It’s hazardous to see elections to the European Parliament as a barometer of European Union politics. Turnout was higher than in previous EU elections, but still only about 50%; voters in many countries aren’t sure what the parliament does; national anxieties predominate. In many ways, ballots have just been cast in 28 separate national elections, rather than in a single ...

Last weekend, Russia launched the last of a new crew of atomic icebreakers meant to consolidate the country’s dominance of commercial traffic in the Arctic. As much of the rest of the world recognises climate change as an emergency, Russia is working hard to capitalize on it — and the US appears to be far behind. The icebreaker Ural, launched ...

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s potential plan to raise $20 billion in Hong Kong is huge. That’s not just because $20 billion is a lot of money. After going public in New York, the Chinese e-commerce giant is considering a secondary listing in Hong Kong, Bloomberg News reported– a coup for the city that’s still sore from missing out on the ...