Is it 50 billion euros? Or perhaps 70 billion euros? The cost of bailing out Portugal varies according to who makes the calculation. No one will know the real price until officials from the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank tell us.But it isn’t the actual amount that counts. It is the price the euro area is paying for having a single currency.And on that measure, a rescue p

Unlike the Iraq war, which smacked of go-it-alone cowboyism, the Libyan intervention has been for the most part a multilateralist’s dream: an idealistic granola bar of an operation, carefully orchestrated to win broad support from nations around the world. Not only did President Obama seek and receive the blessing of the U.N. Security Council, the Arab League and many of America’s traditional alli

Rumors have it that it was the product of a recent series of unsavory episodes in courts involving male and female judges, but a “service manual” prepared by a senior judge in Seoul and now circulating in district courts sheds light to a new culture emerging in the judicial community.“Leave the door ajar when you meet a female colleague in your office. Keep a distance of at least one meter when yo

The Defense Ministry has put off flying leaflets into the North Korean territory in consideration of political and legal factors. Yet, the campaign to send leaflets and consumer supplies by flying balloons into the North that has been engineered by some conservative groups not only sharpens tensions with Pyongyang but causes serious internal troubles in the South.Last year, the military’s psycholo

Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich raises the possibility of impeaching President Barack Obama for aggressive air strikes against Libya, while Mitt Romney, a potential Republican presidential candidate, says the policy shows the commander in chief to be “tentative, indecisive, timid and nuanced.”Obama can brush aside these criticisms. Every modern president would have been impeached under Kuci

The more someone purports to know what’s in Kim Jong-il’s mind, the more skeptical you should be. What about the North Korean dictator’s heart?This question is much on the minds of Japanese after Kim donated $500,000 to help their nation deal with a record earthquake and tsunami. The gesture is as fascinating as its timing. It came on the same day a United Nations agency said Kim urgently needs ab

“Hwangap” is a Korean traditional way of celebrating one’s 60th birthday, a special occasion that marks living a full circle of 60 years and wishing for a longer, prosperous life. The National Gugak Center, which turns 60 this year, said it plans to hold a variety of events, including performances, exhibitions and forums from April to June at the center in southern Seoul. “Gugak” refers to Korean

The recruiting body for native English public school teachers in Gyeonggi province has sparked anger with a three-month hiring freeze. The Gyeonggi-do English Program in Korea announced that it would not hire any new teachers, or renew current contracts ending between this May 25 and Aug. 31. An email sent Tuesday signed as from GEPIK coordinators and Gyeonggi Province Office of Education seen by