A nuclear power plant, whose operation had been suspended for an inspection, experienced a temporary cutoff in the power supply, an accident which, if prolonged, could have caused a horrendous disaster. No less serious was that the accident had been covered up for more than a month.The power failure at the Busan-based Gori-1 nuclear power plant happened at 8:34 p.m. on Feb. 9, reportedly because the procedure of safety checks on the power supply was not followed as directed by the manual.During

We are getting fatter. In Australia, the United States, and many other countries, it has become commonplace to see people so fat that they waddle rather than walk. The rise in obesity is steepest in the developed world, but it is occurring in middle-income and poor countries as well.Is a person’s weight his or her own business? Should we simply become more accepting of diverse body shapes? I don’t think so. Obesity is an ethical issue, because an increase in weight by some imposes costs on other

Whenever I’m in the Middle East, I find myself, sometimes within hours of arrival, more susceptible to the appeal of elaborate conspiracy theories. Perhaps it’s the air, or the (lack of) water, but what sounds outlandish in the U.S. doesn’t seem nearly so far-fetched here. I’m not referring to conspiracy theories drawn from the swamps of Sept. 11 delusion-mongering, or from the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” or, alternatively, from the “Protocols of the Lunatics Who Believe Barack Obama Is a

Everybody is polite and formal at the trial of former Icelandic Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde, which began last week inside a historic mansion in the capital, Reykjavik. Yet the atmosphere is tense, and the stakes are high. In the fall of 2010, a narrow majority in Iceland’s parliament decided to charge Haarde with criminal negligence before and during the collapse of all three major Icelandic banks in early October 2008. The trial is politically driven ― the vote to hold it fell largely along p

There’s a seeming paradox in the way Americans view the health care law that President Barack Obamaand the Democrats passed two years ago this month.Most people tell pollsters they like the parts of the law that have gone into effect: health insurance for people with pre-existing conditions, a clause that allows children to stay on their parents’ health plans until the age of 26 and discounts for prescription drugs on Medicare. And, as time goes by, Americans seem less worried that the law will

Greece has taken a big step toward getting the debt relief it needs to fix its economy and stay in the euro area. Now the question is whether other strapped countries that use the single currency should follow its lead. Despite the Greek deal’s flaws ― and they are many ― it offers a model that some other sovereigns will inevitably be tempted to experiment with, no matter how much European officials insist on Greece’s uniqueness. The legal precedent is set: By retroactively inserting so-called c

Apparently, it is reckless to think that India could bring about a rapprochement between Iran and the U.S. That, at least, is the view of some readers of my last column on India’s lenient attitude toward Iran’s nuclear program. They reprimanded me for being naive. For Iran, run by Islamic fundamentalists committed to the destruction of Israel, desires no such reconciliation with the country Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini indelibly called the “Great Satan.” Alas, such a view, which sees fixed essenc

Korea is reaching out to the West. Just when the West is experiencing hard times, with persisting economic troubles stemming from the late-2000s recession, it is noteworthy to point out that Korea is betting on its future. The signing of free trade agreements with the EU and the U.S. is a landmark step toward South Korea’s further integration within the global economy and a clear strategy aimed at bringing relations with the West to the next level. This is mainly for three reasons, the first one

The Korea-U.S. free trade agreement went into effect today, nearly five years after the two countries concluded their negotiations in April 2007. It is an essential component of the FTA web that Korea has been weaving to become a hub of trade and investment.The trade pact will undoubtedly benefit Korea by enabling it to access the world’s largest economy more freely. Research institutes forecast that the free trade deal would boost Korea’s gross domestic product by 5.7 percent and create 350,000

The primary role of outside directors is to act as a check and balance against inside directors. They are expected to monitor their company’s overall management activities, assess the performance of management and prevent its majority shareholder or chief executive officer from always having his own way. To carry out these responsibilities, an outside director needs to have expertise and experience in corporate management. Hence, in the United States, outside directors are usually chosen from am

The world is currently being shaken by tectonic changes almost too numerous to count: the ongoing economic crisis is accelerating the degradation of international governance and supranational institutions, and both are occurring alongside a massive shift of economic and political power to Asia. Less than a quarter-century after Francis Fukuyama declared “the end of history,” we seem to have arrived at the dawn of a new age of social and geopolitical upheaval.Dramatically, the Arab world has been

Rick Santorum called the president “a snob” for wanting everyone to get a college education. (In fact, Obama never actually called for universal college education but only for a year or more of training after high school.)Santorum needn‘t worry. America is already making it harder for young people of modest means to attend college. Public higher education is being starved, and the middle class will shrink even more as a result.Over the last year, 41 states have cut spending for public higher edu