WASHINGTON ― The Obama administration has concluded that Iran’s nuclear program has been slowed by a combination of sanctions, sabotage and Iran’s own technical troubles. Because of the delay, U.S. officials see what one describes as “a little bit of space” before any military showdown with Iran. Israeli officials, too, see more time on the clock. Moshe Yaalon, Israel’s deputy prime minister, note

WASHINGTON ― A funny thing happened in the wake of the midterm elections: Washington entered into an era of bipartisanship, and trade is the unlikely topic of agreement.From the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the United Auto Workers, President Obama’s announcement that he’ll send the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) to Congress early this year has been applauded. Trade leaders from both partie

Eight years ago, a newly elected president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, faced the challenge of saving Brazil from economic and financial collapse.Last Saturday, Lula passed the presidency to Dilma Rousseff having done much, much more than that during his two terms. In the process, he relied on four simple pillars that other leaders would be well advised to consider.After winning a hotly contested p

MADRID ― The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that was reached in 2005 between mostly Christian southern Sudan and the country’s Muslim North, ended one of the bloodiest civil wars in modern times. Lasting 22 years, that war left more than two million dead. Now the CPA is poised to face its most vital test: the South’s referendum on independence, scheduled for Jan. 9.Whether or not a new state

Kim Seok-dong, the newly appointed chairman of the Financial Services Commission, has established a reputation as a troubleshooter. Since the mid-1990s, he has led many task forces formed to resolve crises in the financial and real estate markets. Kim’s appointment comes at the right time, since the domestic financial sector faces a host of problems. In the first place, Kim needs to address the dr

Prices of daily necessities are going through the roof. According to the Korea Consumer Agency, during the last week of 2010, the prices of some 90 everyday goods rose sharply from a week ago. They included sugar (38.7 percent), dishwashing rubber gloves (33.1 percent), washing powder (31.9 percent), ketchup (17.8 percent), flour (13.5 percent), tissue paper (12 percent), mayonnaise (9.8 percent),

Good news: With recession loosening its grip, about 1.1 million more Americans bought new cars last year than in 2009.Not only did sales pick up, more Americans opted for bigger vehicles. Sales of midsize SUVs like Jeep Grand Cherokees and Honda Pilots jumped 41 percent during the first 11 months of the year.That increase came at the expense of smaller economy cars, whose sales remained flat in 20

Mexico has some of the strictest gun laws in the hemisphere. Citizens are permitted to buy low-caliber firearms for self-protection or hunting, but only after a background check and approval by the defense ministry; they must also purchase the guns directly from the ministry. The goal of this parsimonious approach to allotting firearms is a society free from gun violence. Unfortunately for Mexico,

The assassination of Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab, Pakistan’s largest province, has illustrated the increasingly chaotic environment in that country, which only promises to get worse in the new year. Weeks before his death, Taseer had the courage to say what his fellow politicians were unwilling to: that Pakistan’s blasphemy law must be repealed in order for Pakistan to enter the communit

RAMALLAH ― The United States should stop pushing for the resumption of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. Doing so might be the best way to achieve peace ― a paradox that reflects the huge gap between a peace process and achieving genuine peace.Make no mistake: this is not a call to arms or an appeal for a violent uprising. Peace between the conflicting parties east of the Mediterranean and we

China’s new policy on rare earth mineral exports is causing concern that Japan will face another reduction in supplies of the valuable raw materials from that country in 2011.Chinese authorities have announced their country will lower its ceiling on rare earth exports for the first half of this year by 35 percent from the same period last year. It appears likely that China will eventually impose t

Politicians in Taiwan are bad losers. They won’t take their losses lying down. They will whine, complain, protest, and go to court, even though they know they were beaten in elections fair and square. Tsai Ing-wen, chairperson of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, has joined their ranks after she lost the mayoral election in the special municipality of New Taipei City a little more than

Every year end, I would do a review of what I personally achieved and did not achieve. It is a useful reminder of what we might have missed and should really be doing in the coming year. 2010 went by like a flash. At the global level, it was a year of broad recovery from the crash of 2007-09. The emerging markets grew strongly, whilst the advanced markets still struggled with deleveraging and high

Military cooperation in such rudimentary areas as sharing of information and mutual logistics supporting in emergencies may sound harmless with any friendly countries, but we have reasons to be cautious if it concerns Japan. Two things have to be considered: Are we ready to forget about all the legacies of the past, and are we prepared to antagonize China as Japan emerges as our military ally? Bel

North Korea again said many words in the latest verbal peace offensive, launched from the beginning of the year. This time, a joint statement by the government, political parties and civic groups called for an immediate and unconditional opening of “dialogues, negotiations and contacts” with South Korea “to discuss and resolve all problems related to the important matters of the (Korean) nation in

China’s decision to further cut exports of rare-earth elements last week should serve as a wake-up call to Washington: The Chinese monopoly in these minerals ― essential for precision-guided munitions, cruise missiles, radar, high-tech gadgets, solar panels and wind turbines ― must be broken.There are substantial rare-earth deposits outside China, including within the United States. But China’s re

If frequent-flier points convert to diplomatic progress, the endless tensions with North Korea might be reduced by a flurry of air travel.This week, U.S. special envoy to North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, will be in South Korea, China and Japan. His trip and others hint at a return by North Korea to six-party talks that stalled two years ago, when the government in Pyongyang walked away.After a letha

If you’ve never seen a child die, consider yourself very lucky. A few years ago I sat with a 19-year-old mother watching her daughter in a fast, agonized decline. The small hospital lacked the needed medicines to help. For hours the child battled for every single breath, then lost the fight. Suddenly, she was limp, gray ... gone. All hope and possibility for an entire life suspended in that last,

TOKYO ― Mesmerized by China’s vast military buildup, a new constellation of strategic partnerships among its neighbors, and America’s revitalized commitment to Asian security, many shrewd observers suggest that 2010 saw the first sparks of a new Cold War in Asia. But is “Cold War II” really inevitable?Although appeasing China’s drive for hegemony in Asia is unthinkable, every realistic effort must

The Christmas to New Year’s period (Gregorian-style) is popular for conducting controversial business. During the little-covered Belarusian “elections,” President Alexander Lukashenko arrested his other competitors, even threatening to send the 3-year-old son of one presidential hopeful to an orphanage. At the same time, Ukraine’s president rounded up his political opponents. In Russia, Mikhail Kh