KUALA LUMPUR / AP North Korea barred Malaysians from exiting its borders and Malaysia followed suit on Tuesday, turning ordinary citizens into pawns in the diplomatic battle surrounding the investigation into the bizarre death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half brother. The tit-for-tat directives come as relations between the two countries disintegrate over the poisoning of Kim …

  The conflict between Ukraine and Russia entered a new phase recently. The separatist, pro-Russian “people’s republics” of eastern Ukraine announced they were taking over Ukrainian oligarchs’ assets on their territory. Few people outside Ukraine know that throughout the three-year hostilities, these factories and mines paid Ukrainian taxes, and their output was counted toward Ukraine’s gross domestic product. If the …

  It’s that time of year when Australia’s bank executives go through their equivalent of a reality-TV audition. Like an episode of the X Factor, the parliamentary hearings into the four major banks are conducted in an atmosphere of high theater. Chief executives attempt to carry off pitch-perfect performances while the parliamentarians sat in judgment try to launch a few …