Two leaders, one a dictator of an isolated state and the other who oversees the world's largest economy and military, have agreed to meet. While many analysts hope a meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un might end nuclear threats for the region, journalist Shim Jae Hoon is cautious,...
Nuclear checkmate? US President Donald Trump says “yes” during impromptu meeting with Chung Eui-yong, the South Korean national security adviser who visited the White House; North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un inspects a missile
SEOUL: Kim Jong-un’s...
Modern-day diplomats in Asia and beyond envision reviving the Silk Road, an ancient network of routes crisscrossing the continent for trade and security. But Valerie Hansen, author and professor of history at Yale University points, out that trade was not the primary purpose of the network. “...
NEW HAVEN: Despite all the talk in diplomatic circles of a new Silk Road and restoring trade in Central Asia, in actuality, these routes were among the least traveled in human history - possibly not worth studying if tonnage, traffic or the number...
Homelessness is a mark of failure for communities in providing basic security. Based on national reports, about 2 percent of the world’s population may be homeless. Another 20 percent lacks adequate housing, reports demographer Joseph Chamie. Such statistics come with a caveat. Obtaining accurate...
Under the open sky: Increasing numbers of people are homeless, in both wealthy and poor cities, from Russia to India
NOTE: This article was updated on 21 January 2020 to include the specific cautionary note from the OECD on using the data for...
Out-of-wedlock childbirths have become more common worldwide since the 1960s, but with wide variations among and within countries. Inreasing economic independence and education combined with modern birth control methods have given women more control over family planning. In about 25 countries,...
Shifting culture: Women's increasing economic independence contributes to more children born outside of marriage, though acceptance varies widely among countries; throughout much of Latin America, out-of-wedlock births are the norm, left, but some...
The Covid-19 pandemic exposed society’s dependence on globalization and the challenges. Trade went from predictable to uncertain as nations blocked and confiscated protective medical gear and other needed supplies. Leaders worry about similar disruptions for food or other necessary products. “But...
Soon to become part of the European Union (EU), Hungary is now "busily trying to dump its Soviet-era trappings," says this article in the Guardian. Symbolic moves, like canceling Stalin's honorary citizenship and prohibiting the public display of communist red stars, are being taken...
It has taken a while, but on the eve of Hungary's EU accession, Budapest's city council has decided to strip the Russian dictator Joseph Stalin of his honorary citizenship.
Hungary's puppet government...
Individuals increasingly expect the right to be informed and make their own decisions about health care, including control over the timing of death. Close to 800,000 people commit suicide every year, nearly 80 percent in low- and middle-income nations, reports the World Health Organization. As a...
Life and death: All forms of cancer combined are why most patients seek assisted suicide; surgeons use a robot to treat a patient's prostate cancer, and David Goodall, 104, leaves Australia to die in Switzerland with the help of Exit International (...
Even the strongest organizations have disagreements over dues and approaches to problems, and this is true of NATO. NATO expects members to contribute 2 percent of GDP for NATO, but Europe’s economies are struggling. Germany spends less than 1.5 percent, attributed to lingering resistance to...
