Pointed statements were exchanged between Soviet Ambassador Andrei Gromyko and U.S. Secretary of State James Byrnes at the first U.N. General Assembly meeting of Jan. 12, 1946. The touchy topic on the agenda was how to select six non-permanent members of the Security Council in compliance with the principle of “equitable geographical distribution” as agreed upon in the San Francisco Conference. New Zealand was particularly vocal, fearing that the region of the South Pacific would not be adequate

The devastation that Hurricane Sandy brought to New York City and much of the Northeast ― in lost lives, lost homes and lost business ― brought the stakes of Tuesday’s presidential election into sharp relief. The floods and fires that swept through our city left a path of destruction that will require years of recovery and rebuilding work. And in the short term, our subway system remains partially shut down, and many city residents and businesses still have no power. In just 14 months, two hurri

NEW YORK ― By a strange but fitting coincidence, U.S. President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, held their final debate ― which focused on foreign policy ― just as the new James Bond film, Skyfall, had its world premiere in London. Although 007, who turned 50 this year, is a British-born global brand, his influence on the American political psyche ― and that psyche’s influence on Bond ― is obvious.Indeed, the latest production is a British-American partnership, and the v

BERLIN ― Originally, the European Union was what psychologists call a “fantastic object,” a desirable goal that inspires people’s imaginations. I saw it as the embodiment of an open society ― an association of nation-states that gave up part of their sovereignty for the common good and formed a union dominated by no one nation or nationality.The euro crisis, however, has turned the EU into something radically different. Member countries are now divided into two classes ― creditors and debtors ―

The main opposition Democratic United Party’s presidential hopeful Moon Jae-in and independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo have agreed in principle to merge their candidacies. If they have made up their minds to field a unified candidate, they need to enter into negotiations immediately and reach an agreement as early as possible. The two agree that the unified candidate should be chosen by Nov. 24 as candidates are required to register with the National Election Commission on Nov. 25-26. Yet the tw

Kim Seok-dong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, has again ruled out the need for the government to take emergency steps or special measures now to deal with the household debt problem. But he might be mistaken.Kim reassuringly said at a recent seminar on household debt that there was no need for the government to intervene to help the so-called “house poor” because their indebtedness did not pose serious risks to the financial system.The top financial regulator’s optimistic view wa

PARIS ― Regardless of who wins the U.S. presidential election next week, one thing seems certain: Americans are about to learn the same hard lessons recently visited upon the French and the British. That is, whoever ends up being elected head of any given political system will be required to work within the confines of current global economic forces.Candidates can promise all the economic changes they want within their particular national bubble, but nothing will actually change without the bles

BERKELEY ― We are not newly created, innocent, rational, and reasonable beings. We are not created fresh in an unmarked Eden under a new sun. We are, instead, the products of hundreds of millions of years of myopic evolution, and thousands of years of unwritten and then recorded history. Our past has built up layer upon layer of instincts, propensities, habits of thought, patterns of interaction, and material resources.On top of this historical foundation, we build our civilization. Were it not

Sales of Swiss watches to China have fallen by almost 30 percent in recent months, and jewelry sales are plummeting, too. So there can be little doubt the country is in deep trouble.As the American presidential campaign grinds toward its inglorious end, President Obama and Mitt Romney are both trying to show how tough they will be on China, infuriating Beijing. At the same time, Obama is “pivoting” the military toward Asia, away from the Middle East, obviously worried about China.But when you lo

WASHINGTON ― Three days before his murder, Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan told me in a telephone interview from France that his contacts with the Syrian opposition put him “under a big light for Hezbollah” and made it “complicated for me to move” because he was a potential target. The Lebanese intelligence chief’s comments have the haunting quality of words from the other side of the grave, following his death Oct. 19 in a car-bomb attack in Beirut. He knew he would be in danger back in Lebanon bec

Set against the backdrop of June and August riots between majority Rakhine Buddhist and minority ethnic Muslim Rohingyas that had caused exodus of the latter out in to the sea, there has been a fresh spate of violence on the Rohingyas triggering their displacement out of their own country.Going by the United Nation’s statistics, 22,587 people have been displaced with 67 lives lost as Muslim survivors flee bullets and burning homes to escape on fishing boats floating on the sea. According to one

China, the United States and, quite likely Japan, face leadership changes at a moment of rising tension in the East China Sea.Even in the best of times, the transitional coincidence would make it challenging for them to manage their strategic relations smoothly. With the dispute between China and Japan over the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands touching off confrontations at sea and protests on land, the risk of miscalculation is higher ― with potentially dangerous consequences for the region and beyond.Ev

Laos is set to become fully integrated with the global economy after the World Trade Organisation accepted the “least-developed” country’s application for membership. Laos’s entry to the world trade-governing body is welcomed: it paves the way to transition for one of the world’s least-developed countries onto the stage of global trade.The communist country was finally accepted as a member 15 years after it first applied to join the WTO. “Laos has come a long way since it embarked on the road to

The Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard released a long awaited white paper “Australia in the Asian Century” on Sunday.The white paper basically affirms that Australia’s future lies with Asia and consequently immense economic opportunities exist for Australia to grab.The paper hinges the nation’s strategy of becoming a competitive force within the region through skills development, innovation, infrastructure, the tax system, regulatory reform, and sustainability.However before a nation can b

The National Assembly has started deliberations on the 2013 budget bill. The government has proposed to spend 342.5 trillion won out of the expected gross revenue of 373 trillion won, using the remainder for debt repayment. This year, the government is expected to face fierce attempts by both the ruling and opposition parties to expand welfare spending and increase taxes on the rich in their bid to gain more votes in the coming presidential election.The government should rein in these populist m

Although less than 50 days are left before the Dec. 19 presidential election, major candidates have not yet presented comprehensive and detailed manifestos that show what their key policies are and how they are going to implement them. Last week, six major candidates, including the big three ― Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party, Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic United Party and independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo ― did disclose their top 10 election pledges through the Nation

The parallels are inescapable. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, they stoned fornicators, demolished shrines they considered idolatrous, and gave sanctuary to foreign jihadists. The Islamic extremists in control of northern Mali are doing the same things. The fear that rebel-held northern Mali has become the new Afghanistan figured in the last presidential debate, in which Mitt Romney said the country’s name four times. The deteriorating situation has provoked calls for swift military action,

According to newspaper reports, the main presidential candidates are putting forward a more or less similar North Korea strategy: They seem to agree that President Lee Myung-bak’s perception of the North Korean regime is too antagonistic and his strategy too rigid.Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party emphasizes trust building between the two Koreas and a balanced policy approach. Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic United Party advocates the building of trust and the foundation of

NEW YORK ― A country’s economic success depends on the education, skills, and health of its population. When its young people are healthy and well educated, they can find gainful employment, achieve dignity, and succeed in adjusting to the fluctuations of the global labor market. Businesses invest more, knowing that their workers will be productive. Yet many societies around the world do not meet the challenge of ensuring basic health and a decent education for each generation of children.Why is

The process for administering the death penalty in the United States is broken beyond repair, and it is time to choose a more effective and moral alternative. California voters will have the opportunity to do this on Election Day.Although our government has a fundamental responsibility to protect its citizens, there is little evidence that the death penalty acts as a strong deterrent to murder and other violent crimes. One recent study found that 88 percent of the nation’s leading criminologists