The federal government recorded a deficit of $100.5 billion in October, a big increase from a year ago that was primarily caused by quirks in the calendar. The Treasury Department said Tuesday that the deficit shot up 59 percent from the same month a year ago. Last year’s October deficit was smaller because the government paid $48 billion in benefits in September — and that was because Oct. 1 fell on a weekend. The government has run…
read moreInflation in Zimbabwe soared last month to its highest level since 2008, official data showed Tuesday, after a severe dollar shortage led to a surge in prices of food, drinks and clothes. The annual inflation rate shot up to 20.85 percent in October, statistics agency Zimstat said, from 5.39 percent in September, after the dollar shortage led…
read moreIn an extraordinary move, Melania Trump called publicly Tuesday for the deputy national security adviser to be dismissed. After reports circulated Tuesday that President Donald Trump had decided to remove Mira Ricardel from her post at the National Security Council, Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s spokeswoman, released a statement that said: “It is the…
read moreNATO is developing new high-tech tools, such as the ability to 3-D-print parts for weapons and deliver them by drone, as it scrambles to retain a competitive edge over Russia, China and other would-be battlefield adversaries. Gen. Andre Lanata, who took over as head of the NATO transformation command in September, told a conference in Berlin…
read moreFacebook said Tuesday it had been unable to determine who was behind dozens of fake accounts it took down shortly before the 2018 U.S. midterm elections. “Combined with our takedown last Monday, in total we have removed 36 Facebook accounts, 6 Pages, and 99 Instagram accounts for coordinated inauthentic behavior,” Nathaniel Gleicher, head of cybersecurity…
read moreIf you’re really lucky and live in the U.S. cities of Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles or Sacramento, you now have access to a 5G network. If you live anywhere else, just be patient… a 5G mobile network is coming your way, and it’s already arriving in some countries. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …
read moreThis is part of “Ocean Shock,” a Reuters series exploring climate change’s impact on sea creatures and the people who depend on them. Takashi Odajima picked up a cracked and faded photograph and dusted it off with his sleeve. He smiled a little sadly at the image from long ago, back when he was a…
read moreActing U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker will consult with ethics officials about any matters that could require him to recuse himself, the Justice Department said on Monday, after critics called on him to step aside from overseeing a Special Counsel probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. “Acting AG Matt Whitaker is fully committed…
read moreLiz Cheney has had a quiet first term as congresswoman, but that’s about to change. She’s seeking a House Republican leadership post that’s key to her party’s strategy against next year’s Democratic majority. If she succeeds, Cheney will be the only woman in House Republican leadership — and follow in the footsteps of her…
read moreNo, it wasn’t a blue wave. But a week after the voting, Democrats are riding higher than they thought on election night. As vote counting presses on in several states, the Democrats have steadily chalked up victories across the country, firming up their grip on the U.S. House of Representatives and statehouses. The slow roll…
read moreGerman states have drafted a list of demands aimed at tightening a law that requires social media companies like Facebook and Twitter to remove hate speech from their sites, the Handelblatt newspaper reported Monday. Justice ministers from the states will submit their proposed revisions to the German law called NetzDG at a meeting with Justice…
read moreMillions of smallholder farmers in South and Southeast Asia are missing out on new, resilient seeds that could improve their yields in the face of climate change, according to an index published Monday. The 24 top seed companies fail to reach four-fifths of the region’s 170 million smallholder farmers for reasons such as poor infrastructure,…
read moreA broad sell-off in technology companies pulled U.S. stocks sharply lower Monday, knocking more than 600 points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The wave of selling snared big names, including Apple, Amazon and Goldman Sachs. Banks, consumer-focused companies, and media and communications stocks all took heavy losses. Crude oil prices fell, erasing early…
read moreFacebook will allow French regulators to “embed” inside the company to examine how it combats online hate speech, the first time the wary tech giant has opened its doors in such a way, President Emmanuel Macron said Monday. From January, Macron’s administration will send a small team of senior civil servants to the company for…
read moreFrance and U.S. technology giants including Microsoft on Monday urged world governments and companies to sign up to a new initiative to regulate the internet and fight threats such as cyberattacks, online censorship and hate speech. With the launch of a declaration entitled the ‘Paris call for trust and security in cyberspace’, French President Emmanuel…
read moreJapan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called Monday for a new public works spending program to stimulate the economy amid growing concerns about global risks. The spending, which is expected in the first half of next fiscal year starting in April, will focus on strengthening infrastructure to withstand earthquakes and frequent flooding, according to a presentation made at…
read moreWashington is adjusting to an impending power shift after Democrats won control of the U.S. House of Representatives in last week’s elections. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports, Democrats are promising to hold President Donald Trump accountable and protect the Justice Department’s Russia probe, but also stressing the need to deliver tangible results that address the American…
read moreKey U.S. Democratic lawmakers vowed Sunday they would try to protect the investigation of President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign’s links to Russia from interference by his new acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, who often attacked the probe before Trump named him to oversee it. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said he would attempt to attach…
read moreA majority of OPEC and allied oil exporters support a cut in the global supply of crude, Oman Oil Minister Mohammed bin Hamad al-Rumhi said on Sunday. “Many of us share this view,” the minister said when asked about the need for a cut. Asked if it could amount to 500,000 or one million barrels…
read moreThe total number of veterans in Congress has steadily declined since the 1970s, when nearly three-fourths of lawmakers had served in the military. But while the overall number of veterans in Congress declined after Tuesday’s election, the number of female veterans elected to Congress rose. Democrat and Navy veteran Elaine Luria, who won a tight…
read moreThe Democratic candidate for governor in the state of Florida has rescinded the concession he made Tuesday night after the Florida secretary of state announced the governor’s race, as well as the race for a seat in the U.S. Senate, will be subject to a recount. Andrew Gillum spoke to media Saturday shortly after the…
read moreFlorida election officials are expected to announce soon whether hotly-contested midterm election races for the U.S. Senate and governor will be subject to recounts after unofficial tallies were submitted Saturday. The contentious U.S. Senate race between Republican Governor Rick Scott and incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson has Scott ahead by about 15,000 votes, a lead of…
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