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COMMENTARY

Apr 18, 2002

Turkey's Mideast peace role

By David Howell

LONDON/ISTANBUL -- The only possible way of exerting outside influence on the ever-worsening conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians is through a visibly balanced approach.

COMMENTARY

Apr 17, 2002

Politicization of charity

By Doug Bandow

WASHINGTON -- There seems to be no bill for which U.S. taxpayers are not responsible. Charity as well as welfare has become a government responsibility.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 17, 2002

Working for a safer world

By Ramesh Thakur

BEIJING -- "Weapons of mass destruction," or WMD, refer to biological, chemical and nuclear weapons. During a recent three-day conference in Beijing, organized jointly by the United Nations Department of Disarmament Affairs and the Chinese government, it became clear that we have to choose from a menu...

EDITORIALS

Apr 17, 2002

Mr. Chavez's second chance

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has often courted confusion, but even by his standards this has been a tumultuous week. Days after he was overthrown by a military coup and a successor government sworn in, the firebrand leader was restored to power by loyalists within his government and popular protests....

EDITORIALS

Apr 16, 2002

Tip of the 'bad debt' iceberg

The results of special bank audits announced last week by the Financial Services Agency confirm that Japan's banking sector is still saddled with large amounts of bad debt. The message is that banks remain heavily exposed to the risks of default despite stepped-up efforts to improve the situation.

EDITORIALS

Apr 14, 2002

Beyond Oprah's book club

Last week, U.S. fiction publishers heard to their dismay that they are about to lose the single biggest booster their industry has known in the past six years: television talk-show host Oprah Winfrey's astonishingly influential monthly book club. True, the same period also saw the advent of "Harry Potter"...

COMMENTARY

Apr 14, 2002

Mideast legacy could spread militancy

By Farhan Bokhari

ISLAMABAD -- When terrorists struck the United States last September, many people were keen to downplay suggestions that the attack on the World Trade center had grown out of the anger generated by Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 14, 2002

Population-fund cuts come at deadly price

By Cesar Chelala

NEW YORK -- The Bush administration's recent decision to cut back funds appropriated by Congress to the United Nations Population Fund, or UNFPA, will have serious repercussions in that agency's support for reproductive health in developing countries. The U.S. decision is aggravated by reduced contributions...

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 14, 2002

Britain and the euro: victory for the brave

By Glyn Ford

BRUSSELS -- The introduction of the euro in 12 of the 15 member states of the European Union has been an unqualified success. The changeover had none of the hitches and glitches that many -- including myself -- thought would mar its early days.

EDITORIALS

Apr 13, 2002

Cutting our thirst for oil

Once again, Arab hardliners are threatening to cut oil supplies to force the world to take action in the Middle East. The price of oil, which is usually volatile at such times, jumped sharply in response. But, unlike 1973 or 1979, there is little prospect of concerted action so a real shortage is unlikely....

COMMENTARY

Apr 13, 2002

China: opportunity or threat?

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- Chinese leaders have been urging the Japanese to see China as an opportunity, not a threat.

EDITORIALS

Apr 12, 2002

A positive message from Pyongyang

The situation on the Korean Peninsula is showing fresh signs of improving. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, in a recent meeting with South Korea's presidential envoy, Lim Dong Jung, agreed to resume exchanges with the South. Kim also reportedly expressed his willingness to revive dialogue with the United...

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.

The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan

By Alex K.T. Martin

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