Opinion

  WASHINGTON Sometime over the next several years, the next U.S. president could confront a genuinely dangerous threat from a faraway place — a North Korean missile that can hit U.S. territory with a nuclear warhead. Led by an impulsive and brutal young man, North Korea may pose the most direct nuclear risk for the United States. Kim Jong Un …

  Calls are growing to preserve existing nuclear power plants through investing in new designs to replace the old ones when they retire. This development will help produce more clean energy tofight climate change. The renewed interest in nuclear energy led to developing the cutting-edge “fourth-generation” reactor designs that are safer. If left unattended, they would safely halt. But the …

  The U.S. economy remains weak, with inflation expected to remain below the Federal Reserve’s target for years to come. When the central bank holds its policy-making meeting next week, it should take decisive action to end the malaise. Charles Evans, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, has suggested a good plan: Hold off on any further interest-rate …

  The news out of Venezuela couldn’t be grimmer. Annual inflation is the highest in the world. Food is so scarce that desperate people are rifling through trash for scraps while others have taken to looting. But don’t tell that to the country’s diplomats. They’re on a roll. Last year, Venezuela took a rotating seat on the United Nations Security …

  Americans find it hard to imagine that the two-party system could ever break down. “Democracy works, this country works when you have two parties that are serious and trying to solve problems,” President Barack Obama said recently. Yet U.S. democracy and the country itself would be better served if politicians started acting as if there were more parties — …

  With the U.K. set to vote on European Union membership in less than a month, economists, politicians and pundits are endlessly debating how an EU exit would affect the country’s economy. However, for many families, the types of figures being thrown about — which can run to the billions of pounds — may seem abstract and remote from their …

  Anthony Kleven SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS As the United States hosted the 7th Clean Energy Ministerial in San Francisco on June 1-2, the Obama administration sought to demonstrate global leadership on green energy and climate change. Those efforts, however, are being undercut by GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress. Just a few days before the meetings …

  WASHINGTON Suppose you are advising Hillary Clinton, now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. What worries you? Well, probably the stubbornness of Bernie Sanders, who won’t admit he’s lost. And, of course, the unpredictability of Donald Trump, whose outlandish pronouncements defy conventional political wisdom. But what really ought to frighten you is the government’s latest employment report. It raises …

  As the push for Brexit gains momentum, the debate zeroes in on immigration and economy amid a tight race. Both the ‘Remain’ and ‘Leave’ camps have been criticised for misrepresenting facts in a campaign that has split the ruling Conservative Party and the people of UK. Ahead of the June 23 vote, an average of the last six domestic …

  Luke Hunt SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS The use of religion to provide a prescription for social ills is not uncommon; it’s a practice that dates back to the ancient Greeks. But too often advocates of a better life from beyond the grave have been caught lying, thus abusing the public’s trust and their privileges. In Thailand, the Buddhist clergy …