Richard Stengel, the State Department’s undersecretary for public diplomacy, bluntly states the problem that has been worrying him, and should worry us all: “In a global information war, how does the truth win?” The very idea that the truth won’t be triumphant would, until recently, have been heresy to Stengel, a former managing editor of Time magazine. But in …

  As this historic November ends, the message from the financial markets seems clear: For now, the outlook for the U.S. economy appears brighter, both in absolute terms and relative to other advanced economies. Very few predicted these developments, which speak to the enormous fluidity that has taken over markets and politics and that signal the gradual end of the …

  Donald Trump’s tough talk on trade and immigration was a winning message in parts of the Midwest. If this talk is put into action, that could accelerate the economic decline of much of the region. One flaw in the conventional thinking about globalization is that it’s an international phenomenon. Manufacturing jobs move from the U.S. to China or Mexico. …

  There are apocalyptic scenes in the streets of Syria’s Aleppo. As the bombs rain down on the besieged city, it causes horrible sufferings everywhere. More than 250 civilians have been killed in the government’s assault on east Aleppo since November 15, including nearly 30 children. And up to 20,000 people have fled the regime offensive in the past 72 …

  AFP Oil prices rallied more than six percent on Wednesday, pushing European and US stocks higher as traders seized on hopes that OPEC could later decide to cut crude output. Saudi Arabia’s influential oil minister Khaled al-Falih sounded an upbeat note that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries — which pumps about a third of global oil — …

  NEW YORK / AP The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index reached record highs on Wednesday morning as a rally in energy companies led US stocks higher. Energy companies gained as countries in OPEC, which collectively produce more than one-third of the world’s oil, moved closer to completing an agreement that would trim oil …

  Aleppo / AFP More than 50,000 Syrians have joined a growing exodus of terrified civilians from east Aleppo, a monitor said on Wednesday, as the UN Security Council was set for emergency talks on fighting in the city. As government forces pressed an assault in the divided city, regime artillery fire killed at least 21 civilians in east Aleppo …

  Moscow / AFP The Kremlin on Wednesday demanded an explanation after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara intervened in Syria solely to topple President Bashar Al-Assad. Turkish forces are pressing on with a three month operation inside war-torn Syria in support of anti-Assad forces, while Russia is the chief ally of the Syrian president in the conflict that …

  Ankara / AFP Turkey is seeking multiple life sentences for nearly 70 suspects, including the leader of the main Syrian Kurdish political party, over a deadly bombing in Ankara this year blamed on Kurdish militants, state media said on Wednesday. Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) leader Salih Muslim and several prominent Kurdish militants have been indicted over the …

  Mosul / AFP Up to 500,000 civilians in Mosul are facing a “catastrophic” drinking water shortage, the UN warned on Wednesday, as Iraqi forces advance against the IS group in the city. Already suffering from a severe lack of food and electricity, civilians in Iraq’s second city are now also running out of drinkable water, said Lise Grande, UN humanitarian …