Opinion

  For a man who had been reported dead so many times before, and whose vision of the world had shrunk long ago to the size of a t-shirt, Fidel Castro triggered a remarkable commotion when he died this weekend at age 90. Nowhere were the paeans more heartfelt than in Latin America. “A great one has died,” wrote Ecuador’s …

  The holidays and year-end tax considerations make this the season of giving. And there are indications Americans will be more generous than ever. In 2015, Americans donated a record $373.25 billion in charitable contributions, up a little more than 4 percent from the year before, according to Giving USA, the most reliable chronicler of philanthropy. More than seven in …

Africa and the world cannot afford a failing economy in the continent’s most populous nation. Yet that is exactly what Nigeria might be getting: Its economy is on track to shrink by 1.7 percent this year, the official unemployment rate has more than doubled over the last two years, and inflation is at an 11-year high. Nigeria’s Horrors and Hopes …

  Preparing a future generation that is well-equipped to face fresh challenges while building up on a diversified economy is the best way to bring about sustainable development in the country. The UAE’s boost to the knowledge-based economy stems from the fact that to ensure diversification of economy, the country’s educational set-up has to be strengthened. The Ministry of Education …

  Openly expressing admiration in France for former U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is a bit like asking for ketchup with your entrecote. Or it was. Francois Fillon, an avowed Thatcherite, is the new front-runner in France’s 2017 presidential election. He came from far behind to win France’s Republican nomination for the presidency, taking 67 percent of votes in Sunday’s …

  In the days since the election, Republicans have realized that they are in a tight spot on Obamacare. They seem to be lurching toward a strategy that will make it tighter. Republicans have vowed over and over again to repeal and replace the health-care law, but they do not yet have a detailed plan or the votes to enact …

     Rest in peace, VIX. You’re no longer the fear gauge for global markets. The Bank for International Settlements has found a better barometer to capture the nervousness that starts as a slight reduction in global banks’ leverage, is magnified by European lenders as a dollar squeeze in Asian supply chains, and reverberates around the world as a financial …

  The work ethic is such a central part of the American character that it’s hard to imagine it fading. But that’s what seems to be happening in one important part of the labor force. Among men 25-to-54 — so-called prime-age male workers — about one in eight are dropouts. They don’t have a job and, unlike the officially unemployed, …

  Few people took Donald Trump seriously when he said in March that he’d “get Apple to start making their computers and their iPhones on our land, not in China.” But his election appears to have caused a change of heart. Apple has reportedly asked the two Asian companies that assemble the bulk of its iPhones to assess whether they …

  Smoking has dropped to historic lows nationwide, dramatically decreasing revenue from tobacco taxes. In search of funds, a growing number of states are taxing electronic cigarettes — a trend that is sparking a fierce public health debate over whether it will deter smokers from switching to a safer alternative. California became the seventh state to tax e-cigarettes with the …