BEIRUT / GENEVA / Reuters A Syrian government delegation will arrive in Geneva on Wednesday, a day later than expected, to attend peace talks being held there this week, Syrian state news agency SANA said. The delegation had delayed its plan- ned departure for the talks, which began on Tuesday, because of the opposition’s insistence that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ...

BAGHDAD / Reuters Two attackers shot several civilians in the Nahrawan area southeast of Baghdad before one blew himself up and the other was killed by security forces, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said, without providing official casualty figures. Local media reported at least 17 people were killed and 28 wounded. IS claimed responsibility for the att- ack, described by an ...

Bloomberg Japan received radio signals suggesting that North Korea may be preparing for a missile launch test, Kyodo News reported, citing multiple government officials. Japan didn’t specify the type of possible missile, according to the news service. Any radio signals could be from winter training by North Korea’s military, Kyodo said. Separately, Yonhap reported that the US continues to watch ...

Bloomberg The controversy engulfing the Irish government and threatening Brexit talks escalated, as the release of a cache of emails threatened to further undermine the nation’s deputy leader and bring an election closer. Deputy Prime Minister Frances Fitzgerald faces a no-confidence vote in Dublin over her handling of a whistle blower controversy that could pull down the minority government. In ...

Bloomberg UK Trade Secretary Liam Fox called on the European Union to allow Brexit negotiations to move on to future trade links, saying his government has done enough to satisfy the bloc’s demands for money. Fox said that while the UK wants a deal with the EU, it’s “not afraid” of talks breaking down and could trade with the 27 ...

China needs reform. This has long been the consensus advice from economists and multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, whose recent “China 2030” report argues that Chinese leaders should strengthen the role of markets and liberalize legal, financial and other institutions governing the economy. Their to-do list is virtually gospel by now: free up trade and investment, unshackle the ...

“Where does an 800-pound gorilla sit?” goes the riddle. “Wherever it likes,” is the answer. Norway’s $1 trillion wealth fund risks throwing its weight around in ways that exceed its authority, interfering in the sovereignty of other nations. This year, the fund has voted against remuneration proposals at more of the companies it holds stakes in, its global head of ...

It’s taken decades but finally, Japan’s doors are swinging open for private equity. The country’s corporate giants have long been a coveted target for buyout firms seeking to put large pools of capital to work. Money, though, hasn’t been enough to overcome the traditional Japanese hostility to takeovers. Until recently, that is. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s exhortations for improved corporate ...

California’s energy future is visible in the underground garage of a luxury condominium that rises behind the façade of a former San Francisco muffler shop. The parking spaces come equipped with charging stations for electric cars — an amenity that, as of next year, the city will require. The city law, which mandates that at least 10 percent of parking ...

Tencent Holdings Ltd’s rise into a $500 billion company was fuelled by a culture of internal competition, where teams raced against each other to make ideas work. To become an advertising powerhouse like Facebook Inc., the internal barriers are starting to come down. The seven main business units of China’s largest company are working to synchronize data and study a ...