World News Insights: Opinion Articles

With the first anniversary of the Beirut Port explosion approaching, a shameless petition signed by 28 Lebanese deputies emerged. The signatories are keen on immunity not being lifted from three deputies (all of whom are former ministers). They want the judiciary not to try them. Instead, they want…

In Hong Kong, money has been privately issued since 1846. The bill in my wallet is a promise from HSBC Holdings Plc’s local banking unit to pay the value written on it. In accepting it, I gave no thought to the creditworthiness of the lender. Whoever it’s passed on to will also take the banknote at…

As long ago as 2010, an innocent time when borders were open and pandemics were the subject of TED talks rather than daily headlines, Dutch researchers discovered that most people who go on holiday trips are no happier when they return. Americans, notorious for their workaholism, were said to be…

Faced with the largest protests Cuba has seen since 1994, the regime in Havana predictably blamed the unrest on the US. The Cuban president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, said the US embargo of the island was responsible. The foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez, said US-backed mercenaries sparked the…

A surge in Covid-19 cases following the emergence of the highly transmissible delta variant has sparked fresh health concerns and raised questions about the safety and pace of reopening, even in places where vaccination rates are high such as the UK Sam Fazeli, a Bloomberg Opinion contributor who…

The last two weeks witnessed widespread protests against the authoritarian Cuban regime, with thousands taking to the streets in Havana to express dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis and — above all — the torpid economy. Hit by the collapse of tourism, a…

It’s good to see that some US politicians are still working on fixing the country’s broken health care system. Proposals from Senator Bernie Sanders had some very promising elements, though also some less helpful ones. Unfortunately, it seems that the only piece of his plan likely to make it into…

Snap Inc. is proving itself to be a cut above the rest. Its latest results show why. The social-media company reported second-quarter earnings late Thursday that crushed Wall Street’s expectations. Revenue in the period surged 116% from a year earlier to $982 million, handily beating the…

The sea floor between Hawaii and Mexico is covered in potato-sized rocks that contain many of the metals necessary to make electric-car batteries. All that’s needed is a way to lift them to the surface for processing. At least, that’s the theory behind the Metals Co., a business formed earlier this…

Vaccines have been game changers in the fight against Covid-19, offering effective protection against even highly contagious and pathogenic strains such as the delta variant. But with many in the world still unvaccinated and cases on the rise – including among the vaccinated – it’s becoming clear…

On the list of things to worry about in the age of SARS-CoV-2, boring, old winter flu probably doesn’t rank highly. Especially not in the middle of a summer heat wave. And yet it should. Humanity has grown so accustomed to annual waves of influenza that it was the baseline comparison when Covid…

A drug that can help obese people safely cut an average of 15% of their body weight sounds like a miracle for those who can’t keep pounds off with diet and exercise alone. Wegovy, a Novo Nordisk A/S drug that the Food and Drug Administration approved in early June, appears to do exactly that. It…