Months after rumors first circulated that U.S. President Donald Trump wanted to put his spy chief in charge of the nation’s diplomacy, Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo is taking his first steps in making the possible switch to the State Department. Pompeo, who appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Thursday, brings along a…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump is pushing back against a New York Times report that said he had late last year considered firing special counsel Robert Mueller, who is heading the criminal investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. “If I wanted to fire Robert Mueller in December, as reported by the Failing…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, faced intense questioning about the ongoing Russia probe, his relationship with the president, and hotspots around the globe during his confirmation hearing Thursday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “I’m not going to talk about the conversations the president and I had,”…
read moreThe World Trade Organization predicts continued trade growth this year, though it warns that tensions and “tit-for-tat” retaliatory measures, notably between the U.S. and China, could compromise those projections. WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo laid out the trade body’s predictions at a news conference Thursday amid concerns about a trade war over U.S. President Donald Trump’s…
read moreThe European Union executive is seeking to protect farmers by imposing fines on retailers and supermarket chains using unfair trade practices. EU Farm Commissioner Phil Hogan said Thursday the plan was “about giving voice to the voiceless” as small-scale farmers across the EU have struggled to eke out a living when faced with the…
read morePresident Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of State, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, will appear before a Senate Committee for his confirmation hearing Thursday, where he will emphasize a harder line towards Russia. “Russia continues to act aggressively, enabled by years of soft policy toward that aggression. That’s now over,” Pompeo will tell the Senate…
read moreThe sweaty mechanic tossed aside the used jeans one by one, digging deep through the pile of secondhand clothes that are at the center of another, if little-noticed, Trump administration trade war. The used clothes cast off by Americans and sold in bulk in African nations, a multimillion-dollar business, have been blamed in part…
read moreThe annual U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises underway have historically been a very public demonstration of force intended, in part, to counter North Korea’s aggressive nuclear and missile tests. But with looming diplomatic summits aimed at reaching a deal to end the North’s nuclear program, media coverage of the drills has so far been limited.…
read moreCalifornia Governor Jerry Brown has agreed to deploy 400 National Guard troops in response to President Donald Trump’s request to states that border Mexico. “Let’s be clear on the scope of this mission,” Brown wrote in a letter to the Trump administration. “This will not be a mission to build a new wall. It will…
read moreImmigrants in detention in the U.S. will no longer be getting legal advice, at least temporarily. The Executive Office for Immigration Review is planning this month to halt a program that provides incarcerated immigrants with information about their rights in immigration court — the latest in a series of immigration measures taken by the Trump…
read morePresident Donald Trump signed a bill Wednesday aimed at giving prosecutors greater power to curb sex trafficking on internet websites. The measure, approved overwhelmingly by Congress, weakens a legal shield for online sites that host abusive content, including sex trafficking, enabling victims and state attorneys general to sue the sites for damages and to block…
read moreAnother high-ranking National Security Council staffer is leaving the White House as new National Security Adviser John Bolton makes his mark. Nadia Schadlow tendered her resignation in a letter Tuesday. It’s effective April 27. The deputy national security adviser for strategy was a confidante of ex-National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and oversaw the president’s first…
read moreA day after President Donald Trump canceled plans to attend the Summit of the Americas, Trump adviser and daughter Ivanka Trump announced she will unveil an initiative at the event to promote economic empowerment for women. The summit is scheduled to start Friday in Lima, Peru. The White House said Trump will not attend in…
read moreThousands of megawatts of wind and solar energy contracts in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia have been signed, seriously challenging the financial viability of major hydropower projects on the river, an energy expert told a water conference last week. Buoyed by a recent Thai government decision to delay a power purchase deal with a…
read moreThe increasing trade tensions between the United States and China has rattled farmers in the American heartland, the place where many of the products on which China seeks to impose a tariff are produced. As VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports, those farmers, once supportive of President Trump, are increasingly wary about his stance on global trade,…
read moreThe head of the International Monetary Fund is warning that the global trading system is in danger of being “torn apart.” In a speech prepared for delivery in Hong Kong Wednesday, Christine Lagarde urged nations to “steer clear of protectionism.” That may be a reference to Washington’s recent moves to slap large tariffs on imported…
read moreThe head of the International Monetary Fund is warning that the global trading system is in danger of being “torn apart.” In a speech prepared for delivery in Hong Kong Wednesday, Christine Lagarde urged nations to “steer clear of protectionism.” That may be a reference to Washington’s recent moves to slap large tariffs on…
read moreAfter weathering heated questions from two Senate panels, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg returns to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to face more questions from a House committee about the social media platform’s transparency and user privacy. Lawmakers want better protections after data breaches that affected tens of millions of users. “There was clearly a breach of…
read moreDiscrimination against women and girls is a more pressing global challenge than disparities in income between the rich and the poor, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter said on Tuesday. The 93-year-old, who established the Carter Center in 1982 to prevent and resolve conflicts and push for human rights, also backed women to bring about a…
read moreThe Federal Reserve on Tuesday proposed new rules that could allow some large banks to reduce the amount of capital they must hold as a cushion against a future economic shock. The proposal may clear the way for some large banks to reduce their capital levels in the future, but the largest firms on Wall…
read moreThe president has the authority to fire the special counsel appointed to look into ties between his campaign and Russia, the White House asserted on Tuesday. “We’ve been advised that the president certainly has the power to make that decision,” replied White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, when asked during a briefing whether it…
read moreRussian retailers warned of price increase after ruble tumbles European electronic and household goods manufacturers have warned Russian retailers of a possible 5 to 10 percent rise in prices after the ruble tumbled this week due to U.S. sanctions, retailers said on Tuesday. Eldorado, which operates over 400 stores in Russia, said the hikes may…
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