Sean Duffy and Chip Cravaack are the emblematic politicians of the 2010 congressional elections: Tea Party-backed Republicans who won in heavily Democratic districts and succeeded two of the most powerful figures in the U.S. House of Representatives. Duffy, a sports commentator and former district attorney, won the Wisconsin seat held for 40 years by the Democrat David Obey, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, who retired. Cravaack, a Navy veteran and commercial-airline pilot, narrowly def

The Supreme Court will have to restart the time-consuming process of filling a vacancy sooner or later, with only three of the four justice nominees approved by the National Assembly earlier this month. The other nominee, a former senior prosecutor, had withdrawn from nomination under mounting pressure over suspicions of lawbreaking and ethical lapses.Prior to starting the process anew, however, the court will have to make a very important decision ― one regarding whether to continue to honor or

Electricity rates were raised 4.9 percent on average on Monday. As a consequence, an average urban household will have to pay 1,200 won more each month ― not a small burden for low-income families in particular. Businesses will be hit harder, with their energy bills raised more than 6 percent at a time when the global economy is in a protracted slump.But the increase is too small to cover the cost. Korea Electric Power Corp., which sustained 2.9 trillion won in operation losses during the first

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi took a crucial step toward building his government last week with the appointment of Hesham Kandil as prime minister. One month into his term, Morsi has yet to consolidate authority. As he tries to strengthen civilian rule through effective governance, Egypt’s first democratically elected president would do well to learn from America’s vast experience with presidential transitions, beginning with three important lessons.First, he should avoid the “first 100 days”

The still surface of the water seems to explode as the paddlers strike, and, in an instant, nine four-man teams are moving their narrow vessels fast enough to pull water-skiers. This is Olympic sprint kayaking. It is an obscure competitive sport in the U.S., but sprint kayaking is very popular in other parts of the world ― top paddlers in Hungary are regularly featured on the front of newspaper sports sections ― and it has been part of the Olympics since 1936. Men race in 200- and 1,000-meter ev

The ruling Saenuri Party has been rocked by allegations that one of its lawmakers bribed her way into parliament. If the suspicion surrounding Rep. Hyun Young-hee proves true, it would deal a serious blow not only to the party but to its leading presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye. Park led the party through the April general elections as interim party chief.The National Election Commission asked the prosecution last week to investigate allegations that Hyun became a proportional representative c

Concerns are mounting that continuous rises in international grain prices, prompted by severe droughts in the U.S., will heighten inflationary pressure on the economy. The country is expected to begin feeling the full impact of the price hikes in about four to six months when its current stocks are used up.Government officials are scrambling to cope with the increasing possibility of agflation, which would make the livelihoods of low-income families, in particular, more difficult.In a meeting of

Last week, when Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra reaffirmed Bangkok’s support for a multibillion-dollar deep sea port in neighboring Myanmar, she was not just announcing another infrastructure project. Rather, she was trumpeting Thailand’s determination to extend its influence in the strategically positioned state at a time when major players such as India and China have similar ambitions.The Dawei port development on Myanmar’s southern Andaman coast is a key part of the impoverished coun