Teenagers need more sleep. They also need more time in school. A national push is now under way to address the first problem, which is encouraging ― but the second one is no less important.The American Academy of Pediatrics announced this week what a growing body of research has found: Teenagers would benefit from a later start to the school day. Like everything else, a teen’s body clock goes a little haywire during puberty, and the hormone that induces sleep (melatonin) is typically not release

It should have been a no-brainer for the U.S. and Russia to cooperate to fight Islamic radicals in the Middle East. But even if you place the high-jump bar on the ground, some people will still manage to trip over it ― then insist on going back and tripping over it again.Everything was perfectly set up for a strategic partnership. Both countries’ special forces had long been conducting joint counterterrorism exercises. Some were even conducted on American soil, at Fort Carson, near Colorado Spri

As an active, albeit measured, user of social media, I’ve been skeptical of arguments that online forums like Facebook and Twitter are the great equalizer.Some social media proponents believe that such tools unshackle public opinion and promote the exchange of ideas in forums that allow all participants to freely voice their thoughts and feelings, exposing users to a diversity of ideas.We’ve even seen dramatic examples ― during Iran’s “Green Revolution” and more recently in Ferguson, Missouri ―

What’s the difference between first class and business class? Apparently nothing, at least on state-owned China Southern Airlines, the mainland’s largest carrier. According to a report in Tuesday’s Financial Times, the airline has decided to rename its top-end cabin as business, to get around a prohibition on Communist Party officials flying first class while on the clock. The airline has reassured travel agents that clients buying the new tickets will “receive the same service as first-class cu

Back in 2009, Israel was festooned with election campaign banners that read, “A Strong Leader for a Strong Nation.” They were Benjamin Netanyahu’s banners, which, even if he had them in stock today, he would not dare use.We have reached the Morning After, and this is an unhappy, dissatisfied, wounded and worried country. Israel is not feeling strong. And Israelis know that in this neighborhood, if you are not strong or do not appear strong, you simply cannot survive. Makor Rishon, a center-right

By its very definition, reform to strengthen democracy must be inclusive. Otherwise democracy will never have the chance to take deep root in society. And by “inclusive” we mean that all voices and all demands ― whatever their means of peaceful expression ― must be tolerated by the powers-that-be.Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said last week he did not want to see any street rallies, protests or demonstrations that might give the impression of social confusion or disorder. Rather than protesti

If one had to sum up the sentiments at the PKR annual congress last weekend, it would be that the party rank and file are suffering from political fatigue.The party faithful are exhausted, some are disillusioned and others are fed up.And who can blame them? PKR went through a marathon party election that saw flying chairs and upturned ballot boxes while the Selangor chief minister crisis is still not over.The cracks were evident among those sitting on the stage and also in the empty chairs and s

For a supposed conservative, South Korean President Park Geun-hye is considering a shocking proposal ― taxing companies for having too much money. She wants to slap a 10 percent levy on excessive cash piles, hoping that companies such as Samsung will instead choose to spend the money on higher wages and new investments to aid the flagging economy.It’s a great idea, and one that some of Park’s peers in Asia should consider ― including Japan’s Shinzo Abe.Korea’s economy is dominated by family-run

PARIS ― At the Cold War’s outset, there was an intense debate in the United States between those who wanted to contain communism and those who wanted to roll it back. Was it sufficient to fix limits on the Soviet Union’s ambitions, or was a more aggressive stance, sometimes described as “containment plus,” necessary?The recent spat between U.S. President Barack Obama and his former secretary of state (and possible successor), Hillary Clinton, seems to have revived that debate. But are its terms

Rarely has an acronym led such a charmed life as BRICS. Casually invented by former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economist and Bloomberg View columnist Jim O’Neill to label emerging markets of promise, it actually brought together leaders from the disparate countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Last week in Brazil, they took a decisive step toward building institutions that could plausibly challenge the long geopolitical and economic ascendancy of the West. The New Development