Back in 2005, when he was first chosen to succeed Pope John Paul II, the charismatic pontiff who had reigned for 27 years, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger attracted attention because of his age. “He is to be a transitional figure,” said pundits. “A man in his late 70s can't last as long as that other fellow. The church is not ready for another John Paul II.”

“Oops, they did it again,” to paraphrase the old Brittany Spears song. Indeed North Korea's baby-faced dictator Kim Jong Un decided to test another nuclear weapon, and thrust his reclusive but reckless country back into the headlines. In terms of political disruption, Kim's tantrum seemed to have worked, but in the long run it could backfire, especially with Pyongyang's longtime patrons in China. .

It would be a rough comparison and some people might object to it, but it is interesting to match the gun control debate in the United States to Indonesia's problem of religious intolerance. Certainly, both cases exhibit differences.

When Canadian Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper formed a minority government in 2006 after defeating the long-governing Liberals, many analysts predicted a short-lived Harper regime that would last no longer than one year or so.

Ask Thai government officials and they will fume that it is just unfair. How can Thailand be denied an “A” sovereign credit rating when other countries with poorer macroeconomic numbers already have that coveted assessment?

As North Korea's third nuclear test looms large, China is coming under all too familiar pressure to convince its unruly ally to change course or lend impetus to the next batch of international sanctions.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is set to be the region to be situated in in 2013. After an estimated growth of 5.2 percent on a purchasing power parity (PPP)-weighted basis, we project the region to grow by 5.3 percent in 2013, outpacing the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) global growth estimate of 3.6 percent.

When Hillary Clinton was asked to take the post of the U.S. secretary of state just four years ago by a recently appointed American president, Barack Obama, many saw it was a trade-off.

When Shinzo Abe became Japanese prime minister on Boxing Day last year, he promised to deliver change. Very shortly, he announced a 10.3-trillion-yen (US$116 billion, or 2.2 percent of GDP) stimulus package to end deflation, and he pressured the Bank of Japan to adopt a 2-percent inflation target.

When Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's opposition leader, arrived in South Korea last week for a five-day visit, she encountered a group of enthusiastic greeters who were moved to tears. For the Myanmar people staying here, it was a truly overwhelming moment to welcome the 67-year-old Nobel Peace laureate.