Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday gained more powers over the OPEC member’s oil contracts, as a deepening purge looks set to strengthen the leftist leader’s control of the key energy sector amid a debilitating recession. A months-long crackdown on alleged graft in Venezuela’s oil industry has led to the …
A committee exploring the effects of recreational marijuana on Nevada’s gambling industry is wrestling with how the state’s casinos might deal with the pot business while not running afoul of federal law. Lured by a potential economic impact in the tens of millions of dollars, Gov. Brian Sandoval’s Gaming Policy …
Liz Whitehurst dabbled in several careers before she ended up on a Maryland farm, crating fistfuls of fresh-cut arugula in the November chill. The hours were better at her nonprofit jobs. So were the benefits. But two years ago, Whitehurst, 32 — who graduated from a liberal arts college and grew …
The city of Zibo, China’s ceramics capital, is undergoing environmental shock therapy to clear its filthy skies and transform its economy — and not everyone is happy. Much of Zibo’s sprawling industrial district has become a ghost town of shuttered factories, empty showrooms and abandoned restaurants after a cleanup campaign …
Airlines canceled more flights leaving the Indonesian island of Bali on Saturday, citing forecasts of deteriorating flying conditions because of a risk of volcanic ash from the erupting Mount Agung volcano. A Bali airport spokesman said the airport was operating normally, but airlines such as Jetstar and Virgin Australia had …
President Donald Trump’s administration announced Friday that it won’t require mining companies to prove they have the financial wherewithal to clean up their pollution, despite an industry legacy of abandoned mines that have fouled waterways across the U.S. The move came after mining groups and Western-state Republicans pushed back …
Republicans pushed a nearly $1.5 trillion tax bill through the Senate early Saturday after burst of eleventh-hour horse trading, as a party starved all year for a major legislative triumph took a giant step toward giving President Donald Trump one of his top priorities by Christmas. “Big bills are rarely …
A Peruvian prosecutor asked a judge to jail executives of three local construction companies that had previously partnered with Brazilian builder Odebrecht, which has admitted to paying bribes in the country, chief prosecutor Pablo Sanchez said on Friday. Prosecutors started investigating the five executives of Grana y Montero, JJC Contratistas …
Venezuela’s socialist government and its opposition sought Friday to jumpstart negotiations on resolving the country’s economic and political crisis, pressured by international sanctions and a looming presidential election. The planned two-day meetings in the Dominican Republic are the first formal talks since anti-government protests collapsed in July with a toll …
Despite criticism from Washington over Cambodia’s crackdown on the opposition and accusations that the U.S. helped plot Prime Minister Hun Sen’s downfall, U.S. Ambassador William Heidt has said that America’s support for Cambodia’s economy will not be negatively impacted. Heidt told VOA’s Khmer service on Wednesday that the embassy’s mission …
Senate Republicans delayed a final vote on an overhaul of the U.S. tax code late Thursday amid furious, behind-the-scenes efforts to fine-tune the legislation to satisfy a small group of fiscal hawks whose support is needed to pass one of President Donald Trump’s core campaign promises. “Senators will continue to …
Venezuela’s Avior Airlines has been banned from European Union skies after a commission determined it no longer meets international safety standards, another blow to troubled nation’s already beleaguered flight industry. The European Commission announced Thursday that Avior had been added to a list of international airlines prohibited from flying within …
The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season has finally ended In all, 17 named storms swept across the Atlantic this year and 10 rose to hurricane status. But the season will be remembered for the deadly trio — Harvey, Irma and Maria — that brought death and destruction to Caribbean nations and …
Fed Chair Janet Yellen appeared on Capitol Hill Wednesday for what may be the last time she speaks before U.S. lawmakers. Yellen, whose term expires in February, will likely be succeeded by President Donald Trump’s pick, Federal Reserve governor Jerome Powell. This week, members of the U.S. Congress got a …
Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said Wednesday that Trump administration demands for a U.S.-specific automotive content requirement in NAFTA were “not viable,” and he declined to specify when Mexico would formally respond. At a news conference following a series of meetings with senior U.S. trade officials and lawmakers in Washington, …
Opposition has grown among Americans to a Republican tax plan before the U.S. Congress, with 49 percent of people who were aware of the measure saying they opposed it, up from 41 percent in October, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday. Congressional Republicans are trying to rush their …
The world’s largest economy shook off the impact of several hurricanes and grew a bit faster than first thought in July, August, and September. On Wednesday, U.S. government experts said the economy expanded at a 3.3 percent annual rate in the third quarter, which is three-tenths of a percent faster …
U.S. President Donald Trump is heading Wednesday to Missouri to tout his tax overhaul, trying to convince working class Americans that their taxes would go down and more jobs would be created if Congress adopts the plan. Trump is set to speak to about 1,000 people in St. Charles, a …
The price of bitcoin, the most widely used virtual currency, rose above $10,000 on Wednesday for the first time, breaking a symbolic threshold in what has been a vertiginous ascent this year. The cost of buying one bitcoin as measured by the website coindesk.com was at $10,673 by morning trading …
The fashion industry urgently needs to reform its wasteful, polluting ways, British designer Stella McCartney and record-breaking sailor Ellen MacArthur said Tuesday. With global clothing sales doubling since 2000, people now wear each item far fewer times, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation said, calling for items ranging from T-shirts to jeans …
Serbia began work on a China-funded railway line on Tuesday to try to improve the Balkan country’s infrastructure, an effort also expected to strengthen Beijing’s influence in Europe. In May Serbia borrowed $297.6 million from China’s Exim Bank to modernize a stretch of the railway line between Belgrade and the …
After Hurricane Maria damaged tens of thousands of homes in Puerto Rico, a newly created Florida company with an unproven record won more than $30 million in contracts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide emergency tarps and plastic sheeting for repairs. Bronze Star LLC never delivered those urgently …
Women need to be given a greater role in industries in poorer nations to meet the global goal of cutting poverty by 2030, the head of the United Nations industrial development agency said on Monday after being voted in for a second term. Li Yong said empowering women will be …
Diplomats are searching for ways to prevent the global trade dispute resolution system from freezing up, after the Trump administration blocked appointments to the body that acts as the supreme court for global trade. U.S. President Donald Trump has vetoed the appointment of judges to fill vacancies on the seven-member …
A general appointed at the weekend to run Venezuela’s energy sector will name more military officers to senior management posts at state oil company PDVSA as part of a shakeup the government says is aimed at fighting corruption, two company sources told Reuters on Monday. In a surprise move, unpopular …
Guillermo Miranda Vazquez starts his day in a parking lot near the Home Depot where he easily finds work alongside other day laborers who are cleaning up Houston after Hurricane Harvey. Some days, he clears rotted drywall and hauls out furniture and carpet destroyed by Harvey’s floodwaters. Other days, he …