Another international summit has come and gone without any of the coordinated action that is vital if an ailing European economy is to be revived.Confronted by a crisis whose resolution demands intervention on a par with the crash of 2008, last weekend’s G8 communique was long on words and short on action. There were no concrete measures, least of all a plan to back up public pleas for growth. And, while next month’s G20 meeting in Mexico could offer a second chance for coordinated action, there

In the winter of 1933, the Belgian detective and former police officer Hercule Poirot boards the Orient Express in Istanbul that will take him on a three-day train journey across the European continent. Somewhere in the Balkans, the train comes to an unexpected halt as large snowdrifts cover the tracks. The next morning, an American businessman who occupied the compartment next to Poirot is found murdered ― stabbed to death. Since there is no obvious suspect and furthermore since the clues are m

PHILADELPHIA ― A last-minute deal between the United States and China may afford human-rights lawyer and activist Chen Guangcheng the opportunity to enroll in law school in New York. But, even if a way out of the diplomatic debacle is at hand, much about the case remains troubling. In particular, despite more than three decades of legal reform in China, Chen had precious little recourse to fight harassment and house arrest at the hands of the Chinese authorities.Indeed, 23 years after dissident

NEW YORK ― Every year, millions of people die from preventable and treatable diseases, especially in poor countries. In many cases, lifesaving medicines can be cheaply mass-produced, but are sold at prices that block access to those who need them. And many die simply because there are no cures or vaccines, because so little of the world’s valuable research talent and limited resources is devoted to addressing the diseases of the poor.This state of affairs represents a failure of economics and la

Traveling through South Korea these days I am continually impressed by the high level of economic and infrastructure development. South Korea has high speed trains, seamless 3G phone and internet service, modern highways, a sophisticated financial system, and almost everyone effortlessly uses the latest cutting edge technology. South Koreans have pushed their country to the top tier in international rankings of gross domestic product, life expectancy, per capita income and worldwide brand recogn

WASHINGTON ― Perhaps when Chinese leaders began to speak over the last several years about a new “Beijing Consensus” and the triumph of the “China Model,” that was a warning the bubble was about to burst. And we’re seeing that hubris play out now, as China’s leaders struggle with the greatest internal crisis since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. This time, the political machinations have mostly been behind the scenes among the Communist Party elite. The headline event was the purge of Bo