U.S. consumer confidence plunged in February in its biggest monthly decline in more than four years, a business research group said Tuesday. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index dropped from 105.3 in January to 98.3 this month, the largest month-to-month decline since August 2021. With U.S. consumer spending accounting for about 70% of…
read moreWASHINGTON — The United States has expanded an existing visa restriction policy to target Cuban officials believed to be tied to a labor program that sends Cuban workers overseas, particularly health care workers, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday. In a statement, Rubio said the expanded restrictions target individuals and immediate family members…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump plans to send 30,000 undocumented migrants to Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. naval base in Cuba. While it is most well known for housing terror suspects after 9/11 — and for drawing condemnation from human rights groups — Guantanamo has been occasionally used as a processing center for immigrants trying to reach…
read moreKINSHASA, DR Congo — An unknown illness has killed over 50 people in northwestern Congo, according to doctors on the ground and the World Health Organization on Monday. The interval between the onset of symptoms and death has been 48 hours in the majority of cases, and “that’s what’s really worrying,” Serge Ngalebato, medical director of…
read moreWashington — The United States has started sending more migrants deemed by officials to be “high threat” criminal aliens to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, just days after emptying out the base’s migrant facilities. A U.S. defense official confirmed to VOA that a C-130 military cargo plane carrying migrants left Fort Bliss in…
read moreThe Trump administration has proposed punitive new fees on international shipping that would target vessels owned by Chinese companies or manufactured in Chinese shipyards, promising to dramatically alter the economics of global trade. The new policy would charge Chinese-owned cargo ships, as well as third-country flagged vessels built in China, $1 million or more per…
read moreBOGOTA, Colombia — An annual United Nations conference on biodiversity that ran out of time last year will resume its work Tuesday in Rome with money at the top of the agenda. That is, how to spend what’s been pledged so far — and how to raise a lot more to help preserve plant and animal…
read moreLONDON — More than 1,000 musicians including Kate Bush and Cat Stevens on Tuesday released a silent album to protest proposed changes to Britain’s copyright laws which could allow tech firms to train artificial intelligence models using their work. Creative industries globally are grappling with the legal and ethical implications of AI models that can produce…
read morePresident Donald Trump said Monday he’s nearing a deal with Ukraine and with Russia to end the war in Ukraine after a packed day of meetings at the White House with French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump urged Europe to take a bigger role in funding, and Paris pushed for more assurances from Moscow. The U.S.…
read moreThe top U.S. Army officer for the Asia-Pacific region began a two-day visit to Cambodia Monday in a trip designed to expand and improve frayed ties between the two nations. General Ronald P. Clark, the commanding general of the United States Army Pacific met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and senior Cambodian military officials…
read morePresident Donald Trump pledged last week to impose an additional 25% tariff on U.S.-bound imports of cars, semiconductors and medical products, possibly after April – a move that experts believe could significantly affect Taiwan. TSMC, which is based in Taiwan and the world’s largest contract chipmaker, may suffer the most as 60% of its revenues…
read moreA third flight with Venezuelans deported from the United States arrived in Venezuela on Monday morning. There were about 242 citizens and among them were undocumented children. Click here for the full story in Spanish. …
read moreU.S. tech giant Apple has announced plans to create some 20,000 jobs and invest $500 billion over the next four years in the United States. Apple says it will expand teams and facilities in nine states across the country and that it aims to open a 23,200-square-meter server manufacturing facility in Texas in 2026. The…
read moreA resolution drafted by the United States and another drafted by Ukraine and backed by the European Union calling for an end to the war in Ukraine are set for votes Monday at the United Nations. The U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote on the Ukrainian resolution, followed by the U.S. resolution. The U.N.…
read moreWASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said in a post on social media Sunday that Dan Bongino, a conservative talk show host, will be deputy director of the FBI. Bongino will join Kash Patel, who was recently confirmed by the Senate as director of the FBI. Trump said Bongino was named to the role by Patel. The…
read moreThe papal thriller “Conclave” won best ensemble and Timothée Chalamet took best actor at the 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, a pair of twists that added a few final wrinkles to an unusually unpredictable awards season. In winning the guild’s top award, Edward Berger’s Vatican-set drama triumphed just as the Catholic Church was…
read moreLos Angeles — Former Vice President Kamala Harris stepped on the NAACP Image Awards stage Saturday night with a sobering message, calling the civil rights organization a pillar of the Black community and urging people to stay resilient and hold onto their faith during the tenure of President Donald Trump. “While we have no illusions about…
read moreSacramento, California — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked Congress to approve nearly $40 billion in aid to help the Los Angeles area recover from January’s devastating wildfires, which he said could become the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Newsom sent a letter Friday asking for support from lawmakers including House Speaker Mike Johnson and…
read moreSydney — Australia’s online safety regulator fined messaging platform Telegram about $640,000 on Monday for its delay in answering questions about measures the app took to prevent the spread of child abuse and violent extremist material. The eSafety Commission in March 2024 sought responses from social media platforms YouTube, X and Facebook to Telegram and Reddit,…
read moreWashington — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insists President Donald Trump ‘s abrupt firing of the nation’s senior military officer amid a wave of dismissals at the Pentagon wasn’t unusual and he suggested more firings could come. “Nothing about this is unprecedented,” Hegseth told “Fox News Sunday” about Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. being removed Friday…
read moreRome, Italy — An American Airlines flight from New York to New Delhi, India, landed safely in Rome on Sunday afternoon after it was diverted due to a security concern , which later proved to be “non-credible,” the airline said. American Airlines said Flight 292 “was inspected by law enforcement” after landing at Leonardo da Vinci…
read moreSUSONO — Woven City near Mount Fuji is where Japanese automaker Toyota plans to test everyday living with robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous zero-emissions transportation. Daisuke Toyoda, an executive in charge of the project from the automaker’s founding family, stressed it’s not “a smart city.” “We’re making a test course for mobility so that’s a little…
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