Headlines

Americas

The wild rise of Mick Mulvaney

MICK MULVANEY, the acting White House chief of staff, likes to speak of the political expertise he has brought to the monumental job he inherited in chaotic circumstances last month. “I absolutely believe there’s value to having political acumen in this position,” he told Lexington during a fireside chat (it was a cold day and the South Carolinian...

Donald Trump v Congress

IN 1989 WILLIAM BARR, then a White House lawyer, wrote a memorandum warning the president to be mindful of attempts by Congress to encroach on his authority. Thirty years on Mr Barr, who will shortly become America’s attorney-general, has had to defend himself in his Senate confirmation hearings against the charge, which stems partly from the...

Democratic mayors and governors pitch reforms to health care

Gavin Newsom, health freak NO WONK ASKED to describe their ideal health system would reach for the adjective American. Those who can afford it have access to the best care in the world, but costs are high and the country’s rate of health-insurance coverage is second to last among the OECD club of mostly rich countries—only Greece does a poorer...

America’s next attorney-general looks equipped for the trials ahead

UNDER ANY president but the current one, the appointment of William Barr as attorney-general would be uncontentious. The 68-year-old conservative lawyer is plainly up to a job he has already performed ably—for George H.W. Bush from 1991 to 1993. Yet the strains of being chief law-enforcement officer to Donald Trump are of a different order. And...

Harvard’s policy against single-sex clubs was meant to protect women

“I JOINED [the Delta Gamma sorority at Harvard University] because I was looking for a group like my high-school friends that shared the same values and would come together regardless of major or extra-curriculars,” says Becca Ramos, who was chapter president of Delta Gamma in 2016. “There were so many nights when we studied together into...

Asia Pacific

HSA Advocates expands its Regulatory & Policy and Disputes Practice with new additions in the partnership collegium

HSA Advocates (“HSA”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Apoorva Misra as Partner and Shreshth Sharma and Nitish Gupta as Associate Partners in the Regulatory & Policy and Disputes practice. While the three partners will be based out of the firm’s New Delhi office, however, their responsibilities will not be restricted by geography. Apoorva...

Benelux law firm AKD keeps in step with growth of Asian market and expands Asian practice

Benelux law firm AKD expands its Asian practice with the arrival of Hyunju Park, Kaori Ishikawa and Xian Kong. Hyunju focuses on the Korean market, Kaori on Japan and Xian on China. Erwin Rademakers, AKD’s managing partner, who is also responsible for the firm’s Asian practice, explains: “The business sector in Korea, Japan and China is growing...

Rachika A Sahay joins HSA Advocates as Partner in the New Delhi office

Rachika A Sahay joins HSA Advocates as Partner to further strengthen the Projects, Energy and Infrastructure and Corporate practices. She will be operating out of the firm’s New Delhi office. Rachika has over a decade of experience in handling a broad range of deals in the energy sector. She also has diverse experience in handling corporate transactions...

Japanese firms step up overseas M&A

Number of deals hits record in first half as smaller companies get into the game With SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son taking the lead, Japanese companies have been engaging in mergers and acquisitions at record levels. Japanese corporations made 339 overseas mergers and acquisitions during the first half of the current Japanese fiscal year, the highest...

Investcorp adds Deepak Parekh to International Advisory Board

Investcorp, a global provider and manager of alternative investment products, today announced that Deepak Parekh, Chairman of HDFC Limited, Indian’s leading Financial Services conglomerate, has been appointment to Investcorp’s International Advisory Board. Mr Parekh has played a significant role in the development of the financial sector...

Europe

How will Brexit affect contractors in the UK?

With March 2019 edging closer, everyone is waiting to see what the effects of the decision to leave the EU will be. For now, uncertainty reigns, with many contractors across the nation speculating about potential far-reaching implications.As a contractor in the UK, you may be wondering whether Brexit will have a positive or negative impact on your job,...

Agri-tech startup Pure Harvest Smart Farms

Hosts Product Launch Event for “First-of-Its-Kind” High-tech GreenhouseIts sustainably-grown, year-round premium quality fresh produce now on shelves at major retailers Pure Harvest Smart Farms Ltd. (“Pure Harvest” or the “Company”) – a transformational, technology-enabled arid climate agribusiness based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates...

Spanish insolvency and disputes boutique J Almoguera Abogados boosts its team with two key new hires

J Almoguera Abogados, a Madrid based boutique legal practice, has expanded its team by bringing on board Of Counsel Blas González and Senior Attorney Eduardo Vázquez de Prada. Blas González is a very distinguished expert on insolvency, corporate litigation and IP.  He was a commercial judge for over 17 years and served at the Barcelona commercial...

Pantheon Signs UK Government’s Women in Finance Charter

Appoints new Global Head of HRSenior U.S. Representative appointed to Sponsors for EducationalOpportunity’s Limited Partner Advisory CouncilPantheon is pleased to announce it has signed HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter, furthering our public commitment to progressing gender diversity in private markets. HMT’s Women in Finance...

Drooms appoints Rosanna Woods as Managing Director UK

Drooms, the leading provider of data rooms in Europe, today announces that Rosanna Woods has been appointed as Managing Director UK. Ms Woods is responsible for the entire UK operation, with responsibility for the team, including training and development, distribution of Drooms’ software solutions, strategic business development and customer...

Mena

Times Insider: How We Made an Invisible Crisis at Sea Visible

Supported byTimes InsiderHow We Made an Invisible Crisis at Sea VisibleAn ambitious Opinion Video project produced across three continents — in collaboration with a pioneering forensic research group — shines a spotlight on the more than 16,000 migrants who have died trying to cross the Mediterranean since 2014.VideoEuropean countries are...

The African Currency at the Center of a European Dispute

Supported byThe African Currency at the Center of a European DisputeImageC.F.A. francs are used in 14 countries in west and central Africa.CreditCreditIssouf Sanogo/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesBy Megan SpeciaJan. 22, 2019Luigi Di Maio, an Italian deputy prime minister, took aim at President Emmanuel Macron of France this week, laying the...

Al Qaeda Claims U.N. Peacekeeper Attack That Killed 10 in Mali

Supported byAl Qaeda Claims U.N. Peacekeeper Attack That Killed 10 in MaliImageUnited Nations peacekeepers patrolling the streets of Gao, Mali, in August.CreditCreditSeyllou/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesBy Rukmini CallimachiJan. 20, 2019A branch of Al Qaeda in northwestern Africa claimed responsibility for an attack on a United Nations base...

10 U.N. Peacekeepers Killed by Militants in Mali

Supported by10 U.N. Peacekeepers Killed by Militants in MaliBy ReutersJan. 20, 2019BAMAKO, Mali — Ten United Nations peacekeepers from Chad were killed and at least 25 were wounded while repelling an attack by armed assailants near a village in northern Mali on Sunday, the United Nations and the West African nation’s mission said.Al Qaeda...

American Airstrike in Somalia Kills 52 Shabab Extremists, U.S. Military Says

Supported byAmerican Airstrike in Somalia Kills 52 Shabab Extremists, U.S. Military SaysBy The Associated PressJan. 20, 2019JOHANNESBURG — The American military on Saturday said it had carried out its deadliest airstrike in Somalia in months, killing 52 Shabab extremists after a “large group” mounted an attack on Somali forces.The...

International

Parenting methods are exacerbating social divisions

BRITISH CHILDREN used to play conkers in the autumn when the horse-chestnut trees started to drop their shiny brown nuts. They would select a suitable chestnut, drill a hole in it and thread it onto a string, then swing their conker at that of an opponent until one of them broke. But the game has fallen out of favour. Children spend less time outdoors...

How children interact with digital media

Born to swipe “TURN OFF media, turn on life”, urges the promotional video from South Korea’s Nori Media Education Centre for the Prevention of Internet Addiction, an organisation funded by a mixture of private and public money. Its manager, Kwon Jang-hee, is passionate about protecting children from the ill effects of the internet, and above...

The early years are getting increasing attention

So far, so good AT TURNER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL in south-east Washington, DC, about 15 well-turned-out five-year-olds sit on a mat in an immaculate classroom, bellowing out an uplifting song about being ready for school and listening to the teacher. Then they act out little scenes about being good citizens, sharing and helping others. They are having...

Why children’s lives have changed radically in just a few decades

“WHEN I WAS a kid, we were out and about all the time, playing with our friends, in and out of each other’s houses, sandwich in pocket, making our own entertainment. Our parents hardly saw us from morning to night. We didn’t have much stuff, but we came and went as we liked and had lots of adventures.” This is roughly what you will hear...

In the Middle Ages there was no such thing as childhood

FOR MOST of Western history, childhood was nasty, brutish and short, or even non-existent. Before modern medicine and public-health standards, many infants did not live to see their first birthday—and if they did, they were expected to grow up at the double. In the two millennia from antiquity to the 17th century, children were mostly seen as...