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  Vatican City / AFP Pope Francis urged peace in the Middle East as tens of thousands gathered to hear his Christmas address on Sunday, while offering comfort to victims of terrorism after a year of bloody extremist attacks. The 80-year-old Argentine called for guns to fall silent in Syria, saying “far too much blood has been spilled” in the nearly ...

  Washington / AFP US President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday he intends to dissolve his controversial philanthropic foundation to avoid conflicts of interest, but the move was quickly complicated by an ongoing legal probe. Trump’s sprawling portfolio of US and overseas business interests and holdings—as well as his Donald J Trump Foundation—have come under increased scrutiny in the weeks since ...

  Berlin / AFP An unwelcome Christmas surprise in southern Germany forced the evacuation of 54,000 people from their homes on Sunday after the discovery of a bomb dating from World War II, local authorities said. It was a British bomb that was found in the city of Augsburg and led to the biggest mobilisation in Germany—around 900 police officers—since ...

  As Beijing and more than 20 other cities in northern China have been plunged into another winter air-pollution crisis, with choking, toxic air and many people afraid to wander outside, observers wonder when China will start making significant progress on this problem. But there is some good news, namely that when it comes to clean air improvements, China probably ...

  To firms planning to buy other companies with borrowed money in the new year: Please take a moment to reconsider and learn from those who have gone before you. It’s true that companies flop all the time. But those that borrow gobs of money have a narrower margin for error. And companies in some sectors popular for leveraged buyouts, ...

  How much is a child’s future success determined by innate intelligence? Economist James Heckman says it’s not what people think. He likes to ask educated non-scientists — especially politicians and policy makers — how much of the difference between people’s incomes can be tied to IQ. Most guess around 25 percent, even 50 percent, he says. But the data ...

  Bloomberg When you think of Singapore Airlines Ltd., visions appear of cushy premium cabins and bespoke leather seats. It’s all that, yes. But the luxury carrier is working hard to diversify with budget airlines under its corporate banner. It owns low-cost carrier Scoot; 49 percent of Vistara, a joint venture in India with Tata Sons Ltd.; and NokScoot, a ...

  Bloomberg Consumer spending in the US rose less than forecast in November as after-tax incomes adjusted for inflation declined for the first time since October 2013. Purchases increased 0.2 percent after rising a revised 0.4 percent in October, Commerce Department figures show. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a 0.3 percent advance. Real disposable income, or ...

  Bloomberg Data on depression rates among pilots have been hard to come by, but a new study that surveyed active pilots found that nearly 13 percent met the threshold for depression — and about a third as many reported having suicidal thoughts. Why it matters: The 2015 crash of Germanwings Flight 9525, which was caused intentionally by a co-pilot ...

  Bloomberg Relief that Deutsche Bank AG and Credit Suisse Group AG cleared legal hurdles is likely to soon give way to concern over a bigger problem: European lenders are still struggling to make money. While the combined $12.5 billion in settlements the two agreed to pay to resolve US investigations into sales of toxic debt put one dispute behind ...