"Glass half-full or half-empty?" I've never known a country that provokes more obsessive, anxious debate about the future than South Africa – a miraculous, maddening, soap opera of a nation that seems to sneer disdainfully at the very idea that it might simply muddle through. I've always preferred the view and the clientele in the [...]

Once hailed as a potential model for African development, Guinea-Bissau is now one of the poorest countries in the world. In 1980 he was overthrown by his army chief, Joao Vieira, who accused him of corruption and mismanagement. Mr Vieira led the country towards a market economy and a multi-party system, but was accused of [...]

The euro zone may not be the economic envy of the world these days, but Europeans dodged a policy bullet when the European Central Bank was established, at German insistence, with price stability as its single mandate. Desperate French politicians are now beginning to have other ideas. “If the central bank does not support growth, [...]

Por ALEX FRANGOS To satisfy Chinese consumers’ increasing demand for milk products, companies like China Modern Dairy are importing higher-yielding foreign cows and using American factory-farming techniques. WSJ’s Angela Yeoh reports from central Anhui province. FEIDONG, China—En uno de los mayores arreos de ganado transoceánicos de la historia, unas 100.000 novillas de Uruguay, Australia y [...]

Dubai Medical screening of expatriate workers in their home countries has reduced the rate of positive test results for diseases by half, a senior Ministry of Health official said. The decision by the Ministry of Health to screen expatriate workers for contagious diseases in their home countries before they are granted work visas, had come [...]

Story By: by Kimberly Adams The first truly competitive presidential election in Egypt’s history is just two weeks away. The campaign has sparked lively interest around the country, as the candidates appear at campaign rallies and on televised talk shows. The election is also the major topic of conversation in many Egyptian living rooms.

David Cameron ended some text messages to Rebekah Brooks with the letters LOL, she has told the Leveson Inquiry. Mrs Brooks was pressed by the lead counsel for the inquiry, Robert Jay QC, on how Mr Cameron signed off his texts, saying "everyone wanted to know". Asked by Lord Leveson why he had posed the [...]

Story By: by Corey Flintoff Information about CIA operations often leaks quickly, and analysts say this can complicate future efforts. – Gregory Johnsen, an expert on Yemen at Princeton University Still, former CIA agent Michael Scheuer predicted the recent reports will dampen Saudi Arabia’s willingness to cooperate with U.S. intelligence in the future. “This certainly [...]

Por DANA MATTIOLI e MIGUEL BUSTILLO O varejo está tentando fazer o celular trabalhar a seu favor — e não contra. É o caso da rede americana de confecções Maurices, voltada ao público feminino. No mês passado, a Maurices começou a enviar mensagens ao celular das pessoas passando a poucos metros de uma loja da [...]

The Beastie Boys have returned to the US album charts following the death of band member Adam Yauch last week. Seven of the group's albums entered this week's Billboard 200 chart, with their debut 1986 record Licence to Ill the highest entry at number 18. The trio's albums collectively sold 55,000 copies in the two [...]