Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, has a message for the world’s central bankers: Don’t be Luddites. Addressing a conference in London on Friday, Lagarde said virtual currencies, which are created and exchanged without the involvement of banks or government, could in time be embraced by countries with unstable currencies or weak…
read moreThe U.S. State Department has announced it is pulling all of its non-essential diplomatic personnel out of Cuba in response to “health attacks” on 21 American diplomats in Havana. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who is en route to China, released a statement Friday saying the United States is maintaining diplomatic relations with Cuba, but…
read moreWhite House officials say a federal force of 10,000 people, including 7,000 troops, are helping Puerto Rico dig out of the devastation left by Hurricane Maria. The U.S. Navy ship Comfort, a 1,000-bed hospital ship based in the U.S. state of Virginia, is scheduled to depart the U.S. mainland for the island Friday. Homeland Security…
read moreThe U.S. Senate has confirmed Jon Huntsman as the new U.S. ambassador to Russia, filling a void at a critical tie in U.S.-Russian relations. Huntsman is a former governor of the U.S. state of Utah who previously served as ambassador to Singapore and China. The confirmation was unanimous and swift, with Democrats and Republicans joining…
read moreThe government has fined U.S. tree-trimming company a record $95 million for knowingly hiring undocumented immigrants. U.S. prosecutors said the fine against Philadelphia-based Asplundh Tree Expert Co. was the largest criminal penalty ever imposed in an immigration case. Prosecutors said company managers deliberately looked the other way while supervisors knowingly hired thousands of undocumented workers…
read moreTwitter told the House and Senate intelligence committees Thursday that it had shut down more than 200 accounts after determining they were linked to Russia and sought to interfere in U.S. politics. The closed-door sessions followed similar briefings earlier this month with Facebook, which has also agreed to provide lawmakers with 3,000 Russia-linked ads involving…
read moreA day after President Donald Trump’s rebuke, health secretary Tom Price promised on Thursday to reimburse taxpayers for his cost on charter flights taken while on government business. He issued a public apology as he fought to keep his job. “I regret the concerns this has raised regarding the use of taxpayer dollars,” Price said…
read moreOn the defensive over the pace of federal help for Puerto Rico, President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans cleared the way Thursday for more supplies and government cash for the hurricane-ravaged U.S. island. Trump waived federal restrictions on foreign ships delivering cargo. And House Speaker Paul Ryan said the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief…
read moreU.S. Navy veteran Mohammed Jahanfar has traveled overseas four times in the last year to visit his Iranian fiancee, most recently hoping to complete government paperwork that would allow her to come live with him in the United States. But the 39-year-old now fears they will be forever separated after President Donald Trump’s administration rolled…
read moreAn overwhelming majority of American voters believe undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children should be allowed to remain in the country and become citizens, according to a new Qunnipiac University poll. Eighty-two percent of voters, including nearly 70 percent of Republicans, believe the so-called “Dreamer” immigrants should be able to stay…
read moreSenegalese start-ups are testing a fledgling market for online music platforms in French-speaking West Africa, where interest in digital entertainment is growing but a lack of credit cards has prevented big players from making inroads. Long celebrated in Europe for their contribution to “world” music – with Mali’s Salif Keita, Senegal’s Youssou N’Dour and Benin’s…
read moreWhat’s your dream car to drive? Saudi women are asking that question after the kingdom announced that females would be granted licenses and be allowed to drive for the first time. An Arabic Twitter hashtag asking women what car they want to drive already had more than 22,000 responses on Thursday. Some users shared images…
read moreA Supreme Court with a reconstituted conservative majority is taking on a new case with the potential to financially cripple Democratic-leaning labor unions that represent government workers. The justices deadlocked 4-4 in a similar case last year. The high court agreed Thursday to again consider a free-speech challenge from workers who object to paying…
read moreRepublican leaders in the US Senate suffered setbacks this week that could spell trouble for President Donald Trump’s agenda and complicate Republican hopes of expanding or even holding their congressional majorities in midterm elections next year. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports that an anti-establishment firebrand won a Republican primary contest Tuesday hours after the latest attempt…
read moreEquifax Inc promised to make it easier for consumers to control access to their credit records in the wake of the company’s massive breach after the top U.S. consumer financial watchdog called on the industry to introduce such a system. Equifax’s interim chief executive officer, Paulino do Rego Barros Jr., vowed to introduce a free…
read moreSuper Tuesday, the jam-packed day of presidential primary voting every four years, may get supercharged in 2020 with California joining the pack, bringing along its prize of the most delegates. Gov. Jerry Brown gave his stamp of approval Wednesday to a measure jumping California’s primary up to the beginning of March, three months earlier…
read moreSaudi Arabia’s decision to lift its ban on women driving cars may help to restore sales growth in an auto market dented by the economic fallout from weak oil prices, handing an opportunity to importers of luxury cars and sport utility vehicles. Carmakers joined governments in welcoming the order by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman that…
read morePresident Donald Trump announced a Republican tax reform plan Wednesday, intended to provide a “middle-class miracle” for many Americans and with changes to relieve corporations from what the White House called a “punitive” system. Trump unveiled details of the plan before an enthusiastic crowd in Indianapolis, Indiana, saying this was a “once in a generation”…
read morePresident Donald Trump said on Wednesday a foreign leader told him at the United Nations last week that the country would soon announce plans to build or expand five automobile industry factories in the United States. “I just left the United Nations last week and I was told by one of the most powerful leaders…
read moreThe South American trade bloc Mercosur could seek trade deals with Canada, Australia and New Zealand this year, an Argentine official said Wednesday, as largest members Brazil and Argentina seek to open their economies. Mercosur, which also includes Uruguay and Paraguay, is working with the European Union to finalize the political framework for a trade…
read moreWeather extremes and air pollution from burning fossil fuels cost the United States $240 billion a year in the past decade, according to a report Wednesday that urged President Donald Trump to do more to combat climate change. This year is likely to be the most expensive on record, with an estimated $300 billion in…
read moreThe Trump administration on Wednesday proposed admitting a maximum of 45,000 refugees next year, the lowest cap in decades, which officials said was necessary to ensure U.S. security as the government tightens its screening and vetting processes. That figure is the lowest cap since the modern U.S. refugee admissions system was established in 1980, and…
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