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November 29, 2024

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COMMENTARY / World

Feb 13, 2005

A laggard plan to end African poverty

By David Wall

LONDON — Last weekend the finance ministers of the Group of Seven industrialized countries met in London. British Finance Minister Gordon Brown tried to bounce his colleagues into setting up the largest aid program the world has ever seen: an International Finance Facility (IFF). He called it a new...

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK

Feb 13, 2005

Iraq election exposed two faces of China

By Harvey Stockwin

HONG KONG -- One unintended consequence of the Jan. 30 election in Iraq was that it exposed the hypocrisy and shortsightedness of China's policy toward Hong Kong and reunification with Taiwan. China not only expressed support for the rushed national election in its controlled press; it also donated $1...

COMMENTARY

Feb 12, 2005

Cross-strait flights unlikely to narrow gap

By Ralph Cossa

New Year! Finally, there's a bit of good news to report in cross-strait relations. During this holiday period, the first direct flights are taking place between mainland China and Taiwan since the 1949 Chinese civil war. But while both sides applaud these charter flights as an important step forward,...

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 12, 2005

Freedom, when it suits U.S.

By Ramesh Thakur

No one who watched the exhilaration and exuberance of Iraqis facing down the threat of bullets in order to cast their ballots can fail to have been moved. And for those who were actually in Iraq to witness this firsthand, battle-hardened and cynical journalists included, it must have been bliss indeed...

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 11, 2005

Easy money set up today's dollar slump

By Christopher Lingle

GUATEMALA CITY -- There is a great deal of misunderstanding about why the dollar is in a slump. But it's no mystery. Recently, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was quoted as blaming America's infamous twin deficits for the fall of the dollar. And many financial talking heads murmured with relief when...

COMMENTARY

Feb 11, 2005

Accept U.N. for what it isn't

By David Howell

LONDON -- At first glance, the slightly dated, 30-story United Nations building in New York's Lower East Side looks like misery mansion. Everything seems to be going wrong these days.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 9, 2005

Howard Baker will be missed

By Fumio Kitamura

The image of ambassadors has changed greatly over the years. Until the mid-20th century, ambassadors were said to be "dwellers among the clouds" -- a Japanese phrase for the nobility. This metaphor showed what ordinary people thought of nobles. To the commoners busy with their daily work, the privileged...

COMMENTARY

Feb 8, 2005

LDP missing the big picture

By Keizo Nabeshima

How to privatize postal services is the biggest issue in the regular Diet session. The government plans to introduce a privatization package in mid-March, and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has vowed to "get it through the current session at all costs." But with many members of the Liberal Democratic...

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 7, 2005

Forging an alternative to U.S. hegemony

By Glyn Ford

BRUSSELS -- At a series of meetings around the left-leaning World Parliamentary Forum (WPF) held late last month in Porto Alegre, Brazil, there was a strong case made for the necessity of building a new economic and political partnership between the European Union and South America.

COMMENTARY

Feb 7, 2005

Bet on the sustainable option

By Takamitsu Sawa

In the 20th century, science and technology was aimed at contributing to economic development and growth. In the 21st century, though, it must seek to promote sustainable development.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 7, 2005

Beijing's military buildup races ahead

By Richard Halloran

HONOLULU -- China is modernizing its military forces faster than anyone expected only a few years ago, escalating the potential danger to the island of Taiwan, to American forces and bases in Asia, and to the overall balance of power in the region.

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW

Feb 7, 2005

Sanctions against Cuba only assist Castro

By Constantine Pleshakov

MOSCOW -- To go or not to go? To trade or not to trade? To invest or not to invest? These are the questions asked nowadays by many Western governments following a recent EU decision to lift sanctions against Havana.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.

Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat

By Greg Dvorak

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

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