Mexico has just elected its first female president, following a rare contest between two women. But while this result represents welcome gains for gender equality, it was an outlier. The broader picture is disheartening. Consider, for example, another recent election. Thirty years after the end of apartheid and the first free vote -- and despite impressive strides (led by women) toward gender equality in other domains -- the people of South Africa still have not had a chance to elect a woman to

Viewpoints June 4, 2024

President Joe Biden’s decision on Thursday to order a wave of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen was inevitable the moment the Yemeni militia disregarded Washington’s warnings a week earlier and sent a swarm of 18 drones and three anti-ship ballistic missiles in the direction of US warships. Last week’s strikes, which took place with the cooperation of the United Kingdom and were aimed at 60 locations, were designed to degrade the Houthis’ capabilities and hopefully

Viewpoints Jan. 18, 2024

The Founding Fathers of the United States asserted that elected officials should listen to and be influenced by the views of the electorate. As James Madison said, “It is the reason, alone, of the public, that ought to control and regulate the government.” However, the means for government officials to hear from the people are limited. Elected officials receive emails, letters, phone calls and input at town halls, and some agencies occasionally ask for public comments on complex regu

Viewpoints Dec. 28, 2023

Tiger Woods stumbled out of the gate before finding his footing with four of his five birdies on the front nine to finish 1-under-par 71 after the third round of the Hero World Challenge on Saturday. He's tied for 16th in the 20-man field at even par. Woods said the "touch and feels" of his short game are the most difficult to get back so far. "But when you're chipping off Bermuda like this, and this is probably one of the hardest golf courses we face all year round to

Golf Dec. 3, 2023

It happens occasionally, but only rarely. All the good options suddenly seem to have failed at once. The only thing left is to just spread your cards across the table -- and play this hand faceup. The truth is, this happens far more at a negotiation table than a card table. Another truth is it has just happened to Israel -- and Israel’s forever kibitzer and guarantor, the United States – in yet another cruel crisis in Gaza. Israel and its staunchest ally must now show their most conv

Viewpoints Nov. 20, 2023

The Google antitrust trial has finally shown just how much the world’s dominant search engine is willing -- and able -- to pay to be the default on smartphones and other devices: $26 billion in 2021 alone, $18 billion of which went to another tech giant, Apple. While Google has long tried to guard this number, it was always known to be large -- and so it is. What is Google paying for? When you set up a new iPhone, Apple could prompt you on which search engine to use as the default in its

Olympic Games Nov. 13, 2023

Brussels Ommegang 브뤼셀 오메강 People take part in the "Ommegang Oppidi Bruxellensis" parade in the city center of Brussels on June 28. Originally, the Ommegang was the largest procession of Brussels, taking place once a year on the Sunday before Pentecost. Since 1930, it has become a historical reenactment of the 1549 parade of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. (AFP) 지난 28일, 벨기에 브뤼셀의 도심에서 브뤼셀오메강 행진이 이루어지고 있다. 원래 오메강은 오순절 전 일요일에 열리는 브뤼셀 최대의 연례행사였으나 1930년 이래로 신성로마제국 황제 카를 5세의 1549년 행진을 재현하는

June 29, 2023

As an international group of agencies investigates why the Titan submersible imploded while carrying five people to the Titanic wreckage, US maritime officials say they'll issue a report aimed at improving the safety of submersibles worldwide. Investigators from the US, Canada, France and the United Kingdom are working closely together on the probe of the June 18 accident, which happened in an "unforgiving and difficult-to-access region" of the North Atlantic, said US Coast Guar

June 27, 2023

Royal event 왕실의 행사 Horses race during the Royal Ascot, in Ascot, England, June 21. The Royal Ascot has been held for almost 300 years since 1768, and is one of the most prestigious social events for the high society of Britain. (Reuters) 지난 21일 영국의 애스콧에서 열린 로열애스콧에서 경주마들이 잔디 트랙을 달리고 있다. 1768년에 처음으로 시작 된 이래 300년 가까이 계속 된 로열애스콧은 영국 상류층들 사이에서 가장 권위있는 사교행사 중 하나이다. (로이터스)

June 26, 2023

Excellency's excellent kick 대사각하의 훌륭한 발차기 French Ambassador to Korea Philippe Lefort demonstrates taekwondo techniques at the 2023 Culture Communication Forum held at the residence of the ambassador in Seoul on June 13, 2023, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Corea Image Communication Institute. Taekwondo was introduced to France in 1969. (Yonhap) 필립 르포르 주한프랑스대사가 13일 서울 서대문구 주한프랑스 대사관저에서 열린 CICI 20주년 기념 CCF 2023 문화소통포럼에서 태권도 시범을 보이고 있다. 태권도는 1969년에 프랑스에 최초로 전래되었다. (연합)

June 14, 2023

Giddyap 이랴 A cowboy competes in the bareback riding event during the 2023 RAM Rodeo Tour in Milton, Ontario, Canada, on June 11. Modern American-style professional rodeos generally comprise the following events: tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, bull riding and barrel racing. (Xinhua) 지난 11일 캐나다 온타리오주의 밀튼에서 개최 된 2023 RAM 로데오투어에서 한 카우보이가 베어백라이딩 종목에 참여하고 있다. 현대 미국식 프로 로데오에서는 타이다운 로핑, 팀 로핑, 스티어 레슬링, 새들브롱크 라이딩, 베어백브롱크 라이딩, 불 라이딩, 배럴 레이싱의

June 12, 2023

Early summer 때이른 여름 Children play in a fountain at Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, May 29. The Korea Meteorological Administration has forecast that this summer will be hotter than last year's due to the El Nino phenomenon in development, and there will be more rain and torrential downpours in July and August. (Yonhap) 29일 어린이들이 서울 광화문광장 분수에서 놀고 있다. 올 여름은 엘니뇨 현상의 발달로 인해 예년보다 더 더울 것이며, 7월과 8월엔 평년보다 많은 비와 국지성 호우가 내릴 것이라고 기상청은 전망했다. (연합)

May 30, 2023

I did a recorded interview two weeks ago for the G-7 summit held in Hiroshima. This year’s summit marks the 50th year of G-7, which started in 1973. South Korea was invited as a guest amid the United States pushed for an initiative to decouple with China. The latest G-7 summit was seen as a parallel to the 1980s when Japan started to rise against the US on the global stage. Japan’s rapid rise came after the US transferred semiconductor technology to Japan, laying the foundation for t

Viewpoints May 25, 2023