Foreign Exchange
November 12, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
South Korea goes into its annual cone of silence
Test proctor Chae Su-beom knows the drill. Twice on this all-important day, for a seemingly interminable half-hour at a time, he is required to stand completely still. No coughing, gum-chewing, breathing heavily or even making eye contact with his exam-taking students.
November 4, 2009
Foreign Exchange
Famed French judge Bruguiere tells of a troubled Pakistan
The Pakistani government has lost control of rogue military and intelligence officers who aid Al Qaeda and its allies and play a double game with the West, a renowned French judge asserts in an upcoming book.
October 30, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
In Aceh, stranded ships a reminder of the 2004 tsunami
They are the ships that fell from the sky; two immovable objects, their very presence defying reason.
October 24, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
For foreign correspondents, one phobia that won't fly
Clackety-clack. Clackety-clack. I pause as I mount the steps of the 737, frowning at the spinning engine.
October 23, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Afghan show brings down the hoots
What to do about an election without a winner? As far as many Afghans are concerned, the answer is simple: Laugh.
October 19, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
South Korea museum holds an odd collection of brooding artworks
For years, Kim Cho-gang kept her oddball art collection out of sight, hidden away in a basement.
8:45 PM PDT, October 11, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
South Korea cemetery focus of dispute
For years, on the anniversary of his wife's death in 2000, Peter Underwood sought the solace of the tiny hillside cemetery not far from this city's bustling downtown.
October 8, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Hope survived one Iraq bombing, but not the second
After I survived my first bombing, I said to myself, I won't see worse than this. Then I survived my second bombing and it changed everything.
September 26, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Lebanon tourism is back from a holiday
It was a good summer for Georges Boustany. His popular upscale beach club, Lazy B, thrived as record numbers of visitors flocked to Lebanon's famed sandy coast for what officials are calling the country's most successful tourist season ever.
September 18, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
In Beijing, a crouching retiree and hidden health benefits
It's late morning at Beijing's popular Beihai Park, and 72-year-old Han Shusuo is channeling the chimpanzee. Bent double with his gloved hands pressed against the pavement, Han gently lopes forward with a look of serene concentration, his rear end pointed skyward.
September 15, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Mexican city warily awaits Independence Day celebrations
Mexicans begin celebrating their most cherished national holiday today, Independence Day, but indelible memories of unprecedented violence a year ago will make for a somber affair in some parts of the country.
September 4, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
S. Korean wages a visual campaign against dog eating
As Lee Won-bok arranged his posters one Saturday at a busy outdoor pedestrian mall, passersby peeked over his shoulder in dismay and horror.
September 3, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Russia president takes out after alcohol
You can take a lot from Russia; it has lost plenty already: cash, empire, territory, clout. Russia is tough and wintry; Russia survives undaunted.
September 1, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Charisma Man: An American geek is reborn in Japan
From his window seat in the Roppongi bar district, Neil Garscadden eyes an exotic street parade: the reggae-styled hipsters, the Nigerian nightclub hawkers, the soft-stepping geishas, the secretaries in miniskirts and impossibly heavy eye shadow.
August 28, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
In Moscow, failure to pay a traffic bribe has its price
The baton comes down. It always starts like that. The traffic cop looms in the hard summer sunlight, in the semblance of a breakdown lane that runs in the middle of screaming traffic.
August 25, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Sierra Leone beach resort is village's ticket to better life
The dawn rose over lushly carpeted mountains and broke gently along the miles of powdery white beach in the village improbably named River No. 2. It was Sunday and, for most of Sierra Leone, a day of rest.
August 21, 2009
Foreign Exchange
Downward spiral of Israel's Dudu Topaz ends in apparent suicide
The day before his final act, the entertainer once known as Israel's "ratings king" was escorted from his cell to a hastily arranged meeting with his lawyer.
June 3, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Former popular Israeli TV host jailed over assaults
They called Dudu Topaz "the ratings king" of Israel. Handsome and charismatic, folksy and zany, he drew audiences to gimmicky variety shows, game shows, talk shows, children's shows and satires that made him one of the country's most popular and provocative television hosts for nearly three decades.
June 1, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Gutsy Pakistan protesters march against the Taliban
The first thing you notice about the protest is the protesters. They're all men.
May 11, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
A trip to Mexico's Museum of Drugs
Army Capt. Claudio Montane wants one thing clear from the start: This place is not not a narco-museum. The point is not to glorify drug traffickers.
April 17, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Iranian scholar has advice for U.S. on Afghanistan
Iranian scholar Changiz Pahlavan has spent more than 30 years immersed in the minutiae of Afghanistan, as a researcher for UNESCO during the 1970s, a confidant of the country's various warlords during the 1980s and '90s, and an expert on the huge Afghan refugee population in Iran.
April 16, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
North Korea's mysterious power broker
He is an enigma from the world's most secretive state, a behind-the-scenes political operative known mostly as a trusted brother-in-law to North Korean strongman Kim Jong Il.
April 15, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Israel turns to robotics to boost students' interest in high-tech industry
It looked like high school basketball with high-tech bumper cars.
April 14, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Somalia: A trip fraught with risk to a nation in need
Sometimes the most a U.S. congressman can hope for is a little drive-by diplomacy.
April 13, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Tokyo Disneyland still a happy place despite the economy
As the Japanese economy continues its roller-coaster ride, many cash-strapped citizens have decided it's a small world, after all.
April 12, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
American tourists at home in Cuba
The St. Patrick’s Day parade was a little late, but the Cuban bagpipers and the blond transvestite in green satin made up for it in spirit as they sashayed down O'Reilly Street to observe Cuba's historic connections to Ireland. (Apparently, even Che Guevara was part Irish.)
April 11, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
South Korea's squeeze on financial news
In South Korea, image and perception are paramount -- especially when it comes to how the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration is dealing with the global financial crisis.
April 10, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
South Korea stands behind U.S. free-trade pact
South Korea is close to finalizing what officials here call a hard-won free-trade agreement with the European Union that would do away with most tariffs on trade between the two entities.
April 9, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Israel celebrates blessing of the sun
Our attire was about as casual as it can get for a religious celebration.
April 8, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Judge named to lead Gaza inquiry is known for fairness
Reporting from Johannesburg, South Africa, and Jerusalem -- Richard Goldstone, a quiet, self-effacing jurist from South Africa, agonized for days over the job offer: Unravel the accusations and counter-accusations of war crimes related to Israel's winter assault on the Gaza Strip.
April 7, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
If Obama gambit works, Tehran's hard-liners would suffer, Iranian says
The U.S. government is pursuing a high-stakes gambit to improve relations with Iran, with President Obama delivering a conciliatory speech last month and later dispatching deputies to two international conferences in an attempt to find common ground with Iranians in attendance.
April 5, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Shoemakers know Egypt's down at heel
Two shoemakers, one with white hair, the other much younger, hammer and sew beneath the torn awning of their shop in a downtown bazaar.
April 3, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
South Korean starlet's suicide is a real-life drama
In this nation obsessed with its soap operas, a real-life spectacle involving sex, a starlet's suicide and the country's most powerful entertainment executives has South Koreans riveted.
April 2, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Colombian activist waits in prison limbo
Community organizer Carmelo Agamez has spent five months in jail and still has not seen the evidence against him, been told who his accuser is or been notified of a trial date. Welcome to justice, Colombia style.
April 1, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Blowfish's bad rap is killing him
Veteran chef Yutaka Sasaki has a plan to remove the fear of eating one of the most poisonous fish on the planet: He wants to feed it to the emperor.
March 31, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
A look inside Iraq's Interior Ministry
Say the words "interior ministry" in almost any Middle Eastern country and you're certain to evoke fear and resentment.
March 27, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
In Pakistan, fighting terrorists the five-star way
I'm living on the edge and doing my bit to make sure the terrorists don't win -- from the cloud-like, pillow-swamped bed of a luxury hotel.
March 25, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
'The Porn Identity': Vienna exhibit sheds the shadows
You look around nervously as you approach the ticket counter. What would people think if they saw you going into a place like this? Even the woman at the counter seems to be looking at you funny. What kind of guy would come here in broad daylight?
March 23, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Mexico's butterfly reserve alights in the soul
They first catch the eye as tiny, ghost-like flashes. It takes a moment to fix the flitting shapes.
March 11, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Put Clair Voyant down as a reference
Poised to enter a cutthroat job market, college art student Kim Tae-eun showed up for a crucial interview the other day nervous and dressed to the nines.
March 9, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Sudan's president hits the road with defiance
Call it the "Defiance Tour '09," Sudanese-style.
March 4, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Mexico's communications chief trips over his words
A government secretary of communications ought to know a thing or two about, well, communications.
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
E-mail
Digg
Twitter
Facebook
StumbleUpon