business 
Hamas published on Friday the names of three more hostages for release, signaling that an impasse over the immediate future of the cease-fire with Israel had been overcome. The three men are set to be freed on Saturday as part of a series of exchanges between Israel and Hamas. A Hamas statement named them as … Read more
The words “optimal” and “optimize” derive from the Latin “optimus,” or “best,” as in “make the best of things.” Alessio Figalli, a mathematician at the university ETH Zurich, studies optimal transport: the most efficient allocation of starting points to end points. The scope of investigation is wide, including clouds, crystals, bubbles and chatbots. Dr. Figalli, … Read more
After 15 months of war, Hani al-Dibs, a high-school teacher, thought his greatest wish was to see the bombardment of Gaza come to an end. But the long-awaited cease-fire has brought only bitterness and dread. Mr. al-Dibs is one of countless Gazans burdened with an agonizing duty: trying to recover the remains of loved ones … Read more
President Trump is pursuing a far more aggressive trade policy than he embraced in his first term, allowing his unfettered instincts about how to put America at the forefront to guide him with little pretense of investigations or extended deliberations. Since taking office, Mr. Trump has threatened punishing tariffs on goods from every global trading … Read more
At least six people were killed and 25 others injured on Friday in a fire at a construction site for a luxury hotel in Busan, a port city in southeastern South Korea, fire officials said. Fire officials received the first report around 10:50 a.m. local time of a fire, which apparently broke out in the … Read more
Vice President JD Vance told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday that all military and economic options were on the table if Russia did not agree to negotiate in good faith to end the war in Ukraine. “There are economic tools of leverage, there are, of course, military tools of leverage” available to the United … Read more
Traders at China’s Export Hub Shrug Off Trump Tariffs, for Now
Amy McIlquham was 21 when she was asked to go to Gstaad, Switzerland, for a long weekend with her boss. Ms. McIlquham had joined Harrods, the luxury department store in London, in 1993. A Canadian on a work-abroad program, she was promoted from the shop floor to become a personal assistant to Mohamed al-Fayed, who … Read more
Two years ago on Valentine’s Day, Olha Chesnokova told Yevhen Volosyan she loved him. They had met a month earlier on Tinder, bonding over music. Ms. Chesnokova, a 46-year-old psychotherapist, said she had wanted “to wait for the right moment to tell him” — but not too long. Mr. Volosyan had decided to join the … Read more
Trump ordered tariffs that could upend global trade President Trump yesterday ordered his advisers to calculate new “reciprocal” tariffs that would affect nearly every country around the world. India, Japan and the E.U. could be hit the hardest. The new tariffs, which could go into effect on or after April 2, would reflect other countries’ … Read more