A dispiriting gridlock continues to grip Washington and Sacramento, undermining the public's faith that democracy can solve our problems. As we write, the so-called "super committee" of Congress, convened to figure a way out of the nation's fiscal crisis, remains hopelessly paralyzed along the familiar partisan lines. Everyone knows the...

PARIS -- Once again the world economy is on the brink. Only three years ago America was the epicenter of crisis. Today it is Europe. An enormous insecurity about the future has gripped ordinary citizens and investors around the world. Frustration and anger are spilling into the streets.

Once again...

LOS ANGELES -- California has long been the bellwether for the United States as a whole. Indeed, as the world's eighth-largest economy that is home to Hollywood and Google, this outpost of creativity and innovation has continent-size influence with a cultural resonance that looms large in the global imagination.

Unfortunately,...

WASHINGTON -- Côte d'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo is living up to the stereotype of an African leader clinging to power, disconnected from the country's citizens and ignoring their expressed will.

The drama is cast as a personal power struggle between Gbagbo, who was never properly elected yet ruled...

China may have invented the first printing press in 593 and published the first woodblock-printed newspaper, Kaiyuan Za Bao, in Beijing in 713. But in 2010 it wants to curb the newest information innovation led by Google.

To avoid censorship, Google has moved its search engine to Hong Kong and...