India’s paradoxical relationship with beef took a new turn last month, when the environment minister imposed a ban on the sale of cows and buffaloes for slaughter at animal markets. Cow slaughter has been banned for decades in India because of the cow’s traditional status as a respected creature in Hinduism, the largest religion in India. In some cases, penalties …

Sporting a white button-up shirt and black blazer, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Chairman Jack Ma sat on stage with Charlie Rose to make his pitch to America. If you miss the opportunity to sell your products to China, you will miss the opportunity. You will miss the future. With a line like that, Ma — China’s richest man — could …

When I met Tony Martinez, the mayor of Brownsville, Texas, he had a somewhat wacky argument against the border fence that separated the town from Matamoros, Mexico. “We are about to become an interplanetary civilization,” he told me. “And here we are talking about a wall separating what is essentially the same community.” The reason he said so is that …