U.S. Still Playing Catch-up in Asia

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden wrapped up his finger-wagging tour of Asia on Friday, with a busy week of lecturing the Chinese, trying to get the South Koreans and Japanese to play nice with one another, and damning North Korea with faint praise for releasing an 85-year-old American after more than a month of detention.

Seeking Justice for Dictatorship Victims – Two Continents Apart

As news of the death of former Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla in a prison cell spread around the world, Julia Parodi, who was in this South Korean city to receive the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights on behalf of HIJOS, said he died in the right place.

Escalating Korea Crisis Dims Hopes for Denuclearisation

With all sides seeming to climb further up the escalatory ladder over the last several days, defusing the ongoing crisis on the Korean Peninsula -- let alone persuading Pyongyang to give up its nuclear arsenal as it once promised to do -- looks daunting.

What’s in Store for 2013

Having survived the announced end of the world on Dec. 21, we can now try to foretell our immediate future, based on geopolitical principles that will help us understand the overall shifts of global powers and assess the major risks and dangers.

Preventing World War III

A Third World War is not impossible, but fortunately is rather unlikely. Let us explore why, and what can be done to prevent it.

South Korea’s Park Wins Presidential Election

The daughter of South Korea's former military ruler has won the country's presidential election, promising in a speech to her supporters to heal a "divided society".

Groups Rewarded in Their Fight for Fair Food

The Korean Women's Peasant Association won the 2012 Food Sovereignty Prize for its efforts on behalf of the survival of small-scale and ecologically sustainable farming in South Korea.

People Speak Up Over Disputed Islands

While the 40^th anniversary of the normalisation of Japan-China relations passed under a dark shadow of rising tensions and bitter territorial disputes in East Asia, a strand of citizen-based diplomacy at the grassroots level is emerging in Japan as a path towards regional reconciliation.

New Plans to Protect Nature

At the close of the ten-day World Conservation Congress that ran from Sept. 6-15 on the South Korean island of Jeju, members of the convening International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) agreed on an ambitious four-year action plan for protecting global natural resources.

U.S.: Asians Surpass Hispanics as Fastest-Growing Immigrant Group

Asia has surpassed Latin America as the largest source of new immigrants to the United States, according to a major new report that found that Asian-Americans also enjoy the highest incomes and best education of any racial group in the United States.

Korea Takes the Spotlight with Yeosu Expo

The Yeosu Expo 2012 exemplifies how the Republic of Korea (ROK) has made its debut on the world stage.

Q&A: A Green Economy Without a Pricetag on Nature?

As thousands gear up for the 2012 Earth Summit, Rio+20, scheduled to kick off in Brazil on Jun. 20, questions on the viability and adequacy of a ‘green economy’ abound.

Can ‘Blue Forests’ Mitigate Climate Change?

Fifty-five percent of global atmospheric carbon captured by living organisms happens in the ocean.

Private Sector and Conservationists Meet on a Big Date

As schools of whales move to music undersea at image definitions of 6.54 million pixels on the giant ceiling mounted LED screen, 218 X 30 metres in length and width, expectations run high from the International Exposition Yeosu Korea 2012 at harbour town. The expo showcases 104 participating countries’ visions and achievements on the Expo theme: ‘The Living Ocean and Coast: Diversity of Resources and Sustainable Activities’.