Once again, the Korean Peninsula is the focus of concern about nuclear developments. This time, however, attention is directed at South Korea's nuclear power program, not North Korea's primitive but alarming nuclear weapon development efforts.

Cyclone Sandy was technically downgraded from hurricane status just before striking the U.S., but remains highly disruptive. Both the Obama and Romney presidential campaigns temporarily suspended their frenetic activity. In part, this reflected the practical impossibility of moving through the storm region, but also more fundamental considerations.

October is the scary month, and not just because of Halloween. Exactly a half century ago, the Cuban Missile Crisis from Oct. 22 to 28 dominated global news as Washington and Moscow sparred right on the edge of thermonuclear war.

On Oct. 10 the confrontation between Syria and Turkey ratcheted up further when a Syrian civilian passenger airplane, suspected of carrying military supplies, was forced to land in Ankara. The Turkish government has ordered civilian aircraft to avoid Syrian airspace. Syrian artillery shelling has led to retaliation in kind. Turkey shelters many refugees from Syria

“Are you better off?” Ronald Reagan rhetorically asked the audience during his 1980 debate with President Jimmy Carter. The incumbent Barack Obama and his challenger, Mitt Romney, should each take a lesson from Reagan's performance.

In a major address at the United Nations on Sept. 25, U.S. President Barack Obama emphasized challenges of violence, especially but not exclusively in the Islamic world. Equally important, he reconfirmed the durable importance of the U.N.

“The reality is ... the Taliban have not been able to regain any territory,” stated United States Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta last month, responding to questions about attacks on U.S. and NATO personnel in Afghanistan. Is this an accurate perspective?

“Be careful what you wish for” comes to mind when reviewing the waves of public protest and revolt in the Middle East and North Africa. Long-established dictatorships are collapsing, which is an extremely promising development of historic importance.

A first cut of history is how McGeorge Bundy described “The Pentagon Papers,” and his statement bears directly on the growing controversy over “No Easy Day.” That just published book reveals classified details of the mission of SEAL Team 6 which killed Osama bin Laden.

The 60th anniversary of the founding of The China Post is an appropriate time for reflection, and also cause for renewal, despite the economic challenges facing Asian economies in the wake of the global financial crash of 2008-2009 and the resulting recession.