Special counsel Robert Mueller is questioning witnesses about whether former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn was secretly paid by the Turkish government during the final months of the 2016 presidential campaign, according to The New York Times. The Times is reporting that Mueller recently asked the White House for documents related to Flynn,…
read moreU.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is putting journalists on notice as he cracks down on a deluge of leaks of classified information that has dogged the Trump administration since it took office in January. “We respect the important role that the press plays and will give them respect, but it is not unlimited,” Sessions said…
read moreTop U.S. intelligence officials are refusing to back down over concerns about Russia, even as U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian officials lament what they describe as deteriorating relations between the two countries. “Our values and our interests are not aligned naturally,” Lieutenant General Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told a small…
read morePresident Donald Trump is off on a 17-day vacation at his golf resort in central New Jersey. Trump departed Friday, hoping to leave behind the Washington turmoil that has largely engulfed his presidency in recent weeks and brought about the appointment of a new White House chief of staff, retired Marine Corps General John Kelly.…
read moreRajeev Sakhuja has kept a hectic schedule in recent months as he makes scores of presentations in Delhi and surrounding towns about why and how to invest in equities. The investment adviser has an attentive audience as traditional avenues of gold and real estate lose their luster and as stock markets trade at record highs.…
read moreAs many as 100 elephants are being killed every day for their tusks, according to the United Nations. The United States implemented a near-total ban on the commercial trade of African elephant ivory last year, and in New York this week, conservation groups gathered to destroy merchandise that came from the illegal ivory trade. Faith…
read moreThe head of German automaker Volkswagen’s engineering and environment office pleaded guilty Friday in a U.S. court to charges connected to an emissions scandal involving the company. Volkswagen executive Oliver Schmidt pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges that could land him in prison for up to seven years. He will be forced to pay…
read moreThe U.S. economy had a net gain of 209,000 jobs in July, while the unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.3 percent. That matches the lowest jobless rate in 16 years. Friday’s Labor Department report says job gains were seen in restaurants, business services and health care. The average hourly wage rose nine cents an hour…
read morePresident Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, is revealing a brief advisory role with a firm related to a controversial data analysis company that aided the Trump campaign, The Associated Press has learned. The disclosure of Flynn’s link to Cambridge Analytica will come in an amended public financial filing in which the retired…
read moreJapanese automakers Toyota Motor Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp. said Friday they plan to spend $1.6 billion to set up a joint-venture auto manufacturing plant in the U.S. — a move that will create up to 4,000 jobs. The plant will have an annual production capacity of about 300,000 vehicles and will produce Toyota…
read moreThe U.S. Senate has effectively blocked President Donald Trump from making any appointments while the lawmakers are on their August break. The politicians have agreed to a procedural quirk known as pro forma sessions — a series of brief meetings that will technically keep the Senate in session. Senators took the action after Trump’s recent…
read moreSecretary of State Rex Tillerson is defending his efforts to “redesign” the State Department, saying it is an employee-led process to make its workforce more effective, with no preconceived outcomes. Former State Department officials foreign policy experts are expressing concern that the Trump administration plans to de-emphasize promoting democracy and human rights in U.S. foreign…
read moreOne of the most deprived suburbs in Paris is expected to be a big winner now the French capital is in line to host the 2024 Olympics with thousands of homes and a new swimming center to be built in Seine-Saint-Denis for the games. The poorest of France’s 101 mainland departments, Seine-Saint-Denis sprawls east and…
read moreAttorney General Jeff Sessions took new steps Thursday to punish cities he believes are not cooperating with federal immigration agents in a move that was met with bewilderment by local officials who said they did not know why they were being singled out. The Justice Department sent letters to four cities struggling with gun violence,…
read moreA Senate committee approved legislation Thursday that would suspend U.S. financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority until it ends what lawmakers said is a long-standing practice of rewarding Palestinians who kill Americans and Israelis. Members of the Republican-led Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 17-4 to pass the measure, sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.,…
read moreResearchers in England are hoping to help root out modern-day slavery in northern India by using detailed satellite imagery to locate brick kilns — sites that are notorious for using millions of slaves, including children. A team of geospatial experts at the University of Nottingham use Google Maps and dozens of volunteers to identify potential…
read moreIn a change from chocolates and fizzy drinks, the French are starting to offer fresh oysters from vending machines in the hope of selling more of the delicacy outside business hours. One pioneer is Tony Berthelot, an oyster farmer whose automatic dispenser of live oysters on the Ile de Re island off France’s western coast…
read moreNigeria will legalize illegal mini refineries in the Niger Delta oil hub by the end of the year and supply them with crude at a reasonable price, the presidency said Thursday, fulfilling a demand from community leaders. On Monday, Niger Delta leaders threatened to pull out of peace talks with the government unless their demands…
read moreUnder a best-case scenario, a newly negotiated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would not be implemented before the end of next year or the start of 2019, Mexico’s economy minister said Thursday. Among other issues, NAFTA talks would focus on how to provide more certainty in dispute resolutions, Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said in…
read moreDevelopments in Washington, D.C., on Thursday include President Donald Trump tweeting that the U.S.-Russia relationship is at a distinct low point, suggesting he may pressure China over trade and North Korea, the leaking of transcripts of contentious phone calls from January between the president and the leaders of Mexico and Australia, as well as a…
read moreWatching over his kids at a water fountain in Warren, Detroit’s largest suburb, Republican Jason Marchand says he approves of Trump — a president who has done things “that should have been done a long time ago” — and credits him for improvements in the auto industry. But he acknowledges that their views differ on…
read moreWomen in the United States are starting bushiness at one and a half times the rate of their male peers. Effective entrepreneurship could help cut the economic gap between women and men, which the World Economic Forum says could otherwise take decades to close around the globe. As VOA’s Jim Randle reports, experts say more…
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