Two of Italy’s biggest coffee houses are reinforcing their brands with flagship cafes in Milan near the spot where U.S. rival Starbucks is set to begin operations next year. Lavazza opens its first flagship cafe in the coffee-obsessed city on Tuesday, not far from the renovated 19th century palazzo where Starbucks will open its first…
read moreMexico’s economy minister said on Monday a successful retool of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would hinge on two or three complex areas that he called “elephants in the room,” just days before the next round of treaty talks in Canada. Speaking at an event in Mexico City, Ildefonso Guajardo said four chapters…
read moreThe WTO dispute settlement system is “deficient” and has often ruled in favor of free trade that overlooks details of a trade agreement, U.S. trade envoy Robert Lighthizer said on Monday. Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Lighthizer, a trade lawyer, made clear that the administration was poised to push for major…
read moreThe White House reconfirmed Monday the United States is pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord — a decision President Donald Trump announced in June. “The Paris Climate Accord is simply the latest example of Washington entering into an agreement that disadvantages the United States to the exclusive benefit of other countries, leaving American workers…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump, in his first address to the United Nations General Assembly, will harshly criticize North Korea, Iran and Venezuela. “He will speak in extremely tough terms about the North Korean menace and the threat it poses to our security and the security of all the nations in that room,” according to a…
read moreNEW YORK (AP) _ The Trump administration will press its concerns about unexplained incidents harming American diplomats in Cuba during a meeting this week in Washington, as the United States considers shuttering its recently re-opened Embassy in Havana. U.S. diplomats will host Cuban official Josefina Vidal, who has been the public face of Cuba’s diplomatic…
read morePeru’s prime minister said on Monday that the country’s new Cabinet will focus on reviving public investments as it seeks to mend fences with the opposition party that forced President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski to form a new government. Congress ousted the former Cabinet last week following a dispute over education reforms, fueling fears that political…
read moreU.S. central bank leaders are expected to hold the key interest rate steady this week, but they may begin trimming a huge bond-buying program that was intended to boost economic growth. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to speak with reporters about those decisions Wednesday afternoon, following a two-day strategy meeting in the U.S.…
read moreEven though South Korean President Moon Jae-in seems to have more closely aligned with the hardline U.S. approach to pressure Pyongyang into giving up its nuclear program, his government in Seoul is planning to send $8 million in humanitarian aid to North Korea. “It is our government basic stance that (the government) will continue to…
read moreThe man tasked with overseeing Texas’ Hurricane Harvey rebuilding efforts sees his job as “future-proofing” before the next disaster, but he isn’t empowered on his own to reshape flood-prone Houston or the state’s vulnerable coastline, which has been walloped by three major hurricanes since 2006. Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp will face the same…
read moreFlorida’s economy has long thrived on one import above all: People. Until Irma struck this month, the state was adding nearly 1,000 residents a day – 333,471 in the past year, akin to absorbing a city the size of St. Louis or Pittsburgh. Every jobseeker, retiree or new birth, along with billions spent by…
read morePresident Donald Trump took another swing at Hillary Clinton in the latest sign that his campaign fury hasn’t faded, retweeting a mock video that shows him smacking a golf ball that – in the next frame – seemingly strikes her in the back before she stumbles and falls down while boarding a plane. Trump…
read moreThe future of health care in America has been resuscitated again as a driving political issue in Washington. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports, two new plans at opposite ends of the ideological spectrum were unveiled last week to replace current federal law, the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. …
read moreScandal-hit Brazilian construction company Odebrecht said on Sunday it has sold its 33 percent stake in a massive subway project in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires, but vowed to keep working in the country. Odebrecht is involved in a sprawling corruption saga and has already paid $3.5 billion in settlements in the United States, Brazil and…
read moreMissouri Governor Eric Greitens warned Sunday that his administration will deal harshly with those responsible for violent protests in St. Louis over the death of a black man. A small band of protesters began breaking windows and throwing objects at police late Saturday during the second night of protests over the acquittal of a white…
read morePolice in St. Louis, Missouri, said they made more than 80 arrests Sunday after some people smashed store windows following what had been a peaceful protest against the acquittal of a former officer in the shooting death of a black man. Police Chief Larry O’Toole told reporters early Monday that some people assaulted officers and…
read morePrime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s biggest dam on Sunday, ignoring warnings from environment groups that hundreds of thousands of people will lose their livelihoods. The controversial Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada river in the country’s western state of Gujarat that will provide power and water to three big states was dedicated to the…
read moreStarting Monday, world leaders will gather for their annual U.N. meetings in New York, where President Donald Trump will make his debut on the U.N. stage and the North Korean nuclear issue is poised to top the global agenda. The U.N. Security Council adopted additional economic sanctions on Pyongyang last Monday, the second round in…
read moreSecurity and protesters are warming up for Tuesday’s United Nations General Assembly. VOA’s Daniel Schearf reports from New York. …
read moreWorld leaders gather in New York, beginning Sept. 17, for their annual U.N. meetings that promise a busy agenda amid numerous ongoing conflicts. The talks follow increased nuclear and ballistic missile activity from North Korea and a growing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. VOA’s Margaret Besheer reports that leaders will also be eager to hear what…
read moreJust a stone’s throw across a narrow waterway from the world’s largest gambling hub Macau, a former oyster farming island is being transformed into China’s newest tourism haven. Dubbed by some as China’s answer to Florida’s Orlando — a global tourist magnet with its cluster of major theme parks — Hengqin has seen property prices…
read moreFifty years ago, U.S. Army Captain Steve Yedinak returned home from Vietnam believing that he had led covert operations that contributed significantly to the U.S. efforts to counter communist infiltration from the North into South Vietnam. Yedinak, now 77, left behind more than 200 local troops who had fought alongside U.S. forces. Ethnic Cambodians living…
read more