It’s Open Season on Land Theft

The key sentence in U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s statement, which cloaked the West Bank settlement project in legality, is in the words...

The Hong Kong government must come clean about tear gas

With most city neighborhoods exposed, officials need to clarify health risks

Arrests ordered in Philippines vaping ban

Just hours after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced he would ban e-cigarette use, police were ordered on Wednesday to begin arresting...

Gay Saudi journalists detained in Australia after asylum bid

Two gay Saudi journalists who sought asylum in Australia after being threatened at home over their relationship have been held for weeks at an...

Fake news amplifies fear and confusion in Hong Kong

Murder disguised as suicide. A secret massacre at a subway station. Impending 'terrorist' attacks: false news online is amplifying fear and...

Hong Kong poll an acid test for depth of desire for democracy

Author Hiromi Hoshino, who lived in Hong Kong for some years, summed up the city's personality as follows: "There is nothing Hong Kong hates more...

Korean military service

By Bernard Rowan Recently, I read The Korea Times and took note of an article about two famous performers from Big Bang finishing their military...

Google banned 7 Trump ads but it won't say why

Facebook's feckless decision to accept political ads from candidates that make false claims has the potential to damage American democracy at a...

The Palestinian resistance and its attempts to stay in the game

Israel has made strategic changes in the management of the conflict with the Palestinians. Its operations against the resistance were always timed...

Haaretz Cartoon

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Having Abe at helm has done more harm than good to Japan

There is now no doubt that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be remembered as Japan's longest-serving head of government. Yet, we cannot credit his...

Poisoned Gift

The change in the American policy on the legal status of the West Bank settlements should be no cause for rejoicing in Israel. If this is a gift,...

Tehran turned off the internet and killed over 100 protesters, Amnesty says

Report. Iran has historically staved off unrest by lavishing the population with oil-funded subsidies. But after Trump’s sanctions, the subsidies...

Germany not ready to win Euro 2020, and that's fine

Germany will not be challenging to lift the European Championship trophy in 2020, and that's fine given the team's new development cycle. The...

Specter of MH17 haunts Kremlin

Dutch-led investigations into the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine have unearthed new evidence that points the finger...

Moon's self-confidence

Town hall meeting didn't impress critics President Moon Jae-in had a two-hour town hall meeting, Tuesday, with 300 people chosen from 16,000...

Burden on health insurance

Expanded coverage cannot last long without fiscal health Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests have increased at an alarming rate, ever since...

It is time to stop lecturing Palestinians and to start listening

Yesterday, the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, announced a reversal in decades of US policy towards Israel's illegal settlements in the West...

Is a resolution of the GCC crisis imminent?

Signs of de-escalation have recently started to appear in the Gulf, suggesting that after more than two and a half years, the Gulf Cooperation...

The Berlin Wall fell in 1989, but a new one was put up in 1991

When the Berlin Wall came down 30 years ago, it was a triumph of open society and freedom of movement. But when two years later the Soviet Union...

Europe and U.S. are refighting the Cold War

WASHINGTON – It’s a sign of the times that an anniversary that should have showcased U.S.-German unity has instead turned into a trans-Atlantic...

China’s digital currency could threaten dollar’s dominance

Since bitcoin was launched in 2008, the first crypto asset with its own unit of account based on blockchain technology, more than 3,000 crypto...

The politics of pop culture

The line between North and South Korea is one of the most militarised borders in the world, buffeted by armies at full battle readiness. Landmines,...

After legitimising the settlements, the Jordan Valley will be next

Washington has offered a precious new “gift” to the religious and nationalist far-right forces in Israel: the settlements are subject to Israeli...

Wrong side of Korean education

By Lee Eung-tae Winter is just around the corner and this is the season of the college entrance exam. I watched a news clip from one exam site:...

RCEP and the birth of 'Atoll Asia'

By Son Key-young An old Asia we are well aware of is still palpable with its unchanging authoritarianism, nationalism, parochialism, to say nothing...

Abe needs to live up to his status as longest-serving prime minister

The logic of Indo-Pacific (Part 1)

By Vishnu Prakash The Indo-Pacific Region (IPR) spans "the shores of Africa to that of the Americas," noted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi,...

From Rayburn to Pelosi to interesting questions

By Jay Ambrose Times change, norms change, politicians with different standards come and go, and it's all for the better, except maybe not,...

Giving up vested interests

By Park Yoon-bae Korean politicians are under growing criticism for looking after their own vested interests without making much effort to change...

Japan must face history to promote peace in Northeast Asia

By Masatoshi Uchida 1. Ichiitaisui (一衣?水) and ichiinomiz (一葦水) "Ichiitaisui" (一衣?水) means "close neighbors separated only by a...

Impeachment hearings are lose-lose proposition

By Rich Manieri I'm not sure who to believe anymore. House Intelligence Committee Chairman, and impeachment hearing ringmaster, Adam Schiff...

Does “capitalism” fully explain the ruthless extraction and consumption we witness?

By Emanuel Pastreich Capitalism has become the most popular term on the internet, serving as a catch-all concept that explains all aspects of an...

Lebanon’s October Revolution, resistance and the (re-)production of popular culture 

I am following Lebanon’s October Revolution from Vancouver. Between me and the revolution stand two continents, an ocean, a sea and a 10-hour...

Abe is Japan’s longest-serving PM. Is that the extent of his legacy?

Shinzo Abe is now the longest-serving prime minister in Japanese history. On November 20, he surpassed the record of General Taro Katsura, who...

Israel tries to hide its crimes by shooting journalists

On Tuesday, doctors at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem announced that they had successfully removed the remains of the left eye of Palestinian...

Impeachment and the Wider World

STOCKHOLM – Once again, the United States is undergoing the profound drama of presidential impeachment proceedings. But, unlike in the past, this...

Palestinian Legislative Council elections will be a leap of faith 

In a worn-out Palestinian political and institutional environment, and in the absence of reference points and institutions governing national...

In Iran, It's Not the Economy, Stupid

If he weren’t so preoccupied with events on Capitol Hill, Donald Trump would probably be a happy man these days. Just a little over a year after...

Una visita "irreal" a Cuba

La Habana fue una ciudad de carnavales y de máscaras. Aunque los tiempos del jolgorio pasaron hace mucho, a esta urbe la cubren -cada vez que hace...

Making America Mediocre

WASHINGTON, DC – The private sector performs well when firms can compete on a level playing field. But if the state is willing to influence...

What Next for Unconventional Monetary Policies?

SYDNEY – The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the central bankers’ club in Basel, Switzerland, recently conducted an in-depth evaluation...

A Green Light for Public Investment

BERLIN/THE HAGUE – The eurozone faces immense economic challenges. Germany and the Netherlands – which together account for 35% of the monetary...

Why Financial Markets’ New Exuberance Is Irrational

NEW YORK – This past May and August, escalations in the trade and technology conflict between the United States and China rattled stock markets...

Tehran’s options for dealing with the protests on its streets

By publicly endorsing the decision of President Hassan Rouhani’s government to ration petrol and raise the price at the pumps, Iran’s Supreme...

The occupation of Alcatraz was a victory for indigenous people

For most people, the word Alcatraz conjures up images of some of the most notorious criminals in American history, like Al Capone or George...