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What did the CIA’s covert assistance program for Syrian rebels accomplish? Bizarrely, the biggest consequence may be that it helped trigger the Russian military intervention in 2015 that rescued President Bashar Al Assad – achieving the opposite of what the program intended. Syria adds another chapter to the star-crossed history of CIA paramilitary action. These efforts begin with the worthy ...

An announcement by two of Asia’s most important Internet firms could be instrumental in propelling the take-up of mobile payments in India. It may also help turn around an ailing company. AGTech Holdings Ltd will form a joint venture with India’s Paytm group to develop mobile games and other entertainment products, the Hong Kong-based company said in an exchange filing. ...

Polish President Andrzej Duda just surprised almost everybody by vetoing parts of new government legislation that assaults judicial independence. “As president, I don’t feel this law would strengthen a sense of justice,” he said. He’s right. Poland’s democratic institutions are under threat, and the new initiative is only the latest of many. The government should weigh this embarrassment carefully, and ...

The first sticking point in Brexit negotiations is the size of the UK’s final bill with the European Union. It’s a silly dispute that both sides need to get past as quickly as possible so they can move on to more consequential matters. This needn’t be difficult. All it requires is a willingness to compromise — something neither party, as ...

Many Americans still regard Britain as the US’s political and cultural parent. Despite the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, the US and the UK eventually developed a special relationship that endured throughout the 20th century. Together, the two defeated the Axis and communism, and established a global order based on free trade and (eventually) universal human rights. But ...

If there’s a lesson that China’s private firms should take away from the crackdown on Dalian Wanda Group Co. and its freewheeling cohorts, it’s that there’s no better time to get into bed with state-owned enterprises. That’s even the case if the partner up for grabs is China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd., the weakest of the country’s big three telecom ...

Germans can be relentless at beating themselves up. When it comes to their auto industry, this tendency may be getting out of hand. The latest scandal for German automakers started with a cover story in the respected newsweekly Der Spiegel, which suggested that Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW have operated as a cartel since the 1990s. It described how the companies ...

Bloomberg US stocks extended all-time highs as corporate earnings bolstered optimism about the strength of the global economy, lifting commodities. Bonds bounced as investors waited for clues on the fate of the Federal Reserve balance sheet. The S&P 500 Index advanced as results lifted stocks from AT&T Inc. to Boeing Co. Asian and European benchmark equity indexes rose, while crude ...

DUBAI / Reuters Major Middle Eastern stocks markets were mixed in narrow ranges on Wednesday as caution over companies’ upcoming second-quarter earnings announcements outweighed the positive effect of a rebound in oil prices. Brent crude futures rose 40 cents to $50.60 a barrel by the afternoon after rallying more than 3 percent on Tuesday. But many investors are preoccupied with ...

Bloomberg The Bank of England took aim at a European Union plan to boost supervisors’ powers to stop cash leaving ailing lenders, adding its weight to mounting criticism of a bill intended to make sure big banks can be wound down without wreaking havoc on the economy. The BOE warned of “very serious consequences” if lawmakers adopt an EU bill ...