The large drop in global cocoa prices has hurt African farmers, leading some to abandon their plantations. In Cameroon, however, cocoa producers are mapping out ways to encourage more local processing. At Nkog-Ekogo in the center region of Cameroon, a cocoa post-harvest processing and treatment center is inaugurated. Farmer Petronella Ndukong said that will help…
read morePresident Donald Trump’s two-day stop in China saw the signing of $250 billion in deals between the world’s two biggest economies and the two countries aligning themselves closer in resolute opposition to North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. But analysts say little new ground was broken on trade or North Korea, an issue that will continue to…
read moreDonald Trump warned that the stock market was a “big, fat, ugly bubble” just weeks before he was elected. A year later, Wall Street remains on a milestone-shattering run that the president has been eager to tout and tweet about. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index, the broadest measure of the stock market, has notched…
read moreFormer New York mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg is donating $50 million to help nations around the world shift from coal to combat pollution and climate change, expanding his funding outside the United States. The project would start in Europe and expand into other countries later on, his charity, Bloomberg Philanthropies, said in a statement…
read moreIn a victory some claimed was a repudiation of President Donald Trump’s stringent refugee policy and others saw as a vindication of the American Dream, voters in Helena, Montana, elected Wilmot Collins, a former refugee from Liberia, as their mayor Tuesday. He will be the first African-American mayor in the state’s history. “There are no…
read moreThe U.S. federal government has released more than 13,000 records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. It was the fourth release this year. Most of the collection comprising about 5 million pages of records has been released to the public, but some documents have been withheld over the years to…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump moves on to Vietnam on Friday in the next leg of his 12-day sweep across east Asia in which he is discussing trade, diplomatic relations and North Korea. Trump is headed to Vietnam to attend an APEC summit, where leaders of the major economies in the region will discuss growth and…
read moreA group of 37 U.S.-based scientists whose research focuses on Arctic wildlife asked two U.S. senators in a letter Thursday not to open the National Arctic Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration, according to a copy seen by Reuters. The scientists, including several retired former officials from the Alaska Department of Fish & Game,…
read moreThe outsourcing industry in the Philippines, which has dethroned India as the country with the most call centers in the world, is worried that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) will eat into the $23 billion sector. AI-powered translators could dilute the biggest advantage the Philippines has, which is the wide use of English, an…
read moreThe House intelligence committee is preparing to interview a Russian-American lobbyist who attended a meeting last year with President Donald Trump’s son as part of its probe into Russian election interference. The panel is also expected to interview Attorney General Jeff Sessions in coming weeks, according to people familiar with the interviews. The House interview…
read moreTwo Republican bills that would achieve the largest overhaul of the U.S. tax code in more than 30 years are set to be unveiled Thursday. While Senate Republicans are working out final details of their legislation, the House Republican tax-writing committee is working to approve its version after days of negotiation and last-minute changes. Republican…
read moreBoeing Co said it signed an agreement on Thursday to sell 300 planes to China Aviation Supplies Holding Company worth $37 billion at list prices, one of several deals announced during a state visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to Beijing. General Electric Co said it had signed jet engine deals worth $2.5 billion and…
read moreWhat’s Mark Zuckerberg’s biggest takeaway as he wraps up a year of travel to dozens of U.S. states? The importance of local communities. To this end, Facebook’s CEO is announcing a program to boost small businesses and give people technical skills on and off Facebook. The move shows how intertwined Facebook has become not just…
read moreU.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker has announced he will hold a hearing next week on the president’s “authority to use nuclear weapons.” Corker said the hearing is a part of the Senate’s examination of “the authority and process for using U.S. nuclear weapons.” He said Congress has not revisited the issue since…
read moreExecutives from Google, Facebook and Twitter faced anger from lawmakers last week over their platforms’ roles in Russian interference into the 2016 election. But for Silicon Valley, the biggest challenge lies ahead as tech companies look for ways to work with a U.S. Congress intent on closing legal loopholes before 2018 midterm elections. Congressional scrutiny…
read morePresident Donald Trump suffered a political setback Tuesday when Democrats won easy victories in governor’s races in Virginia and New Jersey. In addition, Democrats cheered a turnout that could have major implications for next year’s congressional midterm elections, when all 435 House seats and one-third of the Senate will be on the ballot. Democrats are…
read moreNewly declassified documents show that a quarter-century ago as worries were emerging over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney told allies the U.S. should not consider military action because it could jeopardize diplomatic efforts. Cheney would later serve as vice president to George W. Bush. He was a leading advocate of the 2003…
read moreTreasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday that Janet Yellen has not said yet whether she plans to remain on the Federal Reserve board when her term as chair ends in February, but the administration is moving ahead with filling other vacancies. There are three vacancies on the seven-member Fed board and there could be a…
read moreJust across the Hudson river from Manhattan, the “Mile Square” city of Hoboken, New Jersey, lined up to vote for a new mayor Tuesday from a diverse range of candidates. The New Jersey poll was one of several in the United States that is seen as a precursor of the battle between the Republican and…
read moreJust across the Hudson river from Manhattan, the “Mile Square” city of Hoboken, New Jersey, elected its first Sikh mayor on Tuesday. Democrat Ravi Bhalla, who has served on Hoboken’s city council for eight years and was endorsed by outgoing mayor Dawn Zimmer, claimed victory over five rival candidates late Tuesday night. The city of…
read morePlayers line up beside a small kiosk in a poor neighborhood to choose animals in a lottery game that has become a craze in Venezuela even as the oil-rich country suffers a fourth year of brutal recession. It seems more and more Venezuelans are turning to gambling in their desperation to make ends meet amid…
read moreIn a speech to South Korea’s National Assembly, U.S. President Donald Trump has sent a message north of the border, calling on leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang to give up all his nuclear weapons for a chance to step on to “a better path.” Trump on Wednesday also warned, “Do not underestimate us and…
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