Column - THE AsiaN

Japan solidifies ties with India

Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba(L) shakes hands with Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna before addressing a press conference in New Delhi, India, Monday, April 30, 2012. <AP/Newsis> This week, Japan’s Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba and his unusually large team, comprising seven other ministers, left New Delhi with a great deal of…
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Ban Ki-moon’s Burma road

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is on the road to Burma to witness a critical moment in the isolated Southeast Asian state s slow but sure transition to a more open political system which may bring democracy, or could legitimize the long-ruling military regime. Recently, British Prime Minister David…
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No sea change for East Sea

Talk about news of earth-shaking international importance. In Monaco last week, the International Hydrographic Organization ― the body that sets official geographic place names for maps ― rejected Korea’s demand to add “East Sea” alongside “Sea of Japan” when denoting the body of water dividing the nations. The exclusive use…
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Column

Jim Yong Kim deserves being head of World Bank

File photo taken on March 23, 2012 shows Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim attending the nomination ceremony as the next president of the World Bank, at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States. <AP/Newsis> On April 16, Jim Yong Kim, President of Dartmouth College, was elected as…
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Column

Ban Ki-moon’s nostalgic visit to India

Congress party President Sonia Gandhi, right, shakes hand with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as his wife Yoo Soon-taek, looks on at Gandhi’s residence in New Delhi, India, Friday, April 27, 2012. <AP/Newsis> He came, saw and conquered 1.2-billion Indian hearts. The occasion was Delhi’s Jamia Milia University conferring on this…
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Column

N. Korea’s verbal threats

South Koreans have long been accustomed to abusive verbal threats from the North, most of which end in provocative rhetoric. They have also wisely avoided some deadly North Korean provocations from escalating into a major war. However, many people are perplexed about the latest verbal threats. The latest ones came…
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Column

Violence escalates in major cities of Bangladesh

Dhaka–With the political unrest taking the course of street violence, a wide range of anxiety is spreading quickly among the people at all levels in Bangladesh. The three-day-long hartal enforced by the opposition BNP has demonstrated the level of violence that left at least three persons killed, hundreds injured, thousands arrested and torching of a number of vehicles…
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Creativity mixed with a dose of realism

A recurring argument seems to be that Korea is not a creative nation. There are numerous commentaries criticizing Korea for producing students who can memorize huge chunks of information but cannot express their ideas and there are various media outlets that disparage Korean companies for not being innovators. While being…
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Imported beef’s safety

Has government learned no lessons from 2008? Upon the report of another case of mad cow disease found recently in the United States, many Koreans recall events four years ago. Unfortunately, they will likely continue to compare 2012 with 2008, given the lamentable lack of change in the government’s behavior…
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Column

India’s ‘food security bill’ under fire

An Indian farmer works in his paddy field in Pobitora village, about 55 kilometers east of Gauhati, India, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. <Photo DB=AP/Newsis> HOW ABSURD CAN IT BE ? Marie Antoinette, born on 2 November 1755, assumed the title of Queen of France and of Navarre. Some academics and…
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