much ado about nothing but fantasy
Here comes the latest on China and India. This one’s from American financial services company Citi. It says India, thanks to its robust growth, is expected to surpass China ― and the United States ― by 2050 to become the largest economy in the world. Of course, China is expected to overtake the U.S. to become the largest economy by 2020. The paeans India has received for its fast economic growth (
March 1, 2011
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[Omar Ashour] The West needs to protect Libyans
LONDON ― “I am a glory that will not be abandoned by Libya, the Arabs, the United States, and Latin America ... revolution, revolution, let the attack begin,” said the self-described King of African Kings, Dean of Arab Leaders, and Imam of all Muslims, Colonel Moammar Gadhafi. The statement summarizes the Libyan regime’s extremely repressive response to the popular uprising against Gadhafi’s 42-ye
March 1, 2011
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[Kim Seong-kon] How to improve English proficiency
My recent column, “Crisis of the university English department,” drew a considerable amount of feedback from foreigners, visiting or living in Korea, who are keenly interested in the problems surrounding English education in Korea. Michael Haenel, a German documentary filmmaker who recently visited local Korean high schools for filming wrote me about his experience with the Korean students he met:
March 1, 2011
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Who’s writing the script in the Middle East?
If we could write the script for the events unfolding in the Middle East, peaceful demonstrators would overwhelm the dictators, who would quickly agree to democratic transitions without bloodshed.The newly liberated countries would proclaim, with universal approval, a future of tolerance, peace and friendship at home, among people of different tribes, religions and beliefs, at home as well as abro
March 1, 2011