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East Asia
Holiday reading
Last month, I went on a beach vacation. I am a compulsively light packer. Before my daughter was born, I was known to take a single purse on a two-week getaway. When I went away to college, I arrived with a backpack and a suitcase, and was shocked to see…
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East Asia
Open door to N. Koreans
Last Dec. 12, I fired off an opinion piece of about 1,500 words to the Washington Post. It easily could have been 1,600 words, but I deleted all of the curse words. The day before, I had learned that the United States government had rejected visa applications by three of…
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Unusual cold spell in Nepal reported claimed nearly 100 lives
KATHMANDU, Jan 14 – Nearly 100 people died in southern Nepal due to biting cold in the last fortnight. Mostly, the old and poor people who had no clothes to keep them warm in the freezing cold lost their lives. Normal life was badly affected when the mercury dropped to record…
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The world in 2030
CAMBRIDGE ― What will the world look like two decades from now? Obviously, nobody knows, but some things are more likely than others. Companies and governments have to make informed guesses, because some of their investments today will last longer than 20 years. In December, the United States National Intelligence…
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Central Asia
Russian solution
It’s as if Paul Newman and Jane Fonda had fled the U.S. in protest at something or other ― they were always protesting ― and sought Russian citizenship instead. Americans would be surprised, but would they really care? It’s a free country, as they say. Whereas the French are quite…
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East Asia
Pervasion of mobile phone in NK will eventually change it to a new country
In recent weeks, North Korea has frequently been in the headlines. Of course, the successful launch of a satellite attracted much attention. The large-scale purges of the military, the pregnancy of Kim Jong-un’s wife, Kim Jong-un’s New Year address and other news were widely discussed in the international media. However,…
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Sad truth about N. Korean missiles
The political dust, which was created by North Korea’s successful rocket launch is beginning to settle. Predictably, there has been the usual amount of tough talk from Seoul, Washington and Tokyo as well as the somewhat half-hearted and muted condemnation from Moscow and Beijing. The North Korean government is celebrating…
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Stability of NE Asia
Seoul can be key regional player with skill, resolve No three neighboring countries in the world might have greater potential for economic prosperity than Korea, China and Japan. Together, they account for nearly one fifth of global GDP and trade, closely following North America and the EU. That was at…
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East Asia
Seoul’s New City Hall
An old couple stood in the plaza gazing at Seoul’s newly built City Hall. “Look at that undulating glass structure that looms over from behind the old stone City Hall building. It’s ugly,” the old man whispered to his wife. “It looks more like my baby granddaughter’s winter boot upside…
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East Asia
America’s adoption reality
In 2010, 98 children were sent from Korea to Canada for adoption, making Korea the seventh-largest supplier of children to Canada. China was the largest supplier, with 472 children sent, followed by Haiti with 172. And can you guess who the third-largest supplier was? It was the United States, which…
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