The United States and Iran have rarely agreed on how to proceed with nuclear talks or other elements of their bilateral relations. But synergies and similarities between two factions -- Iranian hard-liners and the hawks of the current US administration -- are as counterintuitive as they are profound. Indeed, Donald Trump’s new Iran strategy has given radicals in Tehran reason to celebrate, as they have found in the US president an unwitting ally in their quest for political dominance.For years,

Another big scandal is rocking corporate Japan. This time it’s Kobe Steel, a major producer, which has confessed to faking data on the quality of its materials. Everything from bullet trains to cars to US-made airliners could be affected. It’s doubtful that the scandal will wreak lasting damage on Japan’s reputation for top-notch manufacturing quality -- after all, every country’s industrial giants suffer this sort of debacle from time to time. But Kobe Steel does show that Japanese companies ne

Donald Trump is notorious in the business world for stiffing other companies when it’s time to pay the bill -- offering partial settlement of what he owes and proposing to negotiate the rest. Trump did a version of that Friday when he announced he would stay in the Iran nuclear deal for now but quit if he can’t get better terms.Trump’s speech tossed a verbal grenade into a turbulent Middle East. This may have been the goal of a president who styles himself as the great disrupter. But it fuels re

Eastern Germany in October is a time to celebrate and remember the 1989 democracy movement that brought an end to the repressive East German regime. Leipzig, where the pro-democracy demonstrations began, hosts the annual “Lichtfest” (Light Festival) to commemorate the candlelight vigils to protest police violence against pro-democracy demonstrators. Oct. 3, German Unity Day, is a national holiday to commemorate reunification in 1990.　Apart from the busy October commemorations, cities in Eastern

Critics have complained about US President Trump’s bombast on foreign policy, but some GOP insiders worry about a less visible problem -- a hollowed-out bureaucracy that has been slow to develop and implement strategy.Skeptics say that on major issues -- Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Russia -- the Trump administration hasn’t explained clear, systematic plans for achieving results. Even where there seems to be a coherent diplomatic strategy, as on North Korea, the president often undercuts it w

Throughout history, one of the most effective strategies for people to look for a better future has been to move. In most cases leaving impoverished rural areas in search of more productive opportunities elsewhere. 　Indeed, migration has since our earliest days been essential to the human story — the source of multiple economic and cultural benefits.But when migration is out of extreme need, distress and despair, it becomes another story. Forced migration is rooted in conflicts, political instab

US President Trump declared in his UN General Assembly speech on Sept. 19 that Kim Jong-un was a “Rocket Man on a suicidal mission for himself” and the US would totally destroy North Korea if the North attacked. Kim Jong-un personally responded by declaring that “I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire.” Trump also made a famous statement that “they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen” on Aug. 8 in connection with the report that North